Forbes, New South Wales

Forbes is a town and Local Government Area (see Shire of Forbes) in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia, located on the Newell Highway between Parkes and West Wyalong. The town currently has a population of 8,500.

It is on the banks of the Lachlan River. It is 245m above sea-level and about 380 km west of Sydney. The district is a cropping area where wheat and similar crops are grown. Towns and villages near-by are: Parkes, Bedgerebong, Bundbarrah, Corradgery, Daroobalgie, Eugowra, Ooma North and Paytens Bridge.

History
The area was occupied by the Wiradjuri people prior to European settlement. John Oxley passed through in 1817 during one of the first inland expeditions. Oxley named the site Camp Hill. He was unimpressed with the clay soil, poor timber and swamps and he concluded, it is impossible to imagine a worse country. The first settlers moved into the district in 1834.

Gold was discovered by Harry Stephens, also known as "German Harry", in June 1861. The goldfields were originally named "Black Ridge", and the name "Forbes" celebrating Sir Francis Forbes was declared from Sydney as the result of a possible government administrative error, it is said that the name was meant for the town now known as "Hill End" near Mudgee NSW where gold was discovered around a similar time. Gold was initially found in the area known as Halpin's Flat. The Albion Hotel, once a Cobb " Co. stage coach stop, has tunnels situated underneath which were used during the gold rush to convey gold and money to and from the banks to minimise the chance of theft.

Initially about 30,000 people moved to the Lachlan goldfields, but by 1863 this had declined to about 3,500 because of the difficult mining conditions. It was during this gold-rush that the name Forbes came into use. The name possibly comes from the surname of Francis Forbes, the first chief justice of NSW.

One of Australia's most renowned bushrangers, Ben Hall, was shot dead in gun battle about 20 km to the north-west of town on May 5, 1865. Hall and his gang were famous for stealing 77 kg of gold and £3,700 from the near-by town of Eugowra in 1862. He is buried in the Forbes Cemetery.

Kate Kelly, the sister of bushranger Ned Kelly, lived in the town, and drowned in a lagoon of the Lachlan River in 1898. She is buried in Forbes Cemetery.

Education
Forbes Shire has four public primary schools: Forbes Primary School, Forbes North Primary School, Corinella Public School and Bedgerebong Public School. There is one private primary school, St Laurences Primary School.

Forbes High School, located to the north of Forbes, is a public school and in 2005 had about 550 students. It is interesting to note that Forbes High School is renowned for its above average HSC results.

Red Bend Catholic College at Forbes was formed from the merger of three secondary schools in 1977: Our Lady of Mercy College, Forbes; Our Lady of Mercy High School, Parkes; and Marist Brothers' College, Forbes. It is now a co-educational high school, with the campus at the site of the former Marist Brothers' College, on the banks of the Lachlan River.

Local tertiary institutions are the Forbes College of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and the Forbes Conservatorium.