The second place that I chose to visit is not in Sydney but I decided that it would be a valuable experience to go out to the Blue Mountains and see the Three Sisters. Before doing some research about them I was unaware that there even was a history to this area. This is something that the travel books forget to mention so once I discovered this I decided that this would be a great place to visit.
Before talking about the famous Three Sisters, I think that a bit of background information on the Blue Mountains area is necessary so that when it comes to the Sisters there will be a better understanding of why they have remained such a vital part of the Blue Mountains. History tells us that the Aboriginal people who have been living off the land have inhabited this area since the beginning; this is visible in certain areas of the area and actually helps to provide a strong connection with the past. Aboriginal history is a strong part of the tale of the Three Sisters and will come up again later on in this post.
With the colonization of Australia, in particular Sydney occurring in 1788 and spreading rapidly in the years to come, the colonizers realized that they would need to branch out beyond the Sydney limits in order to have enough space for the people arriving on ships. This is when the idea of trying to move out into the Blue Mountain area came into play. However due to the region being bush like it was extremely difficult for the original British settlers to make headway in inhabiting the land. After years of trying to figure out a way to settle this land, it wasn’t until 1814 that after six months of hard labor that a road was built in the region. This 160-kilometer road opened up the area for settlers and was to be know as Cox’s Western Road. However, just because there was now a road to this area other problems still existed and needed to be solved. Due to the treacherous area alternative routes to places needed to be established and this was done in the early 1830’s. Just two decades later the a railroad was put into action, this was motivated by the fact that there had been a gold rush in the area and there was a need to have a method of transportation that would get miners to the region faster. With the emergence of a railway it allowed for the Blue Mountains area to be easily accessible from Sydney and was beginning to develop into a small metropolitan area of its own.
With the Blue Mountains being the new up and coming area outside of Sydney it also became an escape location for those of the upper class along with others who were trying to get away from the filth and disease that was now taking over Sydney. The wealthy built their country homes in this area, and even those who were not as well off made the move to the region. Along with being able to escape the city lifestyle and disease, the Blue Mountains were also a place of tourism, which still continues today. People would come from all over to be able to see the spectacular views, and especially the famed Three Sisters in Katoomba. In 1959 the government of Australia decided that the Blue Mountains should be entitled to national park status, and has remained one ever sense.
Inside the National Park there is an area known as Katoomba, which is where, the internationally known Three Sisters are located. I knew of them before coming to Australia, however I was not aware of the stories behind them and how they received their name from an Aboriginal tale. There are two versions of the story that have been told about the Three Sisters. The first is that there were three sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo who were members of the Katoomba tribe and had fallen in love with three brothers from a rival tribe, Napean. Due to this forbidden love a battle ensued and in order to protect the sisters a witch doctor from the Katoomba tribe placed a spell on the sisters turning them into stone, which he would reverse once the battle ended. Unfortunately the witch doctor died in the battle and was the only one able to reverse the spell, thus leaving the three sisters in their rock formation, which is what many tourists travel to see today. The alternative version to this tale is that the three sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo went with their father, a witchdoctor, to collect food for the family. However at one point in the voyage he leaves his daughters waiting on a cliff because it becomes too dangerous for the girls to continue with their father. While waiting for their father Meehni was frightened by a centipede and threw a rock at it which continued deep down into the hole on the side of the cliff, by doing this she angered the Bunyip that lived at the bottom of the hole. Everyone knew of the Bunyip and feared him greatly. Filled with anger Bunyip decided to make the rocks behind the girls start to crumble leaving them hanging on for dear life, their father saw this happening and turned them into stone to protect them. By doing this he only angered Bunyip who than began to chase the girls father who turned himself into a Lyre Bird. While flying to stay out of harms way he dropped his magic bone, which allowed him to change the girls back. Eventually when safe he returned to look for the bone but it was nowhere to be found. Since he no longer possessed his magic bone he could not reverse the spell he placed on his daughters or himself and they remained in rock form and him in Lyre Bird form. It is said that if one listens carefully that you can hear the sounds of the Lyre Bird looking for his magic bone so that he can return the sisters to their human form.
These two Aboriginal legends are a great way to learn about the past and how strong of a presence their stories still have today. Without having researched a bit about the history of the Blue Mountains I would have never known about these two legends. This day trip was filled with embracing nature and experiencing a bit of a bush walk as we walked the trails around the Three Sisters. I would strongly recommend a visit to the Blue Mountains to anyone if not to see the Three Sisters and understand their link with Aboriginal culture but then to just take in the gorgeous views that the area gives you.
All information was gathered from http://www.bluemts.com.au/tourist/thingstodo/threesisters/ and http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHistory.aspx?id=N0004
Pictures were taken by myself on October 23, 2011.
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