Blaxland Station

The small mountain town of Blaxland is located 67 km west of Sydney in the Upper Blue Mountains.

Blaxland station is on the Blue Mountains train line and was opened in 1867 when the rail line was extended to the area. At that time the area was known as Wascoes (what?) and renamed to Blaxland in 1879. The explorers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth pioneered a route across the Great Dividing Range in 1813.
The namesake Gregory Blaxland was an English pioneer farmer and explorer. In 1923 he published his Journal of a Tour of Discovery Across the Blue Mountains which included:
«On Tuesday, May 11, 1813, Mr. Gregory Blaxland, Mr. William Wentworth, and Lieutenant Lawson, attended by four servants, with five dogs, and four horses laden with provisions, ammunition, and other necessaries, left Mr. Blaxland’s farm at the South Creek, for the purpose of endeavouring to effect a passage over the Blue Mountains …»
After finding a crossing over the Great Dividing Range, Blaxland continued to be a pioneer and around 1827 petitioned then Governor Darling that a «Trial by jury» and «Taxation by Representation» should be extended to the colony of New South Wales. It is sad that Greg Blaxland suffered the untimely deaths of his second son, youngest son and wife in rapid succession. He committed suicide in 1853 and was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Parramatta. Three Unilocal stars in honour of Gregory Blaxland.
An old lady who lived up here befriended me and told me about the politics of the town. Geez, who would have thought … If you stop in the pub across the street you can probably have a good conversation with a local as long as you stick to first names only; this is always the rule in remote places. I seem to remember they keep a roaring fire when it is cold outside. Keep any eye on the time and cross the road in time to catch your train and resume your life.