Burragorang or Burragorang Valley is a locality in the

Macarthur Region Macarthur is a region in the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council, and Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,067 s ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, in

Wollondilly Shire Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollo ...

. It is home to

Lake Burragorang Lake Burragorang is a man-made reservoir in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, serving as a major water supply for greater metropolitan Sydney. The dam impounding the lake, the Warragamba Dam, is located approximately sout ...

, which is impounded by

Warragamba Dam Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, New South Wales, Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the prima ...

. It is located within the

Blue Mountains National Park The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, and the park boundary is quite ...

– specifically the

Nattai National Park The Nattai National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Macarthur and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. It is situated approximately southwest of the Sydney central business district a ...

History

In 1827, the town of ''Burragorang'' was established as a mining town and up to the 1960s was a major supplier of coal. Moreover, lead and silver had also been mined in the valley until about 1927. With the boom of Sydney's population after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Warragamba Dam was constructed between 1948 and 1960 on the

Warragamba River The Warragamba River, a river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed through the confluence of the Coxs River and two minor tributaries, Wa ...

, inundating the Burragorang Valley, creating Lake Burragorang. Consequently, the town of Burragorang and others like it in the valley were lost under water. The area around Burragorang and Nattai had been home to numerous collieries from the 1920s to the 1990s, such as the Nattai-Bulli, Oakleigh, Wollondlly, Nattai North and Valley collieries. It is estimated 72 million tonnes of coal was mined in the Burragorang-Nattai region. The area also had deposits of

oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...

, and some mining of shale occurred. The ABC programme ''A Drowned Valley'' by ABC Open producer Sean O'Brien documents former residents' memories of living in the valley before its inundation.

Attractions

The Burragorang Valley has some scenic lookouts over the valley and lake. IMG-20200714-WA0027

Etymology

Burragorang is said to derive from the words ''burro'' (meaning ''kangaroo'') or ''booroon'' (''small animal'') and the word ''gang'' (meaning ''to hunt''). Therefore, Burragorang is believed to mean ''place to hunt kangaroo'' or ''place to hunt small animals''.

References

External link

*{{commonscatinline Localities in New South Wales Wollondilly Shire Resumed localities in Australia