Burragorang, New South Wales

Burragorang or Burragorang Valley is a locality in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. It is home to Lake Burragorang, which is impounded by Warragamba Dam. It is located within the Blue Mountains National Park – specifically the Nattai National Park.

History
For tens of thousands of years before European colonisation, the Burragorang area was inhabited by the Gandangara (or Gundagurra) people, who lived throughout the south-east region of New South Wales.

In 1827, the town of Burragorang was established. Coal mining commenced in 1878 and, up to the 1960s, the area was a major supplier of coal. Lead and silver were also mined in the valley until about 1927.

With the boom in Sydney's population after World War II, the Warragamba Dam was constructed between 1948 and 1960 on the Warragamba River, inundating the Burragorang Valley, creating Lake Burragorang. Consequently, the town of Burragorang and others like it in the valley were lost under water.

The area around Burragorang and Nattai had been home to numerous collieries from the 1920s to the 1990s, such as the Nattai-Bulli, Oakleigh, Wollondlly, Nattai North and Valley collieries. It is estimated 72 million tonnes of coal was mined in the Burragorang-Nattai region. The area also had deposits of oil shale, and some mining of shale occurred.

The ABC programme, A Drowned Valley, by ABC Open producer, Sean O'Brien, documented former residents' memories of living in the valley before its inundation.

Attractions
The Burragorang Valley has some scenic lookouts over the valley and lake.



Etymology
The name Burragorang derives from the language of the indigenous Gandangara people, perhaps from the word "burro", which means "kangaroo", or perhaps from "booroon", which means "small animal", and the word "gang", which means to hunt. Therefore, Burragorang is believed to mean "place to hunt kangaroo" or "place to hunt small animals". However, another reference claims that Burragorang is a Gandangara word which means "home or place of the giant Kangaroo".