Historical Australian Towns: Lithgow, NSW: A Charming and Unspoiled Town

Lithgow is located 142 kilometres west of Sydney, NSW.

Wiradjuri People

In his book Aboriginal Tribes of Australia (1974), Norman Tindale wrote that Wiradjuri was one of several artificial names coined after the 1890s. There was such a "literary need for major groupings,,' and ethnologist John Fraser provided them.

This group, that we call the Wiradjuri today, once occupied a vast area in central New South Wales, living as hunter-fisher-gatherers, according to kinship and shared traditions, in family groups or clans.

The Wiradjuri were particularly known for their use of carved trees marking the burial site of a notable medicine-man, ceremonial leader or warrior.

The Bora is an initiation ceremony of the Aboriginal people of Eastern Australia. The word "bora" also refers to the site on which the initiation is performed.

Title: Aboriginal bora ceremony ( Aboriginal creation ancestor Baiami was important tothe Burbung male initiation ceremony,)

There are sacred and important sites including ceremonial sites, carved trees, bora grounds, and burial sites in the Lithgow area.

1813

On 31 May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains.

The construction of a road across the Blue Mountains was undertaken by William Cox, who was appointed by Governor Macquarie in 1814. The road was completed in 1815, with convict labour.

William Cox was appointed by Governor Macquarie in 1814 to construct a road across the Blue Mountains to Bathurst. It was completed in 1815

Settlers arrived in the Lithgow Valley in 1824.

Mitchell's Pass opened in 1832.

The town began to develop in1927, named after Governor Brisbane’s private secretary William Lithgow.

1820s

The first land grant, Eskbank Estate in 1842.

1830

In 1836 Charles Darwin Visited Wallerowang Homestead.

Andrew Brown was the first to mine coal commercially in the Western Coalfield. His Cooerwull property was located at Bowenfels in the western end of the Lithgow Valley. Coal was mined on Cooerwull from about 1838.

In 1838 Andrew Brown established a flour mill on Cooerwull, which operated until 1858, when it was converted into a woollen mill.

1840s

Eskbank House was built from 1841 to 1842 by Alexander Binning, a stonemason, using convict labour.

1850s

Gold discovered near Bathurst in 1851.

Andrew Brown encouraged a Scottish family of weavers to emigrate in 1852 and assist with the woollen mills operation. The mill only ceased operation in 1972.

1860s ( the development of coal mining)

Thomas Brown opened two mines at Esk Bank. Thee first in 1868, about 800 metres north of the line of rail and the second in 1873, just south of the railway.(both Thomas and Andrew Brown were Scottish, from similar backgrounds of small Presbyterian farmers)

The zig zag rail line operated between 1869 and 1910, as a means to travel the very steep climb and descent on the western side of the Blue Mountains. It was designed by John Whitton and built from 1863 to 1869 by Patrick Higgins, as contractor.

On 19 October 1869 the first official train ran across the Lithgow Zig Zag to Bowenfels railway station,

In the 1860s, Thomas Sutcliffe Mort developed a large sheep and cattle abattoir in Lithgow and in 1868, he conducted a trial shipment of frozen meat to England.

1870s (beginning of early industrial phase)

By 1874, there were four coal mines operating in the Lithgow area.

By 1874, Enoch Hughes and others took out a lease on some land at Lithgow and began to make the bricks needed for furnaces of an ironworks at Lithgow.

The construction of the Great Western Railway brought about the mining of coal in the region.

The Lithgow Valley Colliery and Pottery Site was built from 1876. The Lithgow Pottery and Brickworks has produced bricks, pipes, chimney-pots, tiles and domestic pottery.

Esk Bank brick factory, Lithgow, NSW, 1875- PowerHouse, PD

Esk-bank-works-operated-by-thomas-brown-Lithgow, NSW, 1875-90, Power House

The Eskbank Brewery opened in 1878.

Lithgow Courthouse was designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet and constructed in 1879.

1880s

Railway Station - Lithgow, NSW, Dated: c.31/12/1890, PD

The former Lithgow Post Office, NSW, corner of Lithgow & Mort Sts was the Lithgow Post Office from c1881 to 1882. (demolished)

[Ironworks, Lithgow, NSW, 1885], Special Collections, PD

Lithgow Zig Zag c.1886, NSW, Museums NSW, PD (The Lithgow Zig Zag line was constructed as part of the Main Western line and opened on the 19 October 1869. Between Lithgow and Clarence, the Main Western line needed to climb the western flank of the Blue Mountains, overcoming a vertical distance of 550 ft (170 m). The alternative eventually decided upon required the use of two railway zig zags known as Top Points and Bottom Points, where all trains had to reverse. The line had a ruling grade of 1:42 (~2.38%) on three inclines known as the Top Road (above Top Points), Middle Road (between the two zig zags) and Bottom Road (below Bottom Points). The line included several short tunnels and some viaducts)

Imperial Hotel, later the New Scenic & known as The Bloodhouse, Inch St Lithgow , NSW,built in 1882 by Henry Corbett. Demolished

Rolling mill and workers, iron works, Lithgow Valley, 1880-1900, PowerHouse, PD

1890s

Water scheme for Lithgow commenced, 1895.

1900s

"RAILWAY ACCIDENT ON THE ZIG-ZAG. [BY TELEGRAPH] SYDNEY, Wednesday.
An accident, involving some £200 damage, occurred on Thursday evening at the Zig-Zag, near Lithgow, to a goods train from Penrith. The train was descending the top line incline, and when the Westinghouse brakes were applied they refused to act. As a result the engine was impelled forward at terrific speed until it struck the end of the length upon which trains back up to enable them to run on to a different track. Here five feet of solid cut-out rock was encountered, and, having demolished the strong buffer stops, the engine bounded up on to the rock ledge, on the other side of which was a deep chasm. A truck next the engine mounted the tender by the force of the impact, and became a total wreck; the next truck also left the rails, but the remainder of the train kept its position. Beyond shock, the driver and fireman received no injuries. A departmental inquiry completed yesterday afternoon shows that the derailment of the engine was due to the injudicious use of the brake, which resulted in the train getting beyond control." - Barrier Miner, Wednesday 10 April 1901, p. 2.

Title: Derailment on the Zig Zag at Lithgow. Dated: 04/04/1901. This was No.246 (later 2542) Beyer, Peacock & Co. 2-6-0 B/No.2329/1884 Museums of History, PD

Title: Derailment on the Zig Zag at Lithgow. Dated: 04/04/1901. This was No.246 (later 2542) Beyer, Peacock & Co. 2-6-0 B/No.2329/1884, Museums of History, PD

Public Parade in Lithgow, New South Wales, photograph taken from the verandah of the Commercial Hotel looking west towards intersection of Main Street and Lithgow Street.(1901) Special Collections PD

Lithgow's Universal Provider, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 1 February 1902

Mr. G. A. Hunn conducted the Imperial' Hotel, opposite Eskbank station Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 1 February 1902

Eight Hour Day, Lithgow, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 22 October 1902

Main Street of Lithgow, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 1 April 1903

Working at the Lithgow Furnace, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 1 April 1903

Lithgow Supply Co. Ltd., Lithgow, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs

Lithgow Hospital, N.S.W. - 1909, Aussie Mobs

Lithgow woollen mills at Cooerwull estate, NSW, . .

Cooerwull Academy was an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Bowenfels, a small town on the western outskirts of Lithgow, NSW. Cooerwull was founded in 1882[. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 24 February 1909

Main street of Lithgow, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 24 February 1909

BLAST FURNACE AT LITHGOW, N.S.W. - very early 1900s. Blast furnace established by William Sandford in 1886. Site of the first iron and steel cast in Australia, which continued production until 1928 when the entire industry was moved to Port Kembla. Aussie Mobs

The Zig Zag, Lithgow Valley, N.S.W. no date. Special Colections, PD

The Defence Committee of the Litligow Miners' Association. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 1 December 1909

Snow in the Main Street of Lithgow, N.S.W. - 1910, Aussie Mobs

Rolling Iron at Eskbank Iron Works, Lithgow, N.S.W. - very early 1900s, Aussie Mobs

Lithgow, NSW, residence showing family, home and pet dog, Lithgow Cemetery in background, Lithgow, New South Wales c. 1910s, Cultural Collections PD

Lake Pillans, Lithgow, N.S.W. - circa 1911, Aussie Mobs

Lithgow
Strike.
The industrial
trouble at Lithgow,
which had -been sim
mering for -some
weeks, assumed ' a
most serious phase
on the evening of
August 29, when non-
unionists employed
at the iron works
and unionists came
into collision.

Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 6 September 1911

Commonwealth SmaliArms Factory, Lithgow, N.S.W. Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), Thursday 23 May 1912

William Sandford's first blast furnace at Lithgow, NSW 1913 Lithgo Blast Furnace, PD

Hermitage Flat, Lithgow, NSW

Hoskins Bros Blast Furnace, Lithgow, New South Wales, c1910s, Special Collections, PD ( No.1 Blast Furnace constructed by William Sanford in 1907 and the No.2 Blast Furnace constructed by Hoskins Bros in 1912-1913. 1913. Special Collections, PD

Small Arms Factory, Lithgow, N.S.W. - possibly WW1 era, Aussie Mobs

March through Lithgow, in vicinity of R. L. Moore's Court House Hotel, Lithgow, New South Wales, c1915, Special Collections, PD

WWI

First Halt After Leaving Lithgow. This was the first of the recruiting marches organised in New South Wales during 1915.Route: Gilgandra, Balladoran, Eumungerie, Mogriguy, Dubbo Wongarbon, Geurie, Wellington, Dripstone, Mumbil, Stuart Town, Euchareena, Boomey, Molong, Orange, Millthorpe, Blayney, Bathampton, Bathurst, Yetholme Wallerawang, Lithgow, Little Hartley, Mt Victoria, Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood, Penrith, Parramatta, Ashfield, Sydney.Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 10 November 1915

Douglas Grant (1885 – 4 December 1951) was an Aboriginal Australian soldier,born in north Queensland near Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands, who was orphaned as a result of a massacre of Aboriginal people by the Native Police. He was fostered and eventually taken to Lithgow, NSW, During World War I, he was captured by the German army and held as a prisoner of war. Grant, later became secretary of Lithgow Returned Soldiers' League

LATE PTE. A. R. TAIT. OFFICIALLY REPORTED KILLED IN
ACTION. Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Wednesday 12 January 1916

The Pottery, Lithgow, N.S.W. - circa 1916, Aussie Mobs

KILLED IN ACTION. of Lithgow, who was killed in action in France on May 15. The late Pte.Edwards, who was 21 years of age, enlisted in Septem-ber and sailed in November. His parents
live in Waverley. When he enlisted he was engaged at the small arms factory. PTE. THOMAS EDWARDS,Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Wednesday 20 June 1917

A DISUSED BAKEHOUSE: Two little girls In photo suffered recently from diphtheria; no front on trance; no bathroom; IIs per week rent; 10 persons (two families) residing In four small rooms. Lithgow, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 7 February 1918

"TIPPERARY" COTTAGE, near the blast furnaces, Lithgow; consists of two
rooms; rental 8b per week; no water laid on: occupied by a family of four persons. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 7 February 1918

A GLIMPSE OF SUBURBIA, LITHGOW: An old stable used by two married men as sleeping quarters, for which they pay together with small hut for cooking 7s
6d por week each — 15s In all. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Thursday 7 February 1918

Lithgow Hospital, NSW, no date, Public domain

1920s

The closing of the Blast Furnace in 1929.

The Theatre Royal, Lithgow, NSW, was built as a live theatre, opening in 1917. In 1926-1927 it was reconstructed to the plans of architect Henry Eli White

Lithgow, NSW (produce store)

1930s

Arthur Butler being congratulated by crowd at his home-town, Lithgow, after breaking the England to Australia flight record, 1931 Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

The economic meltdown from the Wall Street Crash affected the entire world, from 1929 to 1939.

Labor Daily (Sydney, NSW : 1924 - 1938), Saturday 16 September 1933

Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 20 July 1934

Industrious Lithgow [float] from Sesquicentenary Manufacturers' Parade, Sydney, 1938, SLNSW, PD

1940s and WWII

Gilgandra Weekly and Castlereagh (NSW : 1929 - 1942), Thursday 6 August 1942

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 15 July 1942

Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 31 January 1943,

After Japan's entry into World War II in 1941 and invasion of Singapore in 1942, when more than 15,000 Australian soldiers were captured , Lithgow's important industries, transport infrastructure and defence sites were given increased protection from aerial attack.

The Lithgow Heavy Anti Aircraft Gun Stations and Dummy Station is a heritage-listed former gun emplacements, anti aircraft gun batteries and dummy batteries and now disused railway signal box located via Kirkley Street, Bowenfels, City of Lithgow. It was built from 1941 to 1942.

Mine subsidence cracks Lithgow homes, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Sunday 18 May 1947

Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Wednesday 17 August 1949

Two Lithgow boys have made handy pocket-money out of working a small coal mine after school and at weekends. Daily Mirror (Sydney, NSW : 1941 - 1955), Tuesday 16 August 1949

Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954), Wednesday 1 June 1949

1950s

As the result of a fine community effort by ex-service-men and other good citizens of Lithgow, N.S.W., a young war widow and her four children will soon be established in their own home.Public subscription has supplied the money, and members of the Lithgow Branch of the R.S.S.A.I.LA. have given the time, energy, and labor necessary to restore and practically rebuild a ramshackle house at Hermitage Flat, Lithgow, for the mother and her young family. Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 27 May 1950

Striking picture of Marjorie Jackson, the 'Lithgow Flash,' who twice equalled the world's record at the Empire Games Wellington Times (NSW : 1899 - 1954), Thursday 16 February 1952

Main Street of Lithgow, NSW, 1956, celebrations, McLaren local history collection [microform]

1960s

Queen at Bathurst and Lithgow, NSW, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Saturday 13 February 1954,

McLaren local history collection [microform].Lithgow "Festival of the Valley" : official souvenir programme.1957, Swimming pool at the small arms factory, Lithgow, NSW

1960s

Lithgow (Wallerawang) Power Station interior mid 1960s, NSW, Peter Deane, PD

1970s

Lithgow was also the location of an alleged assassination attempt on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1970.

In 1972 a cooperative formed to re-use the Lithgow zig zag line using rolling stock sourced from inter-state. In 1975, the line re-opened as a tourist attraction, operating between Top and Bottom Points. The re-development extended to Mt Sinai halt in 1987 and on to Clarence in 1988.

2000s