| BERRIMA - NEW SOUTH WALES - 2577 | ||||
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Population: 876, Height above sea level: 651, Latitude: 34.29.27, Longitude: 150.20.04 Location: 122km.south of Sydney Highway: Old Hume Hwy (1) off Hume Freeway Nearest Major Town: Bowral Nearest Airport: Sydney Touring Area: Capital Country - Southern Highlands |
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 The Surveyor General Inn | |
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Berrima is north of Moss Vale on the Old Hume Highway and the Wingecarribee River. Its name comes from an aboriginal word meaning 'to the south' and it was selected by surveyor Major Thomas Mitchell as an ideal place for a settlement. He envisioned it as the administrative and manufacturing centre for the Southern Highlands. Surveyor Robert Hoddle laid out the town as a typical English Village with a public common, a market place, and a central hotel. Progress on a road through Berrima to the south was slow and it gradually developed as a stop-over for travellers rather than a busy central hub for the area. Numerous hotels sprung up including the Surveyor General Inn (named for Sir Thomas Mitchell) which still exists as the oldest continuously licensed hotel in Australia. It was built by William Harper for his son James in 1835. The mansion he built will be found just north of the hotel overlooking the town. In 1838 a courthouse was built and in 1839 a gaol opened between the courthouse and hotel. The magnificent sandstone courthouse and several other fine buildings are all within the town centre precinct as are many craft shops and eating houses. The whole village of Berrima is now under a preservation order of the National Trust and is one of the most charming places to spend a few hours in in the Southern Highlands. PLACES OF INTEREST:
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