This week, Roy decided it was time to head to the Blue Mountains and examine one of the iconic attractions to be found in the area. There are many famous attractions, from natural beauty to wonderful historic hotels, to shopping precincts full of fascinating shops. Yet one which Roy has been interested to visit is Scenic World. Most famous for the Scenic Railway, Roy wanted to get a closer look at something a little different – the old skyway car on display in a small park area, and which I had told him about riding as a child.
If you would like to visit Scenic World, it is located in the Blue Mountains, in Katoomba. Scenic world is located at the corner of Violet Street and Cliff Drive, and there is plenty of parking to be had if you plan to drive. Otherwise, Scenic World is only 3 kilometres from Katoomba Railway Station, and there are regular bus services to the main building at Scenic World. There is plenty to do at Scenic World, with the famous incline railway, a skyway, cableway, and even rainforest walk, as well as cafes and even walking tracks.
The Skyway may not be the ‘main attraction’ which brings people to Scenic World, but it is certainly one with a long and fascinating history. The scenic railway itself was doing a brisk tourist trade when, in 1952, in a Sydney machinery merchant yard, Dickson Primer was wondering what to do with the remains of an ash dumping aerial tramway from Glen Davis. At the same time, an English syndicate had been trying to get people interested in the idea of a hotel and aerial tourist attraction, like the skyway. They suggested Govett’s Leap, but couldn’t get people interested. They proposed instead to create a ropeway from Reid’s Plateau to Lady Darley’s Lookout, passing across Katoomba Falls. The problem was though, that they didn’t own any of the land they needed. The plan for the aerial ropeway was one which caught the attention of the Mayor of Katoomba, Aub Murphy. He asked Harry Hammon who, along with his sister, operated Scenic World and leased the land at the Western end of the proposed ropeway, if he would be interested in getting involved. Harry was, but the land problem still existed, though now it was associated with the eastern side of the ropeway. The Minister for Lands, Gus Kelly, promised to take care of the problem if Harry would just build the ropeway.
A deal was soon struck with Dickson Primer for the machinery from Glen Davis, and an engineer, Bill Wingrove, was engaged to work on installing the ropeway. In February 1958, just 8 months after work to install the rope began, the Skyway opened. Nothing like this had ever been done in Australia, and skyway has always been a wonderful tourist drawcard, but within a short time, the wires began to break. The only rope in Australia which was up to the task was a newly developed rope designed for mine haulage by BHP in Newcastle. The new rope was duly installed and the skyway was up and running again. This rope only lasted two years, but third time did indeed prove lucky and the same rope was used for nearly 40 years, between 1962 and 2001. As for the skyway bogies which were used to carry passengers, originally the skyway operated using steel bogies which ran on two wheels, but these were modified in 1962 to 8 wheeled bogies in order to reduce strain on the rope. The cabin was covered with plywood, and the original paint scheme was pink! The skyway was decommissioned and replaced in 2004, but you can still see, and even climb aboard, the original cabin in the grassed area adjacent to the multi-storey carpark at Scenic World.