Wentworth Falls, New South Wales
From Freepedia
Wentworth Falls (33°43′ S 150°22′ E, elevation 867 metres) is a village in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales located 100 kilometres west of Sydney, and about 8 kilometres east of Katoomba, Australia. Originally called Weatherboard after the ‘Weatherboard Hut’ built in 1814, one year later the town was named Jamison’s Valley by Governor Macquarie. In July 1867 the historic first railway journey in the Blue Mountains left Penrith station and travelled through to Weatherboard Station where the train terminated. In 1879, the village took its name from a nearby system of waterfalls, which in turn were named for William Charles Wentworth, one of the men that headed the exploration to cross the mountains in 1813.
From the top of Bodington Hill one can visit one of the most remote and beautiful picnic grounds in the Blue Mountains, Ingar Picnic Ground and the Aboriginal site of Kings Table. The area known as Kings Tableland offers spectacular views of the Jamison Valley. It has been calculated via carbon dating that the land was occupied some 22,000 years ago. Sunset Lookout or McMahon’s Lookout provide long views as far as Lake Burragorang.
Other points of interest include the historic Grandview Hotel, the Wentworth Falls School of Arts and Wentworth Falls Lake an artificial lake created early in the 20th Century to provide water for steam locomotives, now a passive reserve, and Yester Grange, an historic homestead now closed to the public but available for private functions and accommodation. The School of Arts is a popular venue for stalls and markets.
On the north side of the town is Pitt Park. The Bathurst Traveller, later renamed Weatherboard Inn was an inn built in 1826 at Pitt Park. Charles Darwin was reported to have stayed there in 1836. Darwin lends his name to a nature walk from Wentworth Falls themselves to the village.
There are many spectacular natural lookouts and attractions in the area including Breakfast Point Lookout, Princes Rock Lookout, the Wentworth Falls, Queens Cascades and Rocket Point Lookout. Further north you can walk to Empress Falls, Sylvia Falls, Lodore Falls, Valley of the Waters Picnic Area, Queen Victoria Lookout, Lyre Bird Lookout, Vera Falls as well as Flat Rock and Brittania Red Rock.
Conservation Hut is an information centre in Wentworth Falls operated by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Wentworth Falls hosts several festivals including the Wentworth Falls Lake Regatta in February, Wentworth Falls Autumn Festival in April, and Wentworth Falls Public School Art and Craft Show in May.
