Page 171 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Australia

NE W SOUTH W ALES AND A C T  169
THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

AND BEYOND

Think of mid- to northern New South Wales and vibrant
colours spring to mind. There are the dark blues of the Blue
Mountains; the blue-green seas of the north coast; the
verdant green of the rainforests near the Queensland
border; and the gold of the wheat fields. Finally, there
are the reds and yellows of the desert in the far west.

Ever since English explorer Captain James a more settled coastline than anywhere
Cook claimed the eastern half of Australia else in the country. Fortunately, all this
as British territory in 1770 and named it development has not robbed the region
New South Wales, Sydney and its of its natural beauty or assets. From the
surroundings have been at the forefront grand and daunting wilderness of the Blue
of Australian life. Mountains to the blue waters and surf of
On the outskirts of Sydney, at Windsor Byron Bay, the easternmost point in
and Richmond, early convict settlements Australia, the region remains easy to
flourished into prosperous farming regions explore and a delight to the senses. It is
along the fertile Hawkesbury River. The most easily divided into three parts: the
barrier of the Blue Mountains was finally coastline and mild hinterland, including
penetrated in 1812, marking the first the famous Hunter Valley vineyards; the
spread of sheep and cattle squatters hills, plateaus and flats of the New England
north, west and south onto the rich plains Tablelands and Western Plains with their
beyond. In the middle of the 19th century rivers, national parks and thriving farming
came the gold rush around Bathurst and areas; and the remote, dusty Outback,
Mudgee and up into the New England west of the vast Great Dividing Range.
Tablelands, which led to the spread of The combination of urban civilization,
roads and railways. with all the amenities and attractions it
Following improved communications offers, and the beautiful surrounding
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, landscape, make this region a favourite
northern New South Wales now contains holiday location with locals and tourists
more towns, a denser rural population and all year round.

Cape Byron lighthouse on Australia’s most easterly point
Hanging Rock, in the Blue Mountains National Park