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| The unimpressive pile of
stones known as Caley's Repulse |
Linden
Quiet village in the Blue Mountains noted for its
connection with the bushranger, John Donohue.
Located between Springwood and Katoomba 576 m above sea
level and 81 km from Sydney, Linden was first known as
Seventeen Mile Hollow because it was seventeen miles, on
Cox's road across the mountains, from the Nepean River.
Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson camped at an unknown
location along the ridge at what is now known as Linden in
1813. Blaxland noted that the terrain was difficult to pass
and it certainly caused road-builder William Cox particular
problems the following year. As a result he constructed the
Bluff Bridge (80 feet long and 15 feet wide) over a chasm
which, as Cox later observed 'cost me the labour of 12 men
for three weeks'. It has disappeared as a result of the many
alterations to the transport routes through the area,
although some sandstone buttressing remains beside the
present highway .
There was no railway platform built at Linden when the
railway line went through in 1867. It wasnąt until 1874 that
a platform, known as Seventeen Mile Hollow, was constructed
at the request of a Mr Fletcher (one of the early settlers)
who lived in a house named Linden Lodge which eventually
gave its name to the village and the railway siding.
Things to see:
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Caley's Repulse
The historical attractions of Linden lie on the western side
of the highway. If you turn off the highway into Tollgate
Road, a sign points towards Glossop Road, King's Cave and
Caley's Repulse. It is around here that you can see remnants
of Cox's Road, the grave of John Donohue and the mound of
rocks known as Caley's Repulse.
No matter which way you look at them, Caley's Repulse is
just a pile of stones. They were put together in 1912 by the
Australian Historical Society but were based on a pile of
stones which were first sighted by Blaxland, Wentworth and
Lawson as they crossed the mountains. On 19 May, 1813,
Blaxland observed 'From this ridge they first began to have
an extensive view over the settlements below at a little
distance from the spot they ascended they found a heap of
stones piled up in the Shape of a Pyramid.'
The question which vexed everyone who came across the
stones was 'Who piled them up?' Blaxland opted for George
Bass, history seems to have opted for George Caley (hence
Caley's Repulse) who made expeditions into the area in 1802
and 1804. The more sensible, and likely, explanation is that
they were placed there by local Aborigines.
It is an aspect of exploratory arrogance, and a comment
on the attitude to Aborigines at the time, that no one who
saw the stones thought that they could have been placed
there by the local inhabitants who had been living in the
mountains for tens of thousands of years.
Cox's Road over the Blue Mountains
Just beyond Caley's Repulse, and up the steep hill, you can
see a remnant of Cox's original road over the mountains. It
is easy to see that crossing the mountains in the 1820s was
no pleasant experience. Cox had to cut the road at this
point out of solid sandstone. He optimistically predicted
that use would smooth it out but the road as it stands still
looks as though it must have been awful if you were in a
bullock dray.
Grave of John Donohue and King's Cave
At the end of Tollgate Rd turn right into Burke Rd. Along
here is the grave of John Donohue, a policeman who was
reputedly shot by a bushranger named King. The simple
headstone reads 'Erected to the memory of John Donohue who
departed this life June 25 A.D. 1837 aged 58 years'. The
original grave was near the railway. The current site is as
recent as 1970 but the headstone has been strategically
placed at the head of the path to King's Cave, a large
overhang which is an ideal shelter. It was almost certainly
used by Aborigines, the soldiers and convicts who built the
mountain road, and possibly, the mysterious 'King', who no
one knows anything about, who was supposed to be the killer
of Donohue.
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Linden
