The Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district 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 and is 110 km south-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 ...

. The region comprises 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

Wingecarribee Shire Wingecarribee Shire is the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Southern Highlands (New South Wales), Southern Highlands in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of Sydney a ...

and also towns of the Mulwaree Shire. The region is also considered a

wine region Wines are produced in significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes berries mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degrees of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, typically in regions of Mediterranea ...

. The region specifically is the area centred on the commercial towns of

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands (New South Wales), Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is si ...

, Bowral,

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Moss Vale is the administrative centre of Wingecarribee Shire local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. The Illawarra Hi ...

, Bundanoon and

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...

as well as the historic town of Berrima. Smaller villages like Burradoo,

Sutton Forest Sutton Forest is a small village in the Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located 5 km southwest of Moss Vale, New South Wales, Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highw ...

, Colo Vale, Avoca, Yerrinbool,

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, Welby and many more that make up the

are spread in between and around these main centres and serve mostly as residential areas. The Highlands geographically sits between 500 m and 900 m above sea level on the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

. Like other regions along this plateau such as the Blue Mountains to the north and the

Australian Alps The Australian Alps are a mountain range in southeast Australia. The range comprises an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion,

to the south, the Southern Highlands is known for its cool temperate climate. The Southern Highlands Shale Forest and Woodland and Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands Basalt Forests vegetation communities lie primarily within the region. The Southern Highlands as a region is part of the larger Capital Country Region with the Highlands forming the northern part of the region and the

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

forming the southern part of the region.

Demographics

The Southern Highland's

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, is home to about 44,379 (2006) residents and is growing at a rate of 2.1% per annum. The majority of the residents (84.5%) are Australian-born with the minority of the population being (15%) born overseas, primarily Europe. The population density of the Highlands is 16.5 persons/km².

Local attractions

Berrima

Berrima is a village located west of Bowral and south west of

that once served as the main town of the Highlands. Notably, the region of Bowral, Mittagong and Berrima and various villages including the Northern Villages used to be known as the ''Berrima District''. Berrima contains many historic buildings including the historical Berrima Gaol and Courthouse which is no longer in use today as well as many other historical buildings.

Bowral town centre

Bowral is considered the commercial centre of the Highlands and may be the most well-known towns of the Highlands. Bowral is well known for its

boutiques A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French language, French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek wikt:ἀποθήκη, ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse ...

gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

restaurants, Corbett Gardens and Springetts Arcade. The town is also home to the Sir Donald Bradman or Bradman Museum. My Favourite Valley - panoramio

Bradman Museum, Bowral

The ''Bradman Museum'' is a tribute

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

cricketer Sir Donald Bradman who grew up in and spent his early life in Bowral until his fame. The museum contains artifacts of Bradman's life and also serves as a museum of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and contains historical cricket memorabilia. The museum is located adjacent to ''Bradman Oval'' where the

Australian Cricket Team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in international cricket. Along with England, it is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing and winning the first ever Test match in 1877; the team also plays One ...

play a friendly game annually.

Fitzroy Falls

Fitzroy Falls is a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

found in the Morton National Park near the Highlands' village of the same name, Fitzroy Falls, and located near Kangaroo Valley. The Fitroy Falls reserve offers lookouts of the waterfall and of panoramic views of the Morton National Park. The waterfall and village is located near the lake ''Fitzroy Reservoir''. The waterfall's and lake's reserve includes lookouts, bushwalking trails and picnic areas. Horse near Kiama

Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk, Robertson

The ''Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk'', also known as ''Illawarra Fly'' is a canopy walkway located south-east of

in the area known as Knights Hill. The facility is a 500m long and 25m high walk facility that opened in mid-2008. The project is similar to the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. The project consists of a 1500m walk. Moreover, 500m of the 1500m walk is 25m high among the Blackwoods and many other trees of the

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

of the Budderoo National Park and

Illawarra Escarpment The Illawarra escarpment, or officially the Illawarra Range, is the fold-created cliffs and plateau-eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The range enclose ...

. In addition, the project has a 45m high lookout along with the walk that offers

panoramic A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word ...

views far south to Bass Point and as far as north to

Bundeena Bundeena is a village and suburb on the outskirts of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bundeena is located south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local govern ...

which is part of south of the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

. Other views include

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra (Australian Aboriginal languages, Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, ...

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellha ...

Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...

and other localities of the South Coast, as well as various localities of the Southern Highlands, the

and Budderoo National Park.

Joadja

Joadja is a historic abandoned

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

about 32 km west of

. The town was established in the 1870s by the Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company as Joadja valley's walls contained a vast reserve of

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

. Notably, the town back in its time was one of the most populous towns in the Highlands. However, at the turn of the century when the shale ran out, the town's population began to dwindle and the town would be eventually abandoned by the early 1900s. Joadja at its height had a post office, theatre, general store, bakery, school of arts, refinery, railway line, miner's cottages and many other buildings. Notably, it was one of the first rural towns in New South Wales to be connected to the

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

. Joadja's legacy still remains with many of the historical buildings remaining in ruin such as some of the miners' cottages, a school house, church, cemetery and refinery devices such as shale ovens. These ovens are protected and is World Heritage listed. Today, the Joadja Distillery produces Single Malt Whisky in honour of the Scottish mining families who worked the rich coal and shale seams in the late 1800s.

Manor houses

The Southern Highlands has a reputation of being an upscale area due to its upscale-style accommodation which include reputable resorts such as Craigieburn, Briars, Berida Manor House and Peppers Manor House. Each of these places are historical and have a historic significance to the local area.

Morton National Park

Robertson

Home of the Big Potato and Fountaindale Grand Manor "AKA" Ranelagh House. Fountaindale Grand Manor, originally built in 1924 and opened as Hotel Robertson, has had an interesting history. The Hotel boasted a nine-hole golf course, two tennis courts, croquet, lawn bowls, billiards, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, and an onsite mechanic who looked after guest's cars during their stay. The hotel won the "Most luxurious hotel in the Commonwealth" award in 1925, and was the first hotel in Australia to have phone lines to every room.

Wineries

The Highlands in the last decade has become a small yet significantly growing

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

and cellar door region in New South Wales. It is believed that temperate climate, high annual rainfall as well as quality basalt soil makes it a perfect place for

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

. There are many reputable wineries and vineyards that are located in the Highlands such as Joadja Estate, Bendooley Estate, Centennial Winery, St Maur Wines, Southern Highland Wines, and Eling Forest Winery. Some of these wineries have won awards nationally as well as internationally for the optimum quality of their wines. Varieties primarily cultivated in the region are;

chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

and

cabernet sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Wombeyan Caves

Events

''Brigadoon''

''Brigadoon'' is a cultural Scottish Festival that occurs one day in April at Bundanoon every year. The festival celebrates

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Scottish culture where Bundanoon becomes the fictional Scottish town of

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and score by Frederick Loewe. The plot features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years; on ...

. Festivities of the day include; massive band parades playing various Scottish instruments such as

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

; Scottish dancing such as Highland dancing and

Scottish country dance Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are ...

; and Highland games such as caber toss and

stone put The stone put () is one of the main Scottish heavy athletic events at modern-day Highland games gatherings. While similar to the shot put, the stone put more frequently uses an ordinary stone or rock instead of a steel ball. The weight of the ...

. In addition,

Scottish cuisine Scottish cuisine (; ) encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Scotland. It has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, but also shares much with other British and wider European cuisine as a result of l ...

is available during the festival such as

Scotch pie A Scotch pie is a double-crust meat pie, traditionally filled with minced mutton (whereby also called a mutton pie) but now generally beef, sometimes lamb. It may also be known as a shell pie to differentiate it from other varieties of savoury ...

and

haggis Haggis ( ) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's offal, pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), Mincing, minced with chopped onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with Stock (food), stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the anima ...

''Tulip Time'' in Bowral

''Tulip Time'' is a historical flower festival in Bowral where nearly 100,000

tulips Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloure ...

that are planted in Bowral's Corbett Gardens bloom into

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

in late September and early October. The first festival was started in 1961 by the Rotary Club of Bowral-Mittagong. The festival usually lasts 14 days and includes various activities such as band parades, house and garden fairs, food and wine fairs and many other activities. The festival donates proceeds to various charities and this year will be sponsoring Westmead Children's Hospital. In the past, the festival has supported local churches, hospitals, youth centres, elderly centres and disadvantaged people of the community.

''Walk Through Bethlehem'' in Mittagong

''Walk Through Bethlehem'' is an interactive

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 ...

experience for all ages. Visitors are invited to step back in time, into a reenactment of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. There they meet

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

s minding their flocks, potters,

carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters trad ...

stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

and copper-smiths at work, the wise men searching for the saviour, villagers selling their wares in the marketplace, before finally seeing Mary, Joseph and baby

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in the stable. Run by Mittagong Anglican Church (St. Stephen's), the event is held every second year in December, usually the week before Christmas. Held in the grounds of Mittagong Anglican Church on Main Street, the event has been run in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

Small events

Bundanoon hosts Community Garden's Grow Cook Eat Festival in March, Winterfest each June and Garden Ramble each October. Wingello hosts

Sled Dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transpor ...

Trials in June.

Local media

Newspapers

* The '' Southern Highland News'' The local tri-weekly newspaper based in Bowral. It was first established in 1958. It is owned by Fairfax's

Rural Press Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and ...

. It caters for the entire

. * ''The Highlands Post'' The free local advertising newspaper owned and run by Southern Highland News. It is delivered to all villages and towns of the entire

Radio

2ST Radio
102.9 FM. A commercial radio station that is based in Bowral and

Nowra Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

.
92.5 FM Youth Radio
(previously 2WYR925FM)92.5 FM. The local community youth radio station that is based in Bowral.
Highland FM
(previously 2WKT Radio)107.1 FM. The local FM community radio station that is based in Bowral.
Classic Gold FM
8.0 FM.A local FM radio station playing music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Notable people

* Jono Brauer, Australian alpine skier who specialises in slalom and giant slalom * Ann Carr-Boyd, Australian classical composer * David Griffin, Australian lawyer and businessman, and former Lord Mayor of Sydney * Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-born Australian actor, writer and director * Frank Tidswell, Australian physician *

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

, English-Australian singer-songwriter *

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

, Australian-American actress, producer and singer. * Nathan Hindmarsh, Australian rugby league player * Feiz Mohammad, Australian radical preacher of Lebanese descent.

References

External links

Official website for Tourism Southern Highlands

Wingecarribee Shire Council The Southern Highlands (established 1998) Mittagong Anglican ChurchSouthern Highlands Community Bulletin BoardInternational Cricket Hall of Fame (incorporating Bradman Museum collection) Brigadoon (the Bundanoon Highland Gathering) Bundanoon NSW Bundanoon Garden Ramble
{{Coord, 34, 28, S, 150, 25, E, region:AU-NSW_type:city, display=title Regions of New South Wales Wine regions of New South Wales Great Dividing Range Highlands