I went to visit the historical town of Camden on the weekend. Camden is 65 kilometres south west of Sydney. The land originally belonged to the Gandangara Indigenous people.
Explorers first visited the area in 1795 and named it Cowpastures, after a herd of cattle that had earlier disappeared were discovered there. In February 1805 Governor King took over 5000 acres and named his property Camden Park.
As Macarthur’s wool industry thrived, local citizens began pushing for the establishment of a town.
Camden has many old homes and buildings to admire. There are actually three heritage listings in Camden: Camden Post Office, Macquarie Grove and Nant Gwylan and garden.
If you visit Camden you need to see:
- Macarthur Park
- Camden Museum
- Onslow Oval
- Belgenny Reserve
- Rotary Cowpasture Reserve
- Kings Bush Reserve.
Check out https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/visit-camden/explore for all the places to visit.
On the weekend there was the lighting of the town Christmas Tree and The Jacaranda Fair.
The streets were closed off and there were market and food stalls along the main street. There were also performances, rides and games for the kids, as well as a car show on the Sunday.
Camden has some great antique shops and a Lifeline Shop well worth checking out. I have to say, this Lifeline shop is one of my favourites and you can always find so many rare vintage and retro items at fantastic prices. I’ve been four times and I have always found some great rare finds!
Here are some of my purchases that I made.
I even found a Brownie Downing plate so I had to purchase it.
Part of the festival was to celebrate the stunning purple haze in Camden… the beautiful Jacaranda Trees that are along the streets.
A Jacaranda is a flowering plant native to Mexico, South America, Central America, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Bahamas. In Australia they are in full bloom in mid November. They have a stunning purple bloom.
Camden is full of Jacaranda Trees! One story credits the town’s purple haze of trees to the Matron of Camden Hospital, who in the 1950s to ’60s would send each newborn home with a Jacaranda seedling. Isn’t that a wonderful historical story. I just love it!
Jacaranda trees are one of my favourites trees. I just love their bright purple colouring.
Have you ever visited Camden? Let me know what you thought of it. I would love to hear! I just love it! If you haven’t visited Camden then I would recommend that you do as it is a quiet vintage country town, not too far from Sydney.
Back soon……
Ridiculously Retro 