Goulburn - A City of Commerce, innovation and bold architecture

People who shaped the city

Goulburn is the first inland city in Australia, becoming a municipality in 1859 and a city in 1863. It was named after Henry Goulburn, who was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1812 and 1821.

The first recorded settler in Goulburn was Andrew Allan. He established his 'Strathallan' homestead in 1825 on the Wollondilly, on the spot now occupied by the Police College.

E C Manfred, a local architect, was hugely influential in shaping the physical appearance of Goulburn, designing a great many of the city’s public buildings, in the late 1800s. They included a swimming baths, the old Town Hall, the Goulburn Base Hospital, and two Masonic Temples.

The Rossi Family
Francis Nicholas Rossi was born in Corsica, France, in 1776. He supported the British occupation of Corsica in 1795, and joined the British army as an ensign in an Anglo-Corsican battalion. He served in Holland, Gibraltar, Ceylon and Mauritius, before accepting the post of superintendent of Police in New South Wales in 1824, a post he held for nine years. During this time Rossi acquired substantial land holdings at Goulburn. He named them Rossiville and retired there in 1834.

Rossi’s career in New South Wales was blighted by rumour and suspicion, which damaged his status and impeded his influence. One suggestion was that his appointment in New South Wales owed more to his relationship with George IV than to his suitability for the role. It was alleged that Rossi had been sent to Italy in 1819 to find evidence against Queen Caroline to help the King obtain a divorce. Firm evidence was not forthcoming, but rumours persisted regardless.

His son Francis Robert Louis Rossi (1823-1903) was no less controversial. He inherited Rossiville after his father’s death in 1851 and enthusiastically embraced the role of the country gentleman. He assumed numerous positions during his career, including magistrate and sheep director for Goulburn, as well as captain of the Goulburn Volunteer Rifles. In 1874, after public protest about his overbearing conduct, a military inquiry led to his demotion to the rank of private.

His role as registrar of the District Court at Goulburn was no less troublesome. After having his salary reduced he entered into a long dispute with the government, which ultimately led to an unsuccessful law suit.

Rossi acted as registrar of the diocese of Goulburn and was trustee of much Church property. When in 1887 Bishop Mesac Thomas denied him permission to erect a family tablet in the new cathedral, Rossi went ahead anyway, and placed it under guard. In 1891 the tablet was removed and Rossi caused great scandal by occupying the cathedral with a group of men.

The Jewish community of Goulburn
Goulburn is probably best known for its wool. In the second half of the nineteenth century it was <Goulburn’s GN-A2> Jewish community, merchant bankers rather than sheep farmers, who developed the city, with money made trading in superfine merino wool. Goulburn was a remarkably multi-cultural city for its time. The Jewish cemetery is evidence of the largest Jewish population in Australia outside the capital cities. Along with the cemetery, a tiny ruined synagogue stands today as a monument to these influential pioneers.

The first railway venture in Australia

Steam trains at Goulburn

It is no exaggeration to say that Goulburn, and its people, were responsible for the creation of the railways in New South Wales. They were conceived and built to facilitate transportation of wool and other produce from the Goulburn district direct to Sydney wharves for export.

On various occasions in 1846 public meetings took place in Goulburn and Sydney to push forward the idea of establishing railways in Australia. During that same year Thomas Woore, of Pomeroy, near Goulburn, surveyed the route. In 1849, after concerted pressure, the government legislated to create the Sydney Railway Company.

The majority of the capital for the new company came from residents of Goulburn and Yass. Two Goulburn citizens, William Bradley (of the Goulburn Brewery) and Thomas Barker became founding directors of the company. Bradley became one of its largest shareholders. Another original director, Charles Cowper of Taralga, was removed from the board in acrimonious circumstances. He subsequently used his influence in parliament to amend legislation to allow the Government to take control of the company and its assets. In 1855 the company was dissolved and the railways were nationalised.

Work began in earnest on Australia’s first steam railway. It began with a stretch from Sydney to Parramatta, the first stage of a line to Goulburn. The line reached Goulburn in 1869. Goulburn Railway Station was opened by Lord Belmore, Governor of New South Wales. The land on which the terminus was built had been donated by the explorer William Hovell, who was William Bradley’s father-in-law. Hovell desired the easiest access to the new station and so the entrance was built directly opposite his house. This is why Goulburn Railway Station, unlike many stations is not approached by a wide and imposing road.

The arrival of the railway in Goulburn was a key moment in the development of the city as a major regional centre. It both demonstrated and enhanced its importance to the economy of New South Wales. The new railway played a big part in Goulburn's boom years in the 1870s and 1880s which saw the development of new industries such as coach-building and iron production.

The Goulburn Brewery

The Goulburn Brewery, situated in the heart of the city is part of the oldest working industrial complex in Australia. The complex, also known as Bradley Grange, dates back to around 1836. It was designed by Francis Greenway, for Jonas, Thomas and William Bradley.

Bradley Grange is the only brewery established in Australia prior to 1840 whose original colonial structure survives in identifiable form. Many original structures date back to the 1830s and 1840s and today you can still see the complete set of buildings which housed all of the various activities integral to and associated with brewing. These include malting, milling, coopering, smithing and stabling.

There are three existing brewing facilities. The first was a steam powered operation based on Egyptian cubits. At the beginning of the twentieth century a second electrically powered facility was built to increase efficiency. Today’s stainless steel plant, designed to create a sterile environment was built in the 1980s to conform to modern hygiene regulations.

The Goulburn Brewery has been an important part of the city ever since its creation, and never more so than in the 1930s, when the commercial brewers in Sydney raised their prices. The local population went on strike and refused to drink their beer.

You can see how ales are made using traditional methods. In the Brewery Hotel you can taste real ales made to the same recipes used when the brewery first opened. You can even spend the night in the old brewer’s cottage, or in one of the former workers’ quarters, complete with roaring log fires and lime washed walls.

<Goulburn’s GN-A2> unique architectural heritage

Goulburn is home to a wonderful and eclectic collection of colonial architecture. Beautifully preserved buildings of all types from the late Georgian era, throughout the Victorian period to Federation and beyond make Goulburn a valuable window on Australia’s early architectural history.

Goulburn became a great booming city in the late 19th century. Unsurprisingly, much of its notable architecture dates back to this period. Some buildings, such as parts of the Goulburn Brewery, are older still.

The railway station, opened in 1869, is both an important example of the architecture of the time and indicative of the significance of Goulburn to the burgeoning colony.

The creamy white Post Office (1881) with its ‘wedding cake’ like clock tower and the great neo-Gothic St Saviours Cathedral (1884) are just two more of the many Victorian treasures to be found in Goulburn. The Italianate Court House (1887), the Goulburn Base Hospital (1886), St Peter & Pauls Roman Catholic Cathedral (1890) and many other interesting commercial buildings and private houses complete the picture.

In the early 20th century many of the large banks and other organisations built regional headquarters in Goulburn. Their legacy is many fine buildings which can still be seen today.

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