Appin - NSW

Appin, in the Wingecarribee LGA, is a historic village on the edge of Sydney's south-western suburban sprawl. Slowly, but inexorably, the southern suburbs of Sydney are reaching the outskirts of the historic town. Not so long ago a country village housing workers for the nearby collieries, Appin is rapidly being gentrified as suburban folk seek the country life and bring with them the trappings they at first wanted to leave behind.

There is some delightful bushwalking to be done around the upper reaches of the Georges River and in the nearby Dharawal SCA and National Parks. There are great picnic facilities at the nearby Cataract dam, built in 1907 and still servicing Sydney's water needs via a canal to Prospect Reservoir, northwest of the city.

Governor Macquarie named Appin in 1811 after a small coastal village in Argyleshire in the Scottish West Highlands where his wife, Elizabeth, was born. European settlers moved into the Appin area, and the area around Cowpastures (now Camden), from around 1798 and by 1814 there was serious competition for food and land between the local Dharawal (Tharawal) people and the settlers.

Inevitably, the indigenous people viewed the settlers as stealing their land and livelihood and in turn raided the settlers' livestock and produce. Escalating raids and retaliations from both sides prompted Governor Macquarie to send in the troops which culminated in the "Appin Massacre". More complete accounts can be found at https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/appin-nsw and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appin,_New_South_Wales.