Picton is a small town in the Macarthur Region 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, in the

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 ...

, in south-western Sydney. The town is located approximately 90 kilometres south-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It is also the administrative centre of

History

Picton was first explored by Europeans in 1798 and remained beyond the limits of legal settlement until 1821. Following the discovery of good land in the interior and the settlement of Bong Bong and the

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

areas,

Governor 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 ...

authorised the building of the new Great South Road between Sydney and the Southern Highlands in 1819. This opened up the Picton area to settlers, including Henry Colden Antill, who established a property in 1822. Picton developed when a new line of the Great South Road was cut over the Razorback Range from Camden, and especially after the railway arrived in 1863. Picton is the only town in the Southern Hemisphere that one can pass through twice (see

Picton railway station Picton railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main South line in the south-western Sydney suburb of Picton in the Wollondilly Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1863 to 19 ...

) when travelling by train. It was established as ''Stonequarry'' in 1841 and was renamed Picton in 1845. It was named for Sir

Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible t ...

, a British army officer (noted for cruelty) who died at the Battle of Waterloo. It remained a stopping point on the Great South Road, later renamed the Hume Highway, until it was bypassed in December 1980. One house was destroyed by bushfire in the Nangarin Estate located on the western outskirts of Picton, from a fire front originating from Lakesland in September 2006.

Heritage listings

Picton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Hume Highway Deviation: ''Jarvisfield'' * Main Southern railway:

* Main Southern railway: Stonequarry Creek railway viaduct, Picton * Oaks Road: ''Abbotsford'' * Prince Street: Victoria Bridge, Picton

Landmarks

Picton is home to many historic buildings, including two types of bridges not found easily anymore elsewhere in the state - Victoria Bridge a timber trestle bridge that crosses Stonequarry Creek, opened in 1897, and the 'Picton Railway Viaduct' a stone viaduct opened in 1863 to also cross Stonequarry Creek. The viaduct is still in use by the railways. Ghost tours are conducted in some of the historic buildings and inside the disused railway tunnel on Redbank Range, where residents and visitors claim to have experienced paranormal activity. The abandoned tunnel was used to store mustard gas spray tanks 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 opposing ...

. The George IV Inn, reputedly constructed in 1839, is considered to be one of the oldest hotel buildings in Australia. The cellar contains remnants of convict shackles as prisoners being transported from Sydney to Berrima prison would often be held in Picton overnight. The barn behind the hotel may date back to 1810 and is possibly the oldest building in Picton - it is used for functions such as birthday and engagement parties. The hotel is also the location of Scharer's Little Brewery, one of the first microbreweries in Australia and winner of numerous awards for its Burragorang Bock and Scharer's Lager beers.

Nangarin Estate

''Nangarin Vineyard Estate'' or simply ''Nangarin Estate'' is a modern village to the west and part of Picton. The estate is one of New South Wales' first residential vineyard projects. The village community manages and maintains the vineyards, residential construction and community facilities. The village is protected by legal covenants to ensure the community manages the village.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 4,816 people in Picton. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.4% of the population. * 81.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.6%. * 89.4% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were Catholic 27.6%, Anglican 26.7%, No Religion 23.7%, and Picton 12.4%

Transport

is on the

Southern Highlands line The Southern Highlands Line is an Intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Macarthur, Southern Highlands and Southern Tablelands regions of New South Wales. First operating in 1869, the service runs from across the ...

with a relatively infrequent service with trains running every 30m (peak) – 2 hours (off peak). The town is located on the

Old Hume Highway The Old Hume Highway, an urban and rural road, may be described as any part of an earlier route of the Hume Highway, which traverses Victoria and New South Wales between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. In some places, the hi ...

Sport and recreation

Picton also has both senior and junior

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

and soccer teams. And Picton Netball Club has teams for all age groups. Meanwhile, the Picton Photography Club, called Depictin' Picton, meets every other Saturday to share photos of the local area taken by residents. The Picton Botanical Gardens were established in 1986.

Climate

Picton has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Owing to its inland location in a valley, it has a relatively high diurnal range throughout the year.

References

External links

Picton - SYDNEY.com
{{authority control Towns in the Macarthur (New South Wales) Wollondilly Shire