| Portland New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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  Portland | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 33°21′16″S149°58′58″E / 33.354391°S 149.982711°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 2,447 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2847 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 925 m (3,035 ft) [2] | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | City of Lithgow | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Bathurst | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Calare | ||||||||||||||
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Portland is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, Portland had a population of 2,447 people. [1] [3] The town was named after Australia's first cement works.
Portland is part of the gateway to the Central West and is located between Oberon, Mudgee, Bathurst, Lithgow, and the Blue Mountains. It is a short drive from both the Great Western and Castlereagh Highways. It is accessed from the Great Western Highway via Wallerawang or from Sunny Corner Rd at Meadow Flat. It is accessed from the Castlereagh Highway via Boulder Road at the Mt Piper Power Station.
The town centre has a distinct business district, several parks and sporting clubs.
Prior to white settlement, the Portland region was occupied by the Wiradjuri people. The first European in the area was James Blackman who surveyed roads in the area in 1820 and today Blackman's Flat and Blackman's Crown bear the family name.
The town of Portland is of interest as an historic mining town, and also as the place of the first cement factory in Australia. Portland really got its start when Thomas Murray selected 61 hectares of land in 1863 and constructed his first lime kiln on what is now the corner of Lime and Villiers Streets. The railway came through Portland in 1882 [4] and the first station opened in 1887 was called Cullen Siding until 1889. The Cullen Bullen Lime and Cement Company established operations in the village that year. During the early 1890s, the first cement-making kilns west of the Blue Mountains were built in Portland.
In 1894, the village was gazetted as Portland, the name derived from the cement-making process which was already well underway in the area.
The cement works opened in 1902 and Portland was declared a town in 1906. Many of the original buildings in Portland were built by the cement works company for employees and still stand. Well-known Australian brand names now adorn many of the historic shops and buildings, creating a strong link to "yesteryear" that is celebrated by the town.
Portland has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
From 1902 cement produced at the "Commonwealth Portland Cement Company" mill helped build up the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. "Portland cement", a phrase synonymous with high quality cement anywhere in the world, was milled using limestone from onsite quarries and shipped throughout Australia. The town of Portland grew up around the Cement Works and the company contributed greatly to the area, building facilities that were needed for employees. A bath house, casino, an ice skating rink, Olympic swimming pool, and living quarters were supplied to workers. The cement kilns even generated enough energy to power the homes around it.
The factories of Portland and the surrounding area required the transportation of limestone, coal, and other materials, and to this end, a number of private industrial railways and tramways were constructed. [7]
At an altitude of 925 metres above sea level, [2] Portland is the 21st highest town in Australia and classified as a temperate zone. Cool winters and warm summers ensure four distinct seasons and snowfalls each winter.
Originally constructed as a theatre and public hall, the original building was destroyed by fire in 1925. Current release films are shown monthly and the hall is maintained by volunteers and available for community use.
In 2001, Ron Bidwell, a signwriter by trade, together with his fellow "Letterheads" recreated vintage signs dating from 1895 to 1945 on local shop walls. ‘Painting Portland’ was a project initiated by Ron Bidwell and completed during the Letterheads Wallnuts Weekend, in 2001. Thirty-four signwriters travelled to Portland to work with locals to restore and reproduce advertising used in the early part of the 20th century. Goanna Salve, Kinkara Tea, Bushell's Tea, Mother's Choice Flour, Uncle Toby's Oats, Arnott's Biscuits, Toohey's Flag Ale, Solvol, Federal Safety Matches and Swagsman Blend Tea are a selection from the colourful Signs of Yesteryear. For the last 20 years the Portland Wallnuts continue to gather in Portland NSW on the last weekend in October every year, to celebrate the achievements of previous years and continue on the Tradition of Traditional Signwriting. In the last 20 years more than 200 signwriters from around the world have donated their time in painting more than 280 signs in Keeping the Signs of Yesteryear alive.
The well serviced town is surrounded by a combination of national parks, crown land, farming areas and forestry, and has many areas that are well known for outdoor recreation. Adjacent to the town is a 650-acre Town Common with the Williewa Creek and flats running through the centre. "The Williewa" is an open eucalypt forest with an abundance of Eucalyptus macrorhyncha (Red stringybark) and native wildflowers and is popular with picnickers, mountain bikers and bushwalkers. There is a small well stocked dam and a plethora of birdlife as well as native wildlife, including Calyptorhynchus funereus (Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo), Platycercus elegans (Crimson rosella), Alisterus scapularis (King Parrot) and Macropus giganteus (Eastern grey Kangaroo).
The surrounding forests are popular with 4WD and dirt bike enthusiasts. Sunny Corner, Ben Bullen, Wolgan and Newnes State forests are all nearby and bush camping is available.
Portland is also a popular destination for geocaching, as well as rogaining and orienteering. The town is close to the Wollemi National Park, the Gardens of Stone National Park and the Turon National Park.
Portland is abundant in wild foods dependent on season. Spring is when wild apples and stone fruits are in bloom. Summer is the season for ripe blackberries, which are a noxious weed, and the more difficult to locate stone fruits. During Autumn, apples, pears and quince are ripe and the forests are rich with mushrooms. Lactarius deliciosus and Boletes (Boletus portentosus) are safe to eat.
Trout fishing is possible in local streams and creeks, the best known spot being Thompson's Creek Dam which is a twenty-minute hike from the carpark on Thompson's Creek Rd via the Falnash State Forest.
A railway station was opened at Portland with the name "Cullen Siding" in 1887, being renamed to Portland in 1889, the station was relocated in 1911. [8] Passenger rail services ceased when services to Mudgee railway station ceased in 1985. Rail services included the Mudgee Mail in the 1960s, and diesel multiple unit services between Lithgow and Mudgee in the 1970s until closing in 1985.
As of 2020, Lithgow Buslines operates return services from Lithgow, and well as visiting Portland en route between Lithgow and Bathurst. [9] NSW TrainLink also provide coach services between Lithgow and Gulgong via Portland [10]
Capertee pronounced is a village 46 km north of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It is on an elevated site above the Capertee Valley. In 2016, the township had a population of 145 people. The Castlereagh Highway links Capertee with Lithgow to the south and Mudgee to the north. The township is surrounded by National Parks and grazing land. Principal employment is in coal mining, farming and tourism-related services. The Capertee Valley forms a part of the catchment area of the Hawkesbury River, but the village lies very close to the Great Divide watershed, with the Turon River catchment nearby to its west.
Cullen Bullen is a village in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on Mudgee Road, 168 km north-west of Sydney, 28 km north of Lithgow. At the 2016 census, Cullen Bullen had a population of 279 people, up from 198 ten years earlier. The Cullen Bullen village is sustained by local mines and the Mount Piper Power Station.
Lithgow railway station is a heritage-listed former station master's residence and railway station and now guest accommodation and railway station located on the Main Western line at Railway Parade, Lithgow, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by New South Wales Government Railways and built from 1924 to 1925. It is also known as Lithgow Railway Station Group and Residence and Eskbank East. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 30 August 2013. The station has frequent NSW TrainLink services running to and from Sydney Central.
The Central West is a region in central New South Wales, Australia. The region is situated west of Sydney, which stretches from Lithgow in the east and to as far west as Condobolin, on the Lachlan River. The Central West is known for its agriculture like the Jenolan Caves, near Oberon and also wineries, as well as rural farmland and natural landscapes. The region includes major towns like, Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Lithgow, Parkes and Cowra. It has an area of 63,262 square kilometres (24,426 sq mi). The region also includes the sub-region known as the Central Tablelands, located in the eastern part of the region. The region known as the Orana, which includes the area surrounding Dubbo can be classed as being a part of the Central West also.
Group 10 is a rugby league competition in the Central West area of New South Wales, under the auspices of the New South Wales Rugby League. It had been under the control of Country Rugby League but that changed after the NSWRL agreed to a new constitution and the CRL voted to wind up its affairs immediately. The decisions was made on 19 October 2019 and the merger means that the aim of a unified administration of the sport in NSW was achieved over a year ahead of time.
Bathurst railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Havannah Street, Bathurst, Bathurst Region, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on the Main Western line and serves the city of Bathurst. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Rylstone is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Central Tablelands region within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way road route. At the 2021 census, Rylstone had a population of 904.
Kandos is a small town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, within the Mid-Western Regional Council. The area is the traditional home of the Dabee tribe of the Wiradjuri people. The town sits beneath Cumber Melon Mountain, in a district formerly known as Coomber. Kandos shares its locality, employment and infrastructure with the neighbouring town Rylstone, 6 kilometres away. At the 2021 census, Kandos had a population of 1263.
The City of Lithgow is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Great Western Highway and the Main Western railway line.
The Gwabegar railway line is a railway line in the Central West and North West Slopes of New South Wales, Australia, which passes through the towns of Mudgee, Gulgong, Dunedoo, Coonabarabran and terminates at Gwabegar.
The Capertee Valley is a large canyon in New South Wales, Australia, 135 km (84 mi) north-west of Sydney that is noted to be the second widest of any canyon in the world, exceeding The Grand Canyon. It is located 135 km (84 mi) kilometres north-west of Sydney, between Lithgow and Mudgee, in the Central Tablelands, just above the Blue Mountains.
Wallerawang is a small township in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest of Lithgow adjacent to the Great Western Highway. It is also located on the Main Western railway line at the junction of the Gwabegar line.
The Democrat was a weekly English language newspaper published in Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia.
Wallerawang railway station is a heritage-listed disused railway station located on the Main Western line in Wallerawang, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Wallerawang Railway Station and yard group. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Rylstone railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Gwabegar railway line at Rylstone, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. Although it closed to regular passenger services in 1985, it is planned to restore a tourist service between Kandos and Rylstone in late 2018. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Raffan's Mill and Brick Bottle Kilns is a heritage-listed lime kiln at Carlton Road, Portland, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1884 to 1895 by George Raffan and Alexander Currie. It is also known as Raffan's Mill and Brick Bottle Kilns Precinct, Portland Cement Works Site, Williwa Street Portland. The property is owned by Boral. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 August 2012.
Portland Cement Works Precinct is a heritage-listed former cement works and limestone quarries and now disused industrial site at Williwa Street, Portland, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built in various stages from 1890 to 2003. It is also known as Portland Cement Group and Commonwealth Portland Cement Company Ltd. The property is owned by Boral Limited. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 3 August 2012.
Clandulla is a village in New South Wales, Australia, within the Mid-Western Regional Council, about 225 kilometres north-west of Sydney. At the 2016 census Clandulla and the surrounding rural district had a population of 197, living in 61 private dwellings. The township and district also included 22 unoccupied private dwellings. Clandulla is bounded to the west and north by the Clandulla State Forest.
Lidsdale is a locality within the City of Lithgow Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia. It lies to the north of Wallerawang. Its area, as defined for postal and statistical purposes, includes the historic locality of Kerosene Vale and the small rural areas known as Springvale and Angus Place. In 2021, its population was 471.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence . Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
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