Badly damaged by fire in 2016, the Mittagong Maltings is no longer accessible by the public. We discovered this when we visited and found it surrounded by a security fence with “Danger Keep Out Signs”. Now dangerous inside and containing asbestos, the owners have wisely taken site security seriously.
Despite the damage, the owners intend to refurbish the buildings into a multi-use facility, which will be a great use of the historic buildings.
Originally built in 1899 and operated by Tooth and Co. from 1901, the Maltings operated until 1980.
This was a very quick stop, as there is not much to see apart from the burnt out ruins.
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Driving from Mittagong to the Mount Gibraltar Lookouts takes you past some spectacular houses, although if you’re driving you may not see much of them. This is because the road is narrow and windy, so you need to pay attention to the road.
At the top of the hill, one of the residences has an old cart outside, so we stopped to take a photo of it. Further around, Mittagong lookout provides views over the town. Parking is on the road and limited, so you may need to drive around until you can find a spot. From the road, a stone path leads to the lookout. Here, a sandstone shelter and viewing platform overlook the valley below.
Not far from the first lookout, Jellore overlooks more of the valley. Again, parking is at a premium. At the lookout trees have grown, blocking most of the view.
The final stop (or first if you came from Bowral) is the Bowral Lookout. By far the largest, with picnic tables, garbage bins and a toilet it is the easiest to get to.
We didn’t find any of the views to be particularly special, although if you are in Mittagong, it’s something you can do to fill in time. The lack of parking and narrow roads are also a significant issue.
Old cart on Oxley DriveWeather Shelter at Jellore LookoutView from Mount GibraltarMittagong From the LookoutView over Mittagong
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One of the Australian Capital Territories’ main tourist attractions, the National Dinosaur Museum explains evolution through the use of fossils and interactive displays. Animatronics and recreated landscapes bring the displays to life, adding a lot of fun to the museum.
Outside the museum, a dinosaur-themed playground keeps the kids entertained, a life size Triceratops greets you at the entrance.
Life Size Triceratops outside the National Dinosaur Museum
Laid out chronologically, the displays take you though the evolution of life. Starting with invertebrates, displays of trilobites and giant scorpions explain some of the earlier life forms. Many of the displays are casts (these are clearly marked), but some are original. Even so, there is a great range of them.
Invertebrates
TrilobiteGiant Scorpion
Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Reptiles
The main focus of the museum is dinosaurs, with this section being the largest. Life-size recreations of pterodactyls fly overhead as you go up the stairs. Displays of life size models and skeletons follow, including T-Rex and carnotaurus. Many of these are surrounded by dioramas, giving more context to the display, rather than simply sitting on a display stand.
The stegosaurus display includes a side-by-side comparison of the skeleton and recreated model. This is great because many museums show only one or the other and not both.
Following the dinosaurs, displays of mammals include a giant sloth, sabre tooth tiger and a mammoth skeleton. It was surprising to see how large the sloth was, having never seen one of these before.
Giant Sloth Mammoth and Geodes
Evolution of Mankind
The final fossil section traced the evolution of our own species from “Lucy” and homo habilis to the Neanderthals.
The final area of the museum contains amethyst geodes. These are huge, making a great display around the mammoth.
A gift shop sells all sorts of dinosaur related merchandise, including models, fridge magnets and books. Especially interesting, were the fossils and gemstones for sale.
So, if you have an interest in dinosaurs, or have kids, this is a great visit. As Australia does not have many dinosaur fossils of its own (most are in Queensland), many are casts, but they are still a great display.
Amethyst Geode
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.