Although a number of people claimed credit for being the first to discover gold in 1859, whoever it was, started the gold rush that saw the number of miners swell to about 10,000 miners in Kiandra and the surrounding areas such as Four Mile, Six Mile, Eight Mile, Nine Mile (these being the distances from Kiandra), North and South Bloomfield and Simpson diggings.

By March 1860, there were claims that up to 500 ounces of gold being extracted per day. Occasionally there as the big strike, such as the miner who found a 25 pound nugget near the then Kiandra township. Although the official records show 72,000 ounces of gold being collected, a considerable amount was probably never reported.

At its peak, the town comprised a bank, post office, 25 stores, 13 bakers, 16 butchers, 14 hotels, 4 blacksmiths, a courthouse, gaol, school and local newspaper. The town also held horse races, cricket matches and social dances.

Kiandra is often claimed to be the birthplace of skiing in Australia. Miners use to strapped palings of alpine ash to their feet to ski down the hills. by the 1870s annual ski carnivals were organised with Kiandra producing some of the best skiers of the time.

There is a self-guided heritage walk that includes signs on the sites of many of the main buildings, providing a look into the past. There are also mining machinery displays on the Kiandra/Cabramurra road. There is an informative 2 km heritage walk that takes you to the old Kiandra cemetery. There are also other longer day and overnight walks to the other mining areas. Contact the NSW Parks & Wildlife Service for further information.

Did you know:  The name ‘Kiandra’ was probably derived from an Aboriginal word, ‘Giandarra’, which was what the area was called for many years.

Source: NSW Parks & Wildlife Service

Check out some of the listed travel guide attractions and visit the local tourist centre for additional information. For Snowy Mountains accommodation click here: