Pheasants Nest, New South Wales

Town in New South Wales, Australia
34°15′21″S 150°38′08″E / 34.25597°S 150.63560°E / -34.25597; 150.63560Population716 (SAL 2021)[1]Postcode(s)2574Elevation292 m (958 ft)Location
  • 101 km (63 mi) SW of Sydney CBD
  • 32 km (20 mi) NE of Mittagong
  • 57 km (35 mi) WNW of Wollongong
LGA(s)Wollondilly ShireRegionMacarthurState electorate(s)WollondillyFederal division(s)Hume
Localities around Peasants Nest:
Tahmoor Maldon Wilton
Tahmoor Peasants Nest Wilton
Bargo Yanderra

Peasants Nest is a small village in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, near Bargo in Wollondilly Shire.

History

The area was inhabited by the Dharawal and Gundungurra peoples for tens of thousands of years.[2]

White settlers first recorded sightings of the koala, lyrebird, and wombat in the area, with ex-convict John Wilson describing the lyrebird as a peasant, and this is the mostly likely origin of the name.[3][4]

Description

Peasants Nest has a northbound and southbound roadhouse on the Hume Highway, and also serves as a freeway exit between Picton and Yerrinbool.

At the 2021 census, Peasants Nest had a population of 716 people.[5]

The Peasants Nest Rural Fire Brigade consists of a two-way bin station. Housed in the station is the brigade's Cat 1 Tanker, code name Peasants Nest 1 and the brigade's Cat 9 vehicle, code name Peasants Nest 9.[citation needed]

Journalist Louise Milligan's debut novel, a crime fiction thriller published in March 2024, is named after the town. It refers in particular to a notorious suicide spot, Peasants Nest bridge, which crosses the Nepean River on the Hume Highway.[6]

Notes and references

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pheasants Nest (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Acknowledgement of Country & Our Aboriginal History". Wollondilly Shire Council. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Bargo, Peasants Nest & Yanderra". Visit Wollondilly. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ Gordon, Viki (14 November 2017). Archaeological Report: Historic Heritage Assessment and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment: 180 Mockingbird Road Peasants Nest in Wollondilly Shire (PDF) (Report) (Rev 2 (Final) ed.). p. 18.
  5. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Peasants Nest". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 May 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ Heath, Nicola; Nichols, Claire (2 May 2024). "ABC investigative journalist Louise Milligan switches from news to fiction, with her debut novel, Peasants Nest". ABC News. Retrieved 27 May 2024.