The Wiradjuri people were the first to reside in Mudgee on the Cudgegong River. To this day, many local landmarks originate from the original Wiradjuri language including the town name. Various translations suggest Mudgee means ‘resting place,’ ‘contented,’ or our favourite; ‘nest in the hills’. The Mudgee district holds many sacred Aboriginal sites and cave paintings. Some of the better known and accessible sites include Hands on the Rocks, The Drip, and Babyfoot Cave.

The first European colonist to discover Mudgee was James Blackman who journeyed from Wallerawang in 1821. Shortly afterwards, Luitenant Henry Lawson, who had been part of the first European group to cross the Blue Mountains, made several further expeditions to Mudgee and eventually acquired 6000 acres along the Cudgegong River. On January 12, 1822 Lawson wrote: ‘This is a delightful place. It has everything a man can desire”.

George and Henry Cox, sons of William Cox, the builder of the first road across the Blue Mountains, were the first settlers in the area establishing Menah, 3km northwest of the current town. After being flattened by consecutive floods, the founding fathers thought it wise to move the village to higher ground. Men of the 102nd Regiment took advantage of the terms of their enlistment receiving grants of land if they settled in the colony and employed Bathurst convicts to work the land.

Relations were amicable between the Wiradjuri people and the European settlers however as major food sources and sacred sites were overtaken, conflicts began to increase and by 1840, the tribe had been completely eradicated.

The village of Mudgee was gazetted in 1838. By 1841, there were 36 dwellings including three hotels, a hospital, a post office, two stores and the first Anglican church. The first school was established in a slab hut and the police station was moved from Menah to Mudgee in the mid-1840s.

In 1851, a gold rush began when a huge nugget was found and the town soon became a thriving thoroughfare for the surrounding goldfields in Gulgong, Hill End and Windeyer. Mudgee was declared a municipality in 1860, making it the second oldest town west of the Great Dividing Range.

Fortunately, the Mudgee’s economy was not solely dependent on gold. The area became known for its wool and merino studs, vineyards (founded by German immigrant Adam Roth in 1858), and agricultural output. As the gold reserves diminished by the late 19th century, the town continued to prosper thanks to these other sectors. The arrival of the railway in 1884 further cemented Mudgee as one of Australia’s first pioneering towns.