John's Blue Mountains Blog: St Michael's Falls

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

THE EMPIRE PASS, NORTH LAWSON PARK BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

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,

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

https://johnsnewenglandminerals.blogspot.com/2013/12/list-of-all-blog-entries-to-date.html
All New England and other Geology blogs and videos
https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/1325599670344725659?pli=1
Limestone Caves of NSW
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1147003616874115974/2430103125095714141
Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs
https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/1515863000684737715
Shoalhaven District Geology

My grandmother (Annie Hayward) and my mother (Vera Paix) in 1957

From the 1927 "Mountaineer" tourist guide

Thursday, 12 December 2013

DANTE’S GLEN, NORTH LAWSON PARK BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW

DANTE’S GLEN, NORTH LAWSON PARK

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW

My photo taken in 1957

Visitors have been coming to Dante’s Glen at Lawson since at least 1879, when the sites at Katoomba which are popular today were hardly known at all. There are three waterfalls on the round walk which starts just down the road from the Lawson Olympic Pool.

The name “Dante’s Glen” was in use by 1879, as shown by newspaper references to the place. Dante Aligheri (1265-1321) is remembered for his work “The Divine Comedy” which I doubt has been read by any readers of this Blog, though many will have heard of “Dante’s Inferno”. Professor Charles Badham of Sydney University lived nearby and I can guarantee he would have read it. Perhaps he is responsible for the name; however in an article in “The Catholic Press” for Thursday 25th October 1928, page 19, we read the following: “Lawson's Enduring Catholic Names. Not more than a dozen people know who gave certain enduring Catholic names to the most beautiful parts of lovely Lawson. The ground on which 'Dalmeny' and 'Durham Lodge' stand was originally known as Mount St. Bernard. This name, which appears on the old ordinance maps, was given by Miss Hay, the lady who owned the land and afterwards became a ruin. The two principal avenues in the town — San Jose and Santa Cruz — the latter more familiarly known as Falls-road — were titles bestowed by an old pioneer, Mr. J. G. Hay. He also named Mary Street, St. Michael's Falls and Dante's Glen. Now that Mt. St. Bernard has been donated by Mr. Meagher to the Sisters, it may revert to its original name.”

1920's probably a Harry Phillips photo

Whether the name should pronounced “danntee” or “dontay” or some other way I don’t know. I’ve used the former in my You Tube video, so I hope this doesn’t upset anyone who knows better than I do.

The waterfall in the Glen is commonly called “Dante’s Glen Falls” today; however the name “Christabel Fall” was in use until at least 1912. See the article on North Lawson Park in “Guidelines for Researching and Assessing Associations” (here) which contains lots of fascinating material. Amongst this is the statement that Christabel was Joseph (José) Hay’s daughter and another that Prof. Badham named Dante’s Glen. I’d like to see the old name for the waterfall restored while retaining the name of the Glen.

The old stone steps referred to in North Lawson Park are numerous on the ascent from the Glen to the Fairy Falls track and it is to be hoped that they will be respected in any restoration work. Incidentally, Hay also named the two falls which are now called “Fairy Falls” “Cecilia Falls” and “Sebastian Falls”. They sound like Shakespearean characters, but this

Fairy Falls 1920's

doesn’t seem to be the origin of the names. Perhaps some reader can enlighten us.

Two final comments about this beautiful walk. First, there are numerous graffiti on rocks and trees all along it. Some date back 130 years. Read, but do not add! (See the “Illustrated Sydney News” for 17^th October 1889 page 17). Second, the water flowing down Dante’s Glen is sparklingly clear while that going over Fairy Falls is rich in iron to the extent that there are iron oxide stalactites growing on the rocks there. Someone might like to explore why this is so.

Iron oxide stalactites at Fairy Falls

St Michael's Falls

You will find my You Tube video of this walk here .