HILLSTON Hillston is the next town encounted when travelling the Kidman Hgy. Hillston is a very remote NSW town. Unsealed roads are a potential feature should the traveller head west from this point. The town of Hillston is like a small oasis. On the banks of Lachlan River give Hillston a serene and pretty environment. John Oxley and his exploration party were the first visitors to the Hillston district, in 1817. Oxley wrote in his journal: "country uninhabitable and useless for all purposes of civilized man". In 1839 William Hovell followed the Lachlan River to near the site of present-day Hillston and took up a pastoral holding called “Bellingerambil” (later named “Cowl Cowl”). The locality of present-day Hillston was a crossing-place for stock on the Lachlan River. The earliest European name for the place was ‘Daisy Plains’ or ‘Daisy Hill’. Later it became known as “Redbank” (following the Wiradjuri name 'Melnunni', meaning “red soil”). In 1863 a stockman named William Ward Hill from nearby “Roto” station established an inn – the Redbank (now Tattersalls) Hotel – at the location. The Club House Hotel is at the other end of the street. Hillston developed as a service centre to the surrounding pastoral holdings, so the pace of development of the township was closely linked to prevailing conditions as they affected the district pastoral enterprises. The first church at Hillston was of the Anglican denomination. A Roman Catholic Church was built during the 1880s. A courthouse at Hillston was completed in about 1883. A Presbyterian (now United) Church was built at Hillston in 1890. The Hillston War Memorial has great main street presence. The Hillston Museum is located on the eastern fringe of the town. The museum appears quite extensive. Hillston is a very nice small town that has considerable heritage appeal. If visiting the museum an overnight visit may be in order.