discoverbluemountains.com

History

The Flight of the Great Grey Kangaroo is the earliest known art in the Blue Mountains. Carved into a sandstone wall at the foot of the descent below the Hawkesbury Lookout near Springwood, this remarkably well-preserved artwork records the existence of the aboriginal Daruk people. Despite preserved rock art, burial places, middens and marked trees, relatively little is known of the Daruk, although early explorers recorded a fear of Aborigines.

Unusually in Australia, the Blue Mountains were not developed for their intrinsic value, but because they offered, eventually, a route to the west and the new grazing and pastoral lands over the Great Dividing Range. The pressure of development in the Sydney area pushed the governors of the day to look for further lands and, finally, in 1813 Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, leaving their mark on a eucalyptus tree near Katoomba, found a route westwards.

The discovery of gold in the 1850s near Bathurst increased the number of travellers and the villages of the Blue Mountains grew up along the migratory route. Chinese merchants supplied the gold-seekers, but little is left of their history. The laying of the railway track in 1867 opened up the area further, and allowed travellers to go as far as Wentworth Falls, then known as Weatherboard, in speed and comfort.

Later, the mountain air and stunning scenery established the area as a popular holiday resort, with large Victorian hotels such as the Medlow Bath, the Hydro Majestic and the Carrington being built to accommodate visitors. Long walks in clean country air, gardening and the arts in general appealed to the early arrivals, and these pursuits still dominate in the mountains today.

Home · Blue Mountains Accommodation · Blue Mountains Real Estate · Visitor Information · Site Map

Thanks for visiting our Blue Mountains web site ...Now explore our Australian Tourism / Travel network.