Molong

Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire.

Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire.

The name Molong comes from the Aboriginal word for 'all rocks'.William Lee of Kelso is said to have had cattle in the area by 1819. He later held property just north of present Molong, around Larras Lee. In 1826, a military and police outpost was established at Molong, on Governor Darling's orders, as a step in opening up the government stock reserve west of the Macquarie River for settlement. For its first twenty years the settlement was at a site approximately 1.5km east of the current location. The present village of Molong was officially gazetted in March 1849. In 1845, Copper was discovered at Copper Hill, just north of the town.The Historical Museum is housed in a former hotel (1856), built by rubble-mason James Mortal, who sold it in 1861 to John Smith of Gamboola.Smith let the building to a series of publicans and it later became the residence and surgery for a series of doctors.The Historical Society acquired it for use as a museum, in 1969, with help from the Molong Shire Council.