NSWRail & telegraph
Katoomba
A railway ballast stop that became the capital of mountain holidays.
1877The Crushers is renamed Katoomba
WHAT STARTED IT
The western railway made a stop on the ridge here, called The Crushers after a nearby quarry that supplied track ballast. Coal in the cliffs below and the views over the Jamison Valley then gave the stop reasons to grow.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
John Britty North was opening a coal mine below the cliffs by the early 1880s, while hotels such as the Carrington drew visitors up by train. By the 1920s more than 60 guesthouses operated, and a colliery haulage line became the Scenic Railway.
TURNING POINTS
1877A platform is built at the stop known as The Crushers, and it takes the name Katoomba.
1883J. B. North lays a tramway and imports machinery to open the Katoomba coal mine.
1883Harry Rowell’s Great Western Hotel, later renamed the Carrington, is completed.
1889Katoomba is proclaimed a municipality.
1930sA colliery haulage line is adapted for tourists, beginning the Scenic Railway.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The main town and council seat of the City of Blue Mountains, and a base for bushwalking and sightseeing. Its main street, guesthouses and the Carrington still show the resort era.