Springwood is a town in the
Blue Mountains,
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 ...
. Springwood is located 72 kilometres west of the
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 ...
CBD 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 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 ...
. At the , Springwood had a population 8,423 people.
Springwood is near the
Blue Mountains National Park
The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of the Sydney CBD, and the park boundary is ...
and the
Greater Blue Mountains Area
The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a World Heritage Site located in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The area was placed on the World Heritage List at the List of World Heritage Sites by year ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. It is 371 metres above sea level and, like most of the towns in the vicinity, is located on a narrow ridge between two gorges.
Winmalee is to the north.
Springwood railway station sits between
Valley Heights and
Faulconbridge on the
Blue Mountains railway line.
History
The Springwood area was first occupied by the Oryang-Ora Aboriginal people belonging to the wider Darug Aboriginal tribe of the wider Sydney region. They settled the area about 40,000 years ago, with many rock carvings and art sites in the area. At the time of European settlement the chief of the clan was Oryang Jack who was drawn by French artist Pellier.
"Oryang-Ora" was also the reference to the area that marked the dividing ridge line between the
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 of the north and the
Gundungurra tribes to the south in the Blue Mountains area.
In 1815, Governor
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
and his wife stopped by what Macquarie called a spring. The place was later named Springwood: "Spring" from the springs in the area, and "wood" from the local Mountain Blue Gums (Eucalyptus deanei) of the area. As a town developed, the main street was named Macquarie Road, after Governor Macquarie.
The first railway line was put through the Blue Mountains in 1867, and the Springwood station was built in 1868. This station was replaced by a more substantial building in the Victorian Gothic style, constructed in 1884 under the direction of
John Whitton, Chief Engineer of NSW Railways; a porter's cottage was constructed just west of the station. Springwood Station is the second-oldest surviving station in the Blue Mountains. It is 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 ...
as well as having a New South Wales heritage listing.
[
In 1892, James Hunter Lawson built ''Braemar'', a large, single-storey house situated on a sixty-acre property on Macquarie Road. ''Braemar'' started as a family residence, but later became a convalescent home, a boarding house, a private home again and a guesthouse. It was acquired by the Blue Mountains City Council in 1974, restored as a Bicentennial project and reopened in 1988. It serves as a community gallery and centre, staffed by volunteers. The local library is housed in a new building behind ''Braemar''.
Christ Church Anglican Church was built on the Great Western Highway from 1888 to 1889, with extensions in the 1960s and 1980s. It was designed by the architect Sir John Sulman, who had a holiday residence at Lawson. Designed in the Victorian Academic Gothic style, the church is the oldest Anglican church building in the Blue Mountains and is heritage-listed. The house originally built as a vicarage, but only used as a private residence known as ''Southall'', is also heritage-listed. The Presbyterian Church building, a sandstone Gothic building located on Macquarie Road, was built in 1895. The Catholic community was originally part of the Penrith parish, but were given their own building in 1892: St Thomas Aquinas Church. The church has since relocated to St Columba's grounds, Winmalee.
]
Heritage listings
Springwood has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 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 ...
* 345-347 Great Western Highway: Christ Church Anglican Church, Springwood
* 39 Hawkesbury Road: Buckland Convalescent Home
* Main Western railway: Springwood railway station
October 2013 bushfires
A small part of Springwood, along with larger parts of the adjacent town of Winmalee and nearby village of Yellow Rock were badly affected by bushfires in October 2013. 193 residential properties were destroyed, and 109 damaged in those localities.
Commercial area and transport
Springwood's commercial area centres around Macquarie Road which runs parallel to the Great Western Highway and the railway line. The Springwood & District Chamber of Commerce represents retailers, businesses, services and not-for-profit organisations in Springwood and surrounding areas.
* Springwood railway station is on the Blue Mountains Line of the NSW TrainLink
NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...
intercity network.
* Blue Mountains Transit provides daily bus services through Springwood from Penrith and Winmalee in addition to various bus routes from Springwood to Burns Road, Springwood Hospital, Hazelbrook, Katoomba and Yellow Rock.
Education
The town is serviced by three high schools, Springwood High School, Winmalee High School and St. Columba's High School, as well as private and selective high schools in other suburbs. Springwood is also serviced by five primary schools: Ellison Public School, Faulconbridge Public School, Winmalee Public School, Springwood Public School and St Thomas Aquinas Primary School.
Churches
* Anglican Churches Springwood Christ Church Anglican Church (1888) and the Factory (2004)">Christ Church Anglican Church, Springwood">Christ Church Anglican Church (1888) and the Factory (2004)* Springwood Baptist
* Springwood Presbyterian meeting at Frazer Presbyterian Church (1895)
* Springwood Salvation Army
* Springwood Uniting Church
* St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church
* Lutheran Springwood
* Strong Nation Churches (Blue Mountains)
Climate
Springwood 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''). Unlike the upper Blue Mountains area, it generally has mild winters and warm summers, due in part to the foehn effect. Although Springwood's elevation is at 371 m (1,217 ft), its winter nights are warmer than those of Penrith and Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
in the lower Sydney metropolitan area, which lie on the footsteps of the Blue Mountains. This is mainly because cool air from the mountains sinks to the Cumberland Plain, thus cooling these suburbs at night. Springwood has a higher annual rainfall amount than these nearby suburbs on the floodplain.
Furthermore, Springwood can suffer bushfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
damage during the spring and summer months due to it being located in, and surrounded by, a predominant Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
woodland area which encompass the Blue Mountains region.
Celebrations and events
The town's annual celebration, Springwood Spring Festival, occurs on the first Saturday in September .
Springwood is also the site of a notable Anzac Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...
Parade.
The Blue Mountains Vietnam Veterans' Association conducts the largest annual parade and Memorial Service for Vietnam veterans in Australasia at Springwood, on the third Sunday of August, to coincide with the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.
Parks and recreation
Springwood has some parklands with bushwalks often leading into wilderness areas.
Fairy Dell is located immediately south of the township and has some tracks leading into the Blue Mountains World Heritage area. The Deanei Reserve is another bushland area which is located east of the township and hosts the threatened and endangered Blue Mountains Shalecap Forest. There are also bushland walks in this bushland Reserve.
Buttenshaw Park is also a recreational area which hosts an arboretum, play structures and the Springwood Pool.
Further south from Springwood is the Sassafrass Gully Track, which is a loop track that follows Sassafrass Creek and Glenbrook Creek to the Perch Ponds. After that, the track follows Magdala Creek, back to Springwood.
Summerhayes Park is a public reserve located in Winmalee, which is used for sport and recreational activities. Its facilities include tennis and netball courts, a newly built skate park and fields for football (soccer). It is the home of Springwood United Football Club (formerly Springwood Soccer & Sports Club) and Springwood Netball Club. Summerhayes Park has diverse native flora and fauna and contains many threatened/endangered species and ecological communities. It is also a bushwalking area with many tracks, vistas and aboriginal archeological sites.
Braemar Gallery opened in 1988. It serves as a community gallery. The venue hosts different exhibitions each month, showcasing local and regional artists' works. Braemar House, where the gallery is situated in, is said to be beautiful and known to be historic.
Population
Springwood is the largest town in the lower Blue Mountains. According to the 2016 Census, there were 8,475 people living in Springwood including 3,938 males (46.4%) and 4,540 females (53.6%). 79.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 6.9% and New Zealand 1.5%. 91.5% of people only spoke English at home. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Springwood is 147 or 1.7% of the total population. The most common responses for religion were No Religion, so described 32.2%, Catholic 20.9% and Anglican 18.7%.
Notable people
Notable people from or who have lived in Springwood include:
* Adam Giles, former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016)
* Gerry Harvey, entrepreneur
* Andrew Hinson, rugby league player
* Julia Jacklin
Julia Jacklin (born 30 August 1990) is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. Jacklin's musical style has been described as indie pop, indie folk, and alternative cou ...
, singer-songwriter
* Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his historical fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler' ...
, author
* Laurie Nichols, rugby league identity
* Amanda Spratt, professional cyclist
* Graham Toulmin AM, dental clinic philanthropist
* Wendy Toulmin AM, dental clinic philanthropist
See also
* List of Blue Mountains subjects
This is a list of articles about the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia.
A
* Aboriginal sites of New South Wales (includes Blue Mountains)
B
* Bargo River
* Barrallier, Francis
* Bell railway station, New South Wales
* Bell, ...
References
{{authority control
Towns in New South Wales