Goulburn is a city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is 190 km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway. It is 690 metres above sea-level. In 2006 there were 20,127 people living in Goulburn. Goulburn calls itself as "Australia's first inland city". The city of Bathurst also claims to be the first inland city in Australia.
Goulburn was named by James Meehan after Henry Goulburn, a British politician. The Governor Lachlan Macquarie approved the choice of name. The Aboriginal name for Goulburn is Burbong. This is a Murring/Wiradjuri word meaning a special place.
Goulburn has a railway station on the Main Southern railway line. It is a service centre for the many farms in the area. It also provides a rest stop for those travelling on the Hume Highway. It has a central park and many historic buildings, including old houses near the railway station on Sloane Street. It also has two 19th-century cathedrals. It is home to the Big Merino, the world's largest cement sheep.