ECHO POINT AND THE THREE SISTERS KATOOMBA

ECHO POINT AND THE THREE SISTERS KATOOMBA

The Three Sisters around 1900

A million photographs have been taken and a million words written about these two famous places, which are linked by the most heavily used path in the Blue Mountains. Rather than repeat a lot of this information, I’ll pick out a few details and expand on them.

The first mention of Echo Point I have been able to find is in the Sydney Morning Herald of 31^st August 1891, which mentions the intention of the reserve trustees to construct fences in the most dangerous places around the cliffs at “Echo Point”. I suspect that the locality came to prominence when the Chief Justice of NSW, Sir Frederick Darley, built his country residence (Lillianfels) nearby in 1889. Land sales along Lurline St took place the same year so there must have been a road of some sort to the vicinity.

Prior to this, the tourism emphasis was on Katoomba Falls. The presence of the coal mine there would have meant that there was road access, especially as quite a village already existed near the present day Katoomba Falls Reserve.

Echo Point today is by far the most visited spot in the Blue Mountains. The lookouts there have been through many stages of development since 1891 and the principle feature that tourists are drawn to is, of course, the famous Three Sisters.

One reference in particular throws light on the early history of this spot, which was usually seen from afar and was often mentioned by visitors to the cliff line around Katoomba Falls (though the Orphan Rock which was much closer drew even more attention). This is a fascinating document from a journal called “The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil” (Melbourne, Vic) for Saturday 5th June 1880. You can download the article here.                                                                                                                           

The critical words are these “Continuing to the eastward, the Triasaxa point is the next object of interest. It is commonly called "The Three Sisters" and from the distance has a remarkable resemblance to a cathedral”. “Tria Saxa” basically means “three stones”, though who gave this name or when I cannot say; most likely it would have appeared on a map and was given by some classically educated mapmaker. It was easy for “Three Sisters” to displace it and was last heard of more than a century ago.

One of the significant events which occurred here was the opening of the Giant Stairway in 1932, for which occasion the path connecting Echo Point and the Three Sisters was vastly improved. The lookout at the top of the Stairway already existed and was commonly called “Three Sisters Lookout”, though its correct name is “Lady Game Lookout”. The plaque on the archway just before the lookout reads as follows: “Three Sisters Giant Stairway Officially Opened by Hon. B.S.B. Stevens, M.L.A. Premier of N.S.W. 1^st October 1932”. At the bottom of the plaque (in smaller writing) is a second inscription reading “Steps Cut by Ranger McKay”. We’ll consider the second inscription in a later article.                                                                                                                  

Official party. Photo courtesy of Blue Mountains City Library

1932 was an exciting year in NSW politics. The Great Depression was making life difficult for almost everyone. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was completed early in 1932 and newspaper speculation was rife as to who would officially open it. One says the new Governor General Sir Isaac Isaacs, another the NSW Minister for Works, Mr Davidson. In the end, the opening was scheduled for Saturday 19^th March. Both the aforementioned gentlemen were indeed present. The Governor of NSW, Sir Philip Game, unveiled a commemorative plaque and the bridge was declared open by the Premier of NSW, the Hon. JT Lang. He was about to cut the ribbon when an extraordinary thing happened. A man on horseback (Captain Francis Edward de Groot) rode up and slashed the ribbon with his sword, declaring “I officially declare this bridge open in the name of the decent people of New South Wales”. Now there is a lot more to this story, of course, but it highlights the huge differences of opinion between the Labor Party of Premier Jack Lang and the right wing sentiments of “The New Guard”, to which de Groot belonged. For a good account of the bridge opening see here.

John and Sue at the beginning of the Three Sisters path 2013

By the time of the opening, the financial crisis in NSW was worsening and the Premier declared that his government would refuse to pay the interest or make repayments on foreign loans. The Federal Government (headed up by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons) declared that this was illegal. Matters came to a head on 14^th May, 1932, when after repeated refusals by Mr Lang to change his mind, the Governor of NSW, Sir Philip Game, dismissed the NSW government and appointed Mr Bertram Stevens, leader of the opposition United Australia Party, as Premier. This was followed by an election on 11^th June, at which Lang was soundly defeated.

Meanwhile, back in Katoomba, preparations were going ahead to open the Giant Stairway. Sir Philip Game was being mentioned as a likely candidate, but in the end the Katoomba Council played it safe and went with the new Premier, Mr Stevens. So what was supposed to be on the vacant part of the plaque? I’m guessing that it would have referred to the Governor opening the Stairway and the lookout being named after his wife (which it still is). One day we may know. There is an account of the opening here.

Sir Philip Game held on for another two years as Governor. For some members of the community, he was fair game. For others, the game was well and truly up.

My video of the walk may be found here.  

The Three Sisters from Echo Point 1958

Additional information added November 22nd, 2015

I've come across a slightly earlier reference to the Three Sisters than the one above. It's from the "Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser" for Saturday 29th May 1890 (page 988). You may read it all here. The article is essentially the same as the one quoted above (from “The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil”); however it also includes a delightful sketch of scenery, including the Three Sisters, making this the earliest illustration I've yet found of this landmark. The illustration may be in the later reference as well, but a brief search failed to find it. Here it is for your enjoyment.

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THE FAIRFAX HERITAGE TRACK, BLACKHEATH BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

THE FAIRFAX HERITAGE TRACK, BLACKHEATH 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

Family group about to commence the walk October 2004

On the track September 2013

The Fairfax Heritage Track was constructed in 1986/7 to provide an easily accessible pathway from the National Parks and Wildlife Heritage Centre to Govett’s Leap Lookout in Blackheath. It is identified as a wheelchair accessible route and this is indeed true, a rarity in Australian national parks. The only problem might be the return trip up the hill from the lookout, which is somewhat steeper and has a number of “humps” where drains pass underneath. It would be better for someone to walk back up and bring a vehicle down to the lookout.

Classic shelter shed July 2007

At George Phillips Lookout July 2009

The route is well signposted and passes through a variety of vegetation types, each clearly indicated. There are seats at regular intervals as well and this makes this simple walk a joy for any lover of the Australian bush.

Perhaps the highlight of the walk is George Phillips Lookout, where the path dramatically emerges from the bush onto one of the most spectacular views in the Blue Mountains. It’s only a few minutes walk from here to the Govett’s Leap Lookout car park where there always seems to be lots of visitors. I guess this spot is Blackheath’s equivalent to Echo Point at Katoomba, (without the parking fee). However I doubt if one in a hundred takes the track to George Phillips Lookout, which is great if you would like to just sit and enjoy the view in peace.

Photo courtesy of the Blue Mountains City Library

The original sign erected at George Phillips Lookout in 1946 had these words: “National Reserves. George Phillips Lookout. In appreciation of the able and energetic service of Ex-Alderman George Phillips, a pioneer of the district and active member & Secretary of the Blackheath Group of the Blue Mountains Sights Reserves from 1917-1939. Opened by the Blackheath Municipal Council 28-1-1946”. No doubt there are similar stories which could be told about all our Blue Mountains beauty spots but it is up to us to ensure they are recorded.

 For my video of the walk, click here.

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LEURA CASCADES TO TARPEIAN ROCK, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

LEURA CASCADES TO TARPEIAN ROCK, 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

Tarpeian Rock is on the extreme right of the map (not named)

This short walk follows the Prince Henry Cliff Walk from the Leura Cascades picnic area to Tarpeian Rock Lookout and return, with a diversion to Bridal Veil View Lookout.

The area around the present day picnic area is part of a major development which took place in 1911-13 and included the baths (now filled in), the Chelmsford Bridge and what is now Cliff Drive. The Leura Falls Kiosk (now the Solitary Restaurant) also dates from around this time as no doubt do some of the area’s walking tracks.

See The Blue Mountain Echo (NSW: 1909 - 1928), Friday 19 May 1911, page 2 for an entertaining account of the beginnings of the project. (This can be found by searching the newspaper files at www.trove.nla.gov.au) .

Lord Chelmsford (Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford (12 August 1868 – 1 April 1933) was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland (1905–1909) and Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913 at the time of the work at Leura Cascades. He officiated at the opening of the new Katoomba Town Hall in January1912.                                                                                                                                            

Bridal Veil View is a romantic place

A one-time feature of the walk to Tarpeian Rock was the flying fox which took supplies down to the Katoomba-Leura sewage treatment works in the valley below Leura Falls. This seems to have been removed as part of the cleanup after the sewage works closed down a few years ago. There is no shortage of cleaning up to do down in the valley.

I wonder what this sign used to read!

The diversion to Bridal Veil View Lookout is well worth taking. It’s only a few minute’s walk to a point directly opposite the Bridal Veil (upper Leura Falls, reached by going down the Leura Cascades track). This lookout seems to have a problem with its name, as I have also seen it called Bridal Veil View Lookout or just Bridal Veil View.

Leura Tarpeian Rock

Rome Tarpeian Rock

So far as I know, there have been no criminals thrown off the  Tarpeian Rock at Leura, unlike the original in Rome which was used for that purpose for hundreds of years. There is some physical resemblance between the two rocks, I guess. You decide.

My own video of the walk may be found here . 

Chelmsford Bridge August 2009

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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

DEN FENELLA, WENTWORTH FALLS BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

DEN FENELLA, WENTWORTH FALLS 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

The Den Fenella track leaves the Wentworth Falls picnic area at the car park end, right next to several “heritage” shelter sheds. It’s downhill all the way on a good track. Once the creek is crossed at the Undercliff track junction, the final part of 

The National Pass track

the descent follows a steeply dropping gorge until the cliff is reached, where the creek plunges into the Jamison Valley. Immediately below is the National Pass and from the lookout you can see the pathway following a claystone layer in the sandstone cliff.

From an old book of views

I can recall visits to Den Fenella as far back as the early fifties and I always wondered how this lovely spot got its name. It has certainly been in use since the 1880’s. I came across this item on the Web here which reads: “Den Fenella, romantic ravine, SE. Kincardineshire; extends from 1½ mile SE. of Laurencekirk to 1½ mile SW. of Johnshaven; is traditionally named from Fenella, a daughter of the Maormar of Angus, slain here in 995; near the sea the Fenella Burn makes a beautiful waterfall, 65 ft. in leap.” I guess the place at Wentworth Falls was named by some homesick Scotsman.

Den Fenella Lookout

You can view my video of the Princes Rock – Den Fenella walk here .

An excellent video called “Den Fenella Track, Blue Mountains”, by  palevo7, can be found here .

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My grandchildren Kristen and Bonnie Eastlake at Den Fenella October 2004