THE EMPIRE PASS, NORTH LAWSON PARK
BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA
North Lawson Park
(on the northern side of the railway line at Lawson) has a long history
extending back to the late 1870’s, when most of what we now know as Katoomba
and Leura was only just being explored. It would be useful at this stage to
check out my video on Dante’s Glen (here)
and the blog which goes with it (here). There are many links in the blog
to sites which will help you understand the place better.
The construction of walking tracks, steps, shelter sheds and
all that goes with getting the public to visit these beauty spots was not just
a matter of local pride but of economics. The upper mountain communities
(Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba,
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| Extract from the 1938 Railway "Walking Tours" map |
Blackheath and Mt Victoria) were all after
the tourists’ pounds as well. They had grander scenery, higher elevation and in
particular round walks, where walkers didn’t need to retrace their steps. The
Rodriguez, Federal and National Pass were, and still are, hard to beat for a
great day’s walking. The Empire Pass
at Lawson was Lawson’s attempt to capture more of this market.
We need to remember that, in those early stages of
development, most of the money and labour required was donated by the local
community. They did a remarkably fine job with very limited resources and we
should honour the pioneer track designers and builders for the amazing things
they achieved. At North Lawson Park, the main attractions lay on the western
and eastern sides –Dante’s Glen and
Fairy Falls on the one and Frederica Falls on the other. The
“pass” (probably named to make it seem more impressive than it actually is) was
constructed to join these two areas. It was 30 years after the initial track
work in Dante’s Glen before the Pass was completed in October 1910. We don’t
know who named it, but patriotism and loyalty to the British Empire was the
order of the day and the appeal would be the same 4 years later when the Great
War broke out in Europe – for God, the King and the Empire. You only have to
look at coins of the day (King Edward VII, 1910) to see the inscription (in
Latin, of course) “DEI:GRA:BRITT:OMN:REX:FID:DEF:IND:IMP”, which reads in
English “By the Grace of God, King of all the British people, Defender of the
Faith, Emperor of India”. Most of that continued in use on Australian coins
until 1966.
The people of Lawson were justly proud of their achievement.
They not only constructed hundreds of stone steps, but put up sign posts in
many places, built fire places and erected shelter sheds (at least 5 of them).
Nothing remains today except the steps (and the seat at Lucy’s Glen, which I
missed seeing this time) – and they blend perfectly into what is a beautiful
environment, worth preserving for all time.
May I recommend Keith Painter’s Pocket Pal series of booklets (the relevant one being “North and South Lawson Walks”), which
you can order from Mountain Mist Books (here). An extract appears
opposite. A heritage study by the NSW Department of the Environment (here)
contains lots of valuable information.
I’ll conclude with a little about Frederica Falls, which has given its name to the creek which the
Pass follows for most of its length. Frederica was the eldest child of local
pioneers Benjamin and Alice Roberts (born April 25, 1882).
Her birth name was
“Effie Alice Frederica Chilvers Roberts”; Frederica was what she was actually
called. It seems that the land where the waterfall is located was owned by
Benjamin Roberts at that time and the name was in use soon after her birth.
This information comes from a biography of Roberts by Brian Fox in the Blue
Mountains History Journal for October 2013 beginning on page 68. (Here).
It may not be a great waterfall, but it is a great story.
https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos
Limestone Caves of NSW
Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs
Shoalhaven District Geology
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| My grandmother (Annie Hayward) and my mother (Vera Paix) in 1957 |
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| From the 1927 "Mountaineer" tourist guide |
