Berrima, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Berrima is an historic village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in 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...

 of 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 Wingecarribee Shire. The village, once a major town, is located on the Old Hume Highway
Old Hume Highway
The Old Hume Highway may be described as any part of an earlier route of the Hume Highway, which traverses Victoria and New South Wales between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia...

 between Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 and Sydney
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...

. It was previously known officially as the Town of Berrima. It is close to the three major towns 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...

; Mittagong
Mittagong, New South Wales
Mittagong is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. At the 2006 census, Mittagong had a population of 7,460 people. The town can be seen as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. The town is close to Bowral, Berrima,...

, Bowral
Bowral, New South Wales
-Attractions:Bowral is perhaps the best known of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands, and in recent years has become the commercial centre of the Wingecarribee Shire. Bowral is known for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants, and rich coffee culture.Bowral is home to the...

 and Moss Vale
Moss Vale, New South Wales
Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. It has a population of 7,339 and is sited on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass...

.

Etymology

The name Berrima is believed to derive from an Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 word meaning either ‘southward’ or ‘black swan’.

History

The area around Berrima was once occupied by the Dharawal Aborigines. They had been driven off or killed by the 1870s.

The Wingecarribee River
Wingecarribee River
The Wingecarribee River rises on the heights at Robertson, fictional home of Babe the pig. It flows westwards, away from the sea, across the Southern Highlands plateau, near Bowral and Moss Vale, to Berrima...

 and the area was first visited during the late 1790s, including a 1798 expedition led by an ex-convict, John Wilson. However, John and Hamilton Hume
Hamilton Hume
Hamilton Hume was the first Australian born explorer. Along with Hovell in 1824, Hume was part of an expedition that first took an overland route from Sydney to Port Phillip near the site of present day Melbourne...

 rediscovered the area in 1814. The area was explored by Charles Throsby
Charles Throsby
Charles Throsby was an Australian explorer, pioneer and parliamentarian. He opened up much new land beyond the Blue Mountains for colonial settlement. He was a grazier, and became a prominent member of New South Wales society.- Early life :...

 in 1818. Runs were taken up soon after, including by one by Charles Throsby. Harper’s Mansion, which is on a hill overlooking the town, was built from 1829–1830. Bong Bong
Bong Bong, New South Wales
Bong Bong was a small township in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales, Australia. It is also the name for the surrounding parish.The site was chosen by Governor Macquarie in 1820 close to the ford on the Wingecarribee River...

 had been planned as a major town for the county but, as it was flood prone, the New South Wales surveyor-general Thomas Mitchell chose Berrima townsite on the road running south from Sydney to Goulburn with the intention that the town be the chief centre for southern New South Wales. The survey was conducted in 1830 and the town plan was approved in 1831. As well as its being an administrative centre, there were ambitions that the town might become a commercial and manufacturing centre, "where the wool of Argyle
Argyle County, New South Wales
Argyle County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It includes the area around Goulburn. It is bounded by Lake George in the south-west, the Shoalhaven River in the east, and the Wollondilly River in the...

 and Camden
Camden County, New South Wales
Camden County was one of the original Nineteen Counties in New South Wales and is now one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. It included the coastal area near Wollongong south to the Shoalhaven River, and also inland encompassing Berrima and Picton. Its western boundary was the...

 might be made into cloth and the hide into leather".

The courthouse (see below) was built between 1833 and 1838. The gaol (see below) was built from 1835 by convict labour and opened in 1839. The Surveyor General Inn was built in 1834. It has been continuously licensed since 1839 and its claim to being the earliest hotel rests on its continual license and being in the original building. Berrima prospered as being at a point on the Old Hume Highway
Old Hume Highway
The Old Hume Highway may be described as any part of an earlier route of the Hume Highway, which traverses Victoria and New South Wales between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia...

, and there were fourteen hotels in or near the town in the 1840s. However, because the construction of the railway bypassed the town, the population decreased — no new houses were built for a hundred years. In 1896, Sir Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...

, premier of New South Wales
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...

, planted an oak tree near the post office.

There are many historic buildings in the town and the village as a whole is listed on the Register of the National Estate. Other notable buildings include the Holy Trinity Anglican Church designed by Edmund Blacket
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...

 and built in 1849; and the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church built 1849-51 designed by Augustus Pugin
Augustus Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect, designer, and theorist of design, now best remembered for his work in the Gothic Revival style, particularly churches and the Palace of Westminster. Pugin was the father of E. W...

, a notable British architect of Gothic-revival buildings. The Berrima Village Trust was established in 1963 to preserve historic buildings.

Berrima Court House

Berrima Court House was built between 1836 and 1838. It was designed by the colonial architect
New South Wales Government Architect
The New South Wales Government Architect is an officer of the New South Wales government. Historically, the government architect was in charge of the state government's public building projects....

 Mortimer Lewis in a Roman style. Four Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...

 columns support a classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

 pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

. The building is now stylistically classified as Georgian. It is built of sandstone. A number of problems arose during construction, the first architect having resigned and a succession of three builders being contracted.

The first quarter-sessions were held at the court house in 1841, and the first trial by jury
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...

 in the colony of New South Wales was held here. The assize courts were continued for only seven years. In 1850 the district court moved to Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...

, south of Berrima. Minor courts continued at Berrima until 1873. Notable trials were of John Lynch, who was hanged for the murder of at least nine people, and of Lucretia Dunkley and her lover Martin Beech who were both hanged in 1843 for the murder of Dunkley’s husband. Their trial is simulated in the present-day museum courtroom with realistic mannikins and an audio commentary. Dunkley was the only woman to be hanged at Berrima gaol.

Berrima Gaol

Berrima Gaol was built over five years with much work done by convicts in irons. Conditions at the gaol were harsh, prisoners spent most of their days in cells and the only light was through a small grate set in the door. In 1866 the gaol was renovated to the standards described by the prison reform movement for a “model prison”. However, Berrima gaol had solitary confinement cells which measured 8 feet by 5 feet, some smaller, where it was intended that all prisoners spent one year. In 1877 a royal commission was held to investigate allegations of cruelty by the prison authorities but the complaints were not upheld.

During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the army used Berrima Gaol as a German-prisoner internment camp. Most of the 329 internees were enemy aliens from shipping companies. There were German officers from Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

, German New Guinea
German New Guinea
German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...

 (what is now Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

) and also officers from the light cruiser SMS Emden

The gaol is now an all-female low-to-medium security prison.

In NSW's 2011 State Budget, it was announced that in recent financial cuts, the Gaol would be shut down, which occurred in late 2011.

Notable Residents

  • Geoff Harvey - Television pianist, former Nine Network
    Nine Network
    The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

     music director, and composer
  • Keith Steele
    Keith Steele
    Howard Keith Chillingworth Steele was a New Zealand cricketer, notable legal practitioner and author. In cricket, Steele was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium pace...

     (1951-2009), cricketer and lawyer
  • Estelle Asmodelle
    Estelle Asmodelle
    Estelle Asmodelle , formerly known as Estelle Maria Croot, is an Australian model, belly dancer, writer, musician and actress...

    Model, music composer and scientist, grew up in Berrima and left at age 16.

General

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