Historical Australian Towns

Bothwell: A Tasmania Town of Georgian Character

The quaint village of Bothwell in Tasmania is set in the verdant Clyde River Valley, about an hour’s drive north of Hobart. Today, the village boasts many intact Georgian buildings with beautiful period features.

The Big River People

Once Were The Most Isolated People on The Earth

Analysis of Aboriginal hair samples has shown that Aboriginal people have lived in Australia, with little geographical movement, for up to 50,000 years. The evidence also shows that Aboriginal people are descendants of a single founding group of people that arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago when Australia was connected to New Guinea.

Approximately 40,000 years ago, some Aboriginal Australians crossed a land bridge which existed between Tasmania and the mainland. Then, 5,000 – 10,000 years ago, the climate warmed, the ice melted and sea levels rose. The land bridge to the mainland was submerged and Tasmanian Aboriginal people became isolated.

The Aboriginal people from the area, which would later be known as Bothwell, are often called the Big River people.

It is difficult to provide the perspective of Aboriginal people before colonisation, due to the lack of any written language. The journals of George Augustus Robinson can enable us to gain some insight into the experiences and lives of these people of the past.

The first contact between the British and the Tasmanian Aboriginal people has been recorded as occurring in 1772. Though Sadly, from the very beginning, there was a marked hostility between the two groups, and by the 1830s, guerrilla warfare was being waged by both sides.

The last of the original Big River and Oyster Bay people, sixteen men, nine women and one child, led by Big River chief Montpeilliater and Oyster Bay chief Tukalunginta were taken by government agent George Augustus Robinson in December 1831, somewhere near Lake Echo on the central plateau. Robinson wrote:

“reason for their outrages upon the white inhabitants [was] that they and their forefathers had been cruelly abused, that their country had been taken away from them, their wives and daughters had been violated and taken away, and that they had experienced a multitude of wrongs from a variety of sources. They were willing to accept the offers of the government...” “who Mr Robinson promised would readily comply with all their wishes and supply all their wants”.
Local stories of Bothwell tell us that these Aboriginal people danced a corroboree in front of Bothwell’s Castle Hotel on 5 January 1832, before walking on to Hobart and being taken to Flinders Island.

Image from page 256 of "Natives of Australia" (1906)

A picture of the last four Tasmanian Aborigines of solely indigenous descent (Circa 1860s). Truganini, the last to survive, is seated at far right.


Tasmanian Aboriginal rock relic

The British

The English soldier and explorer, Thomas Laycock, who served in North America during the War of 1812, was the first European to travel overland through the interior of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land).

Portrait of Thomas Laycock, 98th Regiment, c1811

Laycock set off on his expedition in 1807 with four other men. The group came upon the Clyde River, which they named "Fat Doe River", and they camped at a spot which later to become the township of Bothwell.

After this, the area around Bothwell was used for grazing stock by, Edward Lord, an officer of the marines, a commandant, magistrate, pastoralist and merchant. By 1820, Lord was one of the richest men in Van Diemen's Land. He also had social status and the right connections. But he was, as Governor Macquarie described him, "a dangerous and troublesome man" - one of the 'bad characters". His story overlaps with Charles Rowcroft, mentioned below.

Vicious Bushranger

Bushrangers, such as Mike Howe, who was captured near the Shannon River in October 1818, also roamed about the Bothwell area. Howe was later killed on the banks of the Shannon, near Hunterston, and his head was carried back to Hobart Town for the reward.

Mike Howe, Bothwell, TAS, Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 30 May 1954

Sheep Farming

In December of 1820, Lt. Governor Sorell accompanied by Surveyor G. W. Evans visited the Bothwell district and found land suitable for sheep farming.

The first European settlers to make their homes in Bothwell were mostly of Scottish background.
The first families who settled here were Charles and Horace Rowcroft, who at settled at Norwood and Grassy Hut and Edward Nicholas and his family, who settled at Nant and constructed a water-powered mill, which produced flour until the late 1880s. They arrived on the Grace in August 1821.

In 1822, a ship arrived called the Castle Forbes, which brought settlers to the area.

Captain Patrick Wood, a retired officer of the East Indian Army – who settled the large farming property, Dennistoun. Myles Patterson and his family ( Hunterston), Phillip Russell (Strathbarton), Adam Smith, who established part of Meadsfield, Captain and Mrs Sockett (Logan) and the Reid family, who were granted land on the Clyde River (Ratho). The Reid family lived in a mud cottage for three years until a more permanent homestead was built.

Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser (Tas. : 1821 - 1825), Saturday 2 March 1822

Charles Rowcroft and his Fanciful Fictions

Born in England, Charles Rowcroft was educated at Eton from 1809-11. However, in 1821, he arrived with his brother Horace to take up 2000 acres (809 ha), just north of Bothwell.

Things were going well for Charles and he became a justice of the peace at age 24. That is until Charles engaged in an affair with Maria Lord (nee Riseley), the wife of Edward Lord (mentioned above) and he was sued for adultery ( Criminal Conversation).

Charles was almost destitute at this stage, but upon hearing of his father's death back in England, he departed Van Diemen's Land on the Cumberland and was back in England in 1827.

Charles bought a boarding school at Streatham, London. In 1843, he published his first novel, Tales of the Colonies, or, the Adventures of an Emigrant, Edited by a late Colonial Magistrate. This book, although a sensationalised tale, is the first Australian novel written by a settler. Read here

Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Friday 10 March 1911

Early Settlers

Nicholas Family: Nant Water Mill

Edward Nicholas and family arrived in Bothwell in 1821. They brought workmen, machinery and seeds with them to the value of 1800 pounds and named their land grant Nant, which means "a valley", after their home back in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. Wales.

Nant distillery is situated in old grain mill. There is an original paddle wheel and sluice gate, with grinding stones from Scotland.

Nant Homestead, Bothwell Tasmania ( circa 1821). The Nant Estate, was the home of Edward Nicholas, the first settler at Bothwell, after he arrived from Wales in 1821. A convict built Georgian sandstone cottage on the property was once used by the Irish political exiles, John Mitchell and John Martin, who were transported to Tasmania because of their quest for Irish freedom.

Reid Family: Australia’s Oldest Golf Course

Alexander Reid, who had been a merchant in Edinburgh’s port town of Leith, established Ratho Bank Estate, where he farmed sheep. After arriving at Bothwell, the Reid family lived in a mud cottage for three years, until their homestead was built. On one occasion, Mrs Reid was held up by bushrangers. The Reid family at Ratho and three other settlers of the area laid out golf courses on their farms. Alexander Reid played what is thought to be Australia's first game of golf on his estate, Ratho.

Ratho farm, Bothwell, TAS

Wood Family: Angus Cattle

Captain Patrick Wood, a retired officer of the East Indian Army, established a large property called Dennistoun eight kilometres north of Bothwell. The first Angus breed cattle were unloaded at the Hobart Town docks, in January 1824, after a journey from Fife, Scotland and driven up the streets of Hobart and then onto Bothwell and to Dennistoun. Dennistoun is the oldest property to continuously farm Angus Cattle in Australia.

Dennistoun, Bothwell, TAS

Captain Sockett and his Wife: Logan

Captain Sockett and his wife settled at Logan. However, on Christmas day 1824 Captain Wood wrote a letter to the Governor informing him of a raid, probably by the Brady gang.

Dennistoun

25 Dec 1824

"Sir,
I trust that Your Honor and family accomplished the journey to Port Dalrympre ….

On my way from town yesterday I was sorry to learn that three persons had visited the Cottage of Captain Sockett in the neighbourhood and after using him and Mrs Sockett exceedingly [v]ile carried away the whole of their property to the amount of 500.
The Socketts were so distressed they packed up and shortly left the colony. Captain Wood purchased the Socketts grant and quickly resold it to the recently arrived McDowalls in February 1825."

Philip Russell, Strathbarton

Philip Russell, formerly of the East India Co, helped to establish the Dennistoun estate near Bothwell, but when his elder brother, William, arrived in 1839 he became Captain Wood's tenant before establishing his own property, Strathbarton, near Apsley.

Strathbarton, near Apsley, Bothwell, TAS

Adam Smith established part of Meadsfield

Landscape view of Meadsfield at Bothwell, Libraries Tasmania's Online collection

Thomas Axford, Thorpe Water wheel

Thorpe watermill was built by Tomas Axford, who arrived in Diemen's Land in November 822, on the Christina. Axford established Thorpe farm near Bothwell. Almost immediately, Axford began building a watermill, with handmade bricks, which operated until 1865. Thomas Axford, the original owner of Thorpe, was murdered by bushranger Rocky Whelan on Constitution Hill.

Thorpe watermill, near Bothwell, TAS

Dr James Ross, the Hermitage

James Ross, from Aberdeen, Scotland, arrived at Hobart Town on the Regalia, in December 1822. Soon after, he was granted 1000 acres (405 ha) on the River Shannon near Bothwell. However, Ross became discouraged by thievery by bushrangers and a fire at his property. So he sold the Hermitage and moved away from Bothwell and became involved with the production of the Hobart Town Gazette.

Side view of ROSS, James (Dr) cottage The Hermitage, TAS, Libraries Tasmania

William Langdon, British naval officer, Montacute

William Langdon, a British naval officer, received a grant of 1500 acres (607 ha) on the Clyde River near Bothwell in 1823. He called his property, Montacute. In September 1834, Langdon arrived in Van Diemen's Land, with his wife Anne and their daughter, also, Anne, to settle the estate.

Bothwell - "Montacute". Built about 1834, home of Captain William Langdon. photo taken 1967, Libraries TAS

The Naming

When the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was called in those days, arrived at the settlement in 1824, he named it after the Scottish town of Bothwell on the Clyde River. The settlers of the Bothwell area, however, like many other Tasmanian people of the time, often led anxious lives, with attacks coming from the outraged Aboriginal population and the fear of escaped convicts, who would often steal food and livestock.

The Wentworth Mansion

Captain D’Arcy Wentworth, the brother of William Charles Wentworth of Vaucluse House, Sydney, was granted 10 acres of land on the River Clyde, in 1830 and he built a large cottage. In 1832, the "Wentworth Mansion" commenced construction, using convict labour and was named Inverhall. D'Arcy was the former commandant of Barracks, at Bothwell.

Inverhall, the Wentworth Mansion, completed 1833, Bothwell, TAS

The Literary Society

The Literary Society Building was founded by Reverend James Garrett in 1834. The building housed the oldest regional library in Australia. The Irish political convict, John Mitchell, wrote that "Bothwell has a very tolerable public library, such library as no village of similar population in Ireland had".

The old library building Bothwell, built about 1834, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 4 October 1934

Irish Exiles

In the 1850s two “Irish Exiles” – John Martin and John Mitchel, were living in Bothwell. John Mitchel wrote in his journal that two flour mills had been established just outside the town and a tannery, a bakery, a blacksmith, a police office and a brickworks were operating. John Mitchel, who had been transported to Van Diemen’s Land for sedition, managed to escape to the United States some years later.

John Mitchel Irish exile, Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Thursday 20 February 1930

John Martin, Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Saturday 18 March 1905

Notable

On September 18, 1850, Mr Blackwell was granted a stagecoach licence for a two-wheel vehicle to run between Green Ponds and Bothwell.

Alfred Barratt Biggs, who is credited with making the first long-distance telephone call in Australia in 1877, between Campbell Town and Launceston, was a teacher at Bothwell in 1845 and 1864. Later, Biggs was Government Astronomer and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Bothwell was proclaimed a rural Municipality in 1862 and proclaimed a town in 1866.

Bothwell State School opened in Market Place in 1887.

Was Once a Rabbit Shop

The building in the background of the photo below was built in the 1830s by John Colbeck. The timber structure in the front was built in the late 1800s. The building operated as a butcher shop for many years. During the great depression, when food was scarce and meat generally expensive, rabbits were sold here as an affordable food source.

Older Bothwell locals recall that, from the 1940s, into the 1960s, this shop became a dairy owned by Mrs Horne. Her cow would graze up and down the street during the day, returning for milking in the evening. Mrs Horne sold the milk, cream and butter from the cow and some of the local people can remember being sent down to Mrs Horne’s by their mother's, to buy a pound of butter. (provided by V.G)

1830s home of John Colbeck (behind) and former rabbit shop (front). Bothwell, TAS

Historical Photos of Bothwell

Photograph - Stereograph -Our old home at Bothwell before I [Alfred Barrett Biggs] was born. Left there 1872. At time of photo it was a school.Also home of Bothwell Literary Society. By 1988 Bothwell Council Chambers.A brick dwelling marked. Libraries Tasmania

Front view of the Bothwell Post Office, Bothwell, TAS, circa 1870, Libraries Tasmania

Close up view of White's Store, Bothwell, TAS, c1870, Libraries Tasmania

Streetscape view of Main Road, Bothwell, TAS, c1870

Side view of White's Store in Bothwell, TAS, with children playing in the foreground. C1870

The Apsley to Bothwell coach in Bothwell, about 1880, Bothwell, TAS

Crown Hotel, 15 Alexander Street, Bothwell, TAS, c1880, Libraries Tasmania

State Library of Victoria. Bothwell farm, 1924, TAS

Presbyterian Church, Bothwell, 17 Aug 1930, Libraries Tasmania

Side view of the "Apsley to Bothwell" coach on Main Street, Bothwell, TAS, c1880, Libraries Tasmania

Bothwell Post Office - formerly Bank of Van Diemen's Land, Bothwell, TAS, 1900, Libraries Tasmania

Blake family of Bothwell outside their shingle and split paling house, Bothwell, TAS. Circa 1907, Libraries Tasmania

Cluny Homestead, near Bothwell, home of Mr. L. C. Cockburn.” - The Tasmanian Mail, December 5, 1908.

Bothwell - Crown Hotel in background - party in car leaving for Waddamana, c1923, Libraries Tasmania

White Hart Inn, Bothwell, TAS (Burnt), circa 1930, Libraries Tasmania

Group photograph of the Bothwell Fotball Club - Country Premiers 1931, Libraries Tasmania

A glimpse of Bothwell, TAS, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 22 October 1938

Home of the Wilson family, of The Steppes, Bothwell - standing outside the house with visitors

Edward Godfrey Hale born Bothwell, Tasmania. Aust. 7th Field Ambulance hit by shrapnel and killed in action on 25th Oct. 1915 at Gallipoli. Courtesy of ww1anzac.com

Today Bothwell is an unspoilt Georgian village and a wonderful place to wander about and explore.

Around Bothwell

Old houses in Bothwell, TAS, falling into ruin

Bothwell, TAS, Caravan Park, central highlands Tasmania home to Ratho Farm, Australia's oldest golf course

Old house at Ratho Farm in Bothwell, TAS

Castle Hotel, Bothwell, TAS (Circa 1829)

Thorpe Watermill was built by Thomas Axford in the early 1820, Bothwell, TAS

Bothwell, TAS, Post Office (Circa 1891)

Bothwell Grange by Panoramio, Bothwell, TAS

20 Alexander Street (White's Shop), Bothwell, TAS, built 1880s. White's Store was retained in the White family for over 140 years before it was closed

5 Dennistoun Road, Bothwell, TAS, built 1847

Formerly, Bothwell Stores, TAS, circa 1840 and Mrs Harris's house

Settler Edward Bowden built "Slate Cottage" for his wife Dinah in 1836, Bothwell, TAS

"Roseleith", circa 1906,. 24-26 Elizabeth Street, Bothwell

8 Dalrymple Street, Bothwell, "The Falls of Clyde", built in 1831 for blacksmith Sandy Denholm, Bothwell, TAS

Bothwell Cemetery, Bothwell, TAS

Things To Do and Places To Go

Historical Walk Bothwell

Bothwell and its Chronology

Australasian Golf Museum

Browse Bothwell

Bothwell Residents 1866

Books to Read

The Broad Arrow; Being Passages from the History of Maida Gwynnham, a Lifer, an 1859 novel published by the English writer Caroline Woolmer Leakey under the pseudonym Oliné Keese. Here

Berrima, NSW: An Interesting Georgian Period Town

The historic town of Berrima is situated in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia.

Berrima, which was established in the 1830s, is Australia's oldest Georgian village.

The Gundangara People

The name of the town of Berrima means "southward" or "black swan" in the Gundangara, Aboriginal language.

The Gundangara people, whose traditional land includes the area around Berrima, lived a hunter and gather lifestyle before the arrival of the British.

The Gundangara people believed that the landscape was created by the struggle between two creator beings, the Gurangatch, a type of "rainbow serpent", and Mirragan, a "quoll-man".

Various cultural rituals and protocols practised by Aboriginal people are also part of modern Australia. These include, "Welcome to Country", where Traditional Custodians give their blessing for an event and "Smoking Ceremonies", a purification ritual performed by a knowledgeable Aboriginal person.

Aboriginal Bora Ceremony - circa 1900

Australian Aboriginal rock painting of the "Rainbow Serpent".

The Europeans and Escape To China

Berrima first came to the attention of the British in 1798, when Governor John Hunter sent a party to the region, led by ex-convict John Wilson, to investigate the area and to provide information to counter the wild stories circulating amongst the convicts that, China and a means of escape, lay somewhere to the south of the region.

The expedition returned to the Governor, with positive descriptions about the land that would become the Southern Highlands. However, the resources were not available to develop the region until 1818, when Hamilton Hume, James Meehan and Robert Hoddle were sent to conduct a survey of the area, for Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Major Thomas Mitchell selected Berrima for development in 1829, as a new road from Sydney was required to replace the old, very steep Argyle Road, over the Mittagong Range. Mail coaches were soon passing through Berrima, on the new road, and the town began to develop.

Berrima Gaol often called "bury-me gaol", was built fr om the local sandstone between 1836 and 1839, by convicts in chains. A bishop who was visiting the region described one of the chain gangs as "...fettered with heavy chains, harassed with heavy work, and fed on salt meat and coarse bread, their faces are awful to behold and their existence one of desperation".

Convict labourers, creation: 1826

Berrima Gaol, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 12 July 1922

Administrative Centre

The plan for Berrima to be established as a commercial and administrative centre for the County of Camden was flourishing by 1840. The gaol was built from 1835-9 and the Court House in 1838. Blocks of land, however, were first sold in 1833. Bryan McMahon was granted title to land at the corner of Bryan and Jellore Streets, where he would establish the Berrima Inn, also known as McMahon's Inn (The (Coach & Horses Inn). The inn was in operation until 1848, after which, Brian McMahon and his family resided there until his death.

Berrima Court House, built 1838, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 7 July 1934

Other inns which operated in Berrima's early days, were the Surveyor-General Inn, the Mail Coach Inn, and the Crown Inn. Holy Trinity Anglican Church was designed by Edmund Blacket. And built from 1849 and St Francis Xavier's Roman Catholic Church was built from 1849 to 1851, by William Munro.

An English-Style Village

By 1841, 37 houses had been built at Berrima and 7 more were being constructed. The population was 249. Berrima at this time was developing into a substantial town and administrative centre, with its impressive early Greek-revival style courthouse and other solid, Georgian buildings. From 1841, the Supreme Court Circuit had a Police Magistrate, Clerk of Petty Sessions, and nine police constables.

Many people journeyed to Berrima from Sydney in the early days and at one stage, the town had 13 inns, which were described by Reverend John Dunmore Lang, as being operated by publicans of a "low character".

By 1851, the population of Berrima had dropped to 192, as Berrima began to lose its importance after the Circuit Court was moved to Goulburn in 1850. Although, Quarter Sessions continued at Berrima, conducted by local magistrates. Berrima Court House continued to function as a district court until around 1900.

Surveyor General Hotel, Berrima, N.S.W. - early 1900s

Surveyor General Inn, Berrima, N.S.W. Built 1834

Berrima Serial KIller

John Lynch, born in 1813 in Cavan, Ireland, was transported to Australia on the ship Dunvegan Castle, 1 July 1832, at the age of 19, after being convicted of false pretences. Lynch was billeted out to Berrima, where he worked on various farms as a convict labourer. Then, Lynch joined a gang of bushrangers.

In 1835, Lynch and two other members of his gang were charged with killing Tom Smythe, who had given evidence against Lynch's gang. Lynch admitted to the crime, but while the other two men were hung, the jury did not believe Lynch, and he was set free.

Picton Post (NSW : 1907 - 1954), Wednesday 1 March 1933

After this, Lynch embarked on a murder spree, and it is believed that he killed about ten people in the Berrima area. The law finally caught up with Lynch, and he was executed by hanging in Berrima Gaol, on 22 April 1842.

Bushranger Jackey Jackey

William Westwood, also known as Jackey Jackey, was an English-born convict who also became a bushranger. It was in 1840 after he received 50 lashes for trying to escape, that Westwood took to bushranging. He was captured at Berrima in the following year, at the Black Horse Inn. However, life only went downwards for him after this, as he was sent to Cockatoo Island and then, was transported for life in 1842, to Port Arthur, Van Diemen's Land, for trying to escape again. In the end, Westwood was executed at Norfolk Island, as the leader of the 1846 Cooking Pot Uprising.

Death mask of bushranger William Westwood, also known as Jackey Jackey, State Library of New South Wales

James Harper

Harper's Mansion was built by James Harper, who was born in 1805 to parents who were both transported convicts. James, the couple's only son, was baptised by the Rev. Samuel Marsden, in Parramatta, on 22 December 1805. James' wife, Mary Robinson, a convict, was initially given a death sentence, but she was transported instead, to the colonies, for 14 years, for the crime of robbery.

In 1834 James purchased 100 acres of Crown Land at Berrima and he probably built his house not long afterwards. James also built The Surveyor General Inn, named after Thomas Mitchell.

The Surveyor General Inn, Berrima, built in 1834 for James Harper, using convict labour Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Saturday 15 December 1923

Joseph Levy of the Victoria Inn

The Victoria Inn was built by Joseph Levy, an ex-convict who became a businessman. The inn was first licensed in 1840, operating as an inn and brewery. Philip Solomon was the initial licensee.

Levy's Hotel and Berrima Coach to Sydney, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907), Saturday 19 March 1898

James Powell

James Powell was conducting business in Berrima by 1850. He was an ex-convict, who married Mary Riches in 1843. But Mary died in 1852, leaving James with five children. In the following year, James married Jane Henshall, at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Berrima and the couple began to have their own children.

James operated various businesses in Berrima and he was also elected to Warden of Holy Trinity Church in 1858. When he died in 1885, James owned land and three buildings in Berrima: the School of Arts building, Bellevue House and The Queen Victoria Inn (Allingham House).

The Queen Victoria Inn built by Joseph Levy and later owned by James Powell,
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Saturday 28 August 1965

A View Of Berrima

View from Church Hill, Berrima, NSW, in 1900

Football

Berrima-Camden Football Team, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 27 July 1901

Public School

The original sandstone Berrima Public School building opened in 1870, with about 50 students. However, there were earlier schools in the town. The people of Berrima raised one-third of the cost of the building.

Berrima Public School, opened 1869, photo 1913. State Records NSW

WWII "Enemy Aliens"

The gaol was closed in 1909, but during WWI, Berrima Gaol became an internment camp for hundreds of German and Austrian men; mostly German ship's officers and sailors who were in Australia at the outbreak of the war. The men named the gaol Ahnenschloss (Castle Foreboding). These men who were regarded as being "enemy aliens", created gardens and a recreation area next to the Wingecarribee River and these gardens, strangely enough, would inspire tourists to once again, visit the Berrima area.

A group of German prisoners of war playing zithers and guitars in their national dress, Berrima Concentration Camp, New South Wales, ca. 1916. National Library of Australia

German Internment Camp, Berrima

Berrima Concentration Camp, NSW, 1917, Special Collections

Reading room, detention barracks, Berrima, NSW, Special Collections

Post War

After the war, In 1948, the Berrima Training Centre, a minimum security correctional centre opened at the Berrima Gaol.

Sign painting Berrima Prison, NSW, Sunday Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1949 - 1953), Sunday 2 August 1953

Industry

The Berrima cement works began operation in the latter half of 1927 with cement production commencing in May 1929. The town of New Berrima was established in 1928, to house the cement works and mine employees and their families.

Locomotives 5464 and 5428 at Berrima Cement Works, NSW, circa 1964, Aust.Rail.Hist.Soc Railway Resource Centre

Around Berrima

Today, Berrima is one of the few remaining intact villages of the colonial period, with irreplaceable cultural and architectural history, set in beautiful natural surroundings.

Berrima House was built in 1835, Burma NSW. bushranger Ben Hall, the bushranger is said to have slept here in 1864

Colonial Inn Berrima, built by 1834, in Colonial Georgian cottage style, Originally Breen’s Inn, Berrima, NSW

Berrima Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at Argyle Street, Berrima, NSW, was built in 1886 by R. N. Matthews

CBC Bank Building, built about 1836, is a heritage-listed bank building at 12 Jellore Street, Berrima, The land consisting of numbers 10, 12 and 14 Jellore Street was purchased by John Keighran of Campelltown in 1834 and 1835

The "Settler's Hut" at the rear of Jellore cottage was erected in Wheeo as a bushman's hut c. 1840s, and after falling into disrepair, was moved to Berrima, NSW, and re-erected in the 1990s.

Magistrate's House, built 1860s. by James Higgins, an early Berrima storekeeper. The house was later leased to the police magistrate from 1873 to 1891, NSW

Masonic Hall, Berrima, NSW, 1867. Built by James Powell. It later served as the School of Arts and in 1929, it became a Presbyterian Church. Now a residence. denisbin