Valley Heights is a small township 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 ...

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 ...

. It is about from the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

and is located east of the township of Springwood. At the 2021 census, Valley Heights had a population of 1,188 people. Valley Heights developed its own piece of the ridgeline that has been the main route west from Sydney since colonial history, and has some strong evidence of a rich pre-colonial inhabitance. At an elevation of 300 to 320 metres (980–1,050 ft) above sea level, the climate has been considered very conducive to a huge range of plants. The native ecological communities are fairly typical of other Hawkesbury sandstone with shale transition forests, yet exhibit the local specificness we have come to expect in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Current development is restricted by council reserves and National Park Valley Heights has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, rail museum and the historic Gatekeepers cottage where the gatekeeper employed by the railway lived in the early steam era.

History

Aboriginal People, mostly of the

Dharug 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 ...

and

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

people, lived in the area for thousands of years prior to European

colonisation 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

. One of the First mentions of the area by Colonisers was by William Cox in 1814 during the Construction of the first road across the Blue Mountains. Referencing what it now known as sun valley he noted: " Water and Forest growth in the valley to the right". Some of the First europeans to come in the area where attracted to the flat area and rich soil of Sun Valley. Which was conveniently located close to the Western Road and made it a prime resting spot for Farmers transporting Cattle from Bathurst to Sydney. In 1830 "The Valley Inn" was established, later renamed the Woolpack and then the Welcome Inn. In 1847

Governor Fitzroy Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, (10 June 179616 February 1858) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator who held governorships in several British colonies during the 19th century. Family and peerage ...

Stayed there. Following the Establishment of the Railway line the Inn went out of business and the property was purchased by Geoffrey Eager in 1870 as a mountains home. In 1902 he renamed the Inn Wyoming and operated as a boarding home until 1937 when it was demolished. He established a private Railway station there, called Eagers Platform. In 1877 it was renamed to "The Valley" Station. In 1880 it was renamed to the "Valley Heights Station" becoming the location of the modern

Valley Heights railway station Valley Heights railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the Main Western line in Valley Heights, in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by NSW Govern ...

. The Railway Station was destroyed by a bush fire in 1911. In 1913 a locomotive depot was established. Due to the steep gradient around the station two major crashes occurred during this time period. In 1923 a goods train crashed near the station and in 1926 a train lost control and slid down the mountains before being stopping in Blaxland. The Station was electrified in 1957. In 1989 the Depot was closed and used to store material until 1993. In 1994 The Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum was established on the site of the depot and a steam tramway was added in 1997.

Heritage listings

Valley Heights has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 110 and 112 Green Parade: Valley Heights railway gatehouse * Main Western railway:

* 17b Tusculum Road: Valley Heights Steam Tram Rolling Stock

Commercial area

Valley Heights' commercial area centres on and north of the Great Western Highway, comprising light industrial and hardware retail services.

Churches

* St Marks Anglican Church operated in Valley Heights for many years before closing in the late 1980s. * Valley Heights Community Church met at Blue Mountains Grammar Valley Heights campus, as part of Anglican Churches Springwood from 2005 to 2012. This congregation has now merged with Factory Morning Church a
Anglican Churches Springwood

Schools

* The Preparatory Campus of the

Blue Mountains Grammar School Blue Mountains Grammar School, abbreviated as BMGS, is a dual-campus independent Anglican comprehensive co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, located in the Blue Mountains suburbs of Wentworth Falls and Valley He ...

was built in Valley Heights in 2003. * Other primary and secondary schools are in nearby Springwood and

Winmalee Winmalee is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia. Winmalee is located west of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. As of the , Winmalee has a population of 6,388. Originally known as North Springwood, Wi ...

Transport

Railway

Valley Heights has a

on the

Blue Mountains Line The Blue Mountains Line (BMT) is an intercity rail service serving the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The line travels west from Sydney to the major town of Katoomba and on to Mount Victoria, Lithgow and Bathurst. M ...

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. Valley Heights is the start of the steeply graded, 1 in 33 (3%) section to

Katoomba Katoomba is the main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, and is the administrative centre of Blue Mountains City Council. Situated on the Great Western Highway and the Great Western Railway, Kato ...

. The gradient approaching Valley Heights from Sydney is 1 in 60 (1.67%). In older times, assistant engines were attached here to uphill trains, which explains the existence of the roundhouse, now the

Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum The Valley Heights Rail Museum is a railway museum located in Valley Heights, New South Wales, Australia. The facility is located north-west of Valley Heights railway station. The museum is operated by two partner organisations: * The Valley ...

. A number of rail heritage items in Valley Heights are listed on the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

: * The railway station and the locomotive depot including the roundhouse * The railway gatehouse in Greens Parade, Valley Heights * Steam tram rolling stock held at the Valley Heights locomotive depot * a cattle van, a brake van, and two preserved steam engines

Bus

Blue Mountains Transit CDC NSW is a bus operator in New South Wales, Australia. It is an umbrella brand of ComfortDelGro Australia established in 2017 to cover the latter's New South Wales operations, some of which had been owned by ComfortDelGro since 2005. It was sub ...

(formerly Pearce Omnibus and later Blue Mountains Bus Company) headquarters and depot are located in Valley Heights.

Tourist attractions

is the home of the oldest remaining roundhouse in New South Wales, located 500 m from the eastern Springwood town boundary.

References

{{authority control Towns in New South Wales