After the coming of the railway to Bulli in 1887, the township moved south from its Old Bulli origins and up to Hungry Hill, or New Bulli, up near Park Road.
Download Hungry Hill New Bulli Brief Heritage Trail Notes-Rev3
No. 27. Black Diamond Heritage Centre – Bulli Railway Station East or “down” side. Occupies one of the first buildings in “New” Bulli. Products from Sherbrooke were brought down the mountain to the Station for transport to Sydney. The original building when the line was single, when the Railway connected from Clifton to Wollongong in 1887, and finally Sydney to North Kiama in 1888. Saved from demolition in 1987, it houses a collection of railway & local coal mining artefacts, as well as physical & photographic exhibitions of local interest. Also a steam locomotive, the South Bulli No. 2 Loco; imported by Thomas Saywell in 1888 to be used in the mines, and in use until the early 1960s.
No. 17. Bulli Mine Disaster Memorial Obelisk No. 18. St Augustine’s Anglican Church & 31. St Augustine’s Anglican Graveyard -Memorial Columbarium – Wenloch School in Church Hall. At 2pm on March 23rd 1887 a horrific explosion occurred at the Bulli Mine, leaving 81 dead. The memorial is of Scottish granite. St Augustine’s opened in 1882 and cemetery from 1878.
Unnumbered Site – Granny Orton’s Store & Doctor Feneley’s Surgery. West over the railway bridge, was a small shop & residence in Park Road which continued into the 1990′s. In recent years the original Doctor’s surgery has expanded and has incorporated the site of Granny Orton’s store.
Unnumbered Site – Miners Cottages, Park Road Between the Doctor’s surgery and Stockbank House there are several small miners cottages, which still remain today.
No. 13. Stockbank House The architect for this original building, William Wardell, also designed St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Originally serving as a bank in the 1880′s, which closed its doors after the colonial depression of the 1890s. Currently it serves as an Art Framing and Gallery business. In 2008 the building was described as maintaining almost the same appearance as in 1888.
Unnumbered Site – Telegraph & Post Office The Telegraph Office opened at Bulli Jetty, in 1877, was then located with the Post Office next to Turnbull’s Store in Old Bulli from 1879, before its move next to Stock Bank House in 1907 and then to Thirroul in 1923. After operating out of Bulli Station from 1887, postal services moved next to Stock Bank house in 1926, and later to Bulli Newsagency.
Unnumbered Site – Vaynor 230 Princes Highway Bulli Opposite Old Bulli Post Office. The original home is still present but obscured by a masonry wall – there was a General Store opposite Park Road which was run by members of the Evans Family
Unnumbered Site – Opposite the Butchers at Site No.14 – formerly Mr & Mrs Webb’s Tea Rooms Built in 1926 as a centre for arts and crafts, and a place for women to socialise whilst men drank next door at the Family Hotel. The site now hosts Coffee and Art – returning to its earlier roots.
No. 16. Bulli Heritage Hotel – formerly known as Family Hotel and Dicksons Hotel 1889. Designed by architect William Kenwood, combines Gothic, Victorian & Federation Filigree styles. Originally, consisted of 28 bedrooms, an assembly room, a dining room, a billiard room, parlours & a bar. Former licensee, Edward Cullen, believed to still be “walking the halls of the hotel”, after committing suicide in an upstairs bathroom in 1930. Building was listed by the National Trust in 1976
Unnumbered Site – Edinburgh House – adjacent to the Bulli Heritage Hotel on its south side. Former home of James Downie, a blacksmith of the Northern Illawarra.
Unnumbered Site – Former Livery Stables two doors down from the Bulli Heritage Hotel. Henry Mant took over the rundown Livery Stables two doors down from the current Bulli Heritage Hotel and Stokes Lane, expanding the business considerably.
No. 34. Glass & Co. Former Drapery. Previously in Old Bulli, Glass re-located to Hungry Hill, in New Bulli. Now occupied by the Black Diamond antiques business. Allan Upton’s Bulli Historical Art Gallery & Picture Framing is located in an adjacent building, which was built later, but in same style.
Unnumbered Site – Williams Undertaker. L ocated further to the south along Princes Highway on the corner of Organs Road and the Main Road. It had operated in Bulli from 1915, perhaps taking over from an earlier Builder and Undertaker J Myles. Later Williams was taken over by Parsons.
Unnumbered Site – Former Cottage between W. J. Williams and Bulli Masonic Hall. In the early 20th Century years – a small cottage belonging to the Jones Family, formerly of Sherbrooke. Robert Jones was born there, later he operated a saw mill on Bulli Pass, and developed a substantial collection of photographs of Bulli and Sherbrooke.
Unnumbered Site – Former Oddfellows Hall now Masonic Temple. The Oddfellows Hall was built in 1885, and was the site of the inquiry into the 1887 Bulli Mine Disaster, and also meetings from 1888 to support the creation of a Cottage Hospital. It became the Bulli Masonic Temple in 1918. Return to Traffic Lights at Park Rd and cross to the east side of Princes Highway.
No. 14. Butchers shop – formerly C R Williams & Co. Operated in the 19th Century by Thomas Farrell, and from the 1930’s until recently by the Williams family. Possibly the first built on Hungry Hill & the oldest business remaining. In 1997, it was extended onto the neighbouring residence, now demolished, and the ground excavated revealing 1 wooden and 2 brick wells – the well’s handmade bricks were made at the East Woonona Brickworks by a convict – now feature on either side of the entrance to the shop.
No. 15. Historic Shops including I.V. Miners General Store & original site of Bunkers Shell Service Station, Commonwealth Bank, Bulli Times Newspaper. Bulli Billiard Saloon opposite Bulli Heritage Hotel. These included the Bulli Billiard Saloon, I V Miners General Store now Bakery, the original site of Bunkers Service Station (now Antiques), Bulli Times Newspaper.
No. 29. Former Old Bulli Railway Guest House. The Old Bulli Railway Guest House comprises a 2 storey brick building, and dates from the construction of the Illawarra Railway line in 1887. Owned by Roger and Sarah Heard, a smaller guesthouse stood on the site from 1877, until the construction of the large building in 1887 that still stands today.
No. 27. Bulli Railway Station West Side. Dates from 1923, when the line was duplicated in 1923.
Unumbered – The Station Masters Cottage – S E Corner of Park Road & Railway St Bulli. Built in 1885 as a freestanding Victorian residence, with 4 bedrooms and 5 fireplaces. Its primary function was to provide residence for the Station Master of the time.
Continue east over the railway bridge to return to the Black Diamond Heritage Centre
Back to Bulli Heritage Walk Around Historic Bulli
- Bulli Public School, established in 1869 – an 1882 monument to Governor Macquarie
- Former site of the Railway Hotel (Bulli Village’s first licensed coaching inn est. 1870). Now Wollongong City Council’s Northern Works Depot driveway
- Former site of the Star of the Sea Hotel est 1879, Jehovahs Witness Kingdom Hall
- Former site of the Black Diamond Hotel and the Bulli Assembly Rooms (part of the building still standing in 1989). Established 1876
- Former Denmark Hotel, est 1877. Brick front added 1886. The district’s only remaining coaching inn – 5 a. Historic stables that serviced the coaches during the 1870s
- 1860s coal miners cottage
- Uniting Church (formerly Methodist) 1865
- Former bakers store
- Site of former Mine Manager’s residence – demolished in 1989
- Historic War Memorial
- Bulli Pioneer Monument
- Former Bulli Post Office 1922
- Stockbank House 1888
- Former historic butcher’s shop – since redeveloped internally but facade remains
- Historic shops
- Bulli Heritage Hotel, formerly Family Hotel 1889
- Bulli Mine Disaster Monument 1888
- St Augustine’s Anglican Church 1882
- St Joseph’s Catholic Church 19004
- Site of former Bulli Township Information Centre (demolished for Northern Distributon)
- Site of former Primitive Methodist Church 1880s
- Bulli Shire Council former Chambers and former Bulli Library 1922
- Bulli Fire Station
- Site of former Bulli Courthouse 1886 and Police Station
- Site of former Bulli Colliery established 1863 – closed 1987
- Monument to the old Bulli coal jetty
- Bulli Railway Station and Black Diamond Heritage Centre museum
- Site of former Catholic Church 1880s
- Former Railway Boarding House c.1886
- Site of former Ocean View Boarding House c.1886
- St Augustine’s Anglican Church Historic Gravestones from 1878 to 1960- now accepting only ashes into the Columbarium Wall. Over 60 of the 81 miners who perished in the 1887 Bulli Mine disaster are buried here
- Former Historic walk (1989) route along old Bulli Mine railway to cokeworks & Jetty. Sit
- Site of Historic residence
- Former Glass Drapery Store
- Former residence of Samuel Kirton – one of Bulli’s Pioneers
- Former Anglican Manse (Rectory)
- Former Boarding House
- Original school – St Joseph’s – 1920’s
- Federation houses – some had been restored in 1989 – but the extension of the Northern Distributor meant that Farrell Rd was cut in two and some of these old homes were lost – several still remain on the Western half of Farrell Rd
- Four phoenix palms in Bulli Park mark the spot of the old Bulli War Memorial – is now part of Arthur Osborne (former Bulli High School Captain) Memorial Grove
