Bell, New South Wales
Bell is a small rural/residential village in the Blue Mountains with an elevation of approximately 1100 metres above sea level. Bell is approximately 125 km west of Sydney, Australia by road or 137 km by rail, some 20 km east of Lithgow and 10 km north of Mount Victoria. It is a locality on the junction of the Bells Line of Road, and the Darling Causeway. Bell is in the north-west corner of the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains.
[edit] Description and History
Bell is named after Archibald Bell, Jr., who found a new route over the Blue Mountains via Richmond.[1] This crossing had been partly explored by George Caley, who went as far as Mt Banks in 1804, but Bell was the first to go the whole way from the Richmond area to the Bell area. Bells Line of Road was later established along his route.
Bell is on the main NSW Western railway line. There is a railway station, built in 1875, which was originally built to service the village of Mount Wilson, which is some 14 kilometres away from the station. Bell Railway Station was originally named Mount Wilson Railway Station. Bell railway station is the highest elevation station on the CityRail network at 1060 metres (3475 feet) above sea level.
The area has a small number of properties with an average size of approximately 4 Hectares (10 Acres), and in surrounding areas are various walking tracks, (some in the National park and some on private property) which give views of the Hartley Valley, Wollangambe Wilderness and surrounding areas. Bell is entirely surrounded by native bush, most of which is part of the Blue Mountains National Park. This section of the park is dominated by the Wollangambe River, which begins north of Bell and flows to the Colo River. The area is rugged, stony country with few tracks. A walking trail from Bell gives access to the Wollangambe River and is used as a starting point by experienced bushwalkers venturing into the Wollangambe Wilderness.
Bell enjoys a cool mountain climate, with snow falls occurring most years. Bell's average winter (July) minimum temperature is 2.3 °C with an average maximum of 9.3 °C. In summer, Bell enjoys considerably cooler temperatures than the nearby Sydney basin, with an average maximum of 23.7 °C in January. Hot westerly winds can cause the temperature to occasionally rise to the mid 30s.
As Bell's Line of Road is the only alternative route to the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains, Bell is the site of an RTA Heavy Vehicle Checking Station.
The population of the village is less than 100.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "Bell". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=anjtvqUl. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°30′50″S 150°16′44″E / 33.514°S 150.279°E
|
||||||||
