Situated on the Belubula River, Canowindra (pronounced /kəˈnaʊndrə/ kə-NOWN-drə[2]) is a historic township and the largest population centre in Cabonne Shire.

[4] Prior to the arrival of Europeans to Australia, the area now known as Canowindra was occupied for tens of thousands of years by a people known as the Wiradjuri.

[6] The first land grant of 640 acres to a European in the area was to James Collits by Governor Ralph Darling in 1829 as a reward for "pointing out a line of road from Mt.

[4] A post office opened at Canowindra in 1847 with mail coming from Carcoar, but the village was handicapped as part of a main route to the lower Lachlan, first by the lack of a bridge and later by the construction of the railway to Orange.

O'Meally and Burke remained at the inn while Hall, Gilbert and Vane "went on a foraging expedition" to the two stores in the township, belonging to Pierce and Hilliar, taking a quantity of men's clothing and three pounds in cash.

The publican and his wife had departed for Bathurst, leaving Robinson's sister and "the two Miss Flanagan's in charge of the house".

[11] In the morning Hall, Vane and Burke rode to 'Bangaroo' station in search of horses, but finding none, returned to Canowindra where Gilbert informed them that troopers were camped on the opposite side of the Belubula River, now in full flood, waiting for the waters to subside.

Burke crossed the next morning after the waters had dropped, after which the gang rode into "very rough country" to evade the police.

On learning of the bushrangers' incursion, the local policeman, Constable Sykes, had started for Eugowra (being unable to cross the rising Belubula River to go to Cowra).

Each dray and their horse- or bullock-teams that arrived during the three days were stopped; eventually numbering about twelve to fourteen, the teamsters were "lodged, fed and supplied with drink, free of expense" and no attempt was made by the bushrangers to interfere with their loads.

[16] Mid-morning on the Tuesday three landholders and businessmen from the Forbes district, Hibberson, Twaddell and Kirkpatrick, drove up to the hotel, where Ben Hall informed them they were to be detained.

That evening the bushrangers stuck up Thomas Grant's station on the Belubula River and burned it down as vengeance on the owner who had, on a previous occasion, given information to the police about their likely whereabouts.

[14] In the early hours of Wednesday morning, 4 November 1863, Gilbert, Hall and O'Meally went to Robinson's public-house in Canowindra and knocked on the door.

When they left they took two bottles of port-wine and two of Old Tom gin, for which they offered to pay with a £5 note (but Robinson was unable to provide change for that amount).

Located in Browns Avenue, the hospital was built as a memorial for the men of the district who served in World War I.

[35] Part of the Western NSW Local Health District,[36] the hospital has a limited number of acute and nursing home beds.

The branch of the Country Women's Association (CWA) which meets in its own hall with modern catering facilities was founded in 1924.

[44] Canowindra Pastoral Agricultural and Horticultural Association manages the town's showgrounds and organises the annual show which has been held since 1900.

[45] When the special support needs of a local family with triplets diagnosed with a congenital form of muscular dystrophy and restrictive lung disease were identified in 2013, residents of the town and the wider central western NSW region started fundraising with the aim, inter alia, of building a house with appropriate design features for the use of the family as well as providing ongoing support.

[50] The town's branch of the CWA presents a "Sunday Serenade" at All Saints Church annually which showcases local performance talent.

For younger age groups there is a pony club which meets fortnightly at the showground and a Little Athletics centre which participates in the Central Tablelands zone.

Funded in large part by Frank Hackett-Jones, it was primarily a fun event designed to bring together balloonists and spectators from local, national and international locations in a celebration of Central West hospitality and goodwill.

The use of location-enabled (GPS), point-of-view camera technologies was combined with live-to-web broadcasts via an online streaming platform for viewers to share in the spectacle and to join in the event virtually and for free.

A balloon glow is held as part of the event along with a local food and wine market based on the 100-mile principle where the products must be made or produced within 100 miles (160 km) of Canowindra.

The fish had been buried when trapped in a pool of water that dried up, stranding a school of armoured antiarch placoderms in the species Remigolepis walkeri and Bothriolepis yeungae.

[69][70][71] Work commenced in 1999 to build the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra, designed by the Australian architect, John Andrews.

In 2019 the fossil bearing rock slabs that were previously stored under the grandstand at the Canowindra Showgrounds were transported to a purpose-built storage facility next to the Age of Fishes Museum.

[72][73] In 2013 the naturalist and wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough visited the Age of Fishes Museum and described the collection of fossils as "world class".