Hill End (pop. 111) is a historic gold-mining town in the Australian state of New South Wales. It stands near the Turon River. Hill End lies about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the city of Bathurst, New South Wales. The town, best known for its history as a prominent mining community during the 1800’s, has become a popular tourist destination.
In 1967, the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) began purchasing areas of Hill End to preserve them. The NPWS has preserved hundreds of historic buildings dating from the late 1800’s, as well as the former gold fields of Golden Gully and Valentines Mine. In 1999, Hill End became an official state heritage site. The heritage site also includes the village of Tambaroora, another historic mining community, just north of Hill End. Today, most residents of Hill End work in the tourism industry.
Hill End lies within the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri Aboriginal peoples. In the early 1800’s, European settlers began raising livestock in the region. A small settlement called Bald Hill was established at the current site of Hill End. In August 1851, gold was discovered in a creek near Tambaroora. Thousands of people, including many Chinese immigrants, moved to the region to search for gold. In 1862, Bald Hill was officially renamed Hillend. The name was later respelled as Hill End. See also Gold rushes in Australia.
In 1872, the German-born miner Bernard Holtermann and his partner, the Polish miner Louis Beyers, dug up the world’s largest mass of gold-bearing rock at Hill End. This mass weighed about 630 pounds (285 kilograms) and contained 205 pounds (93 kilograms) of gold. It became known as the Holtermann Nugget, or the Beyers and Holtermann Nugget. Throughout the late 1800’s and into the early 1900’s, Hill End experienced periods of economic growth and decline based on the success of the gold-mining industry. 
During the 1940’s and 1950’s, some Australian artists established an artistic community in Hill End. They were attracted by the town’s historic setting and the natural landscape. The community included many prominent artists, including the Australian painters Jean Bellette and Russell Drysdale. In 1994, the town began hosting artists through the Hill End Artists in Residence Program. This program offers artists from around the world an opportunity to live and work in Hill End. It is managed by the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery and the NPWS.
