Mount Wilson is a village located in the Blue Mountains region of

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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 ...

. The village is about east of the township of

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, and about west of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. At the 2021 census, the village of Mount Wilson had a population of 81 people.

Description

Mount Wilson is a long, low mountain formation that sprawls for in the northern Blue Mountains area. It is completely surrounded by 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 ...

, a World Heritage Area. It has been partly developed as a residential area, with elaborate gardens that have become a tourist attraction. The area is particularly popular in the autumn, when the red and orange leaves give it extra colour. According to some, the "well organised locals have managed to resist the tidal wave of development which swept through the other mountain towns."

History

The Mount Wilson area was surveyed in 1868 by Edward Wyndham. It was subsequently named after

Bowie Wilson John Bowie Wilson (17 June 1820 – 30 April 1883), often referred to as J. Bowie Wilson, was a politician, gold miner and hydropath in colonial New South Wales, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for more than 12 years. Person ...

, the then Secretary for Lands in the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. The new township became popular as a summer retreat for the wealthy in the latter part of the 19th century. Extensive gardens were planted around the houses there, taking advantage of the

volcanic soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrients that the ...

. Historical features that can still be seen include St George's Church, which was built by the children of Henry Marcus Clark and consecrated in 1916; and the house Withycombe, in The Avenue, which was built by George Henry Cox, a grandson of William Cox, who built the first road over the Blue Mountains. The novelist

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

spent some of his youth there, writing about the place in his 1981 memoir ''

Flaws in the Glass ''Flaws in the Glass'' is Australian writer Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from ...

''; his parents had lived in Mount Wilson between 1912 and 1937. In ''Flaws in the Glass'', he referred to "one of those tedious Australian, would-be tourists attractions called Chinaman's Hat," a reference to a local rock formation.

Heritage listings

Mount Wilson has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 68-78 The Avenue:

Wynstay Estate ''Wynstay Estate'' is a heritage-listed farm located at 68-78 The Avenue, Mount Wilson in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Richard Wynne and built from 1875 to 1893 by Joseland ...

Activities

Apart from visiting the gardens for which the area is famous, it is also possible to do a number of walks in places like Waterfall Reserve, the rainforest pocket in Davies Lane, the Cathedral of Ferns, Pheasants Cave, Chinamans Hat and, for more experienced walkers, the track to the Wollangambe River. There are also lookouts, e.g. Wynnes Rocks Lookout and Du Faurs Rocks Lookout. There are no authorised camping areas, but it is possible to camp in the Waterfall Reserve picnic area. The area offers plenty of scope for photography. The village offers easy and delightful cycling on the quiet roads, outside of busy autumn and spring weekends. The 10 km ride to Mt Irvine offers experienced cyclists a very beautiful ride on bitumen road through rainforest and magnificent

Blue Mountains Ash ''Eucalyptus oreades'', commonly known as the Blue Mountains ash, white ash or smooth-barked mountain ash, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is native to eastern Australia. It has smooth, powdery whitish bark with rough bark near the ...

forests. Image:Withycombe0001.jpg, Withycombe, built by George Henry Cox Image:BlueMountains0068.jpg, Cathedral of Ferns Image:Mount Wilson Church.jpg, St George's Church

References

External links

Mount Wilson Website

Mt Wilson to Bilpin Bush Run
- held each August

*

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