Marulan is the traditional lands of the

Gundungurra The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...

people. It is a small town in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...

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

Goulburn Mulwaree Council Goulburn Mulwaree Council is a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. The estimated resident popul ...

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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. It is located south-west of Sydney on the

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

, although it bypasses the town proper. Marulan lies on the

150th meridian east The meridian 150° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 150th meridian east forms a g ...

. It has a

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 ...

on the

Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...

. Marulan was previously known as ''Mooroowoolen''. At the , Marulan had a population of 1,178 people.

History

In the early years of European settlement of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, exploration southwest of Sydney was slow. In 1818,

Hamilton Hume Hamilton Hume (19 June 1797 – 19 April 1873) was an early explorer of the present-day Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. In 1824, along with William Hovell, Hume participated in an expedition that first took an overland route ...

and James Meehan reached "the Goulburn plains" for the first time. Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

ordered the construction of the Great South Road (the basis of the northern end of the

) in 1819 from Picton to the Goulburn Plains. The southern part of Macquarie's road ran from

Sutton Forest Sutton Forest is a small village in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located 5 km southwest of Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highway. Sutton Forest was originally granted, then owned by Navy Ch ...

roughly along existing minor roads to

Canyonleigh Canyonleigh (; formerly known as Canyan Leigh) is a locality in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire Wingecarribee Shire is the local government area of the Southern Highlands in the state of New S ...

, Brayton, Carrick and

Towrang Towrang is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Goulburn Mulwaree Council. It is approximately north of Goulburn on the Hume Highway south from Sydney. At the , Towrang had a population of 171. History The ...

, where it joined the current route to Goulburn. Branching from this route (now called the

Illawarra Highway Illawarra Highway is a short state highway in New South Wales, Australia. It connects Wollongong to the Southern Highlands and links Princes Highway and Hume Highway. It is named after the geographical area it crosses, the Illawarra region. ...

at this point) just south of Sutton Forest, a road, now known as Old Argyle Road, developed in the 1820s. It ran to Bungonia, via Wingello,

Tallong Tallong is in the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a village within the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, in Goulburn-Mulwaree Council. The village is located just outside the southern extremity of the ...

, and the southern outskirts of Marulan, all, except Wingello, located in

Argyle County Argyle County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It includes the area around Goulburn. It is bounded by Lake George in the south-west, the Shoalhaven ...

, along with Goulburn. In the early 19th century Bungonia was expected to become a major centre, but it subsequently proved unsuitable for intensive agriculture. When Thomas Mitchell rerouted the Great South Road in the 1830s, he decided to bring these two roads together and build a junction at old Marulan, with roads proceeding to Goulburn and Bungonia. When the Main Southern railway reached Marulan in 1868, the town migrated 3 km north to the railway station. Nevertheless, the old cemetery remains at the Bungonia Road intersection. A quarry is being developed near the intersection, so an interchange has been built there. In 1958, the first truck inspection station in New South Wales was opened on the outskirts of Marulan on the Hume Highway.First Truck Check Station in Operation ''

Truck & Bus Transportation ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was a Sydney-based monthly trade magazine covering aspects of transport in Australia. Overview ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was established in July 1936 by Frank Shennen as ''Transportation''. It was renamed ''T ...

'' February 1959 page 61 In 1986, the town was bypassed when a

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

section of the Hume Highway opened.

Marulan Meridian Arch

Located in Meridian Park on George St, the Marulan Meridian Arch is a sculpture that forms an arch with a metal sphere on an axis mounted at the top of arch. It is the very centre of the Eastern Time Zone and, as such, the sun rises here at exactly 6:00am, then sets at exactly 6:00pm, every equinox. It commemorates the

Centenary of Federation {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

and that Marulan is the only town on the 150th

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

Heritage listings

Marulan has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Old Marulan Town * 16501 Hume Highway, Narambulla Creek: Wandi * Main Southern railway:

Marulan railway station Marulan railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main South line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the town of Marulan. It opened on 6 August 1868. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on ...

Notes

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales Southern Tablelands Hume Highway *