View source for Towrang

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type      = town
| name      = Towrang
| state     = nsw
| image     = 
| caption   = 
| coordinates = {{coord|34|41|25|S|149|51|10|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position = right
| lga       = [[Goulburn Mulwaree Council]]
| county    = [[Argyle County|Argyle]]
| parish    = [[Norrong Parish|Norrong]]
| postcode  = 2580
| est       = 
| pop       = 171
| pop_year  = {{CensusAU|2016}}
| pop_footnotes=<ref name="Census"/>
| elevation = 629
| maxtemp   = 
| mintemp   = 
| rainfall  = 
| stategov  = [[Electoral district of Goulburn|Goulburn]]
| fedgov    = [[Division of Eden-Monaro|Eden-Monaro]]
| dist1     = 191
| dir1      = SW
| location1 = [[Sydney]]
| dist2     = 64
| dir2      = WSW
| location2 = [[Moss Vale]]
| dist3     = 17
| dir3      = NE
| location3 = [[Goulburn]]
| near-n    = [[Greenwich Park, New South Wales|Greenwich Park]]
| near-ne   = [[Greenwich Park, New South Wales|Greenwich Park]]
| near-e    = [[Carrick, New South Wales|Carrick]]
| near-se   = [[Boxers Creek]]
| near-s    = [[Boxers Creek]]
| near-sw   = [[Boxers Creek]]
| near-w    = [[Goulburn]]
| near-nw   = [[Goulburn]]
}}

'''Towrang''' is a village in the [[Southern Tablelands]] of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]], in [[Goulburn Mulwaree Council]].<ref>{{NSW GNR|id=TRwGZxWAKW|title=Towrang|accessdate=31 July 2017}}</ref> It is approximately {{convert|13|km}} north of [[Goulburn]] on the [[Hume Highway]] {{convert|180|km}} south from [[Sydney]]. At the {{CensusAU|2016}}, Towrang had a population of 171.<ref name="Census">{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC13930|name=Towrang (State Suburb) |accessdate=10 July 2017|quick=on}}</ref>

== History ==
The town was established in the 19th century, early in the European settlement of New South Wales. The area was once a large producer of fruit for the Sydney market. [[Towrang railway station]] on the [[Main Southern railway line]] opened in 1869<ref>[http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Towrang&line=NSW:main_south:0 Towrang Railway Station]. NSWrail.net. Accessed 9 April 2008.</ref> and was one of the busiest in the state. The station closed in 1974 and has since been removed, after Goulburn outgrew Towrang and fruit production declined.

A major stockade for chain-bound convicts and others involved in the construction of the [[Hume Highway|Great South Road]] was located on the north side of the Hume Highway at Towrang Creek from around 1836 to 1842. The stockade was the major penal settlement in southern New South Wales and enforced harsh discipline. Around 250 convicts slept there on bare boards with a blanket each and 10 men to a cell. One of the floggers was later murdered.<ref>{{cite web  | title =Goulburn  | publisher =[[Sydney Morning Herald]]  | date =8 February 2004  | url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Goulburn/2005/02/17/1108500193619.html   | accessdate = 2007-02-06}}</ref>

There is a rest area on the south side where a well-preserved bridge (possibly designed by the designer of impressive early bridges in New South Wales, [[David Lennox]])<ref>{{cite web  | title =Masonry Bridges: Heritage Study of Masonry Bridges in NSW  | publisher =[[Roads & Traffic Authority]]  | year =2005  | url =http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/environment/downloads/heritage/bridge-types_historical-overviews_2006_masonry.pdf  | format=PDF  | accessdate = 2007-02-06}}</ref> and a culvert can be viewed.

The stockade is on the north side of the Highway and used to be accessible by a stile, but this has been taken down to discourage people from stopping and using the daunting intersection with Towrang Road, especially for those turning right on to the Highway towards Goulburn. There are the remains of the powder magazine next to the [[Wollondilly River]], three graves on the north bank of Towrang Creek, and the remains of a weir on Towrang Creek built for the stockade.  Aboriginal stone tools have also been found on the banks of Towrang Creek, indicating that this was a route well-travelled long before [[Hamilton Hume]] came this way in 1818.

The Hume highway in this area has been recently upgraded in 2007 and 2006 to improve safety at and in-between the [[seagull intersection]]s with Towrang and Carrick Roads.

==Heritage listings==
Towrang has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

* Old Hume Highway: [[Towrang Convict Stockade]]<ref name=nswshr-1905>{{cite NSW SHR|5001346|Towrang Convict Stockade, Associated Sites and Road Formations|hr=01905|fn=S90/07411/; ef14/4660|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Towrang bridge.JPG|Towrang bridge of 1839.
Towrang culvert.JPG|Towrang culvert of 1839, near bridge.
</gallery>

==Hotel==
One of the earliest hotels in Towrang was the Red Lion Inn built before 1863 and licensed by Joseph Davidson.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102852060 |title=LOCAL AND PROVINCIAL. |newspaper=[[Goulburn Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=9 December 1863 |accessdate=6 December 2018 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{LGAs Southern Tablelands}}
{{Localities in Goulburn Mulwaree Council}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in New South Wales]]
[[Category:Southern Tablelands]]
[[Category:Goulburn Mulwaree Council]]