Bowral, once an independent municipality during the early 20th century, became part of Nattai Shire based in
Mittagong in 1906. It was also during this time where the Bowral population boomed. In the 1920s–30s, Bowral developed a reticulated water supply, the construction of Bowral Hospital and the installation of electricity into Bowral from
Port Kembla in 1925. Ten years later, the town sewerage system was constructed. It was in 1923 when
Robert Loseby donated some land behind Bowral Hospital to serve as a local park, which became a major sports ground, boasting of two ovals and, later, a greyhound track. Currently, the park is home to a skatepark, tennis court, youth center, and sporting field known as "Loseby Oval".
Development of schools Catholics began relocating into the area after the construction of several Catholic churches and this development called for new Catholic schools. In 1904, the nuns of Our Lady of Sacred Heart bought land known as "Belmore Park" on Centennial Road and established a convent school. In 1924, Belmore Park became a boys college under the nuns of
Our Lady of Sacred Heart. Belmore Park today serves as a park and function center. During World War II, a stronger Catholic presence was felt when St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and a new presbytery was built. Just three years later, in 1946,
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart bought a large property in
Burradoo and established it as
Chevalier College which eventually became the largest secondary school in the Southern Highlands and
Wollondilly Regions. The college is established as a day and boarding school for boys. However, in the 1970s, Chevalier had ceased to become a boarding school and became co-education upon the closure of the girls convent school in
Moss Vale. In 1928–30,
Bowral High School was built. It served as a tribute building to the
ANZACs of the Great War. Its original building remains until this day. The school served as the prime high school for the area from
Picton to
Moss Vale until Moss Vale's primary school was upgraded into a high school.
The Springett family The Springett Family had established themselves in Bowral when they opened a general store in 1926. Two decades later the Springett Family expanded this general store into a bakery and soft-drinks plant. These buildings were the first to distribute soft drinks and sliced bread in the Highlands. The soft drinks plant was the first plant to make the soft drink
Passiona in Australia.
Industry In 1920, Bowral's Brickworks were built to supply the booming residential and commercial growth in the Southern Highlands region. Bowral Brickworks remain until this day. The town also began shipping milk to nearby towns since the 1870s and this paved way in the 1930s for the construction of Bowral's Old Milk Factory. This milk factory dominated the dairy industry around Bowral. The Old Milk Factory remains to this day.
Garden and reserves Since the late 19th century, the residents of Bowral had been gardeners, planting many decorative European trees and plants. This legacy paved the way for the construction of "Corbett Gardens" in 1911. The gardens are named after
Ada Corbett. The gardens were established as a public garden with a large band rotunda. The rotunda was dismantled in the 1950s and rebuilt in the 1990s by donation from the Springett family. In 1958, Corbett Gardens put Bowral on the map with cultivation of thousands of
tulips that would bloom during September. This annual tradition became known as "Tulip Time". In 1919, of
Mount Gibraltar was decreed as a nature reserve.
Hospital and ambulance service The town of Bowral had to rely on the
Berrima District Hospital in Berrima for the town's health needs until 1863 when Jacob Ward becoming Bowral's first doctor. In the late 1920s and 1930s, Bowral established its own health-care system with the construction of Bowral Hospital in 1935, which was expanded in 1959. The hospital added an ambulance station in 1935 in Bong Bong St. The station was later sold and is currently used as a commercial space. == Modern town: 1950–present ==