LITHGOW DISTRICT RAILWAY STATIONS: 3 NEWNES JUNCTION
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Monday 4 November 2024
Friday 4 October 2024
LITHGOW DISTRICT RAILWAY STATIONS.
2. BELL.
What happened next was intimately bound up with the settlement of Mt Wilson, a fertile plateau 14 km from the site of Bell.
Surveyor William Romaine Govett discovered the plateau in 1838, but it remained wild and inaccessible for another 25 years. In 1862 Mt Wilson was subdivided and put up for sale by the NSW government, but little interest was shown by the public. In 1868 the lots were put up for sale again, this time more successfully. Many lots were purchased by wealthy Sydney families and soon costly homes began to appear in the bush, surrounded by extensive gardens.
The Mt Wilson we see today, over 150 years later, is celebrated for its fine gardens.
"The distance of Mt Wilson from the railway is about 8 miles by Bell's Line of Road." "In 1875 the sixty-two allotments previously measured, and containing in all about 1,025 acres were taken up by 33 purchasers." "EC Merewether, Mr E King Cox, Mr Wynne, The Hon. JB Wilson, Mr Henry Stephen, others, are the owners of land in this picturesque and beautiful locality."
Thursday 11 July 2024
LITHGOW DISTRICT RAILWAY STATIONS. 1. HARTLEY VALE
Consisted of a 200m island platform. On the down side were sidings serving a goods shed. There were also exchange sidings for the 1m gauge tramway to the nearby Hartley Vale kerosene works. | |
2005 |
Tuesday 18 June 2024
With the introduction of motor vehicles in the 20th century it was soon discovered that most could not cope with the grade. The local council (Blaxland Shire) constructed an alternative road known as Berghofer's Pass after the Shire President who lived close to the foot of Victoria Pass. You can walk this route and look up at the massive roadworks at Mitchell's Bridge.
Saturday 30 March 2024
WILLIAM ROMAINE GOVETT
William Romaine Govett (1807-1848), surveyor, was born on 3 October 1807 at Tiverton, Devon, England, the third son of John Govett, surgeon, and his wife Susanna Price, née Owen. He was at Blundell's School, Tiverton, from 1817 to 1820. He was appointed assistant surveyor in the Surveyor-General's Department of New South Wales on 10 July 1827 at £240 a year, reached Sydney in the Asia next December and began work on (Sir) Thomas Mitchell's staff. Part of his work included surveying on the old Bathurst road, during which he discovered Govett's Leap in the Blue Mountains, which was named by Mitchell in his honour. Mitchell was pleased with Govett and described him in a report on the department in 1832 as a wild young man who needed control, who had come to the colony ignorant of surveying but with much natural talent had become perhaps the ablest delineator of ground in the department, and who was remarkably clever at dealing with unexplored country.
In February 1829 Govett was sent to the Hawkesbury River, where many farms required measurement, but in 1833 his career ended abruptly when the department was reduced. Govett returned to England in the Ann in March 1834 with a letter of recommendation from Mitchell to the British government. After his return to England Govett lived at Tiverton, where he wrote several articles on New South Wales which were published in the Saturday Magazine between 7 May 1836 and 2 September 1837 under the title 'Sketches of New South Wales'. They dealt with such topics as the nature of the country he had helped to survey, the habits of the Aboriginals, and life in Sydney; they were illustrated with twelve paintings by Govett, which were later advertised for sale by G. Michelmore & Co.
Govett appears to have undergone a personal crisis after his return and repented of his wild early life, but although he considered going abroad again and making a fresh beginning he did not live long and died on 22 August 1848 in London."
This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (Melbourne University Press), 1966
From Govett's descriptions it appears that the discovery of the famous waterfall named after him by Sir Thomas Mitchell was not made at what is now "Govett's Leap Lookout" but at the point where Govett's Leap Brook meets the cliff edge near Barrow Lookout. The monument was placed at Govett's Leap Lookout as this is the place where visitors are most likely to see it.
Govett went on to discover what we know as Mt Wilson.
Govett's Leap from Barrow Lookout |
Wednesday 27 March 2024
ARCHDEACON FRANCIS BERTIE BOYCE
OF BLACKHEATH
(1844-1931)
Canon Boyce by Julian Ashton
"A good Australian, he was no narrow patriot, and was interested in history, writing on the church of England and some of its notable figures. He was a fellow of the (Royal) Australian Historical Society, and saw history as recounting the development of a moral sense in mankind; in this way, he could account for, and defend, his own reformist activities."
published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, (MUP) 1979
Boyce's final parish was in Sydney where he spent his abundant energy on helping disadvantaged people. You will need to read the article mentioned above to understand this side of the man.
His holidays and whatever spare time he may have had were spent in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. He was involved in a wide range of community activities especially those which were aimed at bringing new residents and tourists.
The Blackheath Council named Mt Boyce after him and there is a monument and picnic area there, just off the Great Western Highway. Perhaps his name is better remembered today since it has been attached to the weather station and truck inspection facility.
Sunday 19 April 2020
JENOLAN CAVES. AUSTRALIAN WONDERLAND by Samuel Cook, 1889
JENOLAN CAVES. AUSTRALIAN WONDERLAND
This book is the first thorough account of the Jenolan Caves in NSW, Australia. You can download a copy of it here.
This is chapter 6 (The Nettle Cave) which was one of the few caves which early visitors could enter. Later discoveries of more spectacular caves caused it to be taken out of use as a show cave, but today it is available again as a self guided tour.
See also the slide show which is composed of all the plates from this book.
You may be able to set your reader to read this passage aloud.