The unimpressive pile of stones known as Caley's Repulse

Linden
Quiet village in the Blue Mountains noted for its connection with the bushranger, John Donohue.
Located between Springwood and Katoomba 576 m above sea level and 81 km from Sydney, Linden was first known as Seventeen Mile Hollow because it was seventeen miles, on Cox's road across the mountains, from the Nepean River.

Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson camped at an unknown location along the ridge at what is now known as Linden in 1813. Blaxland noted that the terrain was difficult to pass and it certainly caused road-builder William Cox particular problems the following year. As a result he constructed the Bluff Bridge (80 feet long and 15 feet wide) over a chasm which, as Cox later observed 'cost me the labour of 12 men for three weeks'. It has disappeared as a result of the many alterations to the transport routes through the area, although some sandstone buttressing remains beside the present highway .

There was no railway platform built at Linden when the railway line went through in 1867. It wasnąt until 1874 that a platform, known as Seventeen Mile Hollow, was constructed at the request of a Mr Fletcher (one of the early settlers) who lived in a house named Linden Lodge which eventually gave its name to the village and the railway siding.

Things to see:  

Caley's Repulse
The historical attractions of Linden lie on the western side of the highway. If you turn off the highway into Tollgate Road, a sign points towards Glossop Road, King's Cave and Caley's Repulse. It is around here that you can see remnants of Cox's Road, the grave of John Donohue and the mound of rocks known as Caley's Repulse.

No matter which way you look at them, Caley's Repulse is just a pile of stones. They were put together in 1912 by the Australian Historical Society but were based on a pile of stones which were first sighted by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson as they crossed the mountains. On 19 May, 1813, Blaxland observed 'From this ridge they first began to have an extensive view over the settlements below at a little distance from the spot they ascended they found a heap of stones piled up in the Shape of a Pyramid.'

The question which vexed everyone who came across the stones was 'Who piled them up?' Blaxland opted for George Bass, history seems to have opted for George Caley (hence Caley's Repulse) who made expeditions into the area in 1802 and 1804. The more sensible, and likely, explanation is that they were placed there by local Aborigines.

It is an aspect of exploratory arrogance, and a comment on the attitude to Aborigines at the time, that no one who saw the stones thought that they could have been placed there by the local inhabitants who had been living in the mountains for tens of thousands of years.

Cox's Road over the Blue Mountains
Just beyond Caley's Repulse, and up the steep hill, you can see a remnant of Cox's original road over the mountains. It is easy to see that crossing the mountains in the 1820s was no pleasant experience. Cox had to cut the road at this point out of solid sandstone. He optimistically predicted that use would smooth it out but the road as it stands still looks as though it must have been awful if you were in a bullock dray.

Grave of John Donohue and King's Cave
At the end of Tollgate Rd turn right into Burke Rd. Along here is the grave of John Donohue, a policeman who was reputedly shot by a bushranger named King. The simple headstone reads 'Erected to the memory of John Donohue who departed this life June 25 A.D. 1837 aged 58 years'. The original grave was near the railway. The current site is as recent as 1970 but the headstone has been strategically placed at the head of the path to King's Cave, a large overhang which is an ideal shelter. It was almost certainly used by Aborigines, the soldiers and convicts who built the mountain road, and possibly, the mysterious 'King', who no one knows anything about, who was supposed to be the killer of Donohue.