History

When Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813, they found the grazing land that the colony so desperately sought, in what is known as the Hartley Valley. Governor Macquarie named the fertile valley the Vale Of Clwydd after a valley in Wales.

The early settlers in the Hartley district faced more than just the enormous task of clearing the virgin bush. They were visited by marauding aborigines and escaped convicts. They faced the difficulties of not only housing their own families, but also their assigned convicts and this involved a constant supervision of the latter. The seasons were unpredictable and communication was extremely slow and arduous.

However, despite these problems, the small township of Hartley slowly grew. In 1852, according to a magistrate's annual return, the principal agricultural products of Hartley were potatoes, wheat and hay. There was a strong demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour and the return indicated that shoemakers, carpenters, wheelwrights, masons, shepherds, and farm labourers would have no difficulty in finding employment in Hartley.

Hartley was a stopping off place for many travellers along the Western Highway. Hotels and taverns were numerous in and around Hartley. Possibly the "Kerosene Hotel" built in 1857 was one of the best known. Its proprietor, Louis Meades, had seen clearly the possibilities of the shale industry in the valley and had placed his inn to take advantage of the passing travellers as well as the mine workers. The kerosene mines had been worked for some time before a plant for extracting the kerosene from the shale was established in 1866. Another kerosene works existed at that time in the Wollongong area near Mt. Keira.

The gold rush period brought abundant life to Hartley. Miners paused to refresh themselves on their weary trudge to the fields at Turon, Sofala, Wellington and Forbes, and Hartley became a well-known depot for the stages that worked the Western Line.

"Hartley"... was once a busy town, vibrating with the intense activity of blacksmiths, the constant rush of the mounted police, the clanging of the iron-gangs feverishly engaged in road construction, the merry din of inns, and finally eager coming and going of thousands of Europeans, Americans, and Asiatics, all intent on winning the golden treasures of the West.

Rise & fall of the apple industry in Hartley

Apples were grown in the Hartley district before the 1900's. Early in the 1900's it was discovered that the fruit grown here was of a particularly high quality - this quality resulting from the terrific soil and cold climate. The fruit quickly gained a reputation and several Hartley landowners decided to plant large numbers of trees.

Some of the larger orchards were Cripps 'Cranbrook' orchards, Pieres orchard 'Forty Bends' Bowenfells and George Pitts at Hartley Vale. Later came the Birds, Baaners, Harris, Facchina and Morris families. It is worthy of note that some of the Morris family were involved in the earlier orchard plantings. There were also many smaller orchards throughout the district.

In the 1920's a number of growers got together to form the Hartley District Fruit Growers Association. This group decided to show their produce at the Sydney Royal Show entering in the pyramid classes against other districts. They were very successful, many times winning their class and individual growers from Hartley also won major prizes with their entries.

On one occasion a case of Delicious Apples from Harry Bird's orchard won a major export prize. When Harry's produce arrived in England it was presented to the late King George V - this event in itself provided a major boost to the apple industry in Hartley and 'Hartley Apples' earned an enviable reputation overseas and with NSW householdes. England thereafter took many shipments of Hartley apples; the apples were also traded to Europe and Asia.

WWII caused disruption to the Hartley industry due primarily to the shortage of labour. Soon after, the Apple and Pear Board was formed and severe restrictions were imposed. These restrictions broke the hearts of many growers in the Hartley District and no more plantings took place. In fact, trees in many of the older orchards were simply pulled out. Over the following years fewer and fewer trees remained and flocks of sulphur crested cockatoos and other birds began to take their toll on the survivors. No commercial crops remain in Hartley today.