Mittagong
Major township in the Southern Highlands
At 632 m above sea-level Mittagong is known as the 'Gateway to the Highlands'. It is located 110 km south-west of Sydney via the Hume Freeway in the Nattai River Valley between Mt Gibraltar, known locally as 'The Gib', and Mt Alexandra, both extinct volcanic peaks. It has a current population of around 6000.

The town's name is thought to derive from the Aboriginal word Marragon, the meaning of which is uncertain though 'little mountain', 'a companion', or even 'plenty of native dogs' have been suggested. The area was once occupied by the Dharawal Aborigines.

The first European party to investigate the district was that of ex-convict John Wilson in 1798. Wilson had been living with the Aborigines for some years and had almost certainly been in the area prior to the expedition. His party were the first Europeans to sight the koala and lyrebird.

Over the next decade there were minor forays into the district by the likes of John Warby and a botanical collector for Joseph Banks named George Caley. The Hume brothers, probably in the company of their uncle John Kennedy, investigated the area in 1814. With pasturage around Sydney becoming scarce John Oxley and his stockmen drove some cattle into the district the following year. Charles Throsby visited the area several times between 1817 and 1819, usually in the company of Hamilton Hume and Joseph Wild.

 

Ducks and other water birds on Lake Alexandra

 

Governor Macquarie facilitated settlement by constructing the Old South Road (1819-1821) from Picton through lower Mittagong and Bong Bong to Sutton Forest and on to the Goulburn Plains. The first European settler was William Charker who received a grant of 200 acres just before his death in 1823 which passed on to his widow. He had been grazing his cattle there since 1821.

The first inn, the Kangaroo Inn, was built by George Cutler at what is known as Lower Mittagong on the Old South Rd in 1827. Explorer Charles Sturt lived in this area in the 1830s, employing Tasmanian bushranger Martin Cash as a dairyman in 1836. This area was virtually deserted when the new road through Berrima was completed in the 1830s. Innkeepers saw the path of the future and applied for licenses along the new route: John Charker set up the Woolpack Inn at the southern end of what is now Mittagong and George Cutler built a new Kangaroo Inn at the northern end. Ann Cutler had the Fitzroy Inn built in 1845. It is still operating as the Oaklands Guesthouse. Other inns followed including the Prince Albert Hotel built by Bartholomew Rush in 1845. It is now the Motel Poplars to the north of Mittagong.

Bushrangers frequented the thick scrub of the district from the 1830s to the 1870s. John Lynch, who murdered ten people between Razorback and Berrima, killed a man he had hired as a fencer by Ironstone Bridge near Mittagong in 1841. He was hanged at Berrima the following year.

Iron had been found in 1833 and in 1848 a syndicate undertook to build Australia's first iron smelter, near the iron and coal deposits at what is now Iron Works Park. Demands for labour led to the development of a town. Skilled labour was introduced from the UK, largely from the English steel town of Sheffield.

However, after a good start the venture failed and the plant closed in 1857. It wasn't until 1863 that the works were leased by another company which built a new blast furnace. However, they too ran into trouble and the plant closed again in 1866.

1862 saw the opening of the first post office and the first school (Catholic), followed by a public school in 1865 and the town's first proper church in 1866 (Methodist). The railway arrived in 1867 from Picton. The rail stop became known as Mittagong and the post office changed its name to Mittagong in 1875. The Anglican Church was built in 1878 and, in 1883, the first bank and newspaper (the Mittagong Mail) were established. Mittagong was declared a municipality in 1889.

 

St Pauls Presbyterian Church (1885)

 

Coal mining began in the 1870s. Although the first venture failed the Nattai Coal Mining Company, established in 1883, were more successful. A large maltings plant was opened by Tooths breweries in 1899. BHP mined iron ore at Mittagong during World War II. Today Mittagong's economy hinges upon dairying, fruit and vegetables, cattle, sheep and poultry, coal mining, saw milling and steel fabrication.

 

Things to see:  

Southern Highland Visitor Centre
The Southern Highland Visitor Centre at 62-70 Main St has a number of displays and a free accommodation booking service, as well as a thorough assortment of tourist information on the Southern Highlands. It is a good place to start your visit, tel: (1300) 657 559.

 

 

Streetscape outside St Stephens Church of England

 

St Stephens Church of England
Just past it, on the left, is St Stephen's Church of England (1876-78), a Gothic stone church designed by Edmund Blacket, though his original design was for a larger, more ambitious project which was rejected by his clients. Arthur Blacket added the porch in 1892-94.

 

Historic Buildings
Turn right into Station St where you will see the old post office (now Patchwork Cottage) and the police station, a stone and timber Victorian Classical Revival structure with quoins.

At the intersection of Albert and Queen St is the town library, housed in what was the town's first public school (1848). Turn right into Queen St. At its end is Lake Alexandra surrounded by a reserve where there are picnic and barbecue facilities, bushwalks and plenty of birdlife. This artificial lagoon was originally a dam built to supply water for the steam engines which hauled coal to the ironworks. The walk to Mt Alexandra is well-signposted with red information signs, starting from the corner of Leopold and Victoria Streets, leading under the F5 bypass to Sixty Foot Falls, along the northern side of Gibbergunyah Creek and back to Lake Alexandra.

 

 

The Poplars Restaurant at Braemar

 

Braemar
3 km north of town on the old Hume Highway is Braemar where you will find a two-storey sandstock Georgian building with stone-flagged verandah and and 12-pane shuttered windows, now operating as The Motel Poplars, originally the Prince Albert Hotel (1845). Almost opposite is Braemer Lodge (1876). Both buildings were built for Bartholomew Rush.

If you head south along the old highway and turn left just before the bridge over the railway then take another right, you will see Oaklands, formerly the Fitzroy Inn (1845), the site of Australia's first tennis court. Adjacent is Tooth's Maltings, built in 1899 where they could access the waters of the Nattai River to manufacture barley malt for brewing.The plant closed after a fire in 1981.

Another old building is Victoria House (1866), now a highly respected needlework centre which has a large selection of tapestry and embroidery kits and a collection of antique dolls and bears from over the world. It is open seven days from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. on Main St near the intersection with Helena St, contact (02) 4871 1682.

 

Frensham
Frensham is a girls' school noted for its music program. Established in 1913 by Winifred West it was attended by a number of future authors, including Joan Phipson, Rosemary Dobson, Henrietta Drake-Brockman, Annette Macarthur-Onslow and Nancy Keesing.

Ms West also set up the Sturt Craft Centre next door in 1941 as an outlet for local craftspeople. It features weaving woodwork, metalwork, jewellery, textiles and pottery workshops, a gallery and a shop.in a garden setting. There is an annual exhibition, an open day with sales in each craft in October, and other exhibitions throughout the year.

 

Other Attractions
Lizzie's Country Arts, Crafts and Gifts is in Victoria St, contact (02) 4871 2515. In Main St are Minnikin Lodge Gallery (no. 236), located within a lovely old sandstone building dating back to 1837, Mittagong Patchwork Cottage (no. 113), The Boston Ivy (no. 107) which has a huge range of rubber stamps, and Bandamora Art Gallery (no. 112). Patchwork Cottage is in Station St. The Antiquarian Bookshop, 2 km north of Mittagong at Balaclava on the old highway, is an interesting shop with a large and diverse selection of books and a children's play area, contact (02) 4872 1852.

At 68-72 Main St is All Aboard Braemer Model Railways, which has a coffee shop and disabilities facilities, all within 2 ha of well-kept grounds, contact (02) 4871 2717. They are open seven days from 9.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.

 

 

The view from the Gib across Mittagong

 

Mt Gibraltar ('The Gib')
Mt Gibraltar (863 m) on the southern side of town is the highest point between the Illawarra coast and the Great Dividing Range.It was known as 'Bowrel' to the Dharawal Aborigines (thought to mean 'mountain'). It has four scenic lookouts.

The Mittagong Lookout faces north and north-east over Mittagong (240 m below) backed by Mt Alexandra with Sydney visible in the distance on a clear day and Mt Keira, adjacent Wollongong, to the right. Next is Jellore Lookout facing west and north-west to Mt Jellore (a conical volcanic summit which was a significant landmark in Major Thomas Mitchell's early mapping of the district). In the distance are the Blue Mountains. The Oxley View overlooks one of the first European land grants in the vicinity, that being 'Wingecarribee', issued to explorer John Oxley. The Bowral Lookout takes in, what else but Bowral (180 m below) with Wingecarribee Dam, Moss Vale and the Cuckbundoon Range near Goulburn in the distance.

The 1.2-km Rim Track (marked by yellow posts) connects all four lookouts. 50 m west of the Mittagong Lookout the Reservoir Track (red) heads north through 'the Cavern' and down to the Mittagong-Bowral Rd (1.4 km return). En route you will pass The Ravine Track (blue) which heads east to the junction with a fire trail (1.2 km return). The Gib Track (white) runs south-west from the Rim Track near the Bowral Lookout down to Ellen St in Bowral (300 m).There are barbecue and picnic facilities.

The Mittagong visitors' centre has a leaflet outlining the historical background of, and the flora and fauna around, the Boxvale Mine Walking Track, an easy 4.4-km circular walk which follows an historic tramline (constructed 1884-1888) through an 84-m tunnel to the old Boxvale anthracite mine near the junction of the Nattai River and Drapers Creek, which ceased operations in 1896. A 1.8-km spur track leads to the 60 Foot Falls. A very steep track branches off from here to a vantage point below the falls. Head west along the old highway towards Berrima for 4 km and you will see a signpost to the right which takes you 250 m to the start of the track.

 

Amber Park Emu and Ostrich Farm
Amber Park Emu and Ostrich Farm, includes the cassowary and the South American rhea, the world's four largest flightless birds. There is a guided tour of the farm which takes in the various stages of the birds' development, a souvenir shop, a kiosk, picnic areas and an animal nursery with birds, kangaroo and donkey. The farm is open seven days from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. on Joadja Rd, contact (02) 4878 5258. Nearby is Joadja Vineyards (02) 4878 5236, open for tastings from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. It is another 3 km to Amber Park and a further 14 km to Joadja (see entry on Joadja).

 

Other Events
Mittagong's Dahlia Festival is held in February at Lake Alexandra and the Mittagong markets are housed in Princess Street's Lodge Jubilee Hall on the third Saturday of each month. The Southern Highlands Food and Wine Festival is in October and Jazz in the Highlands in November.

 

 

 

 

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Mittagong