Canowindra, New South Wales

Canowindra New South Wales
Gaskill Street, the main street of Canowindra
Canowindra
Coordinates	33°34′0″S 148°40′0″E / 33.56667°S 148.66667°E / -33.56667; 148.66667Coordinates: 33°34′0″S 148°40′0″E / 33.56667°S 148.66667°E / -33.56667; 148.66667
Population	2,381 (2011 census)
Established	1847
Postcode(s)	2804
Elevation	300 m (984 ft)
Location	317 km (197 mi) W of Sydney 59 km (37 mi) SW of Orange 32 km (20 mi) N of Cowra
LGA(s)	Cabonne Shire
State electorate(s)	Orange
Federal Division(s)	Calare
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.7 °C 76 °F 8.1 °C 47 °F 602 mm 23.7 in

Canowindra (/kəˈnaʊndrə/ kə-NOWN-drə) is a historic township located near Cowra in the central west of New South Wales, Australia in Cabonne Shire. Canowindra is situated on the Belubula River. The curving main street, Gaskill Street, is partly an urban conservation area. At the 2011 census, Canowindra and the surrounding area had a population of 2,381. The name of the town is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'a home'.

A post office opened at Canowindra in 1847 with mail coming from Carcoar, but the village was handicapped as part of a main route to the lower Lachlan, first by the lack of a bridge and later by the construction of the railway to Orange. The first bridge across the Belubula River at Canowindra was opened on 28 July 1875. It was replaced by the Waddell Bridge in May 1901, and by the current John Grant Bridge in 1997.

In October 1863, Ben Hall's gang took over the village for three days and entertained the whole population, as well as some stray travellers, all herded into the inn. An account of the incident was reported in the Bathurst Times, also quoted in the Maitland Mercury. A monument to Ben Hall, on the site of Robinson's inn, the Travellers' Rest, was erected in 1951, but evidently further research has indicated that the events recorded here happened at the inn on the other side of the river.