Rowing on the Nepean River at Emu Plains

Emu Plains
Historic town on the banks of the Nepean River
Located 55 km from Sydney and 30 metres above sea level, on the edge of the Blue Mountains, Emu Plains was named after the large numbers of emus which once roamed these flat lands to the immediate east of the Blue Mountains. Today it is fast becoming just another outer western suburb. This is a sad development as it was the location where, in 1819, Governor Lachlan Macquarie established a farm and it was the setting for one of Sydney's most infamous penal stations.

In the convict ballad 'Moreton Bay' it gets a harsh mention:

I've been a prisoner at Port Macquarie,
At Norfolk Island and Emu Plains,
At Castle Hill and at cursed Toongabbie,
At all those settlements I've worked in chains.

It would seem that the first European to site the modern location of Emu Plains was Watkin Tench, a Marine Captain, who explored and discovered the Nepean River in June 1789. It was on the basis of this expedition that convicts were sent to the area.

But apart from its convict connections Emu Plains was the last place on the Sydney basin before Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson crossed the Nepean River to climb and cross the Blue Mountains.

In Blood on the Wattle I described the early attempts to cross the Blue Mountains in the following terms: 'For a quarter of a century the whites had been battering their heads against sheer walls. Everybody in the Sydney colony, from the lowliest convict who longed to put as much distance as possible between himself and the overseer's lash to the quixotic adventurers who had drifted into the tiny outpost of European civilisation, looked west.

'On a clear winter's day it was easy to see the mountains touched with that distinctive smoky blue which rises, shimmering, from the dense monotony of the eucalypts. They called them the Blue Mountains although they were really a monocline and a series of box canyons. They thought the old exploration techniques would work. Follow a river to its source, climb the valley, cross over the mountains. Each time they followed a river upstream they came not to an ever-steepening valley or gorge but to a waterfall which fell hundreds of metres over a sheer, unclimbable cliff. They'd clamber up the scree slopes, gaze hopelessly at the wall above them, and mooch on back to Parramatta and Sydney Town chastened by the folly of their expedition and cursing nature's indifference to their ambitions.

'It wasn't until 1813 that Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson, with help from the local Aborigines who'd been wandering backwards and forwards across the mountains for thousands of years, finally managed to traverse a ridge and gaze across the rich, undulating slopes which tumbled away to the west. They liked what they saw - good rivers, rich soils, quality grazing land.'

On 11 May 1813 Gregory Blaxland recorded that the expedition trying to cross the Blue Mountains had 'crossed the Nepean River at the ford on to Emu Island at four o'clock in the afternoon and proceeded by their calculations two miles through forest land and good grass'. Over the years floods have washed away Emu Island although you can get a fair idea of where the crossing was. It was just to the the northern side of Victoria Bridge on the Great Western Highway (not the Motorway), at the outskirts of Penrith.

A few months later, on 17 July 1814 William Cox with a gang of thirty convicts started to build the road across the Blue Mountains. The crossing over the river was completed on 25 July. As the road officially started at Emu Plains it is hardly surprising that a town developed very quickly to serve travellers. It is sad that the remnants of the old road can now no longer be seen.

Today Emu Plains is nothing more than part of Sydney's suburban sprawl. Still, it is a vital part of Australia's early history.

Things to see:  

St Pauls Anglican Church

St Pauls Anglican Church
Built in 1848 to a design by the noted colonial architect Edmund Blacket (he was responsible for the Quadrangle at Sydney University). It was originally used as both a church and a school. While it is still a charming Early Victorian sandstone church it is worth noting that the interior was completely redesigned when the school was removed from the building in 1872. Consequently Blacket's original west window was totally removed. The early church records were destroyed by a bushfire in 1929. To reach it turn north off the old Great Western Highway at Pyramid Street, just west of Emu Park, and then turn into Nixon Street. It is located in Nixon Street.

Uniting Church
The present-day Uniting Church in Emerald St is a simple stone structure which was originally the local Methodist Church. It was constructed in 1862 with the builders using local sandstone.

O'Donaghue's Irish House
Built by William George Clark in 1886 and named The Orient until 1939. It has been refurbished as an Irish Pub which offers good bistro food and entertainment. It is one of the thirteen historic inns listed on the excellent History Highway Inns website. Check it out at History Highway Inns which offers detailed information about the historic inns in the Blue Mountains.

Arms of Australia Inn
Located on the old Great Western Highway this inn is thought to have been built as early as 1833 although it might have been built as early as 1826. Not surprisingly it was a popular stopover place for travellers before they began to climb into the Blue Mountains. Consequently it became an important Cobb & Co destination and was used extensively whenever the Nepean River was in flood. It is now a Museum which is open on Sundays from 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. It is notable for the large fence around the perimeter and is located at the corner of the Great Western Highway and Gardenia Ave, tel: (02) 4735 4394.

Arms of Australia Inn

Emu Plains Railway Station
Although built in 1884, with the station master's residence located upstairs, this is one of the oldest railway stations in Australia. The original station building was constructed in 1869 when the train reached Emu Plains. It is located in Station St, just off the highway.

Green Gables Cottage
Visitors interested in exploring the early history of the area can also visit the ruins of Green Gables Cottage which was built at the foot of the hill where the 1867 railway line crossed the main road up the mountains. That main road became the Great Western Highway but, when drivers were steered along Russell St to the Great Western Motorway, the portion of the Highway which contains the Cottage was bypassed. However, that portion of the road on the western side of Russell St is still known as the Great Western Highway and the cottage can still be found where it intersects with the railway line.

The Ruins of Green Gables Cottage

Lennox Bridge
Just beyond the railway line is the start of Mitchell's Pass (the main route up the mountains from 1834). It is possible to walk up this hill to Lennox Bridge, although, the road being one way, car access is only possible from Glenbrook. Lennox Bridge is listed by the National Trust. Built by David Lennox (1788-1873), a Scottish master mason who had worked with the great British bridge builder, Thomas Telford, before emigrating to Australia, the bridge is the second oldest stone arch bridge in Australia. There is an older one in Tasmania.

The bridge was Lennox's first job after his appointment as Superintendent of Bridges. He began work, assisted by twenty convicts, in November 1832 and the bridge was completed in July 1833. The bridge is held up on a 3 metre radius stone arch and is about 10 metres above the gully floor. On the keystones were carved 'David Lennox' (now difficult to see) and 'A.D. 1833'. It remained in continuous use from 1833 until 1926 (and remained open until 1964) and is a monument to Lennox's extraordinary building abilities.

Additional information
For additional information the Penrith Library has been researching and compiling information on all of the suburbs in the Penrith Local Government Area. Their excellent site has a lot of information about the district.

People who are interested, or have need for information on the Penrith-Emu Plains district should inspect their web site which is located at http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/Lib/LocalSuburbs/localsuburbs.htm.

	Hotels
	O'Donoghues Irish Pub 99 Gt Western Hwy Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 5509
	Caravan Parks
	Nepean River Caravan Park Mackellar St Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 4425 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Dynasty Chinese Restaurant 71 Great Western Hwy Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 5810
	Emu Plains Sporting Club Leonay Pde Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 5300
	Cafés
	Chatter Box Coffee Lounge Lennox Shopping Centre Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 6078
	Raphael's Shop 2-3, 97 Great Western Hwy Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 1666
	The Chinese Spice House Restaurant 101 Gt Western Hwy Emu Plains NSW 2750 Telephone: (02) 4735 5933