For Mount Victoria, May 1 1868 was the momentous day the railway officially arrived, the station named Mount Victoria, not One Tree Hill, and permanent jobs encouraged the growth of the town.
In 1823, Surveyor James McBrien called the area One Tree Hill. William Govett, Surveyor, on February 18, 1829 and Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General, in 1834 also referred to it by that name.
Mitchell, however, on June 23, 1830, named a hill on the western edge of the escarpment Mount Victoria after the young princess destined to become Queen. He also called his pass, opened in 1832 by Governor, Sir Richard Bourke, the Pass of Victoria.
Improved roads meant more traffic. The village acquired a Toll Bar at Broughton’s Waterhole, east of the settlement below the summit of One Tree Hill, in January, 1849.
In 1852, George Sheppeard became Toll Bar Keeper. Losing property across the road to the railways, he purchased land beside the Toll Bar, building the Welcome Inn. He operated it briefly in 1866-7, but was soon bankrupted, selling his lease. The Welcome Inn disappeared a few years later, a victim, like many inns along the Great Western Highway, of the railway.
One Tree Hill Post Office opened in Station Street on January 1, 1866 to service the village, the railway workers and the outlying residents. It was re-named Mt Victoria in 1876
The extension of the railway to the west brought more workers and official visitors to Mt Victoria.
Perry’s Hotel opened in 1867. It was a destination for a holiday, not a wayside inn. Perry’s was on the highway, east of the junction with Station Street. In that street, closer to the railway station, the Royal Hotel was built. Perry’s disappeared, probably through fire, in the 1890s but the Royal was demolished, reappearing as the Hotel Mt Victoria (now the Victoria and Albert) in 1914.
In the 1870s, a butcher shop, dairy, general store, blacksmiths and wheelwrights flourished.
The Manor House (later Cooper’s Grand Hotel) was constructed, for John Fairfax, in 1876 and the Imperial Hotel in 1878. By 1878, too, the school was permanently established in the stone building still standing today.
The growing village needed a new post office. This substantial building was officially opened by the Postmaster General, Joseph Cook, on April 2, 1897.
With the opening of the Grand Arch to vehicle traffic in 1896, Mt Victoria became a gateway to Jenolan Caves.
The stately edifices, an invigorating climate and wonderful scenery brought many tourists to Mt Victoria during its heyday.
Robyne Ridge is publicity officer for Blue Mountains Historical Society