Menangle, New South Wales

Menangle (-34.11667°N, 150.73333°W) is a village in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia.

Location
Menangle is part of the Wollondilly Shire. At the 2006 census, Menangle had a population of 327 people.

History
The town's name is derived from an aboriginal word for 'a place of swamps and lagoons'.

In 1806, Walter Davidson named his land grant in this district "Manangle". This property was later incorporated into the larger Macarthur Estate and the village grew to service the operations of Camden Park Estate.

The opening of the railway in 1863 enabled overnight milk deliveries to the Sydney Market. The railway bridge over the Nepean River is one of the oldest in use in New South Wales today. In 2003, the Viaduct underwent an intensive investigation after a report that it was in danger of collapse.

In connection with the construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge, a tramway was constructed between the railway station and a sand-mining area on the banks of the Nepean River ; however, this tramway is not currently in service.

The Village Today


The village is serviced by the Menangle railway station which is on Cityrail's Southern Highlands line.

Menangle has several heritage-listed buildings. These include Camden House, The Menangle Store, the Rotolactor, Gilbulla, The Pines, Menangle railway station, and the Menangle Railway Viaduct.

Menangle has two churches, St James Anglican and St Patrick's Catholic Church. Both churches are Heritage Listed. St Patrick's is 'a typical example of a "Simplified Gothic Revival" country church of its time.' St James (1876–1896) 'has historical significance through its links with the Macarthur-Onslow family of "Camden Park" and "Gilbulla", and its associations with two leading architects, John Horbury Hunt and Sir John Sulman.'

The primary school has been closed for more than twenty years and is awaiting restoration.

The village's population was expanded in the 1990s with the release of Camden Park Land to Westcoast developers. A Development Control plan was created to manage the heritage of the village. Until this time, water was pumped from the Nepean River, however, in 1992 the developers provided a new water supply.