Springwood, New South Wales

From Freepedia

Springwood is a town about halfway up the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, New South Wales in the heart of the Blue Mountains National Park World Heritage Site. It is 360 metres above sea level, with a rainfall of approximately 800 mm per year.

Like most of the towns in its vicinity, it is located on a narrow ridge between two gorges. The ridge barely has enough room for the road and railway to climb up to the summit at Katoomba.

Springwood is part of the Blue Mountains City, known as "the City Within the World Heritage National Park"

It shares the postcode 2777.

Contents 1 Springwood (word Origin) 2 History 3 Climate 4 Springwood Highlights 5 Schools 6 Surroundings

Springwood (word Origin)

In 1813 Governor Macquarie and his wife stopped by a spring for water in a deep glen. This was near the place now called Springwood, the second largest suburb in the Blue Mountains.

The Spring of the name refers to the many springs that naturally occurred in the area and the Wood refers to the majestic Blue Gum forests of the area - much of which is now cleared for development. Blue Gum Forests are now referred to as Blue Mountains Shalecap Forests and are a threatened ecological community in the Blue Mountains.

History

Springwood features the oldest railway station building in the Blue Mountains, having been a coal and water stop in the steam era. The town now hosts a diverse range of shops, cafes, historic hotels, antique shops, galleries and amenities for both tourists and locals. There are excellent bushwalks located close to the town centre.

Climate

Springwood generally has mild winter and mild summers, but frequently suffers bushfire damage during the summer months. Council Weather website with up to date readings.

Springwood Highlights

Springwood's business centres around Macquarie Road which runs parallel to the Great Western Highway. The town comes alive in April for Springwood Foundation Day and in October for Springwood Crazy Day. As well as for an ANZAC Day Parade through the main street concluding with a memorial service.

Springwood also serves as focal point for several outer suburbs including Linden, Faulconbridge, Winmalee, Yellow Rock, Valley Heights and Sun Valley, which do not provide many services such as mail, banking and groceries.

• Bushwalks
  • Sassafras Gully - a bushwalker's paradise
  • Birdwood Gully - for easy bushwalks
  • Fairy Dell - an easy bushwalk very close to town
  • Deanei Reserve - the original Blue Gum forests of Springwood [1]
  • Else Mitchell Park - great bushland remnant and short bushwalk [2] [3]
  • Martin's Lookout
• Hotels
  • The Royal Hotel "The Royal"
  • The Oriental Hotel "The Ori"
• Churches
  • Springwood Baptist Church
  • Springwood Catholic Church
  • Springwood Christ Church (Springwood Anglican Church), Church of England
  • Springwood Uniting Church
  • Frazer Memorial Presbyterian Church, A large stone church on Macquarie Road
• Miscellaneous
  • Braemar Historic Gallery - open at selected times of the year for exhibitions of contemporary works by local and Sydney artists.
  • Blue Mountains Aquatic Centre
  • Springwood Golf Course
  • Springwood Tennis Courts

Schools

• Springwood Public School [4]
• Springwood High School (actually located in Faulconbridge, listed here due to its name.)

Surroundings

On the Blue Mountains Railway Line running East-West, Springwood is situated between Valley Heights and Faulconbridge. To the North is Winmalee.