Wentworth Falls

Postcode: 2782

Wentworth Falls is a town in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales located 100 kilometres west of Sydney, and about 8 kilometres east of Katoomba, Australia, with a population of 5,380. Originally called The Weatherboard after the ‘Weatherboard Inn’ built in 1814, one year later the town was named Jamison’s Valley by Governor Macquarie. In July 1867 the historic first railway journey in the Blue Mountains left Penrith station and travelled through to Weatherboard Station where the train terminated. In 1879, the village took its name from a nearby system of waterfalls, which in turn were named for William Charles Wentworth, one of the men that headed the exploration to cross the mountains in 1813.

Kings Tableland at the eastern end of Wentworth Falls contains areas of major archealogical importance, including the Kings Tableland Aboriginal Site. Ingar Picnic Ground, one of the most remote and beautiful picnic grounds in the Blue Mountains, is in the same vicinity. Also nearby are Sunset Lookout and McMahon’s Lookout, both of which provide long views as far south as Lake Burragorang. The Kings Tableland area also once hosted a deer park that closed down in the late 1980s, subsequently falling into private ownership. Several deer were sighted around the area for some time until they were culled by National Parks rangers. This area is also home to a privately-owned observatory and is the site of the former Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital, once a major facility for the treatment of tuberculosis. The observatory in Hordern Street features three modern telescopes as well as a flat screen planetarium and is open on weekends and during school holiday periods.

Other points of interest and local institutions include the historic Grandview Hotel, the Wentworth Falls School of Arts, the Kedumba Gallery (found within the grounds of the Blue Mountains Grammar School) and Wentworth Falls Lake, an artificial lake created early in the 20th Century to provide water for steam locomotives, now a reserve and play area. The School of Arts is a popular venue for local community events and theatre productions.

There are many spectacular natural lookouts in the area including Breakfast Point Lookout, Princes Rock Lookout, Wentworth Falls Lookout and Rocket Point Lookout. A track through the Valley of the Waters leads to Empress Falls, Sylvia Falls, Lodore Falls, Flat Rock Falls and, near the junction of Jamison and Valley of the Waters Creeks, the sheltered Vera Falls. One of the most popular walks in the area, the National Pass, descends the Valley of the Waters along a narrow claystone ledge perched halfway down the cliff and then ascends the ridge via a series of sandstone steps built by Peter Mulheran and a group known as "The Irish Brigade" in 1908. The Conservation Hut is an information centre and restaurant in Wentworth Falls leased from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and serves as a starting point for several of these walks.

Wentworth Falls hosts several festivals including the Wentworth Falls Autumn Festival in April and Wentworth Falls Public School Art and Craft Show in May.

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