Springwood New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Braemar (1892) | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 33°41′56″S150°33′51″E / 33.698799°S 150.564215°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 8,423 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Established | circa 1815 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 2777 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 371 m (1,217 ft) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | City of Blue Mountains | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Blue Mountains | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Macquarie | ||||||||||||||
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Springwood is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. Springwood is located 72 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2021 census, Springwood had a population 8,423 people. [1]
Springwood is near the Blue Mountains National Park and the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site. 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.
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 settlement the chief of the clan was Oryang Jack who was drawn by French artist Pellier. [2]
"Oryang-Ora" was also the reference to the area that marked the dividing ridge line between the Darug tribes of the north and the Gundungurra tribes to the south in the Blue Mountains area.
In 1815, Governor Lachlan Macquarie 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. [3] 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 [4] as well as having a New South Wales heritage listing. [5]
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. [6]
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. [7] The house originally built as a vicarage, but only used as a private residence known as Southall, is also heritage-listed. [8] 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.
Springwood has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
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. [12]
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. [13]
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.
Springwood has a humid subtropical climate (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 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. [22]
Furthermore, Springwood can suffer bushfire damage during the spring and summer months due to it being located in, and surrounded by, a predominant eucalyptus woodland area which encompass the Blue Mountains region. [23]
Climate data for Springwood (Valley Heights) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 45.1 (113.2) | 44.6 (112.3) | 37.1 (98.8) | 34.3 (93.7) | 27.6 (81.7) | 22.1 (71.8) | 25.9 (78.6) | 27.0 (80.6) | 34.6 (94.3) | 36.9 (98.4) | 43.5 (110.3) | 43.5 (110.3) | 45.1 (113.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) | 26.9 (80.4) | 25.2 (77.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 19.4 (66.9) | 16.0 (60.8) | 15.9 (60.6) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 23.9 (75.0) | 25.7 (78.3) | 27.4 (81.3) | 22.4 (72.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) | 16.9 (62.4) | 15.4 (59.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 7.8 (46.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 7.0 (44.6) | 9.4 (48.9) | 11.6 (52.9) | 14.2 (57.6) | 15.2 (59.4) | 11.9 (53.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 8.9 (48.0) | 4.2 (39.6) | 2.1 (35.8) | −0.3 (31.5) | −2.6 (27.3) | 1.9 (35.4) | 3.1 (37.6) | 4.7 (40.5) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.2 (46.8) | −2.6 (27.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 126.8 (4.99) | 139.1 (5.48) | 125.0 (4.92) | 89.1 (3.51) | 71.7 (2.82) | 78.2 (3.08) | 55.6 (2.19) | 53.6 (2.11) | 55.0 (2.17) | 72.9 (2.87) | 95.9 (3.78) | 101.9 (4.01) | 1,086.3 (42.77) |
Average precipitation days | 11.0 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 10.5 | 104.9 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology (2006- averages, rainfall 1883-) [24] |
The town's annual celebration, Foundation Day, occurs in late March to early April. [25]
Springwood is also the site of a notable Anzac Day Parade.
The Blue Mountains Vietnam Veterans' Association conducts the largest annual parade and Memorial Service for Vietnam veterans in Australasia [26] at Springwood, on the third Sunday of August, to coincide with the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan.
Springwood Australia Day Festival, conducted by Lower Mountains Fundraising Events Inc., is held in the grounds of Springwood Public School and involves local entertainers on two stages, food and market stalls and amusement rides. [27]
Springwood Springtopia Festival is held on the first Saturday of September with a similar format to Australia Day. [27]
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.
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. [28]
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%. [29]
Notable people from or who have lived in Springwood include:
Richmond is a historic town in north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Richmond is in local government area of City of Hawkesbury and comes under Sydney Metropolitan area. It is located 20 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is about 65 km by road from Sydney, 22 km from Penrith, 26 km from Blacktown, 40 km from Parramatta, 78 km from Lithgow and 5 km from Windsor. Richmond Town is now part of Sydney urban area have all amenities including Shopping Malls, Service NSW, Schools, TAFE, University, Post Office, Restaurants, Railway Station, Cafe, Hotel and Supermarkets.
Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Sydney region. It lies on the north bank of the Parramatta River. People from Ryde are colloquially known as Ryders, Rydiens or Rydemen.
Windsor is a historic town in north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the council seat of the Hawkesbury local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush. Many of the oldest surviving European buildings in Australia are located at Windsor. It is 56 km (35 mi) north-west of the Sydney CBD, on the fringes of urban sprawl.
Warrimoo is a medium-sized village in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, 273 metres above sea level. The state government's electorate is Blue Mountains and the state member is Labor's Trisha Lee Doyle.
Eastwood is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Eastwood is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the City of Parramatta. Eastwood is in the Northern Sydney region and is on the Sydney Trains Northern Line (Sydney). despite it being partially in the City of Parramatta. The area is best known for being an ethnic enclave for immigrant populations in Sydney, mainly of East Asian origin but the suburb also has a significant number of other immigrant populations, such as Italian and Anglo-Saxon people. Eastwood was originally its own town but due to the expansion of Sydney, was eventually absorbed.
Winmalee is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Winmalee is located 77 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2011 census, Winmalee had a population of 6,593.
Lawson is a town in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Great Western Highway between Hazelbrook in the east and Bullaburra in the west. Lawson has a station on the Main Western line. The town is also served by a public swimming pool and over the years has developed into the commercial hub of the mid-mountains area, which spans from Linden to Bullaburra, boasting a significant industrialized area as well as a shopping centre located on the south-eastern side of the highway.
Faulconbridge is a village located in the Blue Mountains 77 km west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales and is 450 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Faulconbridge had a population of 4,025 people. At the 2021 cenus, the population had risen to 4,156.
Valley Heights is a small township of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. It is about 70 km (43 mi) from the Sydney central business district and is located east of the township of Springwood. At the 2006 census, Valley Heights had a population of 1,337 people.
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains, on the Great Dividing Range at the far western fringe of the Greater Sydney area. Major settlements include, Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood and Blaxland.
Emu Plains is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 58 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Mount Victoria is a village in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Mount Victoria is geographically the western most village and suburb of Greater Sydney on the great western highway in the City of Blue Mountains, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west-northwest by road from the Sydney central business district and at an altitude of about 1,052 metres (3,451 ft) AHD . The settlement had a population of 823 people at the 2011 Census.
Wentworth Falls is a town in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, and about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Wentworth Falls railway station on the Main Western line. The town is at an elevation of 867 metres (2,844 ft) AHD . At the 2016 census, Wentworth Falls had a population of 6,076.
Telopea is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Telopea is located 23 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. The suburb is bordered by Kissing Point Road to the south and Pennant Hills Road to the north.
Springwood railway station is a heritage-listed former railway bridge and now railway station located on the Main Western line in Springwood, City of Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by NSW Government Railways and built from 1883 to 1884 by John White, Chas. & Wm. Coghill & Thos. Proull. It is also known as Springwood Railway Station Group. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The station opened on 11 July 1867. It previously had a passing loop to the east of Platform 1.
St Columba's Catholic College, formerly St Columba's High School, is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the Blue Mountains region, on the border of Winmalee and Springwood, in New South Wales, Australia.
Yellow Rock is a small village or locality in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2011 census, Yellow Rock had a population of 1029.
The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mountains Area on 16 and 17 October 2013.
The Christ Church Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church located at 345-347 Great Western Highway, Springwood, City of Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Sir John Sulman and built from 1888 to 1889. It is also known as Christ Church of England and Springwood. The property is owned by Springwood Anglican Parish. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.