Capertee, New South Wales

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Capertee New South Wales
LGA:	City of Lithgow
State District:	Bathurst
Federal Division:	Calare

Capertee is a village 20km north of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia located on an elevated site (800 metres) above the Capertee valley. Situated on the Castlereagh Highway between Lithgow to Mudgee, Capertee is surrounded by National Parks, grazing land and coal mining. The Capertee Valley forms a part of the catchment area of the Hawkesbury River.

The town dates from the time of the establishment of the railway station in 1882. The station and several other extant buildings date from this period. Capertee has a public school, police station, public house (Royal Hotel) and a combined garage/shop/post office. Being an isolated community there is poor mobile coverage in the area. There is a community paper (published monthly) known as the Capertee Chronicle.

Capertee is located in an area of great natural beauty and is popular with landscape painters, photographers and walkers. Bird watchers are attracted by the diverse birdlife in the area. One 'destination' bird is the rare Regent Honeyeater (Xanthomyza phrygia). Pearson's Lookout located 2km south of the town offers panoramic views of Capertee valley.

Capertee was a temporary terminus of a railway branch line from Wallerawang on the Main Western railway line. When the line was extended to Mudgee, there was no flat ground on which to build a crossing loop, so Capertee ended up with an unusual dead-end crossing siding instead. The line still operates although the railway station is closed.