Hartley is a historical village in the Central West region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, within the City of Lithgow

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, located approximately west of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Hartley is located below the western escarpment of the Blue Mountains. It was once a major administrative centre on the

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...

. It has since fallen into decline, replaced by other towns that are on the

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

. At the 2011 census, Hartley had a population of 299 people.

History

Hartley was formerly a judicial and administrative centre that had a busy courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1837 and was designed by prominent New South Wales Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis. The courthouse, which operated for over fifty years, dealt with a constant stream of robbers, thieves and convicts. Although Hartley fell into disuse, it survived as a perfectly preserved village that is a superb example of 19th century architecture. Because of its heritage value, it is now preserved as a historic site, administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales. Situated west of and south of , it is open to the public every day (except Christmas Day and Easter Sunday). The Hartley Historic Site, an area of , is listed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. Hartley's sister villages, Little Hartley and Hartley Vale, still survive as residential villages with a heritage of their own. Little Hartley, situated south-east of Hartley, is the site of the historic home ''Rosedale''. Hartley Vale, situated east of Hartley, is the site of the Comet Inn, Collits Inn and Hartley Vale cemetery. There is also a network of historic walking tracks between Hartley Vale and

Mount York Mount York, a mountain in the western region of the Explorer Range, part of the Blue Mountains Range that is a spur off the Great Dividing Range, is located approximately west of Sydney, just outside Mount Victoria in New South Wales, Austral ...

, administered by the Lands Department of New South Wales.

Heritage listings

Hartley has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Great Western Highway: Hartley historic site * 200 Jenolan Caves Road: Military Station archaeological site * The Old Bathurst Road: Cox's Road and Early Deviations – Hartley, Clarence Hilly Range and Mount Blaxland Precinct

Gallery

Image:Hartley courthouse.JPG, Court house (1837), designed by

Mortimer Lewis Mortimer William Lewis (1796 – 9 March 1879) was an English-born architect, surveyor and public servant who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the colony of New South Wales (now a state of Australia) from 1835 to 1849. Le ...

Hartley_Houses_New_South_Wales_DSC00624.png, Ivy Cottage and Shamrock Inn at Hartley Image:(1)Catholic Church Hartley.jpg, St Bernard's Catholic Church Hartley0002.jpg, "Bungarribee" cottage at Hartley Old Victoria Inn Hartley 1839

References

External links

Hartley Historic Site
- NSW Parks & Wildlife Service

- history and visiting information
National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Communities in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)

History

Heritage listings

See also

Gallery

References

External links