Valley Heights, New South Wales

Valley Heights is a small township of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately 77 km (48 mi) from Sydney and is located east of the township of Springwood. At the 2006 census, Valley Heights had a population of 1,337 people.^[1]

Valley Heights developed its own piece of the ridgeline that has been the main route west from Sydney since colonial history, and has some strong evidence of a rich pre-colonial inhabitance. At an elevation of 300 to 320 meters (1,150–1,300 ft) above sea level, the climate has been considered very conducive to a huge range of plants. The native ecological communities are fairly typical of other Hawkesbury sandstone with shale transition forests, yet exhibit the local specificness we have come to expect in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Current development is restricted by council reserves and National Park

Valley Heights has a railway station, rail museum and the historic Gatekeepers cottage where the railway guard lived in the steam era.

Commercial area

Valley Heights' commercial area centres on and north of the Great Western Highway, comprising light industrial and hardware retail services.

Churches

• Valley Heights Community Church is part of Springwood Winmalee Anglican Churches^[2] and meets at Blue Mountains Grammar Valley Heights campus

Schools

• The Preparatory Campus of the Blue Mountains Grammar School was built in Valley Heights in 2003.
• Other primary and secondary schools are in nearby Springwood and Winmalee

Transport

Railway

Valley Heights has a railway station on the Blue Mountains line of the CityRail intercity network.

Valley Heights is the start of the steeply graded, 1 in 33 (3%) section to Katoomba. The gradient approaching Valley Heights from Sydney is 1 in 60 (1.67%). In older times, assistant engines were attached here to uphill trains, which explains the existence of the roundhouse, now the Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum.

Bus

The Blue Mountains Bus Company^[3] headquarters and depot are located in Valley Heights.

Tourist attractions

Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum is the home of the oldest remaining roundhouse in New South Wales, located 500 m from the eastern Springwood town boundary.

References