DOWNLOADING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND JENOLAN CAVES MOTOR GUIDE (1934)

DOWNLOADING THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND JENOLAN CAVES MOTOR GUIDE (1934)

This is a little book of 66 pages charged with the “spirit of the age” – the Great Depression was slowly lifting, private car ownership was growing apace and the tourist areas close to Sydney were all chasing the pounds, shillings and pence.

Katoomba was in the forefront of the chase. It was an era of house parties in the many guest houses (with more and more people arriving in motor cars) and the opening of some of the Blue Mountain’s greatest attractions, including the Scenic Railway, The Prince Henry Cliff Walk, floodlighting at Leura and Katoomba, the Giant Stairway and the Projecting Platform at Echo Point.

The NRMA (National Roads and Motorists Association) is still the most influential motoring organisation in Australia. It operated a camping ground at Katoomba Falls (still there today, but controlled by the Blue Mountains City Council). It produced a series of strip maps of highway routes for its members, some of which are contained in this booklet). These were still around when I was a boy and I learned a lot from them. I wonder how many children study maps today like I did then!

There are also maps produced by the firm of HEC Robinson Ltd which are full of interesting details. Another pleasure of mine when I was at University was to visit their shop in lower George St Sydney, not far from Circular Quay.

You will find my video which illustrates what’s to be found in the book here.

You can download it from Trove here. Select the download link at the bottom of this page.

https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos

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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

PERRY’S LOOKDOWN, BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

PERRY’S LOOKDOWN, BLACKHEATH 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

Hat Hill Road at Blackheath leads out to several places where there are superb views over the valley of the Grose River and its tributaries. Among these is Perry’s Lookdown, a popular place with visitors since the 1880’s. There are three identified lookouts – Perry’s Lookdown itself, Docker’s Lookout and what has become known as Monument Lookout. Beyond the third lookout the track descends steeply into the valley, providing access to the Blue Gum Forest and the walking tracks which radiate from it.

You’ll enjoy reading an article from the Illustrated Sydney News (NSW: 1853 - 1872), Saturday 16 February 1884, page 14, 15 titled “Our Trip to Binda Caves” (now called Jenolan Caves) during which the party visited Perry’s Lookdown. Search the newspaper files at http://trove.nla.gov.au .                                                                 

Immediately opposite the main lookout is the dramatic Mt Banks, so named by George Caley in November 1804 in honour of his patron, Sir Joseph Banks, when his attempt to cross the Blue Mountains came to an end on the brink of those cliffs. See this reference here for more information about Caley’s expedition. The mountain is capped by a small area of basalt which has somewhat fortuitously preserved a remnant of the Hawkesbury Sandstone and a complete section of the underlying Narrabeen Group sediments of the Sydney Basin.

 

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has provided a rather scarce facility in the form of a small overnight camping area which is particularly useful for those doing the longer walks.

Monument Lookout is the site of memorial to a group of 4 teenagers who died in the vicinity in a bushfire in 1957. See the story in The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Monday 2 December 1957, page 1.

View my Blue Mountains videos on my YouTube site here . This includes a video on the lookouts at Perry’s Lookdown here . 

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

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Limestone Caves of NSW

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1147003616874115974/2430103125095714141

Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs

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THE KATOOMBA FALLS RESERVE, BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

THE KATOOMBA FALLS RESERVE

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

The Katoomba Falls Reserve has been a central part of the “Katoomba experience” for 130 years. Its proximity to Scenic World guarantees that the flow of visitors will continue unabated. So far as I can tell, the falls and surrounding bushland are part of the Blue Mountains National Park while the reserve itself (ie the adjacent picnic and park lands etc) is administered by the Blue Mountains City Council. Both have a continuing battle to keep these areas attractive to visitors and yet maintain their conservation and scenic value.

It appears from the Sydney Morning Herald of July 7^th 1880 that the reserve was established on June 4^th that year. It would have included the area around the falls themselves, no doubt, as well as the more level ground which we now think of the as the Katoomba Falls Reserve. From then on, sundry improvements began to be made and the area developed as a picnic ground. For example, we read in the Nepean Times of Saturday 29^th October 1887 that the local Congregational Church was to hold a Sunday School picnic there the following Saturday.

Railway picnics were great events in those days, bringing NSW Government Railway employees from far and wide for a day’s fun and games. The SMH reports of the picnics of 1912 and 1913 make it clear that crowds of 2000 people attended. The town council was criticised for not making better provision for such numbers. It is a subject worth reading about in Trove, and it's apparent that both Blackheath and Mt Victoria benefited from similar large assemblies.

The camping ground in 1958

At some point the town’s showground was established on the reserve, before moving to its present site around 1926. From that time the NRMA came onto the scene wanting to convert the showground site into a camping area. This was done and the site became a very popular venue in the 1930’s. I can only remember the place from the early 50’s but I am sure those early campers would be amazed at the facilities that are provided for visitors today. It is now known as the Blue Mountains Tourist Park and the website may be found here . 

Cricket has been played at the reserve for a long time too. We read in the “Blue Mountain Echo” of Friday 2nd December 1910 of plans to set up a proper cricket ground there. Today there are two and the second one also serves as an off-leash dog area every morning.

I have copied the comment below from the Orphan Rock blog, as it is also relevant here.

"If you consult the map on page 251 of The Burning Mists of Time, you will see that by 8th June 1880, North had already given the land for Katoomba Park, basically all that land on the ledge from Katoomba Falls around to and including the Orphan Rock.

Access to the Rock was stopped in 1974 when a mudslide obliterated the access track, and BMCC never repaired it. I think they took it as an excuse to remove some more track maintenance from their books.

In 1998 I took the Mayor and the Head of NPWS up to the top of the Rock to see if it could be re-instated. At the time there was an issue as to whether Council or NPWS "owned" the Rock. Nothing ever came of it.         Philip Hammon June 2014"

 There are three main picnic areas at Katoomba Falls Reserve and on any day, sunny or not, there are always people there making use of this excellent park.

View my Blue Mountains videos here. The one dealing with Katoomba Falls Reserve is here 

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.

The writer at Katoomba Falls camping area June 1958