Picton

History

Picton was first explored by Europeans in 1798 and remained beyond the limits of legal settlement until 1821. Following the discovery of good land in the interior and the settlement of Bong Bong and the Goulburn areas, Governor Macquarie authorised the building of the new Great South Road between Sydney and the Southern Highlands in 1819. who established a property in 1822. Picton developed when a new line of the Great South Road was cut over the Razorback Range from Camden, and especially after the railway arrived in 1863. Picton is the only town in the Southern Hemisphere that one can pass through twice (see Picton railway station) when travelling by train. It was established as Stonequarry in 1841 and was renamed Picton in 1845. It was named for Sir Thomas Picton, a British army officer (described by historian Alessandro Barbero as "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible temperament") who died at the Battle of Waterloo. It remained a stopping point on the Great South Road, later renamed the Hume Highway, until it was bypassed in December 1980. One house was destroyed by bushfire in the Nangarin Estate located on the western outskirts of Picton, from a fire front originating from Lakesland in September 2006.

Most-observed species

• koala

  Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) · Mammalia
  5,213
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  5,125
• Epacris purpurascens R.Br.

  Epacris purpurascens R.Br. · Magnoliopsida
  5,067
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  4,783
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  4,744
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,704
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  4,188
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,849

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2025-05-28
  3 km WNW of Cobbitty, Australia
• M 3.5 — 2024-03-08
  14 km SSW of Woodford, Australia
• M 3 — 2020-11-20
  27 km S of Oberon, Australia
• M 3 — 2007-08-22
  24 km W of Oakdale, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2007-08-18
  10 km NW of Mittagong, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2007-08-18
  11 km NW of Mittagong, Australia