The original inhabitants of the area west of the Blue Mountains were the WiradjuriAboriginal Australians. It is believed they knew the area as Waller-owang. It is understood to mean place near wood and water, or plenty of water. James Blackman was probably the first European to visit the area when he marked out the route of the new road from Bathurst to the area now known as Wallerawang. In 1824, 11 years after the first exploration led by Blaxland over the Blue Mountains, a James Walker was granted a large portion of land in the area now known as Wallerawang. In 1836 the property was to become known as Barton Park. Two of Walker's convict servants took up land leases in the area in the 1850s, one of them was Maddox who named his lease Lidsdale. Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, stayed at "Wallerowang House" in 1836. Darwin describes the countryside around the Wallerawang area and the wildlife including Platypus in his book "The Voyage of the Beagle". The local school has operated at three sites, in 1860 the first small stone school opened near the present power station, in 1882 the school relocated nearer the township and finally to its present location near Lake Wallace in 1995. The 1860 school, which is still standing, was opened by James Walker's widow. The Church of St John the Evangelist, built in 1881, was financed by private funding. It was designed by architect Edmund Blacket, and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
Heritage listings
Wallerawang has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Main Western railway line passes through the town of Wallerawang. In 1870 the track was opened to Wallerawang on its way to the next temporary terminus at later in 1870 and then in 1872. The railway station closed during the early 1990s.
A proposal for a new power station specifically designed to use the lower grade coal of the area was approved in 1950. Built beside the Coxs River, the site was determined in April 1950 with construction commencing properly in November 1951. It was declared open in 1957.
The Wallerawang Power Station was a coal fired station located on the eastern side of the township.
In 1978 Lake Wallace was constructed to provide additional water cooling capacity for the power station.
With various upgrades the station generated power for the Australian national power grid.
It was placed out of service in 2014 and is marked for demolition.
Military history
During World War 2, Wallerawang was the location of RAAF No.4 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot, completed in 1942 and closed in 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000.
