Mittagong

Postcode: 2575

Mittagong is a town with a population of approximately 6,000 in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. It is close to Bowral, Berrima, Moss Vale and Yerrinbool. It was formerly on the Hume Highway that linked Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It has a station on CityRail's Southern Highlands line. It usually includes the small villages of Welby, Balaclava, Braemar and Willow Vale.

The name Mittagong is said to mean "little mountain". Other suggested meanings are "a companion" and "plenty of native dogs", as the Mittagong range was home to many dingos at one time. The opening of the bypass in the 1992 was expected by some to negatively affect business in Mittagong, but instead the location has become a rest stop for drivers and a daytripper destination from Sydney, only one hour away. An antique retail industry is also present. The town lies between two hills, Mount Alexandra and Mount Gibraltar, and a small lake, Lake Alexandra, feeds into the nearby Nattai River. Mittagong is the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney.

Today the town invites visitors to explore its history, scenery, small waterfalls, bushwalks and it's famed "Waratah" flowering in November. A chamber music festival is held each Easter. You can picnic at peaceful Lake Alexandra and feed the ducks, and take a peaceful stroll around the Lake - no more than 250 metres from Mittagong's main street. The main street boasts a wide array of retailers and many antique shops.

The first permanent settler in the Mittagong district was William Chalker, a former convict transported from England, who arrived in the area on 10 May 1821. He became the Principal Overseer of Government Stock, and Chief Constable and Poundkeeper in the Cowpastures. A memorial plaque to Chalker was unveiled in May 1988 as a Bicentennial project; the plaque overlooks an area once known as Chalker's Flat. Some of his descendants still live in the Mittagong/Bowral area. Former names of Mittagong include New Sheffield, Marragan and Minnikin. Mittagong has been home to many industries, with iron being first smelted in the area. The Box Vale Coal Mine, Joadja Kerosene Shale, and the first supply of fresh milk and butter to Sydney by the Fresh Food & Ice Company all operated out of Mittagong in years gone by.

Until the 1990s the town was dominated by trucks and in winter it was also busy with skiers' traffic on the way to the Australian Alps. Today the Hume Highway bypasses Mittagong and all the towns of the Southern Tablelands. The highway bypass was first evaluated as having a slightly negative impact on the economy about a year after its opening, due to the loss of traffic-serving business. Expectations were re-evaluated as mildly positive in 1994 taking into account hard-to-quantify benefits such as the increased appeal of the town as a place to live.

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