Picton, New South Wales
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Picton is a small town in the Macarthur region 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
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 ...
. The town is the administrative centre of the
Wollondilly Shire Wollondilly Shire is a Peri-urbanisation, periurban Local government in Australia, local government area that is located on the far southwest fringe of the Sydney, Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is pa ...
local government area. Picton is located southwest of the Sydney CBD. The town is part of the far southwest fringe of Greater Sydney and is located relatively close to other major suburbs, such as Camden and Campbelltown.


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 areas, Governor Macquarie 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 Southern 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 t ...
) when travelling by train. It was established as ''Stonequarry'' in 1841 and was renamed Picton in 1845. It was named for Sir Thomas Picton, a British army officer (described by historian Alessandro Barbero as "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible temperament") who died at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
. 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:
Picton railway station Picton railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Southern 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 t ...
* 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 A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 2021 census, there were 5,282 people in Picton. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.9% of the population. * 84.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England with 4.3%, New Zealand with 1.2%, Scotland with 0.6%, South Africa with 0.5% and Ireland with 0.4%. * 92.0% of people only spoke English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion with 35.7%, Catholic with 25.1%, Anglican with 22.0%, and Uniting Church with 2.2%.


Transport

Picton railway station Picton railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Southern 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 t ...
is on the Main Southern railway line with a relatively infrequent service with trains running every 30 minutes (peak) – 2 hours (off peak). The town is located on the Old Hume Highway.


Sport and recreation

Picton also has both senior and junior
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
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 A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool to mild winters that are often warm by day. Owing to its inland location in a valley, it has a relatively high diurnal range throughout the year.


See also

* Jarvisfield, Picton


References


External links


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