Regional Profile: Central West NSW

A creative region. What the region looks like. Central West industries. Quick stats.

Where is the Central West?

The Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, is the area stretching from the western edge of the Blue Mountains out to the centre of the state. The area covered by Arts OutWest includes 12 local government areas and includes the major cities and bigger towns of Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow, Parkes, Forbes, Cowra, Wellington, Grenfell, Blayney and Condobolin.

This is a vibrant region bustling with life and creativity. The Central West both attracts and produces high quality arts and cultural product and programs, with over 2000 arts and cultural events happening across the region every year. This region mixes the best of all worlds: rural life and city living, country tranquillity and lots of activity. We have two major performing arts centres, three public regional art galleries, two conservatoriums of music across four campuses, a great selection of commercial art galleries, festivals large and small, some of the country's most important social and natural history museums, communities active across all forms of art, and an ever growing number of businesses working in and with the creative industries.

What does the region look like?

With a landscape that changes from mountains and valleys to open plains, the Central West includes natural landscapes, rural settings, heritage towns and cities. Two major river systems, the Lachlan and the Macquarie, wind through the region and are an important part of the region's agriculture, identity and heritage.

Central West industries

The Central West has a diverse economy. Major industries include mining (coal, gold, copper), agriculture (wool, cattle and wheat plus horticulture, dairy farming, forestry and viticulture), food processing, manufacturing and tourism. A 2008 study by Arts OutWest and the Western Research Institute found that the creative industries are also a significant part of the Central West economy, contributing $196 million in output, $62 million in gross regional product and $42 million in household income in that year.

Indigenous heritage

The Central West is part of the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people. The Wiradjuri are the largest Aboriginal group in New South Wales, stretching well beyond the Arts OutWest area to Hay in the west, north to Nyngan and south to Albury.

The Wiradjuri people were known as the people of the three rivers: the Wambool (now known as the Macquarie River), the Kalari (the Lachlan River) and the Murrumbidjeri (the Murrumbidgee River). Visible examples of occupation of the land by the Wiradjuri include carved trees near burial sites, most commonly around the Macquarie and Lachlan rivers. Strong traditional art forms still practiced include dance, storytelling and weaving with natural fibres.

Information on spoken Wiradjuri language can be found at: www.omniglot.com/writing/wiradjuri.php

Quick stats about the Central West

Population of around 180,000 people
Area of about 55,000 square kilometres
The region spans 500km from Little Hartley in the east to Lake Cargelligo in the west
The gateway to the Central West (Little Hartley) is just over two-hours drive from Sydney
Around 200 villages and towns
Home to two campuses of Charles Sturt University (Bathurst and Orange) and to the Western Institute of TAFE
Commercial airlines run multiple flights daily to Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee and Parkes
The XPT train service travels daily return from Sydney to Dubbo stopping Lithgow, Tarana, Bathurst, Blayney, Orange, Stuart Town, Geurie and Wellington. CityRail trains travel to Lithgow and CountryLink services connect most towns in the region.
The Central West boasts Australia's first inland settlement (Bathurst), 360 million year old fish fossils (at the Age of Fishes Museum in Canowindra) and the country's only festival all about Elvis (every January in Parkes) - amongst other things you won't find anywhere else in the country (or the world).

Visiting the region? Check out Central NSW Tourism or Tourism NSW

The ruins of Buckinbah Homestead at Yeoval, childhood home of A.B 'Banjo' Paterson.

Photo: Arts OutWest

'The Dish' at Parkes is a popular regional attraction.