Braemar

 

Springwood
Famous for the bushwalks and the nearby home of Australian artist, Norman Lindsay
Springwood, the second-largest town in the Mountains, is located 74 km from Sydney and 371 m above sea-level. It is a genuinely charming and attractive township.

When searching out a route across the Blue Mountains, Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson camped here in 1813, noting several Aboriginal huts in the area. The site was named by Governor Macquarie in 1815 while inspecting the road built over the mountains by William Cox and his convict labourers. Macquarie noted a 'pretty wooded Plain near a Spring of very good fresh Water' and named it 'Spring-Wood'. The Macquarie Memorial,erected at Springwood in 1938 by the Royal Australian Historical Society, celebrates this event as the naming of the first town in the Blue Mountains, although it must be remembered that Macquarie was actually naming a locality as there was no settlement at that time.

In 1816 Governor Macquarie had the military depot moved from Glenbrook Lagoon to Springwood. These simple barracks were built near the present site of the monument and remained until 1845.

By 1822, when Barron Field crossed the mountains, it was already known as an ideal place to rest. Field, after complaining about the difficulty of getting up Lapstone Hill observed: 'we did not reach Spring Wood (twelve miles and a half from the river), where alone there is space enough in the forest to encamp upon, till after 9 o¹clock at night. There is little or no grass here, and the timber consists principally of those species of eucalyptus called by the colonists stringy and ironbark.'

Like all the settlements in the Blue Mountains, Springwood really started to develop after the arrival of the railway in 1867. Easy access rendered the Blue Mountains a fashionable watering hole and holiday resort in the 1880s. With a population of a few hundred people and a reputation for a cool climate and plenty of rural charm it was hardly surprising that the Illustrated Sydney News described the village in the following terms: 'One's first impressions of Springwood are exceedingly pleasant, and we can honestly state that subsequent explorations only serve to confirm them. Pausing at the station, which, by the way, is one of the prettiest upon the line, and quite in harmony with its surroundings, one¹s eye rests upon a road of a warm red colour and sidewalks shaded with the dense blue-grey foliage of turpentine trees, the scene flanked at each side with cosy buildings of wood and stone. Even the police-station exhibits a display of taste, and everything seems in harmony.'

Today Springwood still has some interesting old buildings. One of the bonuses of the town is that it has developed on the south side of the railway and, thus, is separated from the Great Western Road with its continuous heavy traffic.

 

Things to see:  

Historic Buildings in the Area
Most of the interesting buildings are in Macquarie Street which runs along the southern side of the railway line

'Braemar' in Macquarie Road was built in 1892 and is now owned by the Blue Mountains City Council. It is a typical colonial cottage of the period.

 

Frazer Memorial Presbyterian Church

 

Nearby is the Frazer Memorial Presbyterian Church, it was built from local stone in 1895, after John Frazer, a politician who had built a large mansion in Springwood, bequeathed £5000 to the church.

The Springwood Railway Station in Macquarie Road was built on the railway platform in 1884 and, because it has become an essential part of the Springwood townscape and is an interesting example of railway architecture of the period, it is now classified by the National Trust.

On the Great Western Highway is the charming, Christ Church, Church of England which was first built in 1889 and not completed until 1962. The completion of the building was a result of the architect Sir John Sulman drawing up plans and specifications.

At 168 Hawkesbury Rd (on the northern side of town) is an historic Catholic seminary building which is now St Columba's High School.

 

Lookouts
A little further along Hawkesbury Rd is a turnoff on the right into Singles Ridge Road. Quite some distance along is another turnoff on the left into Yellow Rock Rd. At its end is Yellow Rock Lookout which offers excellent views of the Nepean River below.

Further north again, adjacent Hawkesbury Rd (in Hawkesbury Heights) is Hawkesbury Lookout.

 

Fairy Dell
For bushwalkers, one of the attractions of Springwood is the Fairy Dell which is located no more than ten minutes from the railway station. The walk, which heads from Springwood Avenue behind the car park on the south side of the railway line, can last for forty minutes and come out at Picnic Point or continue for an hour and reach Lawson¹s Lookout. The ferns, native plants and peaceful bush settings are delightful - a point which was not lost on the writers of The Pictorial Guide to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales who, in 1882, observed 'Going through the grounds at the back of the 'Royal', a beautiful secluded gully will be found with several stretches of flat land, where the thoughtful owner of the hotel has had seats placed, and on hot days this cool retreat is very enjoyable.'

Fairy Dell is a unique opportunity to partake of one of the pleasures which attracted our great-grandparents to the Blue Mountains in the late nineteenth century.

 

Sassafras Gully Reserve
On the south side of the highway is Sassafras Gully Reserve, sandwiched between two portions of the Blue Mountains National Park. From the end of Farm Rd, which runs off Burns Rd, is Martins Park which is the starting point of a walk to Martins Lookout in the Reserve.

Slightly further west, another track heads south from Picnic Point Reserve (end of Valley Rd). It follows the passage of Magdala Creek to, and beyond, Magdala Falls.

A third track follows the course of Sassafras Gully Creek. It can be joined by heading south along Victoria Track from the starting point near the highway in Faulconbridge. This course takes in Clarinda Falls. Two other tracks, which start in Springwood, intersect with Victoria Track. One departs from Sassafras Gully Rd and another (Wiggins Track) departs from the end of Yondell Ave. Both join up with Victoria Track at a point south of Clarinda Falls. For further information ring the National Parks and Wildlife Service on (02) 4787 8877.

 

 

A satyr chases a naked girl in the gardens at Norman Lindsay's home

 

Norman Lindsay's House
Between Springwood and Faulconbridge is one of the most famous attractions in the mountains - Norman Lindsay house which has been converted into a gallery and museum. See Faulconbridge for detailed information.

 

 

 

 

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Springwood