Couridjah, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Couridjah is a locality in the Macarthur Region
of New South Wales
, Australia
, in Wollondilly Shire. It was previously known officially as Village of Couridjah. At the 2006 census
, Couridjah had a population of 456 people.
The name 'Couridjah' has been variously reported to mean, in a local Aboriginal language, anything from 'The Place of the White Ants' to 'The Home of the Medicine Man'.
Couridjah was formerly a station on the Main Southern Railway. At the time of the line's construction, it was known as 'Jones's Hut'. That line was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades, and the original line became the Picton-Mittagong Loop line. Thirlmere Lakes, to the west of the station, supplied water to the standpipes at Couridjah for replenishing steam locomotives, after their long haul up the steep grade from Picton. The lakes were formerly known as the 'Coridja Lagoons' and 'Picton Lagoons'. The sandstone pump-house is still in existence adjacent to the Lakes. The standpipes, too, remain near the station, but have been disused since 1964.
, though none of the Heritage trains which still use sections of the Picton Loop line stops there.
The station and platform were featured in a television advertisement for "Minties" lollies.
The main premises of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council
are located at Couridjah. It is also the location of Picton Lakes Village, a settlement established in 1925 for sufferers of tuberculosis
.
Couridjah has no shop, post office, or any other public building, nor any main street. It is chiefly a semi-rural residential area, among which are some small orchards and poultry farms.
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...
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 Wollondilly Shire. It was previously known officially as Village of Couridjah. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Couridjah had a population of 456 people.
History
The name 'Couridjah' has been variously reported to mean, in a local Aboriginal language, anything from 'The Place of the White Ants' to 'The Home of the Medicine Man'.
Couridjah was formerly a station on the Main Southern Railway. At the time of the line's construction, it was known as 'Jones's Hut'. That line was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades, and the original line became the Picton-Mittagong Loop line. Thirlmere Lakes, to the west of the station, supplied water to the standpipes at Couridjah for replenishing steam locomotives, after their long haul up the steep grade from Picton. The lakes were formerly known as the 'Coridja Lagoons' and 'Picton Lagoons'. The sandstone pump-house is still in existence adjacent to the Lakes. The standpipes, too, remain near the station, but have been disused since 1964.
Couridjah Today
The platform and the small waiting room have been restored and are maintained by volunteers from the Rail Museum at ThirlmereNew South Wales Rail Transport Museum
The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum located in Thirlmere, New South Wales south-west of Sydney, is a museum dedicated to displaying former locomotives, carriages and goods wagons from the New South Wales Government Railways as well as private operations in NSW. The collection features steam,...
, though none of the Heritage trains which still use sections of the Picton Loop line stops there.
The station and platform were featured in a television advertisement for "Minties" lollies.
The main premises of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council
Land council
Land councils, also known as land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations organised by region that represent the Indigenous Australians who occupied that region before the arrival of European settlers...
are located at Couridjah. It is also the location of Picton Lakes Village, a settlement established in 1925 for sufferers of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Couridjah has no shop, post office, or any other public building, nor any main street. It is chiefly a semi-rural residential area, among which are some small orchards and poultry farms.