Kurrajong and Comleroy Road
-- A Brief History
The picturesque Kurrajong and Comleroy Road settlements nestle in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the Hawkesbury area of NSW.

After two massive floods wiped wheat crops on the flood plains of the Hawkesbury River in 1809, causing widespread food shortages, interest turned to growing wheat and milling flour in the flood free foothills of the Blue Mountains near today's Kurrajong. So in its earliest days, wheat crops covered the rolling hills of the Kurrajong area.

Two water mills were built by Benjamin Singleton to grind flour as early as 1811 at Little Wheeny Creek on Mill Road, and a Grain Road (now called Kurmond Road) was established to take the flour to the Government Store at Wilberforce.

Then in 1821, Benjamin Singleton began to take mobs of cattle from the Hawkesbury area to the Hunter Valley on agistment. He used the newly explored Comleroy Road (partly following the route of today's Putty Road).

A settlement sprang up along the southern part of this historic Comleroy Road in the Kurrajong district. This was the oldest settlement in the Kurrajong area, predating Kurrajong village itself by decades. The name of this historic settlement was 'Comleroy Road'.

Comleroy Road settlement had a convict camp and police station near the Comleroy Road / Bells Line of Road intersection. It later had a post office, school, hall, churches, guesthouses, a race track and a cricket team.
Kurrajong later became a major orchard area and a railway line for the Pansy steam train was built from Richmond to Kurrajong in 1926 to transport the fruit. Many large family homes in Kurrajong and Comleroy Road were converted into guesthouses to service the flood of tourist visitors brought by the Pansy steam train. However, the increasing dominance of road transport and a landslide led to the closure of the railway line in 1952.

Kurrajong and Comleroy Road today are scenic rural areas with great historic interest and a growing tourist industry. The enthusiastic Kurrajong-Comleroy Historical Society is delving into the history of the area. The Tourist Railway Association Kurrajong (TRAK) is working hard to bring the Pansy steam train back to Kurrajong as a tourist venture. And the annual Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival brings huge crowds of onlookers into Kurrajong to enjoy the fun and festivities.
© 2005. comleroyroad.com . All Rights Reserved. A site on the history of Kurrajong and Comleroy Road.