A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHERE I LIVE:

The first attempts at crossing the Blue Mountains commenced at the intersection of the Nepean and Grose Rivers, and by 1789 Governor Phillip (top bloke) had discovered suitable farming land there. In 1804, botanist George Caley and a party of three others came close to discovering a route over the Blue Mountains on an expedition to find botanical samples for Kew Gardens in London. The expedition crossed the Wheeny Creek and climbed close to the site of present day Kurrajong, on the twelfth day they reached the summit of Mt. Banks. However the party was forced to abandon their journey due to hunger and exhaustion (yep, we're a long way out), just eight miles from the fertile plains of Bathurst.

The word Kurrajong is an Aboriginal name for the "Brachychiton populnous" trees which once dominated the surrounding hillsides. During the early days of the settlement in Kurrajong, the seeds of the Kurrajong tree were roasted and used as a substitute for coffee (we were poor, and couldn't afford a dog- sorry, ha ha, that's from Cosi , by Louis Nowra).

In 1823, Archibald Bell discovered a route along the Hartley Valley, and past present day Kurrajong. The route was named the Bells Line of Road (I drive on it everyday) and was opened in 1841, with the present road having been in operation since 1901 (yep, the pot-holes certainly indicate this). In 1926, Kurrajong Village was linked to Richmond by a rail service which unfortunately met its demise after a landslide in 1952 (is that a fact? I didn't know that).