Picton, New South Wales

Picton is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire, in south-western Sydney. The town is located 80 kilometres south-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It is also the administrative centre of Wollondilly Shire.

Picton
New South Wales
Picton
Coordinates34°11′S 150°36′E
Population4,816 (2016 census)[1]
Established1841
Postcode(s)2571
Elevation165 m (541 ft)
Location
  • 80 km (50 mi) from Sydney CBD
  • 20 km (12 mi) from Camden
  • 30 km (19 mi) from Campbelltown
LGA(s)Wollondilly Shire
RegionMacarthur
State electorate(s)Wollondilly
Federal Division(s)Hume
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
23.5 °C
74 °F		 8.8 °C
48 °F		 803.6 mm
31.6 in
Localities around Picton:
The Oaks Razorback Douglas Park
Mowbray Park Picton Menangle
Lakesland Thirlmere Maldon

History

Picton was first explored by Europeans in 1798 and remained beyond the limits of legal settlement until 1821. Following the discovery of good land in the interior and the settlement of Bong Bong and the Goulburn areas, Governor Macquarie authorised the building of the new Great South Road between Sydney and the Southern Highlands in 1819.[2] This opened up the Picton area to settlers, including Henry Colden Antill,[3] who established a 2,000-acre (810 ha) property in 1822.[2]

Picton developed when a new line of the Great South Road was cut over the Razorback Range from Camden, and especially after the railway arrived in 1863. Picton is the only town in the Southern Hemisphere that one can pass through twice (see Picton railway station) when travelling by train.[4] It was established as Stonequarry in 1841 and was renamed Picton in 1845. It remained a stopping point on the Great South Road, later renamed the Hume Highway, until it was bypassed in December 1980.

One house was destroyed by bushfire in the Nangarin Estate located on the western outskirts of Picton, from a fire front originating from Lakesland in September 2006.

Heritage listings

Picton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Landmarks

Picton is home to many historic buildings, including two types of bridges not found easily anymore elsewhere in the state - Victoria Bridge a timber trestle bridge that crosses Stonequarry Creek, opened in 1897, and the 'Picton Railway Viaduct' a stone viaduct opened in 1863 to also cross Stonequarry Creek.

The viaduct is still in use by the railways. Ghost tours are conducted in some of the historic buildings and inside the disused railway tunnel on Redbank Range, where residents and visitors claim to have experienced paranormal activity. The abandoned tunnel was used to store mustard gas spray tanks during World War II.[10]

The George IV Inn, reputedly constructed in 1839, is considered to be one of the oldest hotel buildings in Australia. The cellar contains remnants of convict shackles as prisoners being transported from Sydney to Berrima prison would often be held in Picton overnight. The barn behind the hotel may date back to 1810 and is possibly the oldest building in Picton - it is used for functions such as birthday and engagement parties. The hotel is also the location of Scharer's Little Brewery, one of the first microbreweries in Australia and winner of numerous awards for its Burragorang Bock and Scharer's Lager beers.

Nangarin Estate

Nangarin Vineyard Estate or simply Nangarin Estate is a modern village to the west and part of Picton. The estate is one of New South Wales' first residential vineyard projects. The village community manages and maintains the vineyards, residential construction and community facilities. The village is protected by legal covenants to ensure the community manages the village.[11]

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 4,816 people in Picton.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.4% of the population.
  • 81.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.6%.
  • 89.4% of people only spoke English at home.
  • The most common responses for religion were Catholic 27.6%, Anglican 26.7% and No Religion 23.7%.[1]

Transport

Picton railway station is on the Southern Highlands line with a relatively infrequent service with trains running every 30m (peak) – 2 hours (off peak).

The town is located on the Old Hume Highway.

Sport and recreation

Picton also has both senior and junior rugby league and soccer teams. And Picton Netball Club has teams for all age groups. Meanwhile, the Picton Photography Club, called Depictin' Picton, meets every other Saturday to share photos of the local area taken by residents.

The Picton Botanical Gardens were established in 1986.[12]

Climate

Picton has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Owing to its inland location and an elevated altitude, it has a relatively high diurnal range throughout the year.

Climate data for Picton Council Depot
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.6
(105.1)		 42.8
(109.0)		 39.4
(102.9)		 33.1
(91.6)		 27.2
(81.0)		 23.8
(74.8)		 25.3
(77.5)		 26.9
(80.4)		 34.4
(93.9)		 35.6
(96.1)		 38.9
(102.0)		 39.6
(103.3)		 42.8
(109.0)
Average high °C (°F) 29.3
(84.7)		 28.6
(83.5)		 27.0
(80.6)		 23.7
(74.7)		 20.2
(68.4)		 17.3
(63.1)		 16.8
(62.2)		 18.2
(64.8)		 21.4
(70.5)		 24.0
(75.2)		 26.3
(79.3)		 28.5
(83.3)		 23.4
(74.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 22.2
(72.0)		 22.0
(71.6)		 20.0
(68.0)		 16.4
(61.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 10.2
(50.4)		 9.2
(48.6)		 10.5
(50.9)		 13.3
(55.9)		 16.4
(61.5)		 18.9
(66.0)		 21.2
(70.2)		 16.1
(61.0)
Average low °C (°F) 15.2
(59.4)		 15.4
(59.7)		 13.1
(55.6)		 9.2
(48.6)		 5.7
(42.3)		 3.2
(37.8)		 1.7
(35.1)		 2.9
(37.2)		 5.2
(41.4)		 8.8
(47.8)		 11.5
(52.7)		 14.0
(57.2)		 8.8
(47.8)
Record low °C (°F) 3.3
(37.9)		 7.2
(45.0)		 1.7
(35.1)		 −2.2
(28.0)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 −10.0
(14.0)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −2.8
(27.0)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 2.2
(36.0)		 4.7
(40.5)		 −10.0
(14.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 87.3
(3.44)		 91.2
(3.59)		 88.2
(3.47)		 69.7
(2.74)		 57.0
(2.24)		 66.3
(2.61)		 50.2
(1.98)		 43.7
(1.72)		 44.4
(1.75)		 64.3
(2.53)		 72.2
(2.84)		 69.8
(2.75)		 804.0
(31.65)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 9.4 9.5 9.6 7.8 7.0 7.5 6.6 6.8 7.2 8.5 8.7 8.6 97.2
Source: Bureau of Meteorology (average temperatures, 1907-1975; records, 1965-1975)[13]
gollark: * better in every way
gollark: At least add the cave one if not the underground stone types one.
gollark: Wow, small.
gollark: Stone WILL be made cool. I WILL initiate Apio[REDACTED].
gollark: No. Stone IS to be cool.

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Picton (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. "Picton". Walkabout. 5 November 2005. Archived from the original on 2 February 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. Antill, J.M. (1966). "Antill, Henry Colden (1779–1852)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. "Picton". The Wollondilly region of New South Wales. Stonequarry.com.au. 5 November 2005. Archived from the original on 24 February 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. "Jarvisfield". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00305. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  6. "Picton Railway Station group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01224. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  7. "Picton railway viaduct over Stonequarry Creek". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01051. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  8. "Abbotsford". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00073. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. "Victoria Bridge over Stonequarry Creek". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H01484. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  10. "Chemical Weapon Depots". mustardgas.org. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  11. "Nangarin Vineyard Estate". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  12. "Picton Botanical Gardens". Visit Wollondilly. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  13. "Climate statistics for Picton". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
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