A Profile of Lithgow

Location	Sport & Recreation	Population	Climate	Education
Tourism	Residential	Retail	Economic Base	Medical

Location: The City of Lithgow has a geographical area of 3,500 square kilometres located on the western escarpment of the Blue Mountains and is between 900 and 1000 meters above sea level, 140 kilometres from Sydney. Click here to see Lithgow's location. The major urban centre of Lithgow nestles in a valley of that name, overlooked by the western ramparts of the Blue Mountains. Until recently, Lithgow was perceived to be an inland mining and industrial centre, however, recent developments have seen Lithgow recognised as an important heritage centre and is now viewed as a desirable residential area. Its green hills and mountain scenery have been described as 'Sound of Music' country.

Tourism: Two thirds of the City is given over to national parks, making Lithgow an important leisure destination for Sydney residents. Lithgow has unlimited opportunities for outdoor activities such as bushwalking. mountaineering, camping, orienteering, hang gliding, horse riding, off road 4WD, swimming, fishing, sailing and similar. For further information contact Lithgow Visitors Centre or explore the Lithgow Tourism Information web site. There are a variety of places to stay, with motels, hotels, cottages & cabins, caravan and camping parks, bed & breakfast and multi share accommodation . There are also 2 major holiday retreats planned for the foreshores of Lake Lyell.

Sport & Recreation: Lithgow is renowned for its sports orientated community. Many facilities are available for: golf, football, soccer, rugby union, baseball, hockey, cricket, swimming, fishing, skiing, speed boat and hydroplane racing, sailing, basketball, netball, squash, go-kart racing, pony club, trotting, grey hound racing, mountain cycling, motor cross, speedway racing, crochet, wood chopping, tennis, annual fun runs, little athletics, boxing, martial arts and gymnasiums and much more. The Greater Lithgow Calendar of Events available from the Lithgow Visitors Centre has details on many sporting events thoughout the region.

Residential: In addition to the major urban centre of Lithgow the City of Greater Lithgow has 12 villages with mining or farming backgrounds. These smaller centres have proven to be attractive rural residential areas for people seeing to escape from the pressures of metropolitan Sydney. The influx of new residents has meant a profound change of lifestyle of Lithgow, with new ideas and a fresh outlook bringing changes to what was regarded as purely a 'mining town'. There are number of attractive rural residential estates at Marrangaroo, Hartley, Hampton, Wallerawang and Portland. Attractive new urban residential estates are scattered though out Lithgow and Wallerawang. Population: Lithgow's population of 21,000 has been stable for a number of years but is expected to grow as Sydney expands westward. Retail: Lithgow has two major shopping centres (Main Street and Valley Complex), with most villages having some retail outlets. Climate: Lithgow has a cool temperate mountain climate with temperatures of 25 degrees c and winter temperatures of 12 degrees c. The annual rainfall is 863 millimetres falling on 123 rainy days.

Economic Base: Lithgow's historic economic base has been mining, power generation and precision engineering. Of recent date, there has been an increase in population due to people commuting between Lithgow and the western suburbs of Sydney. Education: Lithgow has three pre-school kindergartens, eight primary schools and two high schools. There is an extensive Technical and Further Education campus (TAFE) in the city and Charles Sturt University is only 40 minutes away at Bathurst. An Adult Education Centre at nearby Rydal offers a residential facility available for conferences, seminars and recreational retreats in a delightful rural setting. Medical: Lithgow has two Hospitals. The district hospital with 140 beds (90 acute care and 50 long stay) and a supporting hospital at Portland with 20 beds. Services offered include domiciliary nursing, general list community nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, family planning, podiatry, dietary, audiology, drug and alcohol counselling and district x-ray, pathology and pharmacy services. The new Lithgow Hospital will be opening soon. Return to Top

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