Portland, New South Wales
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Portland New South Wales |
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 Portland
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| Coordinates | 33°21′S 149°59′E / 33.350°S 149.983°ECoordinates: 33°21′S 149°59′E / 33.350°S 149.983°E |
| Population | 1,881 (2006 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 2847 |
| Elevation | 925 m (3,035 ft) |
| LGA(s) | City of Lithgow |
| State electorate(s) | Bathurst |
| Federal Division(s) | Calare |
Portland is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Portland had a population of 1,881 people. The town was named after Australia's first cement works.
Portland is part of the gateway to the Central West and is located between Oberon, Mudgee, Bathurst, Lithgow, and the Blue Mountains. It is a short drive from both the Great Western and Castlereagh Highways. It is accessed from the Great Western Highway via Wallerawang or from Sunny Corner Rd at Meadow Flat. It is accessed from the Castlereagh Highway via Boulder Road at the Mt Piper Power Station.
The town centre has a distinct business district, several parks and sporting clubs.
Prior to white settlement, the Portland region was occupied by the Wiradjuri people. The first European in the area was James Blackman who surveyed roads in the area in 1820 and today Blackman’s Flat and Blackman’s Crown bear the family name.
The town of Portland is of interest as an historic mining town, and also as the place of the first cement factory in Australia. Portland really got its start when Thomas Murray selected 61 hectares of land in 1863 and constructed his first lime kiln on what is now the corner of Lime and Villiers Streets. The railway came to Portland in 1883 and the station was called Cullen Siding until 1889. The Cullen Bullen Lime and Cement Company established operations in the village that year. During the early 1890s, the first cement-making kilns west of the Blue Mountains were built in Portland.
In 1894, the village was gazetted as Portland, the name derived from the cement-making process which was already well underway in the area.
The cement works opened in 1902 and Portland was declared a town in 1906. Many of the original buildings in Portland were built by the cement works company for employees and still stand. Well-known Australian brand names now adorn many of the historic shops and buildings, creating a strong link to "yesteryear" that is celebrated by the town.
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