Oberon Town and District

The town of Oberon is 180 kilometres and under three hours drive from Sydney and situated on the western fail of the Great Dividing Range. At 1,113 metres above sea level, we enjoy cool summers, balmy autumns, cold crisp winters and lush springs

For visitors the occasional snowfall is a bonus. Due to its location Oberon has a true mountain climate, so changeable that even in summer, visitors should remember to bring a sweater.

Oberon was proclaimed a village in 1863. The name Oberon comes from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Oberon has grown to a shire population of 4,600 in 1998 - of whom 2,600 live in the town.

Oberon has good shopping facilities with most goods and services available in the town. It has a number of restaurants, cafes and takeaways while visitors staying in self catering accommodation will be well serviced by supermarkets, butchers and bakeries.

Shops selling clothing, accessories, fishing gear, gifts and collectibles may also interest the visitor. Most professional and trades services are available in Oberon.

The Oberon Council has undertaken a town beautification program beginning with landscaping and plantings in the main street and Apex Park. Roadside tree planting is a feature of Oberon. The Common, Edith Road, (opposite the Oberon Visitor Centre) has picnic facilities, band rotunda and a small lake.

Visitor accommodation ranges through hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, farmstay and caravan park. There are also several camping grounds in the shire.

Carter Holt Harvey, Highland Pine and Borg Panels are the two major industries, sourcing their raw material from large NSW State Forests radiata pine plantations and those of private forest growers.

Prime lambs and beef cattle are the main rural industries. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, potatoes and peas are the main horticultural industries, although there is some diversification in this area. Tree nurseries, nut tree plantations, wineries, bulb farms, new ventures and experimental enterprises are developing.

Jenolan Caves and Kanangra Boyd National Park and Abercrombie River National Park are in the shire and contain much to interest the visitor besides spectacular scenery.

The town is ringed by interesting villages and, further afield, larger centres, which allow visitors to use Oberon as a base from which to enjoy a variety of day excursions.

Lake Oberon on the outskirts of the town is a renowned trout-fishing water. Swimming is not permitted as this water is used for domestic supply. Unpowered and electric powered vessels are permitted on Lake Oberon. A public launching site is provided off The Reef Reserve, with a parking area for vehicles. Launching at the Dam Wall is not permitted as this falls within the safety exclusion zone. Lake Oberon is ideally suited to the use of canoes, kayaks and small fishing or sailing dinghies. As Lake Oberon sits at 1068m above sea level, it is classed as Alpine Waters. LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES on vessels under 4.8m in length and canoes and kayaks (of any length).

Wonderful streams offer excellent trout fishing in season.

There are 250 kilometres of pipeline which service as far as Glen Davis to the north and Leura to the south. As well as the people of Oberon, Lithgow and the Upper Blue Mountains, the pipeline supplies Mount Piper and Wallerawang power stations and small consumers along its length.