Bargo
Population: 3368 (2006 census)
Shopping Centre - Bargo
Bargo is about 100 kilometres south west of Sydney. At the southern end of the Wollondilly region, it is also a main residential town surrounded by farmlands.
Before the coming of the white man, it was home to a small number of aboriginal peoples and also a corridor for their migrations between the highlands and the coast. Part of the area is now under the control of the Tharawal Land Council.
First explored by Europeans in 1798, who discovered their first koalas, lyre birds and wombats here, the area was covered in a dense scrub and called by the Europeans the 'Bargo Brush'.
In fact in the earliest days the whole region south of the Cataract River at Appin was called 'the Bargo', the name also being used to cover the area to the west as far as Buxton when the original railway went through in the 1860s.
Settlement at Bargo dates from as early as 1820 when the Great South Road from Stonequarry (Picton) to Bong Bong (Highlands) and Argyle (Goulburn) passed through; the first inn was built ('The Woolpack', just north of the present town). Several land grants were made in 1822, but the soil being poor, the settlers did not flourish.
The road through Bargo was of poor quality and often impassable in bad weather, and the thick Brush was a favourite haunt for escaped convicts and bushrangers, making a journey through Bargo hazardous and notorious. (The last remaining stand of this thick scrub can be seen at Wirrimbirra Sanctuary today.)
The railway line south bypassed Bargo to the west in the 1860s, and although land was released for sale in the village in the 1880s, it wasn't until the Main Deviation of the railway through Tahmoor and Bargo to Mittagong in 1919 that Bargo really began to develop.
During the Motoring Age (1930s to 60s) Bargo was one of the main towns on the Hume Highway, the vast amounts of traffic passing through helping to stimulate local business, and the town became the retail and service centre for smaller villages and the farms nearby.
This prosperity was short-lived, however. When the Freeway bypassed it to the east in the 70s Bargo went into rapid decline, and the town today appears a ghost of its former self.
Now the locals shop in Picton and Bowral (or Campbelltown) - just a few minutes away - which explains the modest nature of today's main street.
On passing through it is easy to regard Bargo as yet another sleepy country village.
The modest retail area on the old highway, and the remains of the original village (on the other side of the railway, near the hotel) give this impression.
Better to look at the shiny new railway station in between - this gives a real clue to the modern Bargo.
In fact Bargo vies with Tahmoor and Picton for the title of largest town in the Wollondilly.
Being closer to the freeway (and hence just over an hour from the city), Bargo has become an outer dormitory suburb with its residents commuting to the Macarthur Area and the city itself by car or by rail.
Including the nearby village of Yanderra, over 4,000 people live here, precisely because they enjoy the quiet country life and clear air the area provides.
For the visitor Bargo does not offer sophisticated boutiques and cafes.
What it does offer is some of the most spectacular natural countryside outside of Sydney - lookouts, bushwalking, picnic areas, flora and fauna sanctuaries, and quiet country roads to explore.
All just over an hour from most of Sydney, just minutes off the freeway, and just minutes from many other exciting places to visit in the southern area of the Wollondilly.
So next time you see the 'Bargo' turnoff on the freeway - take it, and spend a bit of time exploring this beautiful area.
Avon Dam (1927) - just minutes from Bargo
The 'Bargo Brush' - remnant at Wirrimbirra Sanctuary
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 Turn of the century pub - Bargo
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| What to See and Do |
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For Visitors. A visit to Bargo is worth a half day or day's trip from Sydney, or a diversion off the freeway heading north. Be prepared to spend a few hours here, though, to visit any of its many attractions - or better still, stay at a charming B&Bs set in acres of gardens. Petrol, food and shops available; hotel and licensed club; picnic area at Railside Road. The Nepean and Avon Dams have first class picnic facilities, with the added bonus of beautiful bushland and the spectacular views of the dams themselves: an ideal family day's outing. Wirrimbirra Sanctuary has native flora and fauna, bushwalking, nursery, picnic areas (entrance free). Dedicated to preserving the features of our environment for future generations, Wirrimbirra not only has interesting things for tourists to see, but more important information and advice about our natural heritage. You can help preserve it by taking some home with you. Native plants from the nursery can turn your garden into an attractive haven for our Australian birdlife. See the home of the White Waratah: a range of activities also available during the Festival and Heritage Week. Field Studies and educational tours available for groups, schools etc. The Dingo Sanctuary is a reserve dedicated to preserving our native dog. Find out more about this unique animal here. Accommodation also available at the motel, caravan park, hotel; camping at Wirrimbirra and cabin accommodation for families and groups. Entertainment at the Bargo Sports Club. For Kids. Brought your skateboard or blades? There is a roller park just south of town. Come eye to eye with a kangaroo, wallaby, possum, or echidna at Wirrimbirra Sanctuary. Go walking through the bush here, and learn something about our natural heritage. Some spooky trails here for you to explore. Get your parents to take you on a picnic at one of the dams: great parks to play in and beaut modern kid's playgrounds. While your dad burns the snags on the barbie, go exploring among the gardens or take a walk down one of the bush tracks. Dare to hear the great silence of the Australian countryside; peer down gorges and see the dams which store the water you shower in and wash your teeth with all the way back home. Heard about dingoes? See the real thing - up close! Australia's native dog and best friend to our aboriginal people for thousands of years. How many of your friends can say they have patted a dingo?
 Australia's native dog - the Dingo
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