Location: Canowindra
Offers: Walking history tours
We spoke to: Tour guide Craig Lawler
By Callum Robinson.
With his walking history tours based in and around Canowindra, Craig Lawler tells the stories of the 1860s, of the goldrush and the height of the bushranger era, balancing thorough research and plenty of humour.
Craig takes visitors to on tailored tours to actual locations where the likes of Frank Gardiner, Johnny Gilbert and Ben Hall “roamed, robbed and roistered”.
Craig’s aim has always been to cut through the myths of that historical period and provide his guests with a more balanced view, the shades of grey that make real history so fascinating, as well as providing diverse perspectives such as the experiences of women and Wiradjuri people, as much as possible. Taking people around the real locations, the extant buildings in the town and the surrounding countryside, brings these stories to life in a way that people young and old respond to.
Craig started his tour guide operation ten years ago, inspired by a walking tour of Dublin’s literary history, he returned home and realised that no such thing existed for the region’s very own ‘Wild West’ colonial history. The tours have at times kept Craig busy full-time, provided a sole source of income, but since the downturn in domestic tourism post-COVID lockdown, the business has gone back to being a part-time side hustle.
In launching his business, Craig says he took a more old-school approach, entirely off his own back and without seeking any council or tourism body’s approval: ‘I kind of just went and did it.’ And still, despite years of successful tours and stellar online reviews, he feels that those higher powers that be don’t quite get what he’s doing, so his operation has remained completely independent. Nonetheless, his Bushranger Tours have featured in write ups in Sydney Morning Herald and Visit NSW, and he has featured on ABC’s Conversations podcast, talking about local history and promoting his tours. When it comes to promotion, Craig says he’s always taken every opportunity that he can, and opportunities continue to come his way; in June 2025 he gave a lecture at the Henry Lawson festival in Gulgong, he previously ran a night tour of Forbes’ cemetery (where bushranger Ben Hall is buried).
Tripadvisor and Facebook are his main online channels, for visibility and receiving booking enquiries from customers who come from the broader region and beyond. Some of these are unique visitors, coming to Canowindra for his tours especially, and some are incidental, in the area and looking for things to do. Canowindra is a small town without a natural limit of accommodation options, pubs, restaurants, or other attractions to bring people and keep them there for a day or two. Besides the heritage buildings and the bushranger history, of course. Craig saw a boom in business between COVID lockdowns, when domestic tourism was going gangbusters, but it’s much quieter now.
Still, Craig is happily ‘chugging along’ with the Blind Freddy’s Bushranger Tours and intends to keep doing them for as long as he can manage, for as long as there remains an interest in local history, and the wild exploits of the bushrangers.
Three tips we got from Craig:
- Do something different, and do it with authenticity; find your niche.
- Don’t be afraid to start something from nothing. If you’re passionate about something, other people will be too.
- Take opportunities for promoting your business from wherever they come.
More info:
Contact Craig to book a tailored group tour: 02 6344 8166
https://www.facebook.com/BlindFreddyBushrangerTours
Tripadvisor
Canowindra, NSW, bushranger tour: The other town held hostage by bushrangers
IMAGE: Claire J on Tripadvisor
