NSWFarming
Yass
Food, horses and supplies at a river crossing.
1830sRoadside settlement takes shape
WHAT STARTED IT
Yass developed where traffic through the southern grazing country met the Yass River. Inns, stores and services supplied travellers and pastoral properties, making the roadside settlement useful well before it had a substantial civic centre.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
By the mid-1830s a small town occupied the southern riverbank. Its post office opened in 1835, and from 1837 the overland mail to Melbourne travelled through Yass. The town’s commercial life was closely tied to the movement of people, stock and goods.
TURNING POINTS
1835The first Yass post office opens.
1837The overland mail to Melbourne begins passing through Yass.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A rural service town near Canberra, with a preserved main street and a strong connection to sheep and wool country. Its old coaching-town role is still visible in the buildings along the street.