The goldfields were first called `` Black Ridge '' . The town was named `` Forbes '' after Sir Francis Forbes . The goldfields were originally named `` Black Ridge '' , and the name `` Forbes '' celebrating Sir Francis Forbes was declared from Sydney as the result of a possible government administrative error , it is said that the name was meant for the town now known as `` Hill End '' between Orange and Mudgee , New South Wales where gold was discovered around a similar time .