Travel Guide Young

This small town of 12,300 inhabitants is located 273 km west of Sydney and 133 km northwest of Canberra, on the Olympic Highway, which was the route taken by the Olympic flame for the 1956 games. Following the first Australian gold rush in 1851 near Bathurst, veins of the precious metal were in turn discovered locally in 1860, with the inevitable influx of thousands of prospectors. Proclaimed a town in 1861, it was named after Sir John Young, the governor of the state at the time. Today, Young is known for its cherry production, with the National Cherry Festival held every year in late November and early December.