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Our History

Proclaimed

Within ten years of the first gold strike, Forbes, named after Sir Francis Forbes, a chief justice of New South Wales was proclaimed a Municipality in 1870. It comprised an area of 32,000 acre which was reduced to 6,000 acres in 1927 when 26,000 were added to the shire of Jemalong. The council’s first balance sheet for the year 1870 showed an expenditure of 349/12 pound. In 1970 the value of the ratable property was $3,706,560.00.

The shire of Jemalong was proclaimed in 1906 and the first council sat in 1907. The area of Jemalong shire is 1,906 sq miles and the value of the ratable property is $23,811,686.00.

By the time the town had reached Municipal and shire status, gold had become secondary to the agriculture and pastoral wealth of the district. Between this time and the First World War there was considerable consolidation of holdings as the free selectors sold out their one pound per acre properties, at a considerable profit to the larger land holder, keen to regain the land lost earlier to the “cockies”.

In the township itself the pattern of settlement of today was being laid down. Shops, Offices, Hotels and churches of the gold rush days clustered near the original workings on a small area of slightly higher ground between the former water course of King George V Park and Lake Forbes. Those who prospered built fine homes on what was recognised as the pick of residential areas of town. The first of these, Camp Hill (Oxley’s small eminence) over looks the lake and commercial centre. On the North Hill, the citing of homes revels the old resident’s knowledge of the flood position.

As land in the Camp Hill area is hard to come by, the growth of homes and shops in the North Hill area has shown a phenomenal growth and in some cases has extended into the Shire area.

Naming of the town

The period during which the Lachlan mining settlement became officially known as Forbes is pinpointed in the Postal history of Forbes.

The area at the time of the gold rush was known as Black ridge and it was under the application was first made for postal facilities for the mining settlement. The postmasters ant Bundaburra and Lambing Flat (Young) first presented the need for postal facilities at Black ridge diggings.

Their request went the authorities in October 1861. They were supported by the mayor and councillors of Orange Municipal council who petitioned the postmaster General requesting that mail be dispatched to Black Ridge three times a week. Postmaster Buchart of Lambing Flat, actually provide a mail service and had opened Black Ridge Post Office had been officially recognised. Before the official postmarking stamp for Black Ridge could have be provided, the name “Forbes appeared in a memorandum dated November 27, 1861 in which was asked whether the fact the post office would be known as Black Ridge or Forbes.

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