Young calls itself the cherry capital of Australia - and although delicious stone fruit is indeed one of its more celebrated products, it sits at the heart of a region that grows many other food crops, including grapes for wine.
Young is in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The town’s biggest claim to fame is as the scene of the Lambing Flat Riots, a series of violent demonstrations between 1860 and 1861 in which jealous European gold miners beat up and evicted Chinese miners, who they perceived as more successful.
Visitors to Young can do a self-guided heritage tour of the town, seeing where the riots took place. A banner from the riots can be seen at the Lambing Flat Folk Museum, while the Lambing Flat Chinese Tribute Gardens, planted in 1992 at nearby Chinaman’s Dam, commemorates the events.
No visit to Young is complete without a gourmet experience. Cherry picking season is between late October to January. Pick your own at one of the orchards, or attend the National Cherry Festival in December. Young is located in the Hilltops wine region, so a visit to a cellar door is must!
