town, south-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. Named after former New South Wales chief justice Sir Francis Forbes, it was proclaimed a town in 1861 during a gold rush and became a municipality in 1870. The bushranger (outlaw) Ben Hall was shot and killed there in 1865. Now a marketing centre in an irrigated wheat, fruit, vegetable, and livestock region, Forbes processes meats, flour, animal feed, and lumber and manufactures light engineering items. It has rail and road (Newell Highway) links to Sydney, which lies 180 miles (290 km) southeast. Pop. (2006) local government area, 9,361.