Section 4 Northbound

Marker	Diretions	Distance from previous point
52	Take Goulburn exit onto elevated roundabout; proceed north on Cowper Street	17.5 km
53	Turn right at Clinton Street	3.5 km
54	Turn left and continue through shopping area (Auburn Street)	0.5 km
55	Rejoin Hume Highway north of Goulburn	7 km
56	Take exit to Marulan (George Street) just past the BP service station. Proceed through township	21.6 km
57	Turn right at Brayton Road	1.3 km
58	Turn left to rejoin the Hume Highway via the on-ramp	0.1 km
59	Turn left 2.8 km north of Paddys River Bridge, at the small blue sign to Pauline Fathers Monastery. Then turn right into Hanging Rock Road	15 km
60	Turn left onto Hume Highway after about 6 km	6 km

• Yarra
• Goulburn
• Old Marulan
• Marulan
• Paddys River

Yarra

Yarra scenes

South of Goulburn, the Hume Highway swings westward on its way to Melbourne, and the Federal Highway heads south to Canberra. At the junction of these two busy thoroughfares lies Yarra. In the tongue of the Wiradjuri people, ‘yarra' means ‘red'; the word can also refer to the River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). An early settler was George Cole, and the stone buildings of his farm ‘Malton' on Coles Road at Yarra are now locally heritage listed. So too are the ruins of Yarra Anglican Church and cemetery, for which Mr David Clark donated the land. His young wife Mary (d. 1878) was first to be buried there and her headstone leans beneath the few remaining oaks. Also resting in this graveyard is Mr W. C. Apps, once proprietor of the Breadalbane Inn. Yarra Public School, opened in 1869, has vanished but a tennis court stands in the playground surrounded by elderly pines, planted by little hands on long-ago Arbor Days.

Yarra scene

South-east of Yarra was Samares Station, from whence Dr Alfred De Lisle Hammond during the 1900s sent weather observations to the Commonwealth Meteorologist. Dr Hammond deplored in print the wholesale deforestation of the surrounding countryside, and conducted experiments to show that trees attracted rain. A little further south was Thornford Public School, where Miles Franklin first learned to read – and write.

Yarra scene

To the north-west of Yarra lies Parkesbourne, the community of selectors named by Sir Henry Parkes, in honour of himself, during his visit in 1866. Not short on patriotism, Yarra supplied at least one volunteer for the Boer War, and when the Kangaroo Recruiting March trudged through Yarra on 22 December 1915 on its way from Wagga Wagga to World War One, two Yarra lads joined their strength.

Some of Yarra's story is the story of trees: a rest area with a grove and of eucalypts, poplars and willows was planted at Yarra in 1956, as part of the Remembrance Driveway between Canberra and Sydney.

Yarra's small railway station is long gone but the level crossing keeper's cottage on the nearby sideroad remains.

Goulburn

Goulburn is one of New South Wales' largest and most historic country towns. Settlement in Goulburn began in 1821 shortly after the discovery of ‘Goulburn Plains' by the explorer and surveyor James Meehan in 1818. John Oxley and Governor Macquarie passed through the area in 1820, with Macquarie noting that Goulburn Plains was ‘a most beautiful, rich tract of country … fit for both purposes of cultivation and grazing'. The original idea for a town at Goulburn was for the purpose of a soldier-settler scheme for discharged soldiers of the New South Wales Royal Veterans companies. Primarily named ‘The Argyle' and later named after Henry Goulburn, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Goulburn's first white settlers were settled on properties such as Lansdowne and Springfield well before the township of Goulburn was laid out in 1828. The Argyle land quickly became productive agricultural land, with Goulburn helping to feed Sydney during the droughts of 1838-1840.

Goulburn town map

The need for lines of communication and trade between Goulburn and Sydney in the 1830s led to the construction of the Great Southern Road. As early as the 1840s, however, it became apparent that the construction of a railway was required to assist trade and lessen the heavy traffic on the Great Southern Road, which largely consisted of teamsters driving bullock wagons. Traffic on the Great Southern Road was subject to the dangers of bushrangers and poor road conditions, with drays and coaches sometimes became bogged for weeks. The railway to Goulburn was opened on 27 May 1869.

William Hovell's grave

The present town of Goulburn is situated on the Southern Highlands of the Great Dividing Range and has often been referred to in the past as the ‘Inland Capital of NSW.' Since the early days of settlement Goulburn has become a major agricultural centre, especially famous for its cattle, sheep, potatoes and fruit. It has also been known as ‘Lilac City' due to the large number of lilacs planted by the town's early pioneers.

1940s Goulburn streetscape

Goulburn Post Office and Town Hall, built in Victorian Italianate style in 1880/81

Goulburn offers a vast array of historical sites for visitors. In its early years Goulburn was a major centre of crime and punishment, famous both for its convict labour and bushrangers, many of whom were escaped convicts. Its gaol is an icon of colonial architecture, history and penal folklore in NSW. Although the gaol is still in use as a maximum security correctional centre, the beautiful classic revival courthouse on Montague Street is open to visitors. Opened in 1887 to replace the former courthouse, it is built in an Italianate revival style and is one of Goulburn's most stunning landmarks.

Goulburn Bypass looking south

Other sites of interest include Goulburn Historic Waterworks, built in 1885 and Goulburn War Memorial and Museum, which pays tribute to Goulburn's men who served in World War One and boasts spectacular views over the city. Also noteworthy are St Saviour's Cathedral, one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in Australia, and Sts Peter and Paul's Old Cathedral, the only greenstone cathedral in the world. St Saviour's cemetery at North Goulburn is the last resting place of Hamilton Hume's exploration partner William Hilton Hovell, who died on 9 November 1875 at age 90.

Community support for the Goulburn Bypass

Convict-built culvert – near Derrick VC rest area

The elegantly furnished Colonial Georgian Riversdale Homestead is renowned for its collection of colonial furniture, arts and crafts, and wood carvings. Celebrating Goulburn's role in Australia's wool industry, The Big Merino, now relocated to the southern end of town, is a roadside icon. Goulburn was also an important railway centre and the Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre showcases Goulburn's rail history through a collection of heritage locomotives, rolling stock and machinery in the former locomotive roundhouse.

Traffic through Goulburn before the bypass opened

There is no shortage of eateries, wineries, antique stores, heritage estates and walking tours in Goulburn to suit every taste and interest. Further information is available at the Goulburn Visitor Information Centre at 201 Sloane Street.

The Hume Highway bypassed Goulburn in December 1992, and the city remains a popular stopping spot, particularly for travelers between Sydney and Canberra.

Old Marulan

The junction of the Hume Highway and the Jerrara Road (about 5 kilometres south of the Marulan heavy vehicle weighing station) marks a crucial point in Major Mitchell's survey of the Great Southern Road. Settlement beyond this point was sparse and Mitchell was unclear whether graziers would favour following the top of the escarpment and eventually finding an easy way down to the coastal strip, or turn inland to access the grassy plains stretching across the southeast. He divided the road, one arm leading to Bungonia, edging the impassable Shoalhaven River gorge, the other turning west to Goulburn. These towns marked the end of the Great Southern Road and a small settlement, Marulan, was marked at the junction. Like other roadside towns it was mainly notable for having a range of pubs for travellers to choose to break their journeys. The original was a handsome two-storey establishment, the Woolpack Inn run by Joseph Peters, which remained the most prominent in the town.

Marulan never grew to be much bigger than a short three-pub town on the way to Goulburn or Bungonia. Its main claim to fame was that the Main Southern Railway, built in the early 1860s with the strong backing of many prominent graziers and politicians, missed the town completely. The line of the railway crossed the Great Southern Road some five miles northwards, and this became the railhead while the final section of line to Goulburn was built. The railhead was usually called Marulan, but the small cluster of buildings around it took on township status as Mooroowoollen, the more exact Gundungurra pronunciation of Marulan. Very soon businesses began to drift from the old Marulan to the new, eventually resulting in most of the old town being abandoned. When the post master at Mooroowoollen requested a new stamp, it was decided to just take the one from Marulan – an act that signalled the official death of the old town.

The site of the former town is marked by two cemeteries that are still in use - Catholic and Anglican. Although the railway line was the town's death, it spurred a local boom in limestone quarrying and burning both in the former town and at South Marulan. A new interchange was constructed in 2012 to allow large trucks from South Marulan and a new porphyryite mine to the west to access the Hume Highway. Before it was built archaeological investigations discovered the remains of the Woolpack Inn's outbuildings and charted the course of the township's growth. The town site is protected on the NSW State Heritage Register as an archaeological ‘snapshot' of life on the Great Southern Road.

Marulan

Old building and sign, Marulan

Marulan is situated between the Shoalhaven and Wollondilly rivers. The township actually began at Old Marulan, 5 km to the south. In 1868 the Southern Railway was opened to the north of the old village, so a new township grew around the railway, the hotel and rail workers' camp, and people and businesses gradually gravitated to the new town.

Marulan has always been an agricultural and mining area. The first marble in Australia was mined here and minerals, sandstone and limestone have been quarried over the years.

Because of Marulan's proximity to the highway, transport has always been important. By the mid 20th century there were nine sites with petrol stations in the main street as well as a towing service.

Marulan was chosen as a check point for truck inspectors. The first inspectors were ‘mobile', parked in the main street, pulling up trucks to check log books. In late 1958 the Department of Motor Transport built a checking station on the north-eastern side of the highway. All trucks had to pass through that station and inspectors were checking about 300 trucks each 8-hour shift. Traffic increased to such an extent that two new stations were built in town, one on either side of the highway. By 1970 it was estimated that 3,000 trucks per day were passing through the checking station.

Meridian Arch, Marulan

In 1986 when Marulan was bypassed, new checking stations were erected on the bypass. In 1996 modern WIM (Weigh in Motion) checking technology was introduced and about 80% of vehicles entering the checking station no longer need to stop for a stationary weight check.

Golden Fleece Hotel at Old Marulan

Before rejoining the highway, travellers will notice Meridian Park on the left. Known as the Marulan Meridian Arch, it marks the path of the 150 degree Meridian which passes through Marulan, the only town in the world on its path. This is the exact middle of the Eastern Standard Time Zone, where the sun rises at 6am and sets at 6pm precisely every equinox. The sculpture describes the path of the earth around the sun, while the two elements at each end of the structure represent a sundial and a clock.

Marulan is a growing town because of its convenient location half way between Sydney and Canberra. The rural lifestyle appeals to many who want a ‘tree change'. It is a multicultural town with about forty different nationalities represented. On special occasions the 40 world flags are flown in Meridian Park.

Walking maps of the town are available from the Museum in the main street.

Paddys River (Murrimba)

Paddys River was originally named St Patrick's River on 17 March 1818. A small village called Murrimba grew beside the river. The first building here was the 1833 Jolly Miller Inn owned by Willoughby Beadman.

Later there were two inns, one on either side of the road, and a blacksmith's shop and store run by Mrs Murray. Her husband James Murray, a teamster, won a tender to build the first bridge over Paddys River in 1833. It was a wooden bridge and unfortunately was washed away in the late 19th century.

On 3 February 1865 Ben Hall, John Gilbert and John Dunn held up the township of Murrimba and mustered the population of five families into Jeffrey's Inn from 9pm until 2am. They enjoyed a little spree and impromptu concert. The bushrangers robbed Mrs Murray's store of £50 worth of goods and removed £14 from Mr Jeffrey's cash box, then departed.

Today there are no remains of the township of Murrimba. In the mid-twentieth century when modern transport improved and traffic on the Hume Highway increased, two small businesses opened to supply petrol and food for travellers. These were the Spot Cafe and Kay's Cafe. With the duplication of the highway and opening of new bridges, the two cafes closed.

During World War Two, there was an emergency air strip on flat ground near Uringalla Creek. It was marked out with painted drums around the perimeter, but was probably never used.

Although the stream looks quite tranquil and was the swimming hole for many young Marulan picknickers last century, there are some very deep holes and it is said that many years ago a bullock driver and his team were drowned crossing the river.

Marker	Location
O	Goulburn War Memorial
N	Masonry arch bridge and culverts
M	Towrang Stockade site
L	Black Bobs Creek Bridge