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Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the
City of Blue Mountains The City of Blue Mountains is a Local government in Australia, local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains, on th ...
in
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 ...
, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Situated 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 ...
and the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
, Katoomba is home to the Three Sisters, by road west of
Sydney Central Business District The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...
and south-east of Lithgow. Katoomba railway station serves the town. Katoomba is located on the lands of the
Dharug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
and Gundungurra Aboriginal peoples. Katoomba is a base for bush and nature walks in the surrounding Blue Mountains. At the 2021 census, Katoomba had a population of 8,268 people.


Etymology

Kedumba or Katta-toon-bah is an Aboriginal term for "shining falling water" or "water tumbling over hill" and takes its name from a waterfall that drops into the
Jamison Valley The Jamison Valley forms part of the Coxs River canyon system in the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is situated approximately 100 kilometres west of Sydney, capital of New South Wales, and a few k ...
below the Harrys Amphitheatre escarpment. Previously, the site was known as William's Chimney and Collett's Swamp. In 1874 the locality was named The Crushers after the name of the railway station that served a nearby quarry. The name Katoomba was adopted in 1877 and the town achieved municipality status in 1889.


History

For thousands of years, the Blue Mountains were home to Aboriginal peoples, specifically, the Gundungurra and
Darug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
tribes. They knew the area as ''kedumba'', meaning ''shiny, falling waters''. Many of them were forced to move from their ancestral lands to Aboriginal settlements such as "The Gully", a tract of land in south Katoomba, as part of discriminatory policies established at the beginning of the 20th century. It was used as a summer encampment by the Darug and Gundungurra peoples long before the arrival of white settlers. Settlements on the Blue Mountains before 1950 led to the relocation of many Aboriginal families to "The Gully". Between 1955 and 1957, dozens of the inhabitants of "The Gully" were forcibly evicted in order to clear the land for a racetrack being developed by a group of local businessmen. By 1958, at least 27 children from the area had also been taken from their families. Today, there are still many traditional Aboriginal peoples living in the Blue Mountains, where there are now a number of cultural sites that walk visitors through the region's rich past and share the customs and heritage of the local tribes. Katoomba and nearby Medlow Bath were first developed as tourist destinations towards the end of the 19th century when a series of hotels were built and then repeatedly extended. Katoomba Coffee Palace was a
coffee palace A coffee palace was an often large and elaborate hotel, residential hotel that did not serve alcohol (drug), alcohol, most of which were built in Australia in the late 19th century. A modest temperance hotel was opened in 1826 by activist Ger ...
created around 1900 by "Mr Tamm" in a building previously known as The Priory, which was the boarding house of a school before being converted into a guesthouse. Tamm renamed it Royal Coffee Palace. Council headquarters were built on the site in 1961. It included a large dining room seating up to 75 people, as well as 35 bedrooms. An undated photograph shows intricate Victorian filigree architecture, while a photo dated 1906 shows a very different facade, with the balcony removed. Coal and
oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich Granularity, fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of Organic compound, organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general compos ...
mining was also carried out in the Jamison Valley for many years, but when the seams were completely exhausted by the early 20th century, Katoomba was an established resort town. By the 1960s, Katoomba had somewhat declined, and several of its guest houses were converted for other purposes, including convalescent hospitals. In the 1980s, the guest houses and hotels again became fashionable and many were restored. In 2012, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the Hon.
Bob Debus Robert John Debus (born 16 September 1943) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the Labor Party. Debus has been a minist ...
, local Member of Parliament, officially declared "The Gully" an “Aboriginal place”, a place of special significance to Aboriginal culture.


Climate

Katoomba has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb'') with mild summers and cool to cold winters. At Katoomba (1040 metres above sea level) summer daytime temperatures are usually in the low 20s – with a few rare days extending into the 30s (Celsius) – and night-time temperatures usually in the low teens. In winter, the maximum temperature is typically about while the minimum generally around or so on clear nights and on cloudy nights. There are usually two or three settled snowfalls per year. Temperatures are on average lower than Sydney with many
mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets ...
y days. Katoomba has 79.8 days of clear skies, annually.


Snowfall

The Blue Mountains has a reputation for snow in winter. However, despite the cool temperatures, there are only around five snowy days per year in the upper mountains area. It is extremely rare to see snow below Lawson. It is not unusual to see white blankets of
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
covering the ground in the early morning hours. In the evening, thick coverings of ice can form on car
windscreen The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...
s. Moreover, winters are not as snowy and rainy as those of Orange and
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...
, to the west; this is due to the fact Katoomba mostly lies on the
leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...
(eastern) side of the ranges, thereby experiencing a moderate foehn effect. Several significant snowfalls have been recorded. On 5 July 1900,
snowdrift A snowdrift is a deposit of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm. Snowdrifts resemble sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind has virtually stopped, usu ...
s were over deep in parts of the Blue Mountains. The snow and ice caused significant problems throughout central
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 ...
, with rail and road closures, damage to buildings, and disruption to
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
services. A winter storm on 17 July 1965 also produced very heavy snow and ice in the area, with damage to buildings and major difficulties with road and rail transport. More recently, a cold snap brought heavy snow, up to , to Katoomba and other towns in the upper Blue Mountains on 17 July 2015 which was the heaviest snowfall in many years.


People and culture

The area's scenery and art deco-style shops and houses attract an alternative subculture. Many poets, artists and environmentalists reside in Katoomba and the Blue Mountains generally, and the town hosts the Winter Solstice festival, Winter Magic, that features local talent, art and handicraft. The festival was established in 1994 to provide a local focus for the Blue Mountains-wide Yulefest. Yulefest is a long-running tourism initiative that promotes Northern Hemisphere-style
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
celebrations during the Australian winter months June to August. Novelist and historian Eleanor Dark (1901–1985) lived in Katoomba with her husband Eric Dark from 1923 until her death. The couple's home "Varuna" is now Varuna, The Writers' House. In 1921, production house duo
Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford; 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australia ...
and
Lottie Lyell Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox, 23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, film editing, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industr ...
filmed ''
The Blue Mountains Mystery ''The Blue Mountains Mystery'' is a lost 1921 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and co-directed by Lottie Lyell. It is considered a lost film. Plot ''The Blue Mountains Mystery'' involves the alleged murder of a wealthy bus ...
'' in part around the town centre. Ursula Dubosarsky's 1991 time-travel novel ''Zizzy Zing'' is set in Katoomba in 1938, at the time of the
Sesquicentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...
. Poet and author, Steven Herrick wrote a novel, 'The Bogan Mondrian' located in modern-day Katoomba. His verse-novel, 'love, ghosts and nose-hair' is also set in the town.
Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
musician Claude Hay is also a resident of Katoomba, having built his home and recording studio on the outskirts of town. Both of Hay's albums, 2007's '' Kiss the Sky'' and 2010s '' Deep Fried Satisfied'' were recorded in Katoomba, with the latter earning Hay critical acclaim and a No. 1 on the Roots Music Report Australian chart and No. 21 for airplay worldwide in October 2010. In addition to its alternative sub-culture, the area is home to a large number of culturally diverse families and has a significant Aboriginal population.
Catalina Park Catalina Park is a disused motor racing venue, located at Katoomba, New South Wales, Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, and is recognised as an Aboriginal Place due to the long association o ...
, commonly known as the Gully, was declared an Aboriginal Place in May 2002. It is an
ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
ly and
culturally sensitive Cultural sensitivity, also referred to as cross-cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness, is the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures and others' cultural identities. It is related to cultural competence (the skills needed fo ...
area with a long history of occupation by the Gundungarra and
Darug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
tribes. The Gundungurra Tribal Council Aboriginal Corporation, which is based in Katoomba, is a not-for-profit organization representing the Gundungurra
traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
, promoting heritage and culture and providing a support for Gundungurra people connecting back to Country. Gundungurra Tribal Council Aboriginal Corporation has had a registered Native Title Claim since 1995 over their traditional lands which include the Blue Mountains and surrounding areas. Katoomba is the home of local
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...
station 89.1 Radio Blue Mountains. The local cinema is called The Edge, located on the Great Western Highway. Since 2014, Katoomba has hosted the biennial Vertical Film Festival. There is also a live entertainment scene in Katoomba, with a wide range of music on offer at various venues, and theatre.


Demographics

At the 2021 census, the suburb of Katoomba recorded a population of 8,268. Of these: * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.3% of the population. * The most common ancestries were English 42%, Australian 31.1%, Irish 17.6%, Scottish 13.9% and German 6%. * 73.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth was England 5.6% and New Zealand 2.0%. * 86% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 55.4%, Catholic 12.4% and Anglican 9.5%. * The median age was 48 years, compared to the national median of 38 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 13.8% of the population (national average is 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 23.6% of the population (national average is 17.2%). * The median household weekly income was $1,171, compared to the national median of $1,746. * 55.4% of households were family households, 39.5% were single-person households and 5.1% were group households. The average household size was 2.1 people.


Tourism

Katoomba's main industry is
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
based on its mountain scenery. The rock formation known as the Three Sisters, viewable from Echo Point about south of the main town, attracts thousands of visitors each year. Other features of the Jamison Valley visible from Echo Point include Mount Solitary and the rock formation known as the Ruined Castle. A short walk from Echo Point leads to the Giant Stairway which provides access to a number of nature walks through the Valley. Several of the Jamison Valley tracks, including the Stairway itself, were closed in recent years due to maintenance, but most have since been re-opened. The local geography includes extensive areas of dense warm temperate
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
, hanging swamps and a series of waterfalls. Other attractions include Scenic World, a tourist complex in the southwest of the town. This site is home to the steepest
funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
railway in the world, the Katoomba Scenic Railway, which was originally built to facilitate
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
and
oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich Granularity, fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of Organic compound, organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general compos ...
mining in the Jamison Valley. Scenic World also offers the Scenic Skyway cable car, which travels over an arm of the Jamison Valley and offers views of Katoomba Falls and Orphan Rock. In 2004 the original Skyway car was replaced by a new car with a
liquid crystal Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as i ...
panel floor, which becomes transparent while the car travels. In 1983 construction began at the site on a roller coaster called the Orphan Rocker; the track was completed, but this attraction has never been opened to the public. Katoomba is served by hotels and guest-houses, the oldest of which is the Carrington Hotel, established in 1882 and occupying the highest point in town. The town centre, centred on Katoomba Street, features dozens of cafes and restaurants, including the Paragon which dates to the early 20th century, as well as a number of second-hand book and antique stores.


Transport

Katoomba was connected to the
Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway (or Great Western Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, and Central West, New South Wales, Central West regions. It is long, of which ...
in 1874, when the station was called "The Crushers". Katoomba railway station is now served by the Blue Mountains Line. The weekly ''
Outback Xplorer The ''Outback Xplorer'' is an Australian passenger train service operated by NSW TrainLink between Central railway station, Sydney, Sydney and Broken Hill railway station, Broken Hill via the Main Western railway line, Main Western line. Commenc ...
'' from
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 ...
to
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
also stops at Katoomba. 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 ...
is the main road access route. Katoomba Airfield is also located about by road from the Katoomba
Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
. The airfield is currently closed to airplanes and helicopters, but is available for use by emergency services.


Heritage listings

Katoomba has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the following listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
: * Blue Mountains National Park:
Blue Mountains walking tracks The Blue Mountains walking tracks are heritage-listed picnic areas, walking tracks and rest areas located in the Blue Mountains National Park, west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. They were built from 1880 onwards. The property is owne ...
* 10-14 Civic Place: Mount St Marys College and Convent * Katoomba Street: Carrington Hotel * 59-61 Katoomba Street: Katoomba Post Office * 63-69 Katoomba Street: Paragon Cafe, Katoomba; also listed on the (now defunct)
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 ...
. * Main Western railway: Katoomba railway station * 10-16 Panorama Drive: Lilianfels, Katoomba The following are listed on other heritage registers: * Uniting Church: situated in Katoomba Street, the Uniting Church—formerly the Methodist Church—has survived as an example of Gothic styles that have stretched from the Victorian era to the inter-war period. It was designed by Henry Simonson and the main building was constructed in 1888. The parsonage was built in 1906 and the church hall in 1933. * Swiss Cottage (formerly known as Lurline Cottage): this Federation Queen Anne cottage was built in 1898 on the east side of Lurline Street. Incorporating parts of the original St Hilda's Church hall, it belonged to H.A. Bundy, who called it Rubyston. It had a number of owners over the years and later served as a guest house, but deteriorated somewhat until the late 1980s, when a new owner opened it as the Lurline Cottage Tea Room. It became the Swiss Cottage Restaurant in the 1990s. Since 2012 it has been Pins on Lurline. * Kapsalie: this Federation Bungalow-style home was built in Lurline Street in 1915. The owner was Mrs. Fanny Allibone, who called the house Cheltenham. It changed hands in 1919, and the Varipatis family eventually acquired it in around 1940. This family ran a seafood restaurant in Katoomba, and they named the house Kapsalie after their home town in Greece. * Katoomba Court House: by the 1890s, Katoomba had grown enough to need its own court house, which was designed by the Government Architect,
Walter Liberty Vernon Colonel (Australia), Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) was an English people, English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney, New South Wales. In his role as the New Sou ...
, and built in 1897. It was constructed of sandstone obtained from local quarries. By 1925, the work of the court had increased to the point where the old building was too small, so extensions were designed by Richard Wells. Further changes and extensions took place in the late 1940s and 1989. The court house 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 ...
. p.2/13 * Varuna: this house in Cascade Street was built in 1939. It was the home of Eleanor Dark and Dr Eric Dark, who moved to Cascade Street in 1923. Their new home, built in 1939, was designed by Eleanor Dark. The Darks were extremely active in the writers' community of the Blue Mountains, which flourished as a result of many writers and artists moving to the area. Varuna became central to this community in the 1940s. It became a writers' centre in 1989, under the name Varuna, The Writers' House. The house, studio and garden are all listed as being of heritage significance.


References


External links


Blue Mountains City Council
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Blue Mountains Tourism – VisitNSW
* *
Entertainment Blue Mountains
{{authority control Katoomba, New South Wales"> Cittaslow Mining towns in New South Wales">Cittaslow">Katoomba, New South Wales"> Cittaslow Mining towns in New South Wales 1879 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1879 Oil shale mining towns in New South Wales