Robertson, New South Wales

Robertson is a village in the Southern Highlands district of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the edge of an elevated plateau (the Illawarra escarpment) about 35 km from the coast. Robertson is known for its high annual rainfall and fertile soil. It was previously covered by an extensive temperate rainforest, most of which has been cleared for farming though remnants still exist today. The town was once famous for it's cheese production. These days, an old cheese factory exists in the town, but has now converted into a row of shops. Robertson is now more widely known for potato growing and is the home of the beautified "Big Potato".

Robertson is also where the movie "Babe" was made.

Robertson is named after former Premier of New South Wales, Sir John Robertson, whose 1861 Land Act cleared the way for the establishment of the townFact|date=May 2007. Before then it was called "Yarrawa Bush".

Population: 1901 (Census 2006)

Events

In February or March, the Robertson Show is on, featuring the "The Great Australian Potato Race".

In Spring, Robertson has their own spring festival, having opened to the public, the open picturesque gardens.

Accommodation

Robertson is home to the famous hotel "Fountaindale Grand Manor" a popular hotel, wedding and conference centre.

[http://www.fountaindale.com.au/ Fountaindale Grand Manor] . , originally built in 1924 and opened as Hotel Robertson, hashad an interesting history. The Hotel boasted a nine hole golf course, two tenniscourts, croquet, lawn bowls, billiards, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, and anonsite mechanic who looked after guest’s cars during their stay. The hotel won the“Most luxurious hotel in the Commonwealth” award in 1925, and was the first hotel inAustralia to have phone lines to every room.

The Hotel was built to draw some of the Sydneysiders, who retreated to the coolSouthern Highlands to escape the heat of a Sydney summer and enjoy the beauty ofthe countryside. The Hotel was a success and the developer went on to subdivide anddevelop the local area. This unfortunately was not a success.In 1930 the hotel was sold and marketed as an exclusive country club and renamedRanelagh Country Club after Ranelagh Gardens in London. However, the GreatDepression made those plans short lived.

In the build up to World War II the hotel became a WRAAF base, serving as a signalsbase and a training area for budding pilots. After World War II, the hotel was used asa hospice for returned pilots. When the bar was renovated recently in 2008, there wasstill hospital linoleum laid on the floorboards, which was not a fun job to remove!The building sold again in 1947 and became, St Anthony's College, a Franciscan friaryand seminary, during this period the hotel was also used as a school andaccommodation house run by the monks. It was during this period that the beautifulstained glass windows, rock walls and fountains were built. These are still in thebuilding and around the gardens and grounds.

The Hotel had its own railway platform on the Moss Vale - Unanderra line, which isstill used today. On Sundays the Cockatoo Run (3801) Tourist train stops to conveypassengers to the Hotel for Sunday lunch.

In 1972 the Monks moved to smaller premises in Campbelltown and the Grand OldBuilding returned to her intended use as a hotel, named Ranelagh House to match theHR overlaid monograms from the original Hotel Robertson Days, whilst retaining a partof the Ranelagh Country Club Heritage.

The Hotel sold again in late 2007, and was renamed Fountaindale Grand Manor andRanelagh Gardens, the hotels is undergoing major renovations and refurbishments.

A liquor license is back in place for the first time after being sold off in 1927 with the discovering hidden gems all throughout this magnificent structure. [http://www.fountaindale.com.au/ Fountaindale Grand Manor] .

Illawarra Fly

In 15 March 2008, the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk opened to the public. It is similar to the [http://www.otwayfly.com/ Otway Fly] , in Victoria. It is perched on the Illawarra escarpment at Knights Hill, located east of Robertson. The tree top walk is joined up with a observation outdoor tower that will allow visitors to see spectacular views of Wollongong. It is expected at approximately 200,000 visitors every year [http://www.illawarrafly.com/ Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk web] .

Transport

Robertson is served by a railway station on the Unanderra Moss Vale railway line. The railway line is mainly used for freight. Occasionally, a tourist train travels from Sydney to Moss Vale and return (via Wollongong), but is not used in passenger service.

CountryLink buses travel along the Illawarra Highway, a few times a day that have replaced passenger trains, linking from the Southern Highlands to Wollongong.

External links

* [http://www.robertsonnsw.com.au/ Robertson NSW]