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Road Trip To Berrima Villiage

By Anton Maverick


Berrima Village is part of the Southern Highlands area of New South Wales, which is only two hours drive from Sydney. With Campervan Hire Australia, driving through the region will provide a good look at all there is to see. The hamlet of Berrima is maybe most noted for it's gaol, which was convict built and occupied. It's really still being used today.

It was established in 1831 and designed as a common English town with a village green in the middle, public buildings around it, the roads sitting behind the general public buildings. The first buildings are typically preserved, providing a unique Australian colonial town with Georgian architecture. Local sandstone provided the building material for almost all of the buildings.

Berrima has always been a small, knackered village with the majority of it's past population resident in the gaol. While this isn't the case today, the population is still vey tiny. Even the train line, when it came in 1860's, bypassed Berrima, so that the predicted development did not happen. Mittagong to the north and Goulburn to the south became the regional service centres, leaving Berrima to stay a knackered small town. It was also bypassed by the autoroute in the 1990's.

As a result of not being developed as a service centre, Berrima has turned into a favoured tourist destination. With the historical buildings having been preserved and used, they are the norm instead of the exception. This has permitted Berrima to flourish as a prime traveller destination, kind of like a living testament to the past.

In past times, the 'carriage trade ' provided opportunities for hotels and hotels where visitors could rest and partake of food and drink. This remains the case today with cafeterias and holiday maker activities trading in the first buildings. It is very pleasant to stroll around the old buildings and definitely worth a 'stop and see ' visit as a good example of Australian heritage.




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