Bell, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, 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...
by road or 137 km by rail, some 20 km east of Lithgow
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the centre of the local political division City of Lithgow. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of William Lithgow, the first Auditor-General of New South Wales.Lithgow is...
and 10 km north of Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, New South Wales
Mount Victoria is a small township in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is the westernmost village in the City of Blue Mountains, located approximately 120 kilometres via road from Sydney and 1043 metres above sea-level...
. It is a locality on the junction of the Bells Line of Road, and the Darling Causeway. Bell is in the north-west corner of the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains
City of Blue Mountains
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.-Demographics:...
.
Description and History
Bell is named after Archibald Bell, Jr., who found a new route over the Blue Mountains via Richmond. This crossing had been partly explored by George Caley, who went as far as Mt Banks in 1804, but Bell was the first to go the whole way from the Richmond area to the Bell area. Bells Line of Road was later established along his route.Bell is on the main NSW Western railway line. There is a railway station, built in 1875, which was originally built to service the village of Mount Wilson
Mount Wilson, New South Wales
Mount Wilson is a village in the state of New South Wales and in the Blue Mountains. It is approximately fourteen kilometres east of the township of Bell, and approximately one hundred kilometres west of Sydney...
, which is some 14 kilometres away from the station. Bell Railway Station was originally named Mount Wilson Railway Station. Bell railway station is the highest elevation station on the CityRail network at 1060 metres (3475 feet) above sea level.
The area has a small number of properties with an average size of approximately 4 Hectares (10 Acres), and in surrounding areas are various walking tracks, (some in the National park and some on private property) which give views of the Hartley Valley, Wollangambe Wilderness and surrounding areas. Bell is entirely surrounded by native bush, most of which is part of the Blue Mountains National Park
Blue Mountains National Park
The Blue Mountains National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 81 km west of Sydney, and located in the Blue Mountains region of the Great Dividing Range. The park covers 268,987 hectares. The boundary of the park is quite irregular as it is broken up by roads, urban areas...
. This section of the park is dominated by the Wollangambe River, which begins north of Bell and flows to the Colo River. The area is rugged, stony country with few tracks. A walking trail from Bell gives access to the Wollangambe River and is used as a starting point by experienced bushwalkers venturing into the Wollangambe Wilderness.
Bell enjoys a cool mountain climate, with snow falls occurring most years. Bell's average winter (July) minimum temperature is 2.3 °C with an average maximum of 9.3 °C. In summer, Bell enjoys considerably cooler temperatures than the nearby Sydney basin, with an average maximum of 23.7 °C in January. Hot westerly winds can cause the temperature to occasionally rise to the mid 30s.
As Bell's Line of Road is the only alternative route to the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains, Bell is the site of an RTA Heavy Vehicle Checking Station.
The population of the village is less than 100.
