The Fitzroy Iron Works, commencing in 1848 at Nattai (now Mittagong), has been widely acknowledged as the birthplace of Australian Iron and Steel, although the industry subsequently developed elsewhere.
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In October 1948, to mark its centenary, Mittagong Chamber of Commerce organised an 'Iron Week' that included a grand ball, reception for the NSW Governor, gala street carnival and sporting events.
The high point was the unveiling by BHP management of a memorial cairn erected by the Royal Australian Historical Society at Ironmines Oval, situated where the Iron Work's blast furnace engine-room had been located.
Near the cairn was erected a sign stating "site of the first blast furnace in Australia, first operated in 1849".
At the time it had been largely forgotten that an earlier site had existed nearby from 1848, archaeological remains of which were exposed during excavations in the early 2000s for the Highlands Marketplace.
Research by local historians confirmed that this blast furnace was not 'blown in' until July 1864 and the date now appears on the sign.
Not functioning to expectations, the furnace was rebuilt in 1865 but still failed to produce significant tonnage.
It was shut down in 1877 and demolished in 1922.
The Iron Week centenary celebrations in 1948 were a great success.
An official brochure was produced which included a comprehensive history, as then known, of the Iron Works and of Mittagong town.
The history was compiled by the Rev C S Howard and Mr A V 'Jack' Parry, appointed honorary historians by the Iron Week committee.
From the chapter "How the Mittagong township came into being" is drawn the following, partly rewritten to reflect more recent knowledge.
The first settler in the Mittagong district was William Charker.
In May 1821 he obtained a permit to graze cattle on the Mittagong Range, and early in 1823 was granted 200 acres on the eastern side of the recently built Argyle Rd.
A new road constructed through to Berrima in the early 1830s, being more to the west and through where Mittagong would develop, by-passed the few settlers round the old Argyle Rd.
Two inns were built to cater for the coaching traffic.
Various origins of the name have been put forward, ranging from the story of the German who once stayed at the local inn and asked to be woken next morning "mit a gong" to Aboriginal translations, being either "plenty of native dogs" or "little mountain".
One of these, the Fitzroy Inn (Oaklands guest house in the 1940s) was a stopping place for coaches taking prisoners to Berrima Gaol.
The cell where they were kept during the halt can still be seen. Part of the area was subdivided and offered for sale as the town of Gainsborough in 1841.
It failed.
The following year, a portion of where Mittagong now stands was offered for sale, but even a new name - Livingstone - brought no success.
It was not until the 1850s, with iron smelting well underway, that population and development came to the area.
With railways being built out of Sydney, the Fitzroy Works supplied iron rails and in 1863 the Government contracted for the supply of 50 tons a week for eight months, and thereafter 120 tons a week.
The English foundrymen and iron workers who had been brought out to supply the skilled labour came mainly from Sheffield.
In 1865 the Iron Works Company laid out a settlement east of the works, named New Sheffield, sold lots and dedicated a plot for a Wesleyan church.
The modern town is a result of the growth and union of Nattai, the area's second oldest township (situated between the present Lyell and Pioneer Sts), the New Sheffield settlement near the Iron Mines, and a later subdivision around the station.
The merger of these settlements was a gradual process. When opened in February 1867, the station was named 'Mittagong'.
Various origins of the name have been put forward, ranging from the story of the German who once stayed at the local inn and asked to be woken next morning "mit a gong" to Aboriginal translations, being either "plenty of native dogs" or "little mountain".
Between 1871 and 1881, the populations of Mittagong, Moss Vale and Bowral jumped from 558 to 1,433, Mittagong's increase being from 291 to 500.
In 1884 the name Mittagong was used to describe the area for a substantial land sale of 129 lots covering some 140 acres near the station.
The seal was put on Mittagong's progress when it was proclaimed a municipality on 24 July 1889. An early history of Moss Vale by Jack Parry will begin in the next article.
Berrima District Historical & Family History Society - compiled by PD Morton
