Bowral (/ˈbaʊrəl/)[2] is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney.

Bowral once served as a rural summer retreat for the gentry of Sydney, resulting in the establishment of a number of estates and manor houses in the district.

The first European arrival was ex-convict John Wilson, who was commissioned by Governor Hunter to explore south of the new colony of Sydney.

Governor Lachlan Macquarie of the New South Wales colony had appointed 2,400 acres (9.7 km2) to John Oxley in a land grant, which was later incorporated as Bowral.

The town grew rapidly between the 1860s and the 1890s, mainly due to the building of the railway line from Sydney to Melbourne.

[13] Consequently, the town has a number of retirement villages,[15] some located only minutes' walk from the central business district and hospitals.

[13] Bowral is about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the Hume Highway, which goes north to Sydney and south to Canberra, the Snowy Mountains and Melbourne.

Bowral has an oceanic climate (Cfb), enjoying warm to mild, rainy summers and quite cool to cold winters with modest sunshine.

[17] Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve, in the suburb's south, is a large picnic area known for its birdwatching.

Along a walking/cycle track beside the stream are planted 526 cherry trees, each dedicated to a soldier who died in the service of his country.

[21] Bowral and surrounding region was proclaimed a book town in 2000,[22] having numerous bookshops and associations with many literary figures including P. L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins novels,[23] Arthur Upfield, and many others.

Bowral is also home to a few vineyards and cellar doors and is close to Mittagong, the winery centre of the Southern Highlands.

Bowral also has access to a private hospital operated by Ramsay Health Care, which includes short and long stay facilities although it lacks an emergency department.