Appin, New South Wales

Appin is a town on the south-west fringe of

History

Early history

Appin is in the lands of the

"During the Dreaming a great fire swept through the land. Wiritjiribin led the people to sanctuary in a cool green gully which had been missed by the fire, under the rocky cliffs of a gorge south of Appin. Those who had perished in the fire were reincarnated as animals and Wiritjiribin appeared as a lyrebird, which became the clan's totem, a symbol of peace and caretaker of the Land of Gawaigl, an area which became a meeting place for Peoples from all over the east coast of Australia"^[2]

European settlement in the Appin district was prohibited for some years; Appin was part of the 'Cowpastures' where a small herd of cattle had established themselves, having escaped from the Sydney Cove settlement. To protect these and help feed the colony, Governor Macquarie ordered 'No person to hunt or travel into the Cowpastures without licence under penalty of death'.^[3][4]

Naturalist George Caley had visited the area in 1807 exploring 'from Prospect to the upper waters of George's River and the Cataract and Cordeaux Rivers' and reporting his findings.^[5] Settlement began in 1811 with a 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) land grant by Governor Macquarie to William Broughton, who had arrived with the First Fleet.^{[n. 1]} For the next five years, smaller grants of 40 to 150 acres (0.61 km²) were made to a score or so of others, former soldiers and emancipated convicts. Governor Macquarie was pleased to give 'The District of Appin' its name, after Appin, in the Scottish West Highlands where his wife, Elizabeth, was born.^[6]

Mrs. Allan McPherson, visiting circa 1856, wrote:

"The next morning was fine and bright, and with somewhat better spirits we set out again, but the roads were heavy, and our progress consequently not very rapid, so that it was one or two o'clock before we reached "Appin," a small village, the last resting place on the Sydney side of Mount Keera. As it was too late to attempt crossing the mountain--at all times a formidable undertaking--that evening, we were obliged to make up our minds to stay here. We were not by this time very difficult to please in the way of accommodation, but it seemed doubtful if we should meet with any in this out-of-the-way little place. At last the landlord of a little inn took compassion on us, and let us in, though giving us to understand it was quite as a favour, for he was giving up his business that week, and his house was in a great state of confusion. I afterwards learnt we owed the accommodation, such as it was, to the compassion of the landlord's wife, who chose to weave a little romance about us to the effect that we were a newly married couple, and who was not a little disappointed when I informed her I had been married several years, and had three children! I must be excused if my recollections of Appin are not very favourable, for at this half-dismantled little inn we were detained three days by incessant torrents of rain, such as I had hardly ever witnessed before, even in the colony. What to do with ourselves we really hardly knew. We had neither writing nor drawing materials, nor were they procurable…"^[7]

The Appin Massacre

From 1815, European colonisation expanded out from the Sydney region at a greater pace. To the south-west, the ongoing

Wallis' group of 37 grenadiers and officers scoured the area around Appin and Minto and were soon informed that a group of Aboriginal people were camping near the Cataract River. In the early morning of 17 April, Wallis led a surprise attack on this camp with "smart firing" resulting in the deaths of at least fourteen Aboriginal people from both gunshot wounds or from falling off the rocky cliffs around the river while fleeing. Most of the dead were old men, women and children. Wanted men, Cannabaygal and Dunnell were also killed with Cannabaygal being shot five times. Wallis took two surviving women and three children prisoner and, following the orders of Governor Macquarie, hung the corpses of Cannabaygal and Dunnell from trees on a hill near Appin to "strike the survivors with greater terror." Cannabaygal's skull was later collected and sent to the University of Edinburgh where it featured in a book on phrenology by Sir George Mackenzie.^[8][9]

Wallis and his detachment returned to Sydney on 4 May where Governor Macquarie praised Wallis for acting "perfectly in conformity to the instructions I had furnished them." Wallis was rewarded with fifteen gallons of rum and was appointed as commandant and magistrate of the penal colony at Newcastle.^[8]

Appin mine disaster

Occurred approximately 600 metres underground at the Appin coal mine on the night of 24 July 1979, killing 14 people. An explosion that was caused by sparks from a fan control box which ignited a buildup of flammable and poisonous methane gas ripped apart the busiest pit. A subsequent judicial inquiry led to the imposition of stricter safety rules for all mines. It was recommended that automatic devices be installed in mines to give continuous reading of gases, that a special officer supervise ventilation, and that the number of mine inspectors be increased.

Heritage listings

Appin has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Cataract Road, Cataract: Cataract Dam^[10]
• Wilton Road: Windmill Hill, Appin^[11]