Section 2 Northbound

Marker	Diretions	Distance from previous point
66	Turn left on Remembrance Driveway at Yanderra and proceed through Bargo, Tahmoor and Picton	13 km
67	Continue under the rail overpass in Picton, then over Razorback Range towards Camden	19 km
68	Turn left onto Old Hume Highway (becomes Broughton Street then Murray Street) towards Camden	18 km
69	Turn right at roundabout onto Argyle Street through Camden shops; becomes Camden Valley Way	2 km
70	Continue straight ahead at Narellan, towards Liverpool	5 km

• Bargo
• Tahmoor
• Picton
• Razorback Range
• Camden
• Kirkham
• Narellan
• Leppington

Bargo and Lupton's Inn

The name Bargo derives from the Aboriginal word ‘Bah-go' meaning ‘dark'. The present railway station stands on the site of the first settlement. A grant of land was given to a man named Partridge in 1822 and on this old grant the township of Bargo is built.

An early settler named Brown kept the Woolpack Hotel, one and a half miles south of Bargo. At the same place he also had a blacksmith and coach repairing shop. The remains of the old building are still to be seen. He was one proprietor of the coaches that ran through in the early days. A fair quantity of wheat was grown in the area and much hay was sold to coach owners and carriers. Wheat and sheets of bark were carted to Camden. The roads were very bad and coaches often had to be hauled over the worst parts by bullocks.

Today as one enters the village of Bargo it is a far cry from the early days when it figured prominently in the history of the bushranging days. Bargo Brush was associated with ‘bailups', convict escapes and some dark and murderous deeds. It was one of the most bushranger-infested stretches of road in the colony, and the place for many years was under the shadow of the past. Soon after the events of those far-off teamster days, the whole tract fell under a kind of spell and remained forgotten and neglected for a quarter of a century. In those former times the area would light up with teamster's fires, while the solitude was broken by the voices of the campers.

When the railway was built, teamsters left in search of fresh fields. Wayside inns fell into ruin and desolation spread. However enterprising orchardists could see the proximity of Bargo's waste lands to the Sydney market when the railway first came through the area in the 1860s. So the area changed from the dangerous era of the early 1800s to a flourishing orchard district.

The present day village of Bargo has developed around the railway station. On the eastern side of the Highway near the railway station are three monuments each with a plaque recording the sighting of the first lyrebird and koala by Europeans on 24 January 1798. After passing through the main street of Bargo, turn left over the railway then right into Avon Road. Follow this road to the Avon Dam built in 1921, and the Nepean Dam built in 1925. Both dams are part of the Sydney Water Catchment and are open to the public, and are popular tourist attractions along with the Wirrimbirra Flora and Fauna Sanctuary.

Further south was the site of Lupton's Inn, its walls finally collapsed by neglect and weather in the late 19th century. In the days of the gold rushes, it was a famous stopping point for a meal and change of horses. John Lupton established it around 1830 at a time when the route of the Great Southern Road was uncertain. He positioned it at the apex of both alternative road plans. His widow married Joseph Henry Doyle who ran mail coaches through to Goulburn for many years. His coaches were called Lupton's Dragons and the stop at the inn was a welcome relief.

Lupton's Inn had one surprise before closing its doors after the rail opened to Mittagong in 1867. Prisoners were being brought from Berrima Gaol in 1866 and the party stopped at the inn to have lunch. They hatched a plan to escape and put this into effect near the cemetery, a few miles north of the inn. Constable William Raymond was shot dead as the convicts attempted to escape and one of the recaptured prisoners was later hanged.

Tahmoor/ Myrtle Creek

Present day Tahmoor was known in the early days of white settlement as Myrtle Creek, Bargo or Bargo West. Myrtle Creek derived its name from the myrtle trees which formerly grew along the creek flowing through the area, and have now been extensively cleared up to the main roads. The Tahmoor of today is a coal mining town located 5km south of Picton. The word Tahmoor is believed to come from the Aboriginal name for the Bronzewing Pigeon.

The area was once home to the Myrtle Creek Hotel, now Tahmoor House. The hotel's original well and parapet were constructed by convict labour but the house itself, with the exception of the stonework, was erected by free men. In its early colonial days, and being in the neighbourhood of the notorious Bargo Brush, the hotel was often visited by bushrangers. On one occasion these bushrangers stuck up a party of teamsters and their wives who were camped at the creek below the house, killing one woman and injuring a man and a child. The daughter of the hotel owner, Mrs James Mann, recounted the incident:

‘On the occasion of the murderous attack on the teamsters, my father saw them approaching the house and ordered his wife to lock the children in the nursery, and keep watch upon the road on the northern side, ready to fire if the murderers attempted any violence. He then rode out to meet them, and shortly after the outlaws, four in number, entered the bar and called for champagne … the men shortly afterwards made off into the ranges.'

The hotel changed owners several times, and with it, so did its name. The hill opposite the house, which has now been divided into the building allotments forming Tahmoor Park Estate, was a flourishing orchard which provided fruit for the surrounding district.

Tahmoor House was re-opened to the public on 5 April 2010, with an overwhelming response. The restored house now functions again as a bed and breakfast, an interesting respite for the historically-minded visitor.

Picton

As the Old Hume Highway winds down the Razorback and comes to the flat lands, there is the old Razorback Inn on the right. Now a café, it was once an inn, then a private home and then a service station. Nearby is the Picton golf course with its clubhouse once being the home of the Antill family. It was built in 1865 and looks across the road to Vault Hill, the Antill family's private burial ground.

The area for a government town, just south of the Picton of today was first set aside in November 1821. This area is now known as Upper Picton or Redbank. Major Henry Antill, Governor Macquarie's aide, was granted some 3,000 acres in the 1820s. He was the Police Magistrate and responsible for keeping order in a huge tract of territory. In 1841 he portioned off a piece of his estate near Stonequarry Creek, establishing the town of Picton, named after Sir Thomas Picton. The Great Southern Road bisected Picton and later the Hume Highway followed this line.

The George IV inn, built in 1839, has been a well-known landmark for many years.

In 1844 George Bell entered into a contract to supply bricks for the first steam powered flour mill erected in the district. The proprietor Mr Larkin had a windmill on the elevation now known as ‘Windmill Hill'.

Until the freeway opened in 1980, Argyle Street was a tangle of traffic chaos, often queued back for a mile or so and made worse by the ‘Hole in the Wall' – the railway underpass to the south of the town. There was all the highway traffic and many coal trucks, but after 1980 all was quiet with only local traffic on the road. Some businesses were affected and four of the five petrol stations closed.

Some of the main buildings are the Court House erected in 1865 and the Commercial Bank and Post Office on the corner of Menangle Road. Turn right and see St Mark's Church, built of local stone and designed by Edmund Blacket in 1856. The crossing over the creek goes back to the late 18th century and over the bridge is the George IV Inn, built in 1839.

Further along the Old Hume Highway up and over the next ridge and left into Prince Street is another local landmark, Victoria Bridge. It is the second oldest Allan truss bridge built in NSW, and one of the largest of its type. The18 metre high timber trestles are the tallest in NSW.

Tahmoor House, built in 1824. It is the oldest building in Wollondilly Shire

After crossing Victoria Bridge a visit to the railway station is worthwhile. Look to the west of the station to marvel at the sandstone railway viaduct built in 1862. It is the oldest stone archway over water in NSW, and is still in use.

Further information is available at the Wollondilly Visitor Information Centre, located at the corner of Argyle and Menangle Streets.

Razorback Range

While I Live I'll Grow tree, Razorback Range

The Razorback has been an important feature in the development of the Great Southern Road and the Hume Highway. Surveyor William Harper first marked a road over the Razorback in 1821. It was cleared in 1825 and was much used. In 1829 it was reported as the most direct route to the south but the Macarthur family objected to it passing through their property. In 1830 Surveyor White marked a more direct route via Cawdor over the Razorback, and in 1832 Thomas Mitchell was instructed by Governor Bourke to construct the Great Southern Road on that line, to Mitchell's great displeasure. The project was completed in 1835.

This route contained several very steep sections and two particularly sharp curves, which made it unsuitable for the demands of modern motor vehicle traffic. In August 1927 work on a new route over the range commenced, bypassing Cawdor. Partly funded by unemployment relief funding, it was a major construction effort and employed at its peak 229 workers. It utilised a section of the existing Camden-Menangle Road, which avoided the flood-prone length on the former route south of Camden, then crossed the range to the east of the former route.

Widening works on southern side of Razorback Range in 1969

The deviation was completed in 1929, and the November 1929 Main Roads journal noted that ‘In lieu of the old second or third gear road, with its difficult and dangerous bends, there is now available a top gear road throughout, which will prove, not only in the ease and safety with which it can be negotiated, but also on account of the fine panoramic views of the surrounding country which it affords, a boon to all who use it.'

But even this route proved to be problematic as traffic volumes increased. Land slippages often caused cracking in the road surface, necessitating frequent restoration work. In December 1980 the Razorback route was finally bypassed, with the opening of the 35 km section of the South Western Freeway between Campbelltown and Yanderra.

In April 1979 the road was the scene of the Razorback truck blockade, now marked with a monument. Razorback is also the site for the historic Anthony Hordern's tree ‘While I Live I'll Grow'.

The 1832 Mitchell route between Camden and Picton via Cawdor remains open and in use, for those wishing to experience this historic convict-built road alignment.

Camden

Historic Camden streetscape

In colonial times it was a matter of Government policy to reserve the lands west of the Nepean for the use of the wild cattle which grazed in the area. In July 1803 a Proclamation was issued forbidding any person from crossing the Nepean without a permit signed by the Governor. Disobedience of the order rendered the individual liable to six months hard labour.

In December 1805 the country west of the Nepean River was named Camden County, although the present boundaries of Camden County have changed. The first colonial land grants in Camden were issued to John Macarthur, thus beginning ‘Camden Park'. The private township of Camden was not established for another thirty years. In 1841 the Court of Petty Sessions was moved to Camden, being previously located in Cawdor, and took up residence in Camden Inn, as there was no courthouse in Camden at that time.

Argyle Street, Camden c. 1940

Camden in its early years was one of the most important commercial and administrative centres between Sydney and Goulburn on the Great Southern Road. The Hume Highway followed the town's main street from colonial times until 1973 when it was moved to the Camden Bypass, and then subsequently moved again in 1980 to the freeway route. Yet the role of the Hume in Camden's development is not widely appreciated.

The highway was one of the conduits that brought the international influences of modernism and consumerism to the town, and the goods and services that supported them. In the first half of the 20th century Camden was the centre of the police district. It had the regional hospital, it was the largest population centre and it was a transport node of a district which spread from Campbelltown to the lower Blue Mountains.

Camden town map

The town had two weekly newspapers, Camden News and the Camden Advertiser. Modern advancements included the opening of the telephone exchange (1910), the installation of reticulated gas (1912), electricity (1929), replacement of gas street lighting with electric lights (1932) and a sewerage system (1939). By the interwar years, a period of transition, the motor car had replaced the horse on the roads, and on the farm the horse was replaced by the tractor, all of which supported the growing number of garages in the town. A number of petrol stations were build along the main street to serve the Hume Highway traffic.

Dairying was also a major regional industry. In 1952, Camden Park installed The Rotolactor, which was then the ultimate in modern milking machinery. Developed in the USA and brought to Australia by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Macarthur-Onslow, it was in effect a multi-cow rotary automatic milking machine 18.3 metres in diameter. Its circumference was enclosed with glass windows to give natural light, which was supplemented by fluorescent lighting for early mornings and winter afternoons. The mechanism consisted of a circular platform which rotated on two circular rails, and its 50 bails could milk 300-375 cows per hour with ten operators. It ceased operation in 1972.

The layout and shape of Camden has changed little with the shopping strip along the Old Hume Highway from the 19th century. The town centre has a certain bucolic charm and character that is the basis of the community's identity and sense of place; this country feel has become the basis of the modern ‘country town idyll'.

Camden is home to a number of historic houses, government buildings and churches. Beside the old restored Camden Dairy building are the remnants of the old Camden tramway. Visitors to Camden may stop at the Camden Visitor Information Centre, which is located in John Oxley Cottage, an 1890s ‘workman's cottage', on Camden Valley Way, Elderslie.

Kirkham

Kirkham, a locality between Camden and Narellan on the former route of the Great Southern Road and the Hume Highway, was originally occupied by the Tharawal people.

The first land grants fronted the Great Southern Road and were given out during the time of Governor Macquarie to smallholders Danial McLucas, John Herbert and John Condron. The name of the locality comes from John Oxley's 1815 grant ‘Kirkham' of 1,000 acres. A prominent landmark is Herberts Hill, the site of the original Herbert land grant. Also known as Rheinbergers Hill and Longleys Hill, it is located opposite the intersection of Camden Valley Way and Kirkham Lane.

A Kirkham Lane private residence known as Camelot is listed under the NSW Heritage Act. It was designed by John Horbury Hunt and constructed in 1888 as a ‘rural seat' for racehorse breeder James White. The house remains virtually unaltered since its original construction.

Another interesting building is historic Yamba cottage at 181 Camden Valley Way. Yamba is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘a good place to camp'. The cottage was built in 1913 for the headmaster of Narellan Public School, Frederick Longley. The site was originally a portion of the Edward Lord's 1815 land grant of ‘Orielton'. Kirkham Railway Station was located adjacent to Kirkham Lane. It operated from 1882 to 1963 and was the third station after leaving Camden on the Camden-Campbelltown tramway. Remnants of old railway embankments and culverts are still visible. The station was a short platform, with a small weathershed and station signage. Passengers had to hail down the small locomotive called ‘Pansy' that ran on the tramway.

Narellan

Narellan was a small village on the Great Southern Road, later the Hume Highway, north of Camden. The highway ran through the village until 1973 when it moved to the Camden Bypass, and later to the current freeway route in 1980.

The name Narellan, used for the village, the district, and the parish, was probably derived from William Hovell's 1816 grant of ‘Naralling' of 700 acres. Most of the parish of Narellan was granted to settlers by Governor Macquarie between 1810 and 1818. By 1827 Surveyor-General John Oxley and Assistant Surveyor Robert Hoddle had surveyed the site of the village set out in a rectilinear plan, and marked the site of a church, school and courthouse.

By 1839 a lockup had been built and sly grog shops had sprung up along the Great Southern Road. A church school was built in 1839 and in 1842 there were 45 pupils. The first village allotments were offered for sale in 1843. The Narellan Post Office was opened in 1856 and located on the Great Southern Road.

In 1875 a government National School was established on the site for a courthouse and later became Narellan Public School. The Edmund Blacket designed St Thomas's Anglican Church was consecrated in 1884. Narellan Railway Station was the hub of the village and was the fourth station after leaving Camden. The Camden-Campbelltown tramway operated from 1882 to 1963.

The village was part of Nepean Shire Council until the Council was abolished in 1948. The village remained quite small until the opening of Narellan Town Centre in 1995, and is now a bustling commercial centre.

Historic Wivenhoe, built in 1837

Historic Camelot, built in 1888

Leppington

The Sydney Water Supply Channel

William Cordeaux (1792-1839), colonial Land Commissioner, arrived in NSW in 1817, and in 1821 was granted 700 acres on the Cumberland Plains near Denham Court. Cordeaux raised cattle and built a hill-top mansion, grandly naming it ‘Leppington Park' after a village near his Yorkshire birthplace. The locality was soon known as Leppington. Leppington bushrangers accosted and shot a traveller in 1826, and the Cumberland hounds hunted Leppington dingos in the 1840s. Anthrax first appeared in Australia among Leppington cattle in 1847, and in 1850, a canny lessee of the Denham Court tollgate employed ‘scouts' to lurk at Leppington and decoy Sydney-bound travellers from a rival tollgate on the Campbelltown Road.

Small farms were later carved out of the larger grants at Leppington and nearby Raby. Much of the area has remained rural, and Leppington market gardeners have helped to feed Sydney. Mr A. A. Tegel of Tegel Turkeys started at Leppington in 1920. The district developed rapidly post-WWII, when European migrants settled and farmed vegetables; by 1955 some were earning a record £800 per acre from cabbages alone. Dating from 1956, Leppington Progress Hall in Ingleburn Road is a monument to immigrant enterprise and enthusiasm. Since 1964, Forest Lawn Memorial Park at Leppington has been the last resting place of many southern-Sydney folk.

As early as 1823, the track passing south from Prospect through Leppington to Narellan and Camden was called The Cowpasture Road. Now, the former route of the Hume Highway between Cross Roads and Camden is known as Camden Valley Way. The Sydney Water Supply Channel, a canal carrying Sydney's drinking water from the Upper Nepean Scheme, has passed tranquilly under Camden Valley Way since 1888. The South West Rail link currently under construction will cross both Camden Valley Way and Cowpasture Road, and provide Leppington with a railway station to service the projected housing developments in the area.

Leppington Progress Hall. A good example of practical, vernacular design – postwar fibro, weatherboard, wrought iron.

Marker	Location
I	Site of the last single lane bridge on the Hume Highway
H	Victoria Bridge over Stonequarry Creek, Picton
G	Anthony Hordern’s tree
F	Razorback truck blockade site