Portland, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Portland is a town in the Central Tablelands
of New South Wales
, Australia
. At the 2006 census
, Portland had a population of 1,881 people. The town was named after Australia's first cement works.
, Mudgee, Bathurst
, Lithgow
, and the Blue Mountains. It is a short drive from both the Great Western and Castlereagh Highways. It is accessed from the Great Western Highway
via Wallerawang or from Sunny Corner Rd at Meadow Flat. It is accessed from the Castlereagh Highway via Boulder Road at the Mt Piper Power Station.
The town centre has a distinct business district, several parks and sporting clubs.
people. The first European in the area was James Blackman who surveyed roads in the area in 1820 and today Blackman’s Flat and Blackman’s Crown bear the family name.
The town of Portland is of interest as an historic mining town, and also as the place of the first cement factory in Australia. Portland really got its start when Thomas Murray selected 61 hectares of land in 1863 and constructed his first lime kiln on what is now the corner of Lime and Villiers Streets. The railway came to Portland in 1883 and the station was called Cullen Siding until 1889. The Cullen Bullen Lime and Cement Company established operations in the village that year. During the early 1890s, the first cement-making kilns west of the Blue Mountains were built in Portland.
In 1894, the village was gazetted as Portland, the name derived from the cement-making process which was already well underway in the area.
The cement works opened in 1902 and Portland was declared a town in 1906. Many of the original buildings in Portland were built by the cement works company for employees and still stand. Well-known Australian brand names now adorn many of the historic shops and buildings, creating a strong link to "yesteryear" that is celebrated by the town.
, and Canberra
. "Portland cement
", a phrase synonymous with high quality cement anywhere in the world, was milled using limestone from onsite quarries and shipped throughout Australia. The town of Portland grew up around the Cement Works and the company contributed greatly to the area, building facilities that were needed for employees. A bath house, casino, an ice skating rink, olympic swimming pool, and living quarters were supplied to workers. The cement kilns even generated enough energy to power the homes around it.
The factories of Portland and the surrounding area required the transportation of limestone, coal, and other materials, and to this end, a number of private industrial railways and tramways were constructed.
The Bureau of Meteorology's rainfall site that is located in the town, has only been there since 1996.
Portland Bowling Club
Portland Olympic Pool
Portland Colts Rugby League Club
The Showground
Gindaay Youth Centre
St Josephs School Portland
Cullen Bullen Public School
Meadow Flat Public School
(Red stringybark) and native wildflowers and is popular with picnickers, mountain bikers and bushwalkers. There is a small well stocked damn and a plethora of birdlife as well as native wildlife, including Calyptorhynchus funereus (Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo), Platycercus elegans (Crimson rosella), Alisterus scapularis (King Parrot) and Macropus giganteus (Eastern grey Kangaroo).
The surrounding forests are popular with 4WD and dirt bike enthusiasts. Sunny Corner, Ben Bullen, Wolgan and Newnes State forests are all nearby and bush camping is available.
Portland is also a popular destination for geocaching
, as well as rogaining and orienteering. The town is close to the Wollemi National Park
, the Gardens of Stone National Park
and the Turon National Park
.
Portland is abundant in wild foods dependent on season. Spring is when the town area is in blossom with wild apples and stone fruits in preparation for coming months. Summer is the season for blackberries which are a noxious weed, as well as the more difficult to locate stone fruits. During Autumn, apples, pears and quince grow wild and the forests are rich with mushrooms (which are only to be picked with caution). Saffron Milk Caps (Lactarius deliciosus) and Boletes (Boletus portentosus)are safe to eat once correctly identified.
Trout fishing is possible in local streams and creeks, the best known spot being Thompson's Creek Dam which is a twenty minute hike from the carpark on Thompson's Creek Rd via the Falnash State Forest.
Central Tablelands
The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is an area that is between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central West Slopes and Plains. This area has a part of the Great Dividing Range running through it, including the Blue Mountains...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Portland had a population of 1,881 people. The town was named after Australia's first cement works.
Location
Portland is part of the gateway to the Central West and is located between OberonOberon, New South Wales
-See also:*Oberon Correctional Centre*Mount Trickett*Mount Bindo*Shooters Hill-External links:***...
, Mudgee, Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, Lithgow
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
, and the Blue Mountains. It is a short drive from both the Great Western and Castlereagh Highways. It is accessed from the Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway
The Great Western Highway is a highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs 210 km from Sydney to Bathurst.Starting as Broadway at the intersection of City Road near the fringe of the Sydney CBD, and becoming Parramatta Road to Parramatta itself, the Great Western Highway heads due west from...
via Wallerawang or from Sunny Corner Rd at Meadow Flat. It is accessed from the Castlereagh Highway via Boulder Road at the Mt Piper Power Station.
The town centre has a distinct business district, several parks and sporting clubs.
History
Prior to white settlement, the Portland region was occupied by the WiradjuriWiradjuri
The Wiradjuri are an Indigenous Australian group of central New South Wales.In the 21st century, major Wiradjuri groups live in Condobolin, Peak Hill, Narrandera and Griffith...
people. The first European in the area was James Blackman who surveyed roads in the area in 1820 and today Blackman’s Flat and Blackman’s Crown bear the family name.
The town of Portland is of interest as an historic mining town, and also as the place of the first cement factory in Australia. Portland really got its start when Thomas Murray selected 61 hectares of land in 1863 and constructed his first lime kiln on what is now the corner of Lime and Villiers Streets. The railway came to Portland in 1883 and the station was called Cullen Siding until 1889. The Cullen Bullen Lime and Cement Company established operations in the village that year. During the early 1890s, the first cement-making kilns west of the Blue Mountains were built in Portland.
In 1894, the village was gazetted as Portland, the name derived from the cement-making process which was already well underway in the area.
The cement works opened in 1902 and Portland was declared a town in 1906. Many of the original buildings in Portland were built by the cement works company for employees and still stand. Well-known Australian brand names now adorn many of the historic shops and buildings, creating a strong link to "yesteryear" that is celebrated by the town.
The cement works
From 1902 cement produced at the "Commonwealth Portland Cement Company" mill helped build up the cities of Sydney, MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. "Portland cement
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
", a phrase synonymous with high quality cement anywhere in the world, was milled using limestone from onsite quarries and shipped throughout Australia. The town of Portland grew up around the Cement Works and the company contributed greatly to the area, building facilities that were needed for employees. A bath house, casino, an ice skating rink, olympic swimming pool, and living quarters were supplied to workers. The cement kilns even generated enough energy to power the homes around it.
The factories of Portland and the surrounding area required the transportation of limestone, coal, and other materials, and to this end, a number of private industrial railways and tramways were constructed.
Climate and weather
At an altitude of 925 metres above sea level, Portland is the 21st highest town in Australia and classified as a temperate zone. Cool winters and warm summers ensure four distinct seasons and snowfalls each winter.The Bureau of Meteorology's rainfall site that is located in the town, has only been there since 1996.
The Crystal Theatre
Originally constructed in as a theatre and public hall, the original building was destroyed by fire in 1925. Current release films are shown monthly and the hall is maintained by volunteers and available for community use.Signs of Yesteryear
In 2001, Ron Bidwell, a signwriter by trade, together with his fellow “Letterheads” recreated vintage signs dating from 1895 to 1945 on local shop walls. ‘Painting Portland’ was a project initiated by Ron Bidwell and completed during the Letterheads Wallnuts Weekend, in 2001. Thirty four signwriters travelled to Portland to work with locals to restore and reproduce advertising used in the early part of the 20th Century. Goanna Salve, Kinkara Tea, Bushell’s Tea, Mother’s Choice Flour, Uncle Toby’s Oats, Arnott’s Biscuits, Toohey’s Flag Ale, Solvol, Federal Safety Matches and Swagsman Blend Tea are a selection from the colourful Signs of Yesteryear.Sporting clubs
Portland Golf ClubPortland Bowling Club
Portland Olympic Pool
Portland Colts Rugby League Club
The Showground
Gindaay Youth Centre
Schools in and around Portland
Portland Central SchoolSt Josephs School Portland
Cullen Bullen Public School
Meadow Flat Public School
Recreation areas
The well serviced town is surrounded by a combination of national parks, crown land, farming areas and forestry, and has many areas that are well known for outdoor recreation. Adjacent to the town is a 650 acre Town Common with the Williwa Creek and flats running through the centre. "The Williwa" is an open eucalypt forest with an abundance of Eucalyptus macrorhynchaEucalyptus macrorhyncha
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha, commonly known as Red Gum, Red Stringybark, Cannons Stringybark or Capertee Stringybark, is a small to medium-sized tree with rough, thick fibrous and stringy, dark-brown bark....
(Red stringybark) and native wildflowers and is popular with picnickers, mountain bikers and bushwalkers. There is a small well stocked damn and a plethora of birdlife as well as native wildlife, including Calyptorhynchus funereus (Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo), Platycercus elegans (Crimson rosella), Alisterus scapularis (King Parrot) and Macropus giganteus (Eastern grey Kangaroo).
The surrounding forests are popular with 4WD and dirt bike enthusiasts. Sunny Corner, Ben Bullen, Wolgan and Newnes State forests are all nearby and bush camping is available.
Portland is also a popular destination for geocaching
Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world....
, as well as rogaining and orienteering. The town is close to the Wollemi National Park
Wollemi National Park
Wollemi National Park is the second largest national park in New South Wales, and contains most of the largest wilderness area, the Wollemi Wilderness...
, the Gardens of Stone National Park
Gardens of Stone National Park
Gardens of Stone is a national park in the Australian state of New South Wales, 125 km northwest of Sydney. At 15,010 ha, it is part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site.-See also:* Protected areas of New South Wales...
and the Turon National Park
Turon National Park
Turon National Park is located along a section of the Turon River in central New South Wales, Australia. Proposed as an area worth protecting in 1983, the park was not established until 2002...
.
Portland is abundant in wild foods dependent on season. Spring is when the town area is in blossom with wild apples and stone fruits in preparation for coming months. Summer is the season for blackberries which are a noxious weed, as well as the more difficult to locate stone fruits. During Autumn, apples, pears and quince grow wild and the forests are rich with mushrooms (which are only to be picked with caution). Saffron Milk Caps (Lactarius deliciosus) and Boletes (Boletus portentosus)are safe to eat once correctly identified.
Trout fishing is possible in local streams and creeks, the best known spot being Thompson's Creek Dam which is a twenty minute hike from the carpark on Thompson's Creek Rd via the Falnash State Forest.