Tuena


Tuena is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Upper Lachlan Shire. It is located on Tuena Creek, tributary of the Abercrombie River, west of the state capital, Sydney. At the, Tuena and the surrounding area had a population of 59.
Only nine months after the first payable discovery of gold in Australia at Ophir, gold was found at Tuena.

History

The site was first explored by Dr. Charles Throsby in 1819, with the first landholder, Samuel Blackman, arriving in 1836. In May 1859, Tuena was formally declared a town.
Gold was discovered at Tuena in November 1851, although gold had been discovered on the Abercrombie River, 10 km north some months earlier. The following extract from a contemporary newspaper announces the discovery at Tuena.
Rapid growth due to the gold rush saw construction of many buildings, a post office and police station in 1852, three pubs including the Goldfields Inn, Parson's store, a courthouse and a school. The current school dates only to 1889.
The town also boasts three churches - St. Mark's Anglican, thought to be the oldest timber 'miner's church' still standing, the stone St. Margaret's Presbyterian, and St. Mary's Catholic Church in 1896.
The heavily forested and mountainous countryside, nearby Abercrombie Caves, and presence of the goldfields made Tuena an attraction for bushrangers including Ben Hall, Gardiner, John Vane, Johnny Gilbert, John O'Meally, Cummins, and Lowry.