History and Heritage

Click here to see our website BELGENNY FARM Two hundred years old - Belgenny Farm was the home of pioneers John and Elizabeth Macarthur. This historic property was also the home of the earliest agriculture in Australia. Preserved by NSW Dept. of Agriculture, group tours (by arrangement) are held of the farm showing aspects of the lives of the pioneers, and working demonstrations of 19th and 20th century farm animals and equipment. See Events & Festivals pages for more information. For more information phone: (02) 4654 6800 Elizabeth Macarthur Ave. - (off Remembrance Driveway), Camden.

Visit our website TRAINWORKS - NSW RAIL TRANSPORT MUSEUM Australia's oldest and largest train museum has been upgraded with new exhibition spaces and displays as Trainworks. See over 50 locomotives, 100 carriages, railway memorabilia and working steam trains. Picnic areas and kiosk. There are regular steam train rides from Thirlmere to Picton on the old Loop Line during the year - see www.trainworks.com.au for more details. The Thirlmere Flyer steam train also travels from Central to Thirlmere - see the Heritage Express website for timetable and bookings. Open: Mon - Fri 10.00am to 3.00pm; Weekends & Public Holidays 9.00am to 5.00pm Phone: (02) 4681 8001 Trainworks, Barbour Road, Thirlmere

(Argyle Street, Picton, c.1866) Visit our webpage PICTON AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY INC. The Society operates an archive and library in Picton. Membership is open to all, and there are regular meetings and other activities from time to time. The archive and reference library contains a wide range of materials - from reference books, documents, photos, and newspapers, to genealogical records. Visits from those researching family history are welcome, and there are useful links on our webpage. Archives & Library: Cnr Argyle & Menangle Sts, Picton NSW 2571 PO Box 64, Picton NSW 2571

Wirrimbirra Sanctuary - "Home of the White Waratah". WIRRIMBIRRA SANCTUARY Wirrimbirra Sanctuary is a National Trust property of over 100 acres of bushland, nature trails, native plant nursery, and native animal enclosure managed by the David. G. Stead Memorial Wildlife Research Foundation, heirs to its bequest. Located between Bargo and Tahmoor it comprises a native plant nursery (plants for sale), numerous bushwalks where you can appreciate the native flora, a native fauna protection area (birdlife and native animals), and budget cabin accommodation for families and groups. Hours of fun for kids, Wirrimbirra Sanctuary is the ideal place to see our natural bush heritage, including one of the last remaining stands of the historic Bargo Brush. The Field Studies Centre provides educational experiences for students and other groups. Open Tuesday to Sunday and Public Holidays, 8.30am to 5.00pm. Admission free. For information phone: (02) 4684 1112, fax: (02) 4684 3120 3105 Remembrance Driveway, Bargo.

Visit our website. WOLLONDILLY HERITAGE CENTRE Museum showing local history of the Tharawal and Gundangurra peoples and of the early European pioneers of the Wollondilly region. Colonial slab hut shows the way the pioneers lived; local history archives and library, audio-visual display, early machinery. The museum has a unique collection of orcharding equipment and case labels from the early days of farming in the region. Special facilities for Coach groups including home-cooked morning or afternoon teas. (Administered by The Oaks Historical Society Inc.; PO Box 16, The Oaks NSW 2570) Open: Weekends and Public Holidays 10.00am to 4.00pm (except Christmas, New Year, and Good Friday.) Tours of the Centre are held each Sunday. For more information contact (02) 4657 1796 - email: history@oaksheritagecentre.com Edward Street, The Oaks

Vist our website YERRANDERIE GHOST TOWN Former silver mining centre some hundred years ago, now a (private) ghost town with preserved buildings and access to Wilderness area and National Parks for 4WD vehicles and bushwalkers. Museum, conducted tours and bushwalks, mountain climbing, former mine sites and fossicking for silver. Accommodation in one of 3 cottages and camping facilities available. Cut off from Burragorang Valley when the dam was built access now only by plane (Curtis Aviation, Camden) or from the Tablelands Way south of Oberon (strictly 4WD). Bookings and Information: Yerranderie Ville Project, PO Box 420 Milsons Point, Sydney 1565 or see our website. Phone: (02) 4659 6165 - Fax: (02) 8920 2532 - email:john@yerranderie.com

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