LEURA CASCADES PICNIC AREAS BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

LEURA CASCADES PICNIC AREAS BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

This has been a favourite place for picnics since the Katoomba Baths were opened here in 1913. Before then, many people came down the tracks from both Katoomba and Leura stations to visit the Leura Cascades and Leura Falls, especially after the opening of the Federal Pass track earlier in the century. The completion of the baths, with associated change rooms, toilets and picnic areas brought many more visitors. The area remains popular today, with easy access from the Cliff Drive and regular stops by the coaches which visit the principal tourist spots.

2022 note: The area was closed for several years after heavy rain and landslides.It is now open for pedestrians and cyclists. Park at the Solitary Restaurant.

Just when the baths finally closed I have not been able to discover. The present Katoomba Aquatic Centre dates from 1972, but for at least 20 years before that the pool at nearby Catalina Park was drawing people away from this cold mountain swimming pool. The basic structure of the baths is still visible, having been filled in while the concrete walls were retained, which adds considerably to the interest of the place. 

The Baths around 1920

Mountaineer Tourist Guide 1927

 There isn’t a great deal of parking and the lower area tends to fill up early in the day as people head off on the various bush walks which radiate from here. The upper area isn’t far away, but it’s all up hill from the main facilities which is a bit off-putting if you’ve parked there and carried all your picnic gear down the hill.

The Prince Henry Cliff Walk, The Leura Cascades, The Bridal Veil Falls, the Amphitheatre walk and the Federal Pass are all easily accessed from here.

My video on the Leura Cascades Picnic Area is here . 

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PAUL HARRIS LOOKOUT, BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

PAUL HARRIS LOOKOUT, BLACKHEATH 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

While this lookout lacks the grandeur of Govett’s Leap Lookout or Perry’s Lookdown, it has the advantage of being in a quiet location, with a pleasant view down Blackheath Glen and – sometimes the best of all – you will most likely have the place to yourself. The downside is that there are no toilets. Access is by going over the railway level crossing, turning left into Station Street and keeping straight ahead instead of going right to Shipley and Megalong Valley. It is located at the end of Staveley Parade, one of Blackheath’s earliest streets.The lookout was constructed in 1955 by the Blackheath Rotary Club, using funds bequeathed to the Club by Bill Tucker, one of its charter members. Tucker was much involved in community affairs, having served for some years on the Blackheath Municipal Council and especially with the local Horticultural Society.  The lookout is dedicated to the memory of Paul Percy Harris, who founded Rotary International in Chicago in 1905. The first Club in the Blue Mountains was formed in Katoomba in 1937. Blackheath followed in 1944.

Here is a link to a 1942 interview with Paul Harris on You Tube. The link to the video on Paul Harris Lookout is here .

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MT VICTORIA PARK BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

MT VICTORIA PARK 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

Mt Victoria is on the western edge of the Blue Mountains. It came into existence mainly because of the coming of the railway in 1868, when it became the terminus while the Great Zig Zag was being constructed near Lithgow. This allowed the railway to descend from the mountains to the more fertile regions beyond. The development of Jenolan Caves as a tourist resort brought crowds to the town as it became the base for those coming from Sydney by train before transferring to road transport for the rest of the journey. Right from the construction of the first road across the Blue Mountains in 1815 until now, most road traffic has left the mountains at Mt Victoria.

Despite all of this development, the town’s population has not exceeded 1,000 and today it is a quiet mountain community which gives the impression that it plans to stay that way.

Mt Victoria Park is one of the most accessible spots along the Great Western Highway for travellers to stop for a break and they share it with the locals who clearly have a great deal of affection for the place.

Two of its entrances have signs over them; that from the Highway calls the place “Memorial Park” while the Station St entrance rather grandly states “Imperial Park Museum”. This reflects the fact that the two sections of the park had different origins. The First World War memorial is a prominent feature of one, the original community owned part, while the other was formerly the property of the Imperial Hotel (across the road). It contains a number of bizarre structures which look like they might have once have held exhibits of some sort, perhaps animal dioramas, though I haven’t been able to confirm this. See the photos at the end of this blog. The board appeared in the park early in 2016.

The two were merged as “Mt Victoria Park” when the Blue Mountains City Council bought the lower section from the Hotel owners in 1979.

The stimulus for the purchase of the land now forming the core of the park seems to have been the centenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1913. While nearby Mt York was the focal point for the unveiling of memorials (just as it has been in 2013 for the bicentenary), a site was needed which was more suitable for festivities, which was more accessible and could accommodate a crowd. You can read about all this in the newspapers of the day. The photograph (source unknown) show the crowds making their way to the park for the celebrations in May 1913.

The park became the venue for large picnic groups soon after this, since it is handy to the railway station. Railway picnics brought thousands and you could say “a good time was had by all”.

The construction of the War Memorial must have been a great event too, and the newspaper reports reveal the tremendous emotional energy behind the occasion. It seems strange to us that it should have been unveiled 5 months before the war concluded. Reading between the lines, it seems that feelings were running high in the community, as they were in many other small places where some men were perceived as not “doing their duty”.

Some recommended reading (source www.trove.nla.gov.au): The 1913 Centenary celebrations (Clarence and Richmond Examiner (Grafton, NSW: 1889 - 1915), Thursday 29 May 1913, page 5);  

The 1914 Railways Picnic (Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW): 1882 - 1962), Saturday 12 September 1914, page 6); 

The March of the “Cooees” (The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 - 1954), Friday 5 November 1915, page 8); 

The opening of the War Memorial (The Blue Mountain Echo (NSW: 1909 - 1928), Friday 7 June 1918, page 3).

View my Blue Mountains videos here . I have three other playlists - gem hunting/mining, Glen Innes and New Zealand. The video about  Mt Victoria Park is here.

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This board appeared early in 2016

These are the three photographs on the information board.

THE ROUND WALK, KATOOMBA FALLS BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

THE ROUND WALK, KATOOMBA FALLS 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

This walk may be commenced from either Scenic World or Katoomba Falls Reserve and it matters little in which direction you go. Parking and public transport is good at both places and refreshments are available close by. Coupled with fantastic scenery and a wide variety of plants to be seen along the way, this is an excellent walk, taking about an hour. 

The Witches Leap gap (often called the Witches Glen in older publications) provides an easy descent from road level. It is quite likely that this gap in the upper cliffs is a former course of Kedumba Creek, which now flows over the Katoomba Falls. The upper course of the creek, coming down from the vicinity of the Katoomba Aquatic Centre, lines up quite well with the gap and it’s possible that there is a former course of the creek concealed beneath the playing fields and the caravan park.

The 1894 historic map show a track descending into the valley in much the same place as today’s steps (near Vaniman’s Lookout). This would have been the beginning of the miner’s track down to the coal mines below what is now Scenic World. This track passed between the Orphan Rock and the upper cliff line before making a steep (and dangerous) descent to the level of today’s lower Scenic Railway station.

There are three principal lookouts along the track: Vaniman’s, Juliet’s Balcony and Rainforest Lookout, though the third is a little below the track it is well worth including in the walk.

Chester Melvin Vaniman was a celebrated American photographer and artist who visited the Blue Mountains in 1903. The lookout provides a great view of the Falls and the Three Sisters. It is on that section of the Round Walk which is actually part of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, close to where the track descends into the valley.

Juliet’s Balcony is a well located lookout somewhat further down and gives a full length view of both Upper and Lower Katoomba Falls.

Rainforest Lookout is lower down again; unlike the upper lookouts this one is surrounded by lush vegetation and also has a great view of the falls.

View from Vaniman's Lookout 2011

View from Juliet's Balcony 2007

My Round Walk video is here .

Rainforest Lookout around 1905

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GORDON FALLS LOOKOUT AND ELYSIAN ROCK, LEURA BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

GORDON FALLS LOOKOUT AND ELYSIAN ROCK, LEURA BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

See the blog entry on Gordon Falls Reserve, which gives details of the origin of the reserve and also my You Tube videos on the area.For a good read, go to Trove (trove.nla.gov.au) and look up the story printed in “The Blue Mountain Echo” (NSW: 1909 - 1928) for Friday 18 April 1919. The author must have walked down to or close to the site of the present lookout to have been able to see the waterfall. The Lookout is easily reached from the parking area. Before getting even that far, you will pass an old painted sign on the left, on which the faint words “Fairy Dell” can just be discerned. The sign has gone now (June 2021).

This could refer to “Fairy Glen”, accessed by a track now out of use leading from the Lookout track. See the sample page from “Mountain Mist Books” here on how to locate this old track. On the other hand, the map shows Fairy Dell below the cliff line. Another good read from “The Blue Mountain Echo” from September 1913 shows how Alderman Lindeman was thinking about the pass in the valley below which now bears his name. See here .

Gordon Falls Lookout is a good place to view the Three Sisters from the “other side”, which looks decidedly unusual for those who only know the Echo Point aspect. You can view both the upper and lower falls by craning your neck a bit. 

The lower fall

The upper fall

The Prince Henry Cliff Walk commences at Gordon Falls, and the first lookout encountered is at Elysian Rock. The track (August 2013) was closed beyond this point because of bushfire damage, but reopened several years ago. You can return to the parking area via the steps up to Olympian Parade. 

Until the construction of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk in the 1930’s, the three rock lookouts (Elysian, Olympian and Tarpeian) each had separate access tracks, which remain to this day. It is to be hoped that the Cliff Walk track which links them will be reopened soon. (It was, about 18 months later, after reconstruction of the Buttenshaw Bridge).

The Elysian Fields or Elysium is, in Greek mythology, a place of perfect happiness prepared by the gods for the worthy dead. No doubt this is where the Rock derives its name, which is a cut above all the Fairy Dells and Fairy Glens in the Blue Mountains.

My video of this walk will be found here. 

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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 

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The writer at Katoomba Falls camping area June 1958

THE ORPHAN ROCK, KATOOMBA BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

THE ORPHAN ROCK KATOOMBA 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

 From the earliest days of tourism in the Blue Mountains, the Orphan Rock  has been one of the features people have most admired. Just when the name was first used is unclear; the title on a photo from 1879 calls it the “Orphan Tower” and in a letter to the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald dated April 27^th 1880, the writer refers to it as the “orphan” rock.

This same letter also raises the question of the ownership of the Orphan Rock. Clearly it was then part of the coal mine lands owned by John Britty North. When (if ever) did it pass back into public ownership or does it still belong to the Hammon family, owners of Scenic World today? I believe the person who possessed "the only point where this gorgeous scenery can be looked upon with advantage" was James Henry Neale MLA. The point referred to is presumably Reid's Plateau, which would have been included in the Reserve when it was proclaimed soon after. Not all landowners in the Blue Mountains have been so public-minded.

The walking track to the summit was built as part of the tourism attraction expansion of the 1930’s (which also saw the Prince Henry Cliff Walk and the Giant Stairway completed, among others). 

The Orphan Rock in June 1958

This track had a short life, however, due to concerns about the stability of the rock itself and it was closed in the 1950’s. I have been up there long ago, but whether this was a legal ascent or not I don’t remember. The 1958 photograph with the Skyway seems to show two figures standing at the lookout on the left hand side. 

"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"

This quote from “The Land”, Friday 22^nd 1937, tells the story well. It’s a shame we can’t enjoy the experience today.

“Time was when the rock was regarded as quite inaccessible, but by means of rope and hook and stout heart, one of the Council's rangers reached the top; as a result of that perilous climb, safely guarded steps 

The Orphan Rock steps from an old photograph

have been hewn from the rock, and built of hardwood in places, whereby the top may be reached in safety. Once at the apex the climb will be found more than worth while; lookouts have been constructed, giving a clear view of the Falls on one side, while on the south the undulating valleys run away for illimitable miles in shades now blue, now mauve, now pink.”

Paragon Cafe tin from the 1930's showing the Orphan Rock

It has often been pointed out that the Katoomba Falls area (which includes the Orphan Rock) was the centre of Katoomba tourism in the early days and that the Three Sisters and Echo Point only took over that position in the early twentieth century. One institution which still maintains the Rock as its logo is the Paragon Café in Katoomba St. As one writer put it, “Like this famous rock, the café stands alone”.

Here is a link to a description of a recent climb of the rock. I DO NOT recommend readers to do the same! 

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The Orphan Rock summit in July 2013

GOVETT’S LEAP LOOKOUTS, BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

GOVETT’S LEAP LOOKOUTS 

BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

John and Sue at Govett's Leap Lookout July 2007

Govett's Leap has been one of the focal points of the Blue Mountains since its discovery in June 1831 by William Romaine Govett, an assistant surveyor with the survey department of NSW. Dispatched by Surveyor-General TL Mitchell to survey the upper Blue Mountains, Govett’s party came across the view of the Grose Valley and the famous waterfall during the course of their work. It is likely that Mitchell himself is responsible for the name “Govett’s Leap”, but this is by no means certain.

I recommend the fine publication “Blackheath Today From Yesterday”, published by the Rotary Club of Blackheath in 2005 as a good source of information on the area.

Something needs to be said about the silly stories about Govett the supposed bushranger or Govett the escaped convict. As the facts about the discovery and its naming have always been readily available, I suspect that these fictions were invented to drum up business for the tourist industry in Blackheath. You can read lots about it in the newspapers of the day by searching Trove.

The name “Govett’s Leap” applies only to the waterfall itself. It is also commonly called the Bridal Veil Falls or the Bridal Veil, which name is also used for the upper Leura Falls. As “leap” means waterfall, it is the correct and original name. The point where Govett’s Leap Road reached the edge of the valley is correctly called “Govett’s Leap Lookout”, though popular usage is hard to change.

There are 4 lookouts here: an upper and lower one at the end of the road and Williams and Breakfast Rock Lookouts below them, accessible by the Grose Valley track. I would guess that 90% of visitors don’t even get as far as the second principal lookout and a fraction of 1% make their way as far as Breakfast Rock, which is the best viewpoint and always 

Breakfast Rock Lookout from an old photograph

has been. See the Blog entry “The Princes’ Visits to the Blue Mountains – 1868 and 1881” dated 12^th August 2013 for an interesting story about the Govett’s Leap lookouts.

Govett’s Leap has always been the focal point of tourism in Blackheath. There are numerous early reports of visits to be found using Trove, including one by Charles Darwin, who came this way in 1836. He wrote the following account in “The Voyage of the Beagle” (1845): “January 18^th. Very early in the morning, I walked about three miles to see Govett’s Leap: a view of similar character with that near the Weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. So early in the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. These valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. Great arm-like bays, expanding at their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses”.

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The view from Govett's Leap Lookout October 1958