With its natural beauty and rich basalt soil, the Southern Highlands have been inhabited for millennia and boast an abundance of historical sites and stories, from Mittagong’s Gib Rock to the terrifying tale of Australia’s first serial killer.
Come with us for a journey through time and space as we set out to learn more about our region.
1 :: Always Was Always Will Be … Gundungurra Country
Begin at Mount Gibraltar, a significant place for the Gundungurra people for more than 50,000 years. Take the walking track around the Heritage Reserve and survey the panoramic views from three lookouts – Bowral, Mittagong and Jellore.
Imagine hundreds of kangaroos as well as small fires sending smoke signals from Gundungurra Ancestors to recipients as far away as Katoomba and the South Coast. Across the Highlands, there are many scar trees, stone-axe grinding rocks, middens, paintings, and sacred water holes especially inside the National Parks.
2 :: Bong Bong Common
From 1816, English settlers grazed their cattle around a ‘pebbly ford’ on the Wingecarribee River at a place called Bong Bong, which meant ‘many watercourses’ or ‘many frogs’.
Contemporary journals document the Gundungurra people’s well-managed landscape with plenty of fish, waterbirds and mammals for food. Governor Macquarie was so impressed in 1820 that he ordered the first village to be established there.
However, within a decade the new town of Berrima was booming and the Bong Bong Common reverted to the green space we enjoy today – an obelisk marks the settlement site and the Bong Bong Track, a walking and cycle path between Moss Vale and Bowral, passes the original pebbly ford.
Head to Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve, just across Moss Vale Road near the southern entrance to Bong Bong Track, to learn more about the way of life for the Gundungurra people – there’s a really interesting circle of educational signs at the beginning of the walk to read.
3 :: Throsby Park
Historical accounts laud Dr Charles Throsby, as he was often the first European to uncover paths beyond the Sydney region, always with the help of First Nations guides.
Reading between the lines, Throsby was a sensitive and curious man who gave up his medical career because of ill health but then managed to become an avid explorer.
He seemed to treat First Nations people with more respect than most of his contemporary Europeans and made an effort to learn their languages. In one letter following a successful exploration, he pleaded for his three guides to be honoured.
However, the colonial system was not as fair as its star adventurer – while the three English settlers were granted huge tracts of land, the guides were just given medals.
In 1828, when saddled with an enormous debt from a scurrilous associate, Dr Throsby shot himself and it was left to his nephew, also called Charles Throsby, to build the homestead at Throsby Park which is still visible from the Illawarra Highway today.
4 :: The Briars Inn, Bong Bong
In 1844, the young Charles Throsby bought the Argyle Inn built in 1827 at Bong Bong and moved it further up the hill renaming it The Royal Oak.
A generation later, his son Patrick converted the inn into a home called The Briars.
Eventually, the Briars Inn was relicensed and in 2020 the original Georgian building was restored as the centrepiece of the Briars Country Lodge.
Its nostalgic Throsby Bar is the ideal setting to contemplate the site’s history with a quiet drink.
5 :: Oldbury and All Saints Church at Sutton Forest
James Atkinson was one of the first Europeans to settle in Sutton Forest with a land grant in 1821.
His elegant house, Oldbury still exists 200 years later.
Atkinson published books on agriculture and was famous for organising ploughing matches, the precursor of popular agricultural shows like Moss Vale and Robertson.
He died young and is buried in the historical cemetery at All Saints Church, Sutton Forest.
6 :: Charlotte Atkinson, an Emerging Feminist Icon
After the death of her husband James, Charlotte Waring Atkinson became the first children’s author in Australia and the first woman to win the legal right to retain custody of her children.
Her daughter Louisa Atkinson became the first Australian-born woman writer and journalist.
Given all these ‘firsts’, there is a movement in the Highlands to give the Atkinson women their rightful place in history.
In 2022, commemorative plaques were unveiled at All Saints Cemetery in Sutton Forest, and in 2023, The Charlotte Project, in collaboration with Wingecarribee Shire Council, revealed a bronze statue of her at Berrima Marketplace. This beautiful piece was created by talented local sculptor Julie Haseler Reilly.
7 :: Berrima Courthouse Museum
Designed by Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis in the Greek Revival Style, the Courthouse is an architectural gem in the historic village of Berrima.
Opening in 1838, the Courthouse cemented Berrima’s place as the judicial and administrative centre of the Highlands.
Notorious criminals including bushrangers were convicted there and sent to their fate in the Berrima Gaol across the road.
Today, the austere building is a heritage museum running tours year-round and a spectacular son et lumiere show titled ‘Treachery, Treason and Murder’.
Image Credit :: Abbie Melle
8 :: Harper’s Mansion and Surveyor General Inn, Berrima
Publican James Harper was having a good year in 1834.
The only son of convicts William Harper and Margaret Morgan, he built the Surveyor General Inn in the centre of Berrima and became licensee in 1835.
Meanwhile, he and his wife Mary built Harper’s Mansion, a beautifully proportioned Georgian townhouse, on the hill overlooking the village.
Today, the Surveyor General is Australia’s oldest continually licensed inn and the National Trust runs Harper’s Mansion with its two acres of gardens and significant maze hedge.
9 :: The Berrima District Museum
For an immersive learning experience head to the Berrima District Museum and Story Centre.
Permanent displays place artefacts and historical treasures in context while temporary exhibitions bring specific themes alive with state of the art technology.
Currently, a stunning digital exhibition – Gardens and Landscapes of the Southern Highlands – explores 200 years of landscapes both old and new.
10 :: The dreadful legacy of Australia’s first serial killer
Former convict John Lynch terrorised the Highlands in the 1840s killing of ten people before he was tried for murder in the Berrima Courthouse and executed at the Gaol in 1842.
At Sutton Forest, a headstone in the All Saints Church cemetery reveals the tragic fate of two of his victims, father and son William and William Fraser.
Historians believe the remains of other victims are buried nearby and have installed a memorial plaque in the graveyard.
Spooky.
11 :: Walk through Yarrawa Brush at the Robertson Nature Reserve
During the 19th century, the eastern half of the Highlands was known as ‘Yarrawa Brush’, the name of the distinctive cool climate rainforest that covered the country before it was cleared.
Luckily, a remnant of this ‘natural jungle’ has been preserved in the Robertson Nature Reserve and is managed by the Robertson Environmental Protection Society (REPS).
Take the self-guided walk and imagine the landscape as it used to be.
Perhaps sample a piece of Pecora Dairy’s award-winning Yarrawa cheese at their Cheese + Wine Bar on Robertson’s main street afterwards – it’s made from local sheep’s milk.
12 :: Heritage Railway Stations
Everything changed in 1867 when the railway line from Sydney to Marulan via Picton opened with new stations in Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale.
Commerce became easier with new freight trains and the Highlands’ crisp air, spectacular landscapes, waterfalls and quality inns became a major tourist destination.
Next time you take a train, leave time to read the signs and look at the old signal boxes and other remnant equipment on view.
13 :: Big Hill Cutting, Hill Top
The Hill Top station isn’t used anymore but it’s worth a visit for the awe-inspiring walk through the Big Hill Cutting.
The sandstone excavation for the new railway line in the 1860s was one of the deepest cuttings in Australia.
Access the walk through Hill Top or Balmoral villages and look for a rare 1863 rock-cut inscription commemorating the deaths of two labourers on the project.
14 :: The Fitz Roy Iron Works
For those interested in industrial archaeology, the former Fitz Roy Ironworks in Mittagong is the site of Australia’s first blast furnace.
Opened in 1864 with great international ambitions, the business lasted little more than a decade and is commemorated with a plaque and building remnants in the park above Mittagong Aldi.
15 :: Bundanoon Heritage Trail and Quarry
After Bundanoon’s Railway Station opened in 1868, the town became a fashionable and busy resort.
Many of the original buildings – stores, inns and churches – still exist and are listed in the Bundanoon History Group’s Heritage Trail.
Taking approximately twenty minutes, the trail is outlined in a downloadable brochure.
Nearby, the famous Bundanoon quarry that opened in 1850 still produces highly-prized sandstone.
16 :: Joadja Historic Town and Award-Winning Distillery
The rebirth of the abandoned mining site at Joadja is one of the Highlands’ best stories.
When a Joadja Creek grazier called Carter noticed a black rock scuffed by his cows in 1874, he realised he’d found a rich seam of kerosene shale.
Within months, the quiet valley became an industrial site attracting miners from Scotland who had the skills to work with shale.
However, within a few years the mine closed and Joadja became a ghost town.
More than a century later, Spanish couple Elisa and Valero Jimenez bought the property and set up the Joadja Distillery making whisky and gin so good it was one of Australia’s gifts to Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee.
Joadja Historic Site tours are now running and available on selected weekends.
17 :: Retford Park and Ngununggula
For a glimpse of life on a fashionable country estate in 1887, visit Retford Park in Bowral.
When Samuel and Jane Hordern of Sydney’s famous retail family engaged architect Albert Bond to design a grand Victorian Italianate homestead for their rural property, they called it Retford Park after the town in England where Hordern’s grandfather was born, and spared no expense on its interiors, furniture and art.
In 2016, the property’s most recent owner, James Fairfax bequeathed it to the National Trust ensuring it would always be open to the public.
In 2020, Retford Park’s former dairy and veterinary clinic were transformed into a super-chic contemporary art gallery called Ngununggula, Southern Highlands Regional Gallery.
18 :: The Berrima River Walk
On the west side of Berrima, a two-kilometre self-guided walk along the beautiful banks of the Wingecarribee River has signs narrating the story of the World War 1 internment of 300 mariners – mostly German – in the Berrima Gaol from 1914.
Photographs show interns taking advantage of the river by building canoes, shelters and jetties.
Learn more at the nearby Berrima District Museum’s Prisoners in Arcady exhibition.
19 :: Imagine the Colourful Past of the Robertson Hotel
Set on fourteen acres of lush rainforest, the Hotel Robertson was built in 1924 as ‘the Most Luxurious Hotel in the Commonwealth’.
Later, it was renamed Hotel Ranelagh before becoming a training centre for RAAF women during World War II, a healing centre for veterans post-war and even a Franciscan friary and seminary for tunic-clad monks famous for their concern for animal welfare before coming the Fountaindale Grand Manor.
Since 2014, it has been renamed The Robertson Hotel, renovated and is open to guests who come to experience the clean mountain air and old world charm.
20 :: Visit the Archives at Berrima District Historical Society in Mittagong
In 1960, local history lovers set up this extraordinary resource for anyone interested in learning more about the history of the Southern Highlands.
While the Society’s Berrima Museum tells local stories through objects and exhibitions, the Archives and Research centre at Mittagong is the hub of historical research – housing documents, maps and photographs and publishing regularly.
Still run by a group of passionate volunteers, the collection includes files on 3500 local families and hundreds of individual properties.
Visitors are warmly welcomed.
21 :: Berrima Walking Tours
Take an easy-paced, hour-long walking tour led by friendly locals who’ll fill you in on all the interesting details about Berrima’s rich history. As you wander through the charming streets of Australia’s fave Georgian town, you’ll hear intriguing tales about early settlers, innkeepers, convicts, and trailblazing women who made history.
Berrima Walking Tours run small group public tours every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10am. If you’re rolling deep with a group of six or more, just reach out to them for a custom private tour.
We think this is an awesome way to get your Southern Highlands history fix.
Whether you discover a scar tree while walking on an ancient pathway in the Morton National Park, take a refreshment in the Throsby Room at the Briars Inn or visit the Archives to do some serious research, stepping back through time historically will always add depth to your experience of the Highlands.
And of course there are eleventy billion more historical landmarks, buildings and spots to share and discover but we couldn’t fit them all into one article, so watch this space for more guides for history lovers of the Highlands!
The author compiled the First Nations information for this article with the assistance of local elders.
For other elements of this article, a big thank you to the following people and organisations that provided access to archives, information and images.
- Linda Emery + Philip Morton at The Berrima District Historical society
- Kate Forsyth at The Charlotte Project
- Joadja Distillery
- Robertson Hotel
We are grateful to all who helped us put this together!
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