MOSS VALE, NSW

THE NSW SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS has a quaint appeal built on the back of its charming towns, bucolic landscape and distinctive seasons. The region (the traditional land of the Gundungurra and Tharawal people), officially known as Wingecarribee Shire after the river that runs through it, is anchored by the bustling hub of Moss Vale.

Just over 1.5 hours’ drive from Sydney (or under two hours by train into its historic station), Moss Vale began life as an 1819 land grant from Governor Lachlan Macquarie to Dr Charles Throsby, a surgeon turned explorer and grazier who had arrived in the area in 1817. He built a cottage here that was eventually incorporated into Throsby Park, a grand colonial homestead, by his nephew, also named Charles; the house still stands proud today and is). The town was named after the former convict Jemmy Moss, a loyal employee of the Throsby family who lived on their lands.