Berrima is a historic village full of charm and character, close to where I live in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, about 60 miles south of Sydney.
Berrima was the second settlement to be established in the area and it survives today as the last remaining, largely intact, Georgian-period village in mainland Australia.
Once occupied by the Dharawal First Nations people, the region around Berrima was first visited by Europeans during the late 1790s and was rediscovered in 1814. Berrima township was founded in May 1831 on a site chosen by Major Thomas Mitchell when he laid out a new line of road to link Sydney with Melbourne.
It was to be the main administrative centre south of Sydney, but over time it was bypassed by the main highway and a rail line. Because of this it has retained much of its original layout, its courthouse and jail (above) and several of its earliest houses. Today, Berrima is a village, sustained largely by tourism.
The Surveyor General Inn is one of Australia’s oldest licensed pubs, built by convicts in 1834.
The Southern Highlands experiences four distinct seasons with cold winters and warm summers. Spring is the perfect time to visit; the weather is mild and the region hosts a range of culinary and community events.
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