The Blue Mountains
By: Anna Lam
Geographical Perspective
The Blue Mountains is a representation of Australia’s unique and characteristic eucalypt vegetation. It covers more than 10,000 square kilometres and stretches for 220 km from north to south. The Blue Mountains are made up of eight adjoining conservation reserves: Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve and Yengo, Wollemi, Garden of stone, Blue Mountains, Kanangra-Boyd, Nattai and Thirlmere Lakes National Parks. The Blue Mountains have been home to Aboriginal people for at least 12,000 years. This is one of Australia’s largest areas of protected forests.
Aboriginal Perspective
The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, “Meehni”, “Wimlah” and “GUnnedo” lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. The lives of these three sisters were in serious danger; witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it up on himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. He intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As he was the only one who could of reversed the spell so that the ladies could return to their former selves, the sisters remained in their significant form as a reminder to the generations to come.