Bathurst Grange Distillery hosting 200-year birthday event

Back when a trip into town was a day's journey and a fireplace wasn't a luxury, but the only way to keep warm and cook food.

It was then, in the early 1800s, when Charles Darwin ventured beyond the mountains and into the Central West for the first time, that's when the history of The Grange began.

And property owner Toby Jones and his family are inviting the community to join them for a 200-year celebration on November 25, 2023.

"200 years is a drop in the bucket in some ways, but for settlement on this side of the mountains it's about as long as it gets," Mr Jones said.

"When you think about The Grange being 200 years, that was before Melbourne was even established.

"There's a lot of history here for us but for the people who have visited over the years it means something special for them, so it's only appropriate that we should make something of such an important milestone."

The event will have live entertainment, food and drinks - featuring the distillery's gin and whisky selection - plus a tour around the gardens and some history presentations about where this property's story began.

The original owners, of what was then a 700-acre farm, were the West family - one of the founding colonial settlers of Bathurst.

The Wests handed the property down through the generations until around 1950, when there was no one to pass it on to.

Mr Jones said the family rumour has it, that when Charles Darwin called into the farm to ask for directions, the young Miss West was taken by him and attempted to travel with him on the remainder of his journey.

"The scuttlebutt from the family is that when Charles Darwin called in to ask for directions, the 'young Miss West' that he refers to decided that he really was a breath of fresh air," he said.

"A nice 27-year-old turning up on a horse and well-dressed. She was out of here and the brothers didn't catch up with her until Katoomba.

"I'm not sure if that's ever been validated, but that's the family scuttlebutt."

When the West family no longer owned the property, it was run as a vegetable farm for around 15 years before Mr Jones' aunt purchased the property.

A member of a prominent family in the Bathurst community, Freda Moore - wife of Dr Brooke Moore who the Brooke Moore Centre is named in honour of - decided to purchase the property in 1965 to use as a country house.

"Her idea of a country escape was a property here, which seems sort of funny that you lived in Bathurst to have a country house," Mr Jones said.

"Then my parents bought it in 1972 from her estate and it's been our house. So it's really only had three owners in 200 years."

The Homestead

Today, Mr Jones along with his wife Sue, son Nick, daughter-in-law Alice and the new addition of baby Russell, all live in the same house that was built 200-odd years ago.

While Mr Jones doesn't know exactly when the homestead was built, he expects it was shortly after the arrival of the Wests in 1823.

He said it was built straight out of the ground with nothing but bricks, and the timber rafters used for the floor were just put on the ground with a few levelling pieces.

When his Aunt Freda bought the property, she made a few additions - like the luxury of an inside toilet - but for the most part, Mr Jones said the house is pretty much the same as it was around 200 years ago when it was built.

And it's this rich history that the Jones family want to share with the community over some delicious food and a few beverages, at the upcoming 200-year celebration of The Grange.

Anyone interested in attended is encourage to visit the Bathurst Grange Distillery website to purchase tickets.

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