DO NOT attempt to climb Orphan Rock, the track is closed and EXTREMELY unsafe. Orphan Rock is that amazing rock formation near Scenic World. In 1878 John Britty North developed his coal mine below the cliffs at Orphan Rock and Katoomba was soon recognized as an important mining town. Around this same time Sydney society were… Read More: Orphan Rock, Katoomba »
To the immediate east of Echo Point is Spooners Lookout and it’s about a 200m walk from the Visitor’s Information Centre and is wheelchair friendly. Pass through the archway, next to the Echo Point Visitor Centre, and you’ll soon be surrounded by soaring eucalypt forest, bird calls and fresh mountain air. Keep an eye out for the… Read More: FEATURED LOOKOUT – Spooners Lookout, Katoomba »
This is a great look back at Australia and how some saw it. It’s a Fair Dinkum travelogue. “Made in 1948, “Land of Fair Dinkum” is a travelogue about Australia. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com… Read More: 1940’s Land of Fair Dinkum ~ A short travelogue. »
This is an amazing story. The following information is from the Blue Mountains Local Studies site. The story begins in 1859 when George Bills was born in Brighton England. He came to Australia as a young man, and with his brother established a wire mattress manufacturing business in Kent St Sydney, which operated successfully over… Read More: Bills Horse Troughs in the Blue Mountains »
It’s said there are nearly 100 Klms of tunnels in the cliffs near The 3 Sisters, Katoomba. Coal mining began in that area in 1878 and there were about 40 mines at various times. The mining history in the Jamison Valley, Katoomba around the Scenic Railway and Narrow Neck is incredible. One of the early… Read More: HISTORIC SNAPSHOT ~ Mt Rennies Tunnel, Katoomba »
From the film Australia Collection. Made by the Commonwealth Film Unit 1963. Directed by Loch Townsend. A film guide to the correct method of voting in Commonwealth elections, including a brief history of voting procedures. In an attempt to overcome informal voting in Senate elections, an account is given of the work of the Electoral… Read More: You And Your Vote in 1963 »
With permission today I went for a fly around the State Mine museum in Lithgow. These are the fun outtakes flying the DJI Phantom 2, but it does need a bit of work to remove jello which has crept in now due to a couple of prop strikes in recent weeks (One is in the… Read More: Fun at the State Mine – Lithgow »
Brendan Wacher made this documentary as a short solo project in 2014. Not only is the factory itself an amazing piece of history, but its influence on the town of Lithgow was also very interesting. Multiple streets around the factory were named after weapons, and there had been some quite heavy anti-aircraft guns around Lithgow… Read More: Lithgow Small Arms Factory Documentary »
Queensland climber Muriel Patten becomes the first women to climb the First Sister, Katoomba, 1934. Bert Salmon is above her as both solo the climb. With a female climbing culture firmly established in Queensland by the early 1930s, January 1934 saw 16 Queenslanders—including 7 women—travelling to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains on a ‘rock-climbing holiday’.… Read More: 1st woman to climb the 1st of the 3 Sisters. »