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| Lennox Bridge east of
Blaxland |
Blaxland
Large township in the Blue Mountains.
Located 67 km from Sydney and 234 metres above sea level,
Blaxland is a thriving community of over 10 000 people.
Today this substantial community has little to offer the
visitor. Its interest lies more in its history rather than
any buildings or monuments.
The town was named after Gregory Blaxland (1778-1853).
Blaxland's importance is well summed up in the Australian
Dictionary of Biography which records that: 'By 1813 he had
come to realise that his flocks of sheep and cattle were
expanding beyond the resources of his coastal grant.
Macquarie could not be persuaded to grant extra lands to
large flock owners on the coast, and Blaxland thus drew the
correct conclusion that the solution to the pastoralists'
land problem lay in discovering a route to the interior. In
1810 he had explored part of the Nepean River. Early in 1813
he requested Macquarie's approval of an exploring expedition
across the Blue Mountains, and on 11 May he set out with
William Lawson and W. C. Wentworth. Though as early as 1816
Blaxland claimed to have been the leader of the expedition,
contemporary records suggest that none of the three assumed
this position but that their effort was a joint one. They
achieved success by adopting the novel method of traversing
the mountains by the ridges instead of looking for a route
through the valleys. They found the way across by Mount
York, and then went on past Cox's River to a sugar loaf hill
later named Mount Blaxland; from its summit could be seen
'enough grass to support the stock of the colony for thirty
years'.'
Although the town took its name from this important
explorer there is no physical monument to confirm the
association.
Equally, all that is left of Blaxland's most important
building, the Pilgrim Inn, is some ruins. This building,
which was 'in the last stages of ruin and decay' in the
1950s, was built in 1826. It was, according to contemporary
descriptions, a gracious hostelry surrounded by cedar
verandahs, covered in shingles and with a large well and
extensive stables. It achieved some kind of dubious fame in
1865 when Sir Frederick Pottinger, Inspector of Police,
fatally (and accidentally) shot himself while boarding a
moving coach outside the inn. As the first major inn on the
road over the mountains it was known throughout the colony.
As the first major inn on the road over the mountains it was
known throughout the colony and it was the fillip for the
establishment of the original Blaxland Railway Station.
Originally called Wascoe's Siding, the name of the station
was changed to Blaxland in 1879.
Things to see:
Pilgrim Inn
All that is left of Blaxland's most important building, the
Pilgrim Inn, is some ruins, albeit carefully preserved and
accompanied by an explanatory noticeboard adjacent the
McDonald's carpark (behind the Caltex Ampol Service
Station). This building, which was 'in the last stages of
ruin and decay' in the 1950s, was built in 1826. It was,
according to contemporary descriptions, a gracious hostelry
surrounded by cedar verandahs, covered in shingles and with
a large well and extensive stables. It achieved some kind of
dubious fame in 1865 when Sir Frederick Pottinger, Inspector
of Police, fatally (and accidentally) shot himself while
boarding a moving coach outside the inn. As the first major
inn on the road over the mountains it was known throughout
the colony and it was the fillip for the establishment of
the original Blaxland Railway Station. The original
sandstone stationmaster's cottage is in the grounds of the
service station.
Wascoe Siding Miniature Railway
Operating on the first Sunday of each month, this family
railway is located at 15 Grahame St, just on the eastern
side of both the main railway line and the Great Western
Highway.
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Blaxland
