Couridjah, New South Wales Explained

Type:suburb
Couridjah
Pop:303
Elevation:346
Region:Macarthur
State:nsw
Coordinates:-34.2333°N 183°W
Pushpin Label Position:right
Lga:Wollondilly Shire
Postcode:2571
Stategov:Wollondilly
Fedgov:Macarthur
Dist1:103
Dir1:SW
Location1:Sydney CBD
Dist2:8
Dir2:SW
Location2:Picton
Dist3:33
Dir3:NNE
Location3:Mittagong
Near-N:Tahmoor
Near-Nw:Thirlmere
Near-W:Thirlmere Lakes National Park
Near-S:Buxton
Near-Se:Bargo

Couridjah is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. It was previously known officially as "Village of Couridjah". At the, Couridjah had a population of 303.

History

The name "Couridjah" has been variously reported to mean, in a local Aboriginal language, anything from "The Place of the White Ants" to "The Home of the Medicine Man".[1]

Couridjah was formerly a station on the Main Southern Railway. At the time of the line's construction, it was known as "Jones's Hut". That line was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades, and the original line became the Picton-Mittagong Loop line. Thirlmere Lakes, to the west of the station, supplied water to the standpipes at Couridjah for replenishing steam locomotives, after their long haul up the steep grade from Picton.[2] [3] The lakes were formerly known as the "Coridja Lagoons" and "Picton Lagoons".[4] The sandstone pump-house is still in existence adjacent to the Lakes. The standpipes, too, remain near the station, but have been disused since 1964.

Heritage listings

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

Couridjah today

The platform and the small waiting room have been restored and are maintained by volunteers from the NSW Rail Museum at Thirlmere, though none of the Heritage trains which still use sections of the Picton Loop line stops there.

The station and platform were featured in a television advertisement for "Minties" lollies.

The main premises of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council are located at Couridjah.[6] It is also the location of Picton Lakes Village, a settlement established in 1925 for sufferers of tuberculosis.[7]

Couridjah has no shop, post office, or any other public building, nor any main street. It is chiefly a semi-rural residential area, among which are some small orchards and poultry farms.

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Meredith, John. 1989. The last kooradgie : Moyengully, chief man of the Gundungurra people. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. . Meredith points to the interesting similarity of "kooradgie" and "chirurgeon".
  2. Bayley, W. A. 1973 Picton-Mittagong Loop-Line Railway. pp.26-27 Bulli: Austrail. Bayley also cites the spelling as 'Coradgery'.
  3. Wright, "Picton Locomotive Depot"
  4. Bayley, W. A. 1975. Picton-Mittagong Main Line Railway. p. 17-18 Bulli: Austrail.
  5. 01121. 18 May 2018.
  6. Web site: Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council . 2010-05-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091030092233/http://www.tharawal.com.au/landcouncil.html . 30 October 2009 . dmy-all .
  7. Public Health Notes #34, April 1940. Central Board of Health Adelaide. Retrieved 3 May 2010 from http://www.publications.health.sa.gov.au/pubhen/34/