Bong Bong was a small township in
Wingecarribee Shire
Wingecarribee Shire is the local government area of the Southern Highlands in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of the Sydney central business district and is part of regional Capital Countr ...
,
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. It is also the name for
the surrounding parish. It is within the
Southern Highlands.
The site was chosen by Governor
Lachlan Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
in 1820 close to the ford on the
Wingecarribee River
The Wingecarribee River ( Aboriginal Dharawal: ''Winge Karrabee''), a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury– Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Wingecar ...
. In 1821 it was laid out and there is an obelisk on the site stating "Site of Bong Bong Military Station and First Township Reserve on the Southern Highlands - surveyed 1821".
A post office was established in 1829 which operated until 1867 when, with the combination of the realignment of the ''Great Southern Road'' (now the
Hume Highway
Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route f ...
) and the railway going to the neighbouring town of
Moss Vale
Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass.
Moss Vale has severa ...
, Bong Bong declined. All that remains now is the Church, called Christ Church. In the Christ Church cemetery is buried the Australian explorer
Joseph Wild
Joseph Wild (1759–1837) held a number of titles throughout his life, namely a convict, explorer, shepherd, constable and conveyor. He was convicted of burglary and was eventually sentenced to transportation to Australia. This was a common pu ...
.
Heritage listings
Bong Bong has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Bong Bong Road:
Christ Church
Railway station
A railway station known as ''Bong Bong'' opened on the
Main South railway line in 1878, closing in 1913.
Bong Bong station
NSWrail.net, accessed 9 August 2009.
See also
* List of reduplicated Australian place names
These names are examples of reduplication, a common theme in Australian toponymy, especially in names derived from Indigenous Australian languages such as Wiradjuri. Reduplication is often used as an intensifier such as "Wagga Wagga" ''many ...
References
* ''Exploring the ACT and Southeast New South Wales'', J. Kay McDonald, Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1985
External links
Bong Bong history
Bong Bong Picnic Race Club
{{Southern Highlands Villages / Towns
Towns of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales)
Wingecarribee Shire
Main Southern railway line, New South Wales