Mount Victoria, New South Wales

Mount Victoria is a small township in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is the westernmost village in the City of Blue Mountains, located approximately 120 km via road from the Sydney central business district and is situated at an altitude of approximately 1052 m. The settlement has a population of 823 people as of the 2011 Census.

History
Mount Victoria is located on an escarpment plateau extension of Mount York, the site of a camp on the original Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson 1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains. The area was originally marked as One Tree Hill on an early map dating from 1834 by the Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Mitchell.

After the road across the Blue Mountains was constructed a toll bar was opened approximately 1 km east from the present township in 1849 and the area was also known as Broughton's Waterhole Toll Bar. Coaches were charged at the toll according to how well sprung they were, ones without springs were not charged as it was believed they would help crush the road surface.

After the railway station, marking the termination of the Main Western railway line, was opened in 1869 the town also became known as Mount Victoria. The town's name was officially changed after the first Post Office was built in 1876.

By the late 19th century, the town had become a prosperous settlement and many private schools, including The School, Mount Victoria, were founded in the area, which become somewhat of a hill station retreat for wealthy Sydney families.

Present day
Today, Mount Victoria is a small township with a large number of historic buildings and a few attractions including the Post Office, a Hall which is used as a cinema, the Imperial Hotel, the Toll Keepers Cottage and a museum at the railway station.

The town is the starting point for many bushwalks and features several lookouts over the Kanimbla Valley including the lookout from Mount Piddington.

The railway station, along with Lithgow, is the terminus for the Blue Mountains Line. The town is located at the junction of the Great Western Highway and the Darling Causeway to Bell. The Roads and Maritime Services is at present researching a major upgrade to the Great Western Highway with the view to bypass the township and the steep Victoria Pass down to Little Hartley to the west.