At the Berrima District Historical Society's meeting on Thursday, February 27, Philip Morton will present an early history of Meryla Pass and the parish of Meryla. Philip is part of the volunteer team that run the Society's Research Centre/Archives at Mittagong, and he writes the local history articles published each Monday in the Southern Highland News.
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The first documented use of the name Meryla dates back to surveyor Robert Hoddle's 1831 map of Kangaroo Valley, on which it is applied to a mountain and a creek, and from the 1860s the name appears on maps as a district parish and on the Great Southern Railway as a railway siding (later Werai).
Today's Wingecarribee Shire localities of Manchester Square and Werai were once part of Meryla parish, which also included the rugged area southward to Sandy Creek and into Meryla Valley. The valley was accessed from the Wingecarribee district via Meryla Pass, shown by Aboriginal guides in 1818 to Dr Charles Throsby's exploration party as a way down to the coast.
In the 1970s two prominent local women, Rachel Roxburgh and Janet Cosh, took a great interest in Meryla's history. Philip will outline their findings and illustrate this fascinating local history with photos and maps.
All are welcome to attend the meeting, to be held at 2pm, upstairs at the BDHS Mittagong Research Centre, Old Council Chambers Building, Bowral Road, Mittagong, with afternoon tea provided.
Enquiries: bdhsarchives@gmail.com or phone 4872 2169