Blaxland, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Blaxland is a town in the Blue Mountains 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...

. Blaxland is located 70 kilometres west of 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...

 in 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:...

. It is at an altitude of 234 metres and borders the townships/suburbs of Glenbrook
Glenbrook, New South Wales
Glenbrook is a suburb of the Lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 70 kilometres west of Sydney in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2006 census, Glenbrook had a population of 5,138 people....

, Mount Riverview
Mount Riverview, New South Wales
Mount Riverview is a town off the Great Western Highway about 2 km NE of Blaxland in the Lower Blue Mountains, New South Wales, 70 kilometres west of Sydney, Australia...

 and Warrimoo
Warrimoo, New South Wales
Warrimoo is a village in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Warrimoo is located 75 kilometres west of Sydney, in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains...

.

History

Blaxland is named for Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland was a pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia.- Early life :Gregory Blaxland was born 17 June 1778 at Fordwich, Kent, England, the fourth son of John Blaxland, mayor from 1767 to 1774, whose family had owned estates nearby for generations, and Mary, daughter of Captain Parker,...

 who along with William Lawson and William Wentworth
William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...

, led the exploration that discovered a route over the Blue Mountains in 1813. Prior to 1915 the area was known as Wascoe. Since 1994, Blaxland has been involved in a bitter dispute with other townships in the area -specifically Hazelbrook and Springwood. Hazelbrook has long been a stain on the fabric of Australian society, and its position of both the metaphorical and literal "pit" of the Blue Mountains. Springwood is all about small business, whereas Blaxland is all about the big enterprises and big enterprise is where the money is. Overall, the Soverign Nation of Blaxland is clearly the best.

Transport

Blaxland railway station is on the Blue Mountains Line of the 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...

 intercity network.
It is a disability-accessible station.

Commercial area

The village of Blaxland received a major overhaul in 2001 with the widening of the Great Western Highway. This work included the controversial planting of Canary Island Palm trees along the highway, but also created space for more shops and led to many refurbishments. These changes, combined with the upgrade of Blaxland Station, have improved business in Blaxland.

Major shops include:
  • Como Restaurant, winner of a Good Food Guide Chef's Hat award for 2008.
  • Supa IGA Supermarket
    IGA (supermarkets)
    IGA is a brand of grocery stores active in more than 30 countries. Contrasting with the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small town markets and belong to families that manage them...

  • Commonwealth Bank
  • Subway
    Subway (restaurant)
    Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...

     sandwich bar
  • McDonald's
    McDonald's
    McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

     fast food, the only McDonald's in the Blue Mountains.
  • Blaxland Day and Night Pharmacy
  • Brooklands Village shopping centre


Blaxland also has a small industrial estate and the only remaining land fill waste facility in the Blue Mountains.

Services

  • Lower Blue Mountains Library, Hope Street
  • Blaxland Fire Brigade falls under the jurisdiction of the statewide Rural Fire Service

Sport and recreation

Blaxland includes the Florabella Pass and Pippas Pass tracks. It is home to the Blaxland Redbacks soccer and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

teams.

It is also home of 1st Blaxland Scout group

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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