Couridjah, New South Wales

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".[2] At the 2016 census, Couridjah had a population of 303.[1]

Couridjah
New South Wales
Couridjah is located in New South Wales
Couridjah
Couridjah
Coordinates34°14′S 150°33′E
Population303 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)2571
Elevation346 m (1,135 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Wollondilly Shire
RegionMacarthur
State electorate(s)Wollondilly
Federal division(s)Macarthur
Suburbs around Couridjah:
Thirlmere Tahmoor
Thirlmere Lakes National Park Couridjah
Buxton Bargo

History
Stone pumphouse at Thirlmere Lakes
Standpipes at Couridjah
Pumphouse and standpipes

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".[3]

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.[4][5] The lakes were formerly known as the "Coridja Lagoons" and "Picton Lagoons".[6] 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.[8] It is also the location of Picton Lakes Village, a settlement established in 1925 for sufferers of tuberculosis.[9]

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.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Couridjah". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. "Couridjah". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  3. Meredith, John. 1989. The last kooradgie : Moyengully, chief man of the Gundungurra people. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press. ISBN 0-86417-235-4. Meredith points to the interesting similarity of "kooradgie" and "chirurgeon".
  4. Bayley, W. A. 1973 Picton-Mittagong Loop-Line Railway. pp.26-27 Bulli: Austrail. ISBN 0-909597-14-6 Bayley also cites the spelling as 'Coradgery'.
  5. Wright, "Picton Locomotive Depot"
  6. Bayley, W. A. 1975. Picton-Mittagong Main Line Railway. p. 17-18 Bulli: Austrail. ISBN 0-909597-15-4
  7. "Couridjah Railway Station". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01121. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence.
  8. "Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council". Archived from the original on 30 October 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  9. 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/

Bibliography
  • Chalk, Karyn. 20078. A brief history of Couridjah in the Wollondilly Shire of New South Wales Australia. New South Wales : Lulu. ISBN 978-1-4092-7612-8
  • Wright, Harry. "Picton Locomotive Depot and the Picton-Mittagong Loop Line", Roundhouse Vol. 41, No. 2, April, 2004. pp. 5–15
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