| Seventy
kilometres southwest of Cowra along the Olympic Way, the hilly town of YOUNG
is a good spot to pick up some cherry-picking work during the
season (approximately six weeks from the first week of November). The long weekend in October generally coincides
with the time when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom – a
glorious sight. There’s even a Cherry Festival each year, in late
November/early December. There are also several vineyards on the slopes of
the undulating area, which is becoming known as the Hilltops wine region;
one worth visiting is the small, family-run Woodonga Hill Winery,
10km north of Young on the Olympic Way (daily 9am–5pm; tel 02/6382
2972). |
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| Young
also has some significance as the site of the notorious Lambing Flat
Riots, described in every Australian history book. A former
gold-mining centre known then as Lambing Flats, the town was the site of
racist riots against Chinese miners in June 1861. As the gold ran out,
European miners resented what they saw as the greater success of the more
industrious Chinese. Troops had to be called in when the Chinese were
chased violently from the diggings, beaten, their pigtails cut off, and
their property destroyed. Carried at the head of the mob was a flag,
painted on a tent flysheet, with the Southern Cross in the centre, and
“Roll Up, Roll Up, No Chinese” lettered in the manner of a circus
flyer. You can see the original flag, and other exhibits relating to the
riots, in the Lambing Flat Folk Museum (daily 10am–4pm; $2),
located on the Olympic Way, just south of Boorowa Street.
For more information, including lists of
accommodation and where to eat, contact the Young Visitors Centre,
2 Short St. A recommended farmstay outside town is Old Nubba
School House, halfway between Young and Cootamundra on the Olympic
Highway; the peaceful self-contained accommodation, a former schoolhouse
in the grounds of the friendly family farm, sleeps up to six and breakfast
provisions are included. |