Where:

New South Wales, Australia

Last Visited:

regular trips 1998 - Rob and Clare

What:

Helensburgh is located approximately half way between Sydney and Wollongong, at the southern end of the Royal National Park. It is Located 34 km north of Wollongong City

Highlights:

• bush walking: there are many tracks in the nearby Royal National Park
• Symbio Animal Gardens: see free-roaming wombats, kangaroos and lots of other animals

Eating, Drinking, and Sleeping:

• the township has the usual selection of food shops, from a large supermarket to take-away places.
• drinking options are the club and the Centennial Hotel among others.

Other things you should know about:

• To get there, it is an easy 1 hr country-link train from Sydney, or drive along the southern freeway to Helensburgh.
• Helensburgh was originally called Camp Creek. It started out as a workers' camp established in the 1880s, to accommodate coal miners who came to the area to work the coal mine, which still operates today.
• The town is known to many locals as simply "the burgh" (pronounced "berg")

local history:

A monument in the local park has the following inscription:

"This memorial was unvieled on the occasion of the centenary of Helensburgh on 7th October 1984, having been moved from St. Augustine's churchyard Bulli, where it was erected in August 1889. Mr Charles Harper searched for and found coal at Camp Creek in 1883 and was instrumental in naming the settlement "Helensburgh". The park was named in his honour on the same day."

More information:

• see photos of around Helensburgh
• nearby sea-side town of Stanwell Park

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