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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Multimedia
The Explorers' Tree, Katoomba c1910

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

The Explorers' Tree, Katoomba c1910

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

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Explorers' marked tree

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Katoomba

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European crossing of the Blue Mountains 1813

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State Library of New South Wales

Memorials

Plants

Women

Tourism

Heritage movement

History

Explorers' marked tree

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Stump of a blackbutt tree just outside Katoomba that was allegedly carved with the initials of Wentworth, Blaxland and Lawson during the crossing of the Blue Mountains in 1813, but this historical significance is often questioned.

Katoomba

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Chief town of the Blue Mountains with a name which means 'falling together of many streams' or 'waters tumble over hill'. It grew after the construction of the western railway from Sydney enabled a prosperous coal and shale mining industry and brought tourists to see the scenic beauty of the area.

Blue Mountains

Part of the Great Dividing Range west of Sydney, reaching a height of 1100 metres. In 1829 the name for the area used by the local Aboriginal people was recorded as being Colomatta .

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European crossing of the Blue Mountains 1813

Expedition across the Blue Mountains undertaken by Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth and party in May 1813.

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