Bong Bong Common*
| On the banks of the Wingecarribee River, not far from the bridge is the site of the initial European settlement in the Southern Highlands. Between 1821 and 1831 a single row of government buildings was erected providing housing for constables and soldiers, a lockup, a store, a school and a post office.
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Near the township there was a causeway where the Old Argyle Road crossed the river. Nearby were the cemetery and two cultivation enclosures.
This was a law-and-order and service centre for the community around. It related to Throsby Park, where a magistrate lived and to William Bowman’s Argyle Inn of 1826 on the hill near the present Briars Inn.
In 1831 Berrima developed and took over Bong Bong’s function by 1837. Only Bong Bong store survived into the 1850’s.
When the railway in turn bypassed Berrima in 1867 the road traffic between Bowral and Moss Vale increased and the road was realigned, cutting through the line of the 1820’s buildings.
There is obelisk on the eastern side of the road on the Bowral side of the bridge, which identifies the site of the Bong Bong Military Station and the first township reserve on the Southern Highlands. Surveyed in 1821.
An airstrip operated on Bong Bong Common and for many years it has been the home of the local model aircraft club.
Wingecarribee Shire Council purchased the land now known as Bong Bong Common in 1983 to ensure it was retained as a passive recreational area and the historical connection be retained.
The Common is approx 70 acres.
* Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council Information Boards on Bong Bong Common
CECIL HOSKINS NATURE RESERVE*
The Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens will be working closely with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW) to achieve and maintain a link with the Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve.
The link with the Nature Reserve not only brings together the Botanic Gardens being established on the Suttor Road Reserve and Bong Bong Common but recognises the important role Sir Cecil Hoskins played in the establishment of areas of passive recreation in the Wingecarribee Shire.
Sir Cecil Hoskins was widely known as a philanthropic industrialist and lived in the Southern Highlands for about 40 years.
He had a profound knowledge of plants (particularly trees and shrubs) and his advice was sought by many people.
His efforts were not restricted to his own properties as he had a keen interest in beautifying the area by creating public parks and gardens, such as Seymour Park in Moss Vale that he planned and developed.
He was instrumental in the establishment of the Remembrance Driveway Plantations at Berrima, Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale, along the old Hume Highway, and the establishment of a Fund, which still provides income for the ongoing maintenance of the Plantations.
The Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve was officially opened by Lady Hoskins in 1972 and continues under the management of National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW).
Not only is the Reserve a delightful, peaceful area to walk, relax or picnic, it is also of interest to ornithologists. Regular bird life includes the pink-eyed duck, wood ducks, white-faced herons and if lucky, platypus.
* Source: Wingecarribee Shire Council Information Boards on Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve