Bills Horse Trough - Captains Flat, NSW
Posted by: 
Tuena
S 35° 35.420 E 149° 26.805
55H E 721676 N 6058732
A Bills' Trough in the former gold mining town of Captains Flat.
Waymark Code: WMQTJA
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 03/27/2016
Views: 8
The trough is still in its original location on Foxlow Street near a small park with plumbing present although now disconnected. The trough also has a small bowl for dogs.
The trough is listed as a heritage item with the NSW Government's Office of Environment & Heritage (
visit link) which states:
"The trough is a monument to the importance of horses and dogs to the community in a previous era. It is an important element in the Captains Flat streetscape".
History of Bills' Troughs:
George Bills, and his wife Annis, were philanthropists and when he died in 1927 he directed some of his estate be dedicated to constructing horse troughs throughout Britain and Australasia and also to donations to societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. At first the troughs were individually made but later a standard design was adopted and Rocla Concrete provided the troughs. There are about 500 known troughs built in Australia mostly during the 1930s up until WWII when cars replaced horses for transport. Some 270 have been recently identified as being extant.