Inside the Orient Cave at Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia

Featured in the photo is the Orient Cave: Orient Cave: Discovered in 1904, the Orient Cave was not opened to public inspection until 1917, to allow for the installation of electric lighting and paths. This cave contains some of the grandest formations in the complex and was steam cleaned to preserve them in 1968. Until 1954, this cave, along with the Temple of Baal and Ribbon Caves, were only accessible through the River Cave. That year, the Binoomea Cut was constructed near Caves House to facilitate easier access to these caves.

World Heritage listed, Jenolan Caves features underground rivers and spectacular formations, Jenolan is among the finest and oldest cave systems in the world.

Until 20 years ago most scientists thought the Jenolan Caves were no more than a few thousand years old. In 1999 geologists estimated that the caves might be between 90 and 100 million years old.
Dr Armstrong Osborne, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, has long suspected that the caves are older than had been widely recognised, but says he was surprised to find they dated back to the Carboniferous (290 to 354 million years ago).
“We’ve shown that these caves are hundreds of millions of years older than any reported date for an open cave anywhere in the world,” Dr Osborne says.
“Even in geological terms, 340 million years is a very long time. To put it into context, the Blue Mountains began to form 100 million years ago; dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago, and Tasmania was joined to the mainland as recently as 10,000 years ago.
“Most people were convinced that caves were quite young, and those of us who thought they were really old couldn’t find any evidence. But no one imagined that they would be more than 300 million years old. This was totally off the planet.”

Carcoar, New South Wales, Australia

The village of Carcoar in the Central Tablelands of NSW was first surveyed in 1838 and gazetted in 1839 at the request of Sir Thomas Icely who had a large holding called Coombing Park and Stoke. He envisaged that it would be a centre to supply services and law and order - something which the new settlement sorely needed. It is hard to imagine now, but Carcoar has a real "Wild West" history and the Court House and Police Station used to be very busy.
For instance, in 1863 John O'Meally and Johnny Gilbert, members of Ben Hall's bushranging gang, attempted Australia's first daylight bank robbery in Carcoar. Casually fronting the teller of the old Commercial Bank Gilbert demanded all of the money in the bank. But the clerk produced a pistol and took a shot at them and the pair fled.
On a separate occasion Hall held up the local Presbyterian minister, James Adam (also known as the Apostle of the Saddle), but decided not to rob him because he seemed such a nice bloke. In another famous case gang member John Vane stole a famous racehorse called Comus II from Icely's stables while a police superintendent was there as a guest. Fearing for his safety Icely left his eldest son in charge of the property and went back to Sydney, never to return to Carcoar.
But the worst crime at Carcoar was undoubtedly the axe murder in September 1893 of City Bank manager John Phillips and a young female friend of his wife, Frances Cavanagh, by the son of one of the wealthiest pastoralists in the district.

The 25 year old Herbert (Bertie) Glasson broke into the bank late at night, waking Phillips, his wife and Cavanagh who was staying as a guest. Phillips went to collect his loaded pistol and went to investigate but was attacked with the axe and died. Cavanagh had got out of bed to see what was happening but she too was killed with the axe. The Carcoar community didn't recover from the shame of these gruesome murders for many years.
As the first settlement beyond Bathurst, it seemed that Carcoar was destined to become a major economic centre. Initially, its main income base was agriculture, but minerals including iron ore, cobalt and copper soon began to add to the wealth of the district. Gold was discovered nearby in the 1850s and businesses in Carcoar were established to cater for the population increase. Government followed with the establishment of many fine imposing administrative buildings. Cobb & Co. also established its agricultural headquarters at Coombing Park and during the era of horse drawn travel Carcoar became a convenient overnight stay - equidistant from Bathurst, Orange and Cowra.
However the town's fortunes began to decline in the 1880s when the main railway bypassed Carcoar in favour of Blayney. When the railway finally reached Carcoar in 1888 it was only a branch line, and other towns such as Blayney and Orange had already overtaken it.
Today, even the Mid Western Highway bypasses the town and Carcoar has become a quiet village with much to offer tourists who are interested in Australian history.

Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

Bathurst located on the banks of the Macquarie River was proclaimed a town in 1815, then with the discovery of gold, it experienced rapid growth in the 1850s and '60s. Today one of Australia's fastest-growing modern regional cities it is just two and a half hours drive from Sydney.

Bathurst and its surrounding areas saw much of the beginnings of Australian colonial settlement - being, Australia's first inland settlement with Bathurst Australia's oldest inland city.
Once the explorers had conquered the mountains, Australia's future was ensured and so began the natural route to the west.

Silverton, New South Wales, Australia

Silverton, is a living, breathing part of Australia's history. Even people who have never been there will recognise it, as Silverton has starred in countless films (including Mad Max), television shows and commercials in all mediums.

Nestled in the Far West outback of New South Wales, Silverton was built by miners in search of fortune.Once a bustling home to 3,000 people, residents began to leave in the 1880s when the nearby mines of Broken Hill surfaced. Many took their houses with the.These days less than 50 people call Silverton home and only a handful of buildings dot the landscape.

The town's smaller size has not slowed it down however.Silverton offers a thriving art scene, a beautiful landscape and an accessible way to learn about the rich heritage of the region.

Silverton is located 25 kilometres north west of Broken Hill.