Bargo, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Bargo is a small town of the Macarthur Region
, New South Wales
, Australia
in the Wollondilly Shire. It is approximately 100 km south west of Sydney.
It is situated between the township of Tahmoor (north) and the village of Yanderra
(south), and accessible via the Hume Highway that links Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It was previously known as West Bargo and Cobargo.
Bargo is one of the largest towns in New South Wales without a sewerage
system.
Bargo railway station
was first opened on 19 July 1919 as West Bargo and then renamed in 1921 as Bargo. . The station is part of the Southern Highlands Line
or Main South Line
which under CityRail
goes to Sydney and under CountryLink
and Melbourne
. The original Bargo railway station building on the eastern side of the platform was destroyed by arson
. Currently in use is a permanent demountable building.
Bargo's community facilities include a racetrack, tennis courts, sporting fields and skatepark. Its commercial facilities include a hotel, motel, post office, a sports club, two small grocery stores, chemist, bakery, butcher, newsagent, liquor store, restaurants (including bistros at the pub and club), takeaway food, petrol station, veterinary surgery, pharmacy, car mechanic, two hairdressing salons and several other small businesses, including a used car dealership.
W. A. Bayley notes:
“The earliest reference to "Barago" has been noted as by George Caley
in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks on 25 September 1807. The aborigines called the Bargo area 'Narregarang', meaning that the soil was not firm - a shaky place.” Early explorers and convicts found getting through the Bargo area a difficult experience due to the thick scrub, explorers dubbing the tricky bush the Bargo Brush. In early Colonial times, 'Bargo Brush' became notorious among travelers for harboring 'bolters', convicts who had escaped from captivity and become bushrangers.
Bayley quotes William Riley, who passed through Bargo Brush on horseback in 1830:
J. H. Heaton, under the heading 'Crimes and Criminals, Remarkable' lists "Desperate conflict between four police and eleven prisoners at Bargo Brush, N.S.W. Constable Raymond shot dead by a prisoner named James Crookwell, April 15, 1866."
The Bargo Brush is a rare shrub found only in abundance in the Bargo area. Not a lot is known about the Bargo Brush, but it can be seen sprouting out of disturbed soil when bushwalking.
Natural attractions like the Avon and Nepean Dams are a popular attraction for family picnics and for viewing local and Illawarra water catchments and bushland.
Wirrimbirra Sanctuary
Bargo is home to animal reserves like the Wirrimbirra Native Sanctuary, established by Thistle Harris
in the 1960s, which offers bushland walks on well-maintained walking tracks, flora and fauna awareness programs, a small cafe, and a walk-in animal pen featuring wallabies.
Mermaid Pools and the Potholes
Mermaid Pools and the Potholes are located on the Wollondilly River
and are open to the public for swimming.
Historically, Mermaid Pools was a local sacred aboriginal site for women. It is believed to be protected by spirits. In addition, the Potholes which is located near Mermaid Pools have been a local communal gathering point for summer swimming since early European Settlers and continues to be an attraction for local residents.
AFL was established in Bargo in 1982. Firstly with the Wollondilly Junior Australian Football Club - The Redbacks with teams from U8's - U16's competing in the Greater West Sydney Competition. Then followed in 1989 Wollondilly Senior Australian Football Club - The Knights fielding First Grade and Reserve teams in the South Coast AFL Competition. The only truly Australian game of football and the only AFL Clubs in the Wollondilly Shire.
Yerrinbool-Bargo Bushrangers
Bargo is home to the Yerrinbool-Bargo Bushrangers football team. The team was established by a group of men in the Pub one night, the Bushrangers now have teams from Under 6 to All Age Men & Women competing in the Highlands Competition. Notably, the Yerrinbool-Bargo coalition soccer team is one of the only local soccer teams where two places of different regions and councils form a coalition; Yerrinbool
is of the Southern Highlands
and Wingecarribee Shire whilst Bargo is part of the Wollondilly Shire and Macarthur
Region.
Bargo Rural Fire Brigade
Bargo Rural Fire Brigade
was established 1939. From its humble beginnings, the brigade's few handtools and drum of water have been constantly upgraded to its present day Heavy Tanker and Light Tankers, housed in the purpose-built Village Two category building on the outskirts of the township. The brigade's services include fighting bushfires in the local surroundings and attending vehicle accidents on the Hume Highway where passes through Wilton
, Pheasants Nest
and Yanderra
. Bargo Fire Brigade assists with out-of-area disasters, for example, the 1994 Sydney Bushfires, the Sydney Hail Storm of 1999, the bushfires of the Christmas period 2001/2002, and 2007 Gosford storm damage.
The Brigade celebrated its 70th year of operation on 26 December 2009.
Bargo Yanderra Tennis Association has recently upgraded facilities with new court surfaces and is currently running an interclub competition between Thirlmere tennis club and Bargo. Ladies social competition are usually run on a Tuesday during school terms.
A verse of the Australian folk song Stringybark
and Greenhide
(circa 1865) celebrates the bad reputation among bullockies of the Bargo roads:
“If you travel on the road, and chance to stick in Bargo,
To avoid a bad capsize, you must unload your cargo;
For to pull a dray about, I do not see the force on,
Take a bit of greenhide, and hook another horse on.”
Macarthur, New South Wales
Macarthur is a region in south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council and Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,067 square kilometres and has a population of close to 240,000 residents...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the Wollondilly Shire. It is approximately 100 km south west of Sydney.
It is situated between the township of Tahmoor (north) and the village of Yanderra
Yanderra, New South Wales
Yanderra is a small village situated on the border of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia. Yanderra is located between Bargo and Southern Highlands' Yerrinbool, and is located next to the Hume Highway. At the 2006 census, Yanderra had a population of 561...
(south), and accessible via the Hume Highway that links Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It was previously known as West Bargo and Cobargo.
Bargo is one of the largest towns in New South Wales without a sewerage
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
system.
Facilities
Bargo railway station, New South Wales
-Transport links:Picton Buslines runs two routes to and from Bargo railway station:*911 - to Buxton and Picton.*912 - Between Yanderra and Picton.-Neighbouring stations:...
was first opened on 19 July 1919 as West Bargo and then renamed in 1921 as Bargo. . The station is part of the Southern Highlands Line
Southern Highlands railway line, New South Wales
The Southern Highlands Line is a section of the Main South railway line, and part of the CityRail outer suburban network. Its main service areas are the Southern Highlands Region , the Southern Tablelands Region and the Wollondilly section of the Macarthur Region of New South Wales...
or Main South Line
Main Southern railway line, New South Wales
The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Riverina regions.- Description of route :...
which under CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
goes to Sydney and under CountryLink
CountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The original Bargo railway station building on the eastern side of the platform was destroyed by arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. Currently in use is a permanent demountable building.
Bargo's community facilities include a racetrack, tennis courts, sporting fields and skatepark. Its commercial facilities include a hotel, motel, post office, a sports club, two small grocery stores, chemist, bakery, butcher, newsagent, liquor store, restaurants (including bistros at the pub and club), takeaway food, petrol station, veterinary surgery, pharmacy, car mechanic, two hairdressing salons and several other small businesses, including a used car dealership.
History
- The name Bargo may be derived from the local AboriginalAustralian AboriginesAustralian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
language, meaning "cripple".
W. A. Bayley notes:
“The earliest reference to "Barago" has been noted as by George Caley
George Caley
-Early life:Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the Free Grammar School at Manchester for around four years and was then taken into his father's stables. Coming across a volume on farriery, he became interested in the herbs mentioned in...
in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks on 25 September 1807. The aborigines called the Bargo area 'Narregarang', meaning that the soil was not firm - a shaky place.” Early explorers and convicts found getting through the Bargo area a difficult experience due to the thick scrub, explorers dubbing the tricky bush the Bargo Brush. In early Colonial times, 'Bargo Brush' became notorious among travelers for harboring 'bolters', convicts who had escaped from captivity and become bushrangers.
Bayley quotes William Riley, who passed through Bargo Brush on horseback in 1830:
"... a miserable, barren scrub, thickly wooded for eight miles; there having been so much rain lately this abominable part of the road was a continuation of bogs for eight miles." Soon the Brush, with its thickets for hideouts, became the lurking place for robbers and caused travel to become fraught with peril. The Sydney Gazette of 17 March 1832 reported the road as ". . . one uninterrupted morass"!
J. H. Heaton, under the heading 'Crimes and Criminals, Remarkable' lists "Desperate conflict between four police and eleven prisoners at Bargo Brush, N.S.W. Constable Raymond shot dead by a prisoner named James Crookwell, April 15, 1866."
The Bargo Brush is a rare shrub found only in abundance in the Bargo area. Not a lot is known about the Bargo Brush, but it can be seen sprouting out of disturbed soil when bushwalking.
- Bargo is noted as being where the first recorded sightings of the lyrebirdLyrebirdA Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured...
, koalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
and wombatWombatWombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
took place by European settlers.
- Bargo is also the site of a famous massacre, when settlers forced local Aborigines to walk off a big cliff and shot them if they refused.
- Bargo Police Station, now abandoned, is currently used as a doctors' surgery. The lock-ups remain behind the building. The patrol area of the Bargo Police Station included Pheasants Nest, Bargo, parts of Tahmoor and Yanderra.
Location
The Bargo township border runs from Bargo River Road, south along Bargo River to perpendicular with Tylers Road, along Tylers Road, then south along Silica Road to Remembrance Drive, North along the freeway to perpendicular with and along Dwyers to north along Arina Road and back to Bargo River.Attractions
Nepean and Avon DamsNatural attractions like the Avon and Nepean Dams are a popular attraction for family picnics and for viewing local and Illawarra water catchments and bushland.
Wirrimbirra Sanctuary
Bargo is home to animal reserves like the Wirrimbirra Native Sanctuary, established by Thistle Harris
Thistle Yolette Harris
Thistle Yolette Harris , also known as Thistle Stead, was an Australian botanist and conservationist who lectured in biological science at Sydney Teachers’ College. In 1951 she married pioneer conservationist and marine biologist David Stead...
in the 1960s, which offers bushland walks on well-maintained walking tracks, flora and fauna awareness programs, a small cafe, and a walk-in animal pen featuring wallabies.
Mermaid Pools and the Potholes
Mermaid Pools and the Potholes are located on the Wollondilly River
Wollondilly River
The Wollondilly River is a perennial river in New South Wales, Australia. It was originally a tributary of the Warragamba River, and hence of the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers...
and are open to the public for swimming.
Historically, Mermaid Pools was a local sacred aboriginal site for women. It is believed to be protected by spirits. In addition, the Potholes which is located near Mermaid Pools have been a local communal gathering point for summer swimming since early European Settlers and continues to be an attraction for local residents.
Organisations
Wollondilly AFL ClubAFL was established in Bargo in 1982. Firstly with the Wollondilly Junior Australian Football Club - The Redbacks with teams from U8's - U16's competing in the Greater West Sydney Competition. Then followed in 1989 Wollondilly Senior Australian Football Club - The Knights fielding First Grade and Reserve teams in the South Coast AFL Competition. The only truly Australian game of football and the only AFL Clubs in the Wollondilly Shire.
Yerrinbool-Bargo Bushrangers
Bargo is home to the Yerrinbool-Bargo Bushrangers football team. The team was established by a group of men in the Pub one night, the Bushrangers now have teams from Under 6 to All Age Men & Women competing in the Highlands Competition. Notably, the Yerrinbool-Bargo coalition soccer team is one of the only local soccer teams where two places of different regions and councils form a coalition; Yerrinbool
Yerrinbool, New South Wales
Yerrinbool is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire, and is accessible from the Hume Highway and is about 12 km drive from nearby Mittagong. It is 6–8 km by foot to Hill Top as the crow flies. It was previously officially...
is of the Southern Highlands
Southern Highlands, New South Wales
The Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district in New South Wales, Australia and is 110 km south-west of Sydney. The entire region is under the local government area of the Wingecarribee Shire...
and Wingecarribee Shire whilst Bargo is part of the Wollondilly Shire and Macarthur
Macarthur, New South Wales
Macarthur is a region in south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council and Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,067 square kilometres and has a population of close to 240,000 residents...
Region.
Bargo Rural Fire Brigade
Bargo Rural Fire Brigade
Bargo Rural Fire Brigade
The services the local Bargo and Wollondilly Community in New South Wales, Australia. Providing help to return normality to residents and visitors of the Wollondilly Shire...
was established 1939. From its humble beginnings, the brigade's few handtools and drum of water have been constantly upgraded to its present day Heavy Tanker and Light Tankers, housed in the purpose-built Village Two category building on the outskirts of the township. The brigade's services include fighting bushfires in the local surroundings and attending vehicle accidents on the Hume Highway where passes through Wilton
Wilton, New South Wales
Wilton is a small town of the Macarthur Region, New South Wales, Australia in the Wollondilly Shire. It is home to a population of 1279 and includes the modern suburb development of Bingara Gorge. It is located within close proximity Cataract Dam...
, Pheasants Nest
Pheasants Nest, New South Wales
Pheasants Nest is a small village in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. It has a north bound and south bound roadhouse on the Hume Highway...
and Yanderra
Yanderra, New South Wales
Yanderra is a small village situated on the border of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia. Yanderra is located between Bargo and Southern Highlands' Yerrinbool, and is located next to the Hume Highway. At the 2006 census, Yanderra had a population of 561...
. Bargo Fire Brigade assists with out-of-area disasters, for example, the 1994 Sydney Bushfires, the Sydney Hail Storm of 1999, the bushfires of the Christmas period 2001/2002, and 2007 Gosford storm damage.
The Brigade celebrated its 70th year of operation on 26 December 2009.
Bargo Yanderra Tennis Association has recently upgraded facilities with new court surfaces and is currently running an interclub competition between Thirlmere tennis club and Bargo. Ladies social competition are usually run on a Tuesday during school terms.
In popular culture
W. A. Bayely observed:"The whole road was a nightmare with its succession of bogs where bullockOxAn ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
waggons sank to their axles. Drivers cut saplings to corduroyCorduroy roadA corduroy road or log road is a type of road made by placing sand-covered logs perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area....
sections of the road and threw stones into bogholes. Teams on unbogged waggons were attached to teams on bogged vehicles to help pull them free; sometimes only to see them sink again! A waggon could take a couple of days from Bargo River to Mittagong, camping the night anywhere around Yerrinbool, then called Little Forest, before the steep climb of Catherine Hill which would then be attacked with fresh bullocks in the morning... The Sydney Morning Herald of 2 June 1865 reported that it had not been uncommon to see all the types of vehicles 'stuck fast or rather half buried in the numerous sloughs ... filled with mud .'
A verse of the Australian folk song Stringybark
Stringybark
A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...
and Greenhide
Greenhide
Greenhide is a 1926 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel.-Plot:Marjory Paton leaves the city to live on her father's cattle property, run by "Greenhide Gavin" . She carries romantic notions of the bush, of "being swung to the saddle by big brown arms," but Greenhide Gavin is initially only...
(circa 1865) celebrates the bad reputation among bullockies of the Bargo roads:
“If you travel on the road, and chance to stick in Bargo,
To avoid a bad capsize, you must unload your cargo;
For to pull a dray about, I do not see the force on,
Take a bit of greenhide, and hook another horse on.”