John's Blue Mountains Blog: 2018

LIST OF ALL BLOGS AND RELEVANT U-TUBE VIDEOS

WILSON PARK AT WENTWORTH FALLS

This blog is intended to be read in association with my video on Wilson Park, which you will find here: https://youtu.be/hs7ThVqg3cY.

The story below appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 11th October 1930 on page 14.

Many changes over the years make finding the exact spot difficult (perhaps impossible). It must have been next to the Great Western Highway, between Jamison Creek and the Bowling Club.

"WENTWORTH FALLS, Friday.

The recently-named Wilson Park, Wentworth Falls, adjoins Jamieson Creek. It has been a public reserve for very many years, but was not gazetted as such for a considerable time. When the road over the Blue Mountains was constructed in Governor Macquarie’s time this site was used as a depot by the gangs at work on the road On previous occasions various relics of the past have been dug up here such as handcuffs and leg-irons

The men now carrying out improvements to the park have found several relics, including a warder's badge numbered 23, an old flint pistol, several percussion caps, and a military heel screw spur. They have also found a number of copper coins – pennies, half-pennies and farthings. The oldest coin was a big penny with a 1797 date. In addition they found an advertisement disc resembling a coin or medal bearing the slogan “Professor Holloway”, of ointment fame located in Sydney. Two pairs of scissors, a tablespoon a large padlock and a Jew's harp have been unearthed. A military button with an embossed crown was dug up and several bullets that had been cast in a rough mould."

NOTES. The 1797 penny referred to is the celebrated cartwheel penny, which must have remained in circulation until the 1860's. I have found one near our home in South Bowenfels, 40 or 50 km closer to Bathurst.

No Australian farthings were issued but UK specimens are not uncommon finds.

The Professor Holloway "disc" is what is called a "Token" in Australia. They circulated as pennies or halfpennies in times of coin shortages, during the gold rush years before being banned during the 1870's.

No doubt there would have been many black glass "ale" bottles found on the site as well.