Kurrajong Heights is a small town in the state 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 ...

. Kurrajong Heights is north-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 ...

, in the

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 ...

of the

City of Hawkesbury The City of Hawkesbury is a Local government in Australia, local government area that is located on the far northwest fringe of the Sydney, Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is located in the Hawkesbury ...

. It is stretched across the

Bells Line of Road Bells Line of Road is a major road located in New South Wales, Australia, providing an alternative crossing of the Blue Mountains to the Great Western Highway. The eastern terminus of the road is in , 51 km northwest of Sydney, where the roa ...

in the Blue Mountains, west of Kurrajong and east of Bilpin. At the 2016 census, Kurrajong Heights had a population of 1,342 people. Kurrajong Heights has five communications towers that house two-way radio equipment for

Integral Energy Integral energy is the amount of energy required to remove water from soil with an initial water content \theta_i to water content of \theta_f (where \theta_i > \theta_f). It is calculated by integrating the water retention curve, soil water pote ...

and Hawkesbury City Council and various other uses. Local community radio station

Hawkesbury Radio Hawkesbury Radio, is a Radio station which broadcasts via the Internet and is situated in the Hawkesbury Area. The station is staffed by volunteers Hawkesbury Radio was the only Community Radio Station in Australia to have Broadcast rights of ...

transmits from Kurrajong Heights.

History

First discovered in 1795 by explorer

Matthew Everingham Matthew Everingham ( – 25 December 1817), was an English convict sent to Australia aboard the Scarborough (1782 ship), ''Scarborough'' a ship of the First Fleet. Convicted on 7 July 1784 at Old Bailey for the crime of fraud, he was sentenced ...

. Although credit is usually attributed to Archibald Bell, Jr. as he was the first European to cross the mountains via this route; now known as Bells Line of Road. Kurrajong Heights was previously known as Northfield. Lochiel House, built in 1825 by former convict Joseph Douglass from Dumfries, Scotland. The old post office was opened in the 1860s. St David's Church was built in 1867. These significant buildings can still be seen on Bells Line of Road. In 1926, the railway line was extended from Richmond to Kurrajong after years of petitioning from the local orchardists. The railway line was closed in 1952.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 1,342 people in Kurrajong Heights. 78.2% of people were born in Australia and 87.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 32.8%, Anglican 19.6% and Catholic 19.5%.

Local events

The area contains craft stores, B&B style accommodation and restaurants. There are "pick your own fruit" orchards, offering stone fruit, apples, and nuts. In early June, teams compete in the annual Back to Back (shearing a sheep and knitting a jumper in one day) at Turpentine Tree. In early October, Madison's Mountain Retreat (a local farmstay) hosts its alpaca shearing day. At the end of December, there is the open day at the Tutti Fruitti Rose Farm.

References

External links

Bellsridge CottageLochiel HouseTurpentine TreeMadison's Mountain RetreatKurrajong WebsiteKurrajong-Comleroy Historical SocietyTutti Fruitti
{{authority control Towns in New South Wales City of Hawkesbury Communities in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)