Wallerawang is a small township in the
Central Tablelands of
New South Wales
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, 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 located approximately northwest of
Lithgow adjacent to the
Great Western Highway. It is also located on the
Main Western railway line at the junction of the
Gwabegar line.
History
The original inhabitants of the area west of the
Blue Mountains were the
Wiradjuri Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
. It is believed they knew the area as ''Waller-owang''. It is understood to mean ''place near wood and water'', or ''plenty of water''.
James Blackman was probably the first European to visit the area when he marked out the route of the new road from
Bathurst to the area now known as Wallerawang.
In 1824, 11 years after the first exploration led by
Blaxland over the Blue Mountains, a James Walker was granted a large portion of land in the area now known as Wallerawang. In 1836 the property was to become known as Barton Park.
Two of Walker's convict servants took up land leases in the area in the 1850s, one of them was Maddox who named his lease Lidsdale.
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, the English
naturalist, stayed at "Wallerowang House" (later to become Barton Park) in 1836. Darwin describes the countryside around the Wallerawang area and the wildlife including
Platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...
in his book "
The Voyage of the Beagle
''The Voyage of the Beagle'' is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ''Journal and Remarks'', bringing him considerable fame and respect. This was the third volume of ''The Narrative ...
".
The local school has operated at three sites, in 1860 the first small stone school opened near the present power station, in 1882 the school relocated nearer the township and finally to its present location near Lake Wallace in 1995. The 1860 school, which is still standing, was opened by James Walker's widow.
The
Church of St John the Evangelist, built in 1881, was financed by private funding. It was designed by architect
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn.
Arriving in Sydney from Engl ...
, and is listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register.
[
In the 1890s, the nearby Pipers Flat railway station was the proposed site for a large iron and steel works proposed by free-trade politician and businessman, ]Joseph Mitchell
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
. It would have made use of local deposits of coal, limestone and iron ore. Although Mitchell won a government contract to supply iron and steel, he died before he could bring his plans to fruition.
In 1950-1951, extensive plans were made by the Joint Coal Board for a modern planned township at Wallerawang, which would have been the terminus of electrification of the railway from Sydney, location of a new railway workshop and power station, and the transport hub for a major expansion of coal mining in the area. The Church of St John the Evangelist was to be relocated to a new location to make way for the new development. Apart from the Wallerawang Power Station and its associated mines, little came of these plans due to sustained opposition from political interests associated with nearby Lithgow.
Heritage listings
Wallerawang has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Main Street: St John the Evangelist Church, Wallerawang
* Main Western railway: Coxs River railway bridges, Wallerawang
The Coxs River railway bridges are two heritage-listed railway bridges that carry the Main Western line over the Coxs River at Wallerawang, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. The bridges were designed by engineering staff of the New ...
* Main Western railway: Wallerawang railway station
Wallerawang railway station is a heritage-listed disused railway station located on the Main Western line in Wallerawang, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Wallerawang Railway Station and yard group. The property ...
Railway
The Main Western railway line passes through the town of Wallerawang. In 1870 the track was opened to Wallerawang on its way to the next temporary terminus at later in 1870 and then in 1872. The railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
closed during the early 1990s.
Wallerawang Power Station
A proposal for a new power station specifically designed to use the lower grade coal of the area was approved in 1950. Built beside the Coxs River
The Coxs River, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Central Tablelands, Blue Mountains, and Macarthur regions of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
The Coxs River rises in Gardine ...
, the site was determined in April 1950 with construction commencing properly in November 1951. It was declared open in 1957.
* The Wallerawang Power Station was a coal fired station located on the eastern side of the township.
* In 1951 the Electricity Commission of New South Wales
The Electricity Commission of New South Wales, sometimes called Elcom, was a statutory authority responsible for electricity generation and its bulk transmission throughout New South Wales, Australia. The commission was established on 22 May 1950 ...
commenced construction of the power station, power being generated in 1957.
* In 1978 Lake Wallace was constructed to provide additional water cooling capacity for the power station.
* With various upgrades the station generated power for the Australian national power grid.
* It was placed out of service in 2014 and is marked for demolition.
Military history
During 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 ...
, Wallerawang was the location of RAAF No.4 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed in 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales
Central Tablelands