Hill Top is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 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 Country ...

. Previous names of the village include ''Hilltop'' and ''Jellore''. It is a 17 km drive to

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

and around 10 km drive to 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 ...

via Colo Vale. It is roughly 6–8 km to

Yerrinbool Yerrinbool is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire, and is accessible from the Hume Highway (via Bargo or Alpine) and is about a drive from nearby Mittagong. It is to Hill To ...

as the crow flies.

History

It was formerly on the Main Southern Railway, until that line was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades. The original line became the Picton Loop line, which closed in 1978. The remains of Hill Top station platform can still be seen.

Facilities

Hill Top has commercial facilities such as a pizzeria, bakery, chemist, general store, liquor store, real estate agent, and GP's surgery. Community facilities include a post office, tennis courts, sporting fields, day-care centre, primary school, fire station, church and community hall. It is home to the Southern Highlands Rifle Club's shooting range. In 2007, controversially, it was proposed that this range be extended 10 square kilometres on Crown Land near Hill Top into the Southern Highlands Regional Shooting Complex upon the government-proposed closure of the large ANZAC Rifle Range at Malabar Heads. However, it was met by strong opposition by local residents and councillors who were concerned about the noise, traffic and environmental effects it might have on the area due to the proposed complex being in close proximity to the residential area and water

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

area of Hill Top. The ''Southern Highlands News'' interviewed National Parks Association Chairman, Tony Hill who said that the range would create 'a toxic legacy that will go on for hundreds of years, .' Hill Top has a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team known as the Hill Top

Kookaburras Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

which was founded in 1981. The team is a member of the Highlands Soccer Association and plays in the Highlands Competition. Hill Top has a cricket club known as Hill Top Northern Villages Cricket Club. The club was founded in 1947 to 1952, then reformed from 1979 to 1986 and then reformed again in 1987.

Population

According to the , there were 2,674 people living at Hill Top. At the 2021 census, the population was 2,792.

Photo gallery

File:Hill Top Town Entry.jpg , File:Hill Top Main Street.jpg , File:Hill Top Village Store.jpg , File:Hill Top Railway Crossing.jpg , File:Hill Top Station Platform.jpg , File:Hill Top War Memorial Hall.jpg ,

References

Bibliography

* Bayley, W. A. 1973 Picton-Mittagong Loop-Line Railway. pp. 26–27 Bulli: Austrail. * Bayley, W. A. 1975. Picton-Mittagong Main Line Railway. p. 17–18 Bulli: Austrail. {{authority control Towns of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales)