Central West | |||||||||||||
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 The CSIRO Radio Telescope atParkes | |||||||||||||
  Central West | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:33°14′S149°11′E / 33.233°S 149.183°E /-33.233; 149.183 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorates | |||||||||||||
| • Federal divisions | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 55,754 km2 (21,527 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 212,962 (2021 census)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 3.81967/km2 (9.89291/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+11 (AEDT) | ||||||||||||
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TheCentral West is a region in centralNew South Wales,Australia. The region stretches fromLithgow in the east and to as far west asLake Cargelligo, on theLachlan River. The Central West is known for its attractions such as theJenolan Caves, nearOberon and also wineries, as well as rural farmland and natural landscapes. The region includes major towns likeBathurst,Orange,Mudgee,Lithgow,Parkes andCowra. It has an area of 63,262 square kilometres (24,426 sq mi).[3] The region also includes the sub-region known as theCentral Tablelands, located in the eastern part of the region. The region known as theOrana, which includes the area surroundingDubbo is typically classed as being a part of the Central West also.
Major population and service centres in the Central West includeBathurst,Cowra,Lithgow,Mudgee,Orange, andParkes. Bathurst and Orange are home to campuses ofCharles Sturt University, and Lithgow housing theUniversity of Notre Dame Regional Clinical School.
The Central West includes the large regional centres ofBathurst andOrange; the towns ofCowra,Mudgee,Lithgow andParkes; and smaller centres, such asBlayney,Canowindra,Condobolin,Eugowra,Forbes,Grenfell,Gulgong,Kandos,Lake Cargelligo,Millthorpe,Molong,Oberon,Peak Hill,Portland,Rylstone, andWallerawang.
The followinglocal government areas are contained within the region:
| Central West rank | Local Government Area | Population as of 30 June 2016[4] | 10 year growth rate | Population density (people/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bathurst Regional | 42,389 | 14.8 | 11.1 |
| 2 | Orange City | 41,384 | 13.8 | 145.6 |
| 3 | Mid-Western Regional | 24,569 | 13.5 | 2.8 |
| 4 | Lithgow City | 21,524 | 6.6 | 4.8 |
| 5 | Parkes Shire | 14,946 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| 6 | Cabonne Shire | 13,625 | 7.8 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Cowra Shire | 12,673 | -0.6 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Forbes Shire | 9,808 | 2.8 | 2.1 |
| 9 | Blayney Shire | 7,418 | 10.0 | 4.9 |
| 10 | Lachlan Shire | 6,352 | -7.0 | 0.4 |
| 11 | Oberon Shire | 5,399 | 4.2 | 1.5 |
| 12 | Weddin Shire | 3,692 | -0.8 | 1.1 |
| Central West | 209,810 | 8.5 | 3.0 | |
The Central West's east is higher, wetter and hillier and supports orchards,vineyards, vegetable-growing and pastoralism. The west is flatter and drier and supports grain crops and pastoralism.
The Central West region is traversed by theGreat Western Highway, theMid-Western Highway, theMitchell Highway, theNewell Highway and theCastlereagh Highway.
Orange Airport is the region’s main airport which provides direct flights toSydney,Melbourne andBrisbane.
The Central West has several radio stations, includingABC Central West, 2BS 95.1FM, B-Rock FM, Life Radio AM 1629khz, 97.9 2LVR (a community radio station), 105.12GZFM, 105.9Star FM, Radio2LT, 107.9Move FM, 95.5 ROK FM, 107.5 Community Radio, 103.5Rhema FM and1089AM — a commercial station that gets most of its programming from2SM in Sydney. Other electronic media are represented by theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation with both television and radio broadcasting; and by television stationsPrime7,Nine, andSouthern Cross 10.
Two major newspapers are published in the region, theCentral Western Daily newspaper is published in Orange and theWestern Advocate in Bathurst. Numerous other local papers serve the remaining large towns.
The Central West area was originally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people. The first British explorer, George Wilson Evans, entered theLachlan Valley in 1815. He named the area the Oxley Plains after his superior the surveyor-general, John Oxley. In 1817 he deemed the area unfit for settlement. A Military Depot was established not long after at Soldiers Flat near present-day Billimari. Arthur Ranken and James Sloan, from Bathurst, were amongst the first European settlers on the Lachlan. They moved to the area in 1831.
In the 1850s many gold prospectors passed through headed for gold fields at Lambing Flat (Young) andGrenfell.
