Our story
The Grange since 1823
One of the earliest surviving colonial farmhouses in inland Australia, and still a working sheep farm.
- Land granted to John West
- 1823
- Acres, still farmed
- 250
- The Jones family's farm
- 1972
- On the State Heritage Register
- 2017
Wiradjuri Country
The Grange is on Wiradjuri Country. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we live and work on, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
One of Bathurst's first farms
The Grange sits on the Macquarie Plains beside the Fish River, 12 minutes' drive from Bathurst. It's one of the few privately owned colonial homes on the NSW State Heritage Register.
Visitors have been stopping by for nearly two centuries. Charles Darwin called on the West family in 1836, and more than a century later the artist Brett Whiteley came by too.
Two centuries at the Grange
- 1821
John West and his brother Thomas come to Bathurst to farm neighbouring land under Governor Macquarie.
- 1823
John West is granted this land.
- About 1830
The farmhouse is built, with a symmetrical Georgian front and a wrap-around verandah.
- 1836
Charles Darwin crosses the Blue Mountains to Bathurst, and his diary records a stop at The Grange to meet the West family.
- 1855–1896
Members of the West family are buried in the small Methodist cemetery on the original grant.
- 1960s
The Jones family's Aunt Freda buys The Grange.
- 1972
Lorraine and Edward Jones buy The Grange from her estate.
- 2014
The distillery starts.
- 2017
The house and cemetery are added to the NSW State Heritage Register.
The Jones family
The Jones family came to the district in the gold rush, starting the Royal Hotel at Sofala and the Club House Hotel at Hill End.
Aunt Freda bought The Grange in the 1960s, and Lorraine and Edward Jones bought it from her estate in 1972. We're the third family to own it, and we still farm it.
From farm to distillery
Inspired by Tasmania's whisky distilleries, Nick Jones and his family saw the potential for whisky in Bathurst's cool climate, and the distillery started in 2014.
The distillery's windows came from the old ANZ bank in Young.
See it for yourself
Wander past the alpaca lake, the old West family cemetery and the rose garden, then taste what we make in the tasting room.
Tastings and tours
