Helensburgh - Timeline

1883	Cumberland Coal and Iron Mining Co took a 99 year lease on 18,000 acres of Crown land at Helensburgh.  Commenced drilling on the plateau above Camp Creek
1884	First sod of shaft sinking for the mine was turned by Sir Robert Wisdom on 1 November
1885	First school was established with Edwin Byrnes as its first teacher
1886	South Cumberland Coal Mining Company sinking a shaft at Camp Creek.  Shaft is sunk to a depth of 315 feet, is 16 feet in diameter
1886	First Post Office opened
1887	Metropolitan Coal Company of Sydney took over mine
1887	Opening of Centennial Hotel - Licensee Bill Handley
1887	First recorded fatality at the mine - R W Davis
1888	Construction of Miners' Hall
1888	Opening of Helensburgh railway station
1888	Pit of the Metropolitan Coal Company reached the coal-seam at a depth of 1,095 feet
1888	2 men killed in the mine - a shaft sinker and Charles Harpur the mine manager
1889	Paragon Hotel built for George Welch by George Ricketts
1892	Establishment of the Helensburgh and Lilyvale Cooperative Society Ltd
1892	Helensburgh Church of England parish was opened by Rev. J L Boswell
1894	Opening of the School of Arts building in Walker St
1895	Establishment of police station and court house
1901	Present Post Office building opened
1915	Construction of the Band Hall at a cost of $800
1925	Electricity for the Helensburgh township was switched on
1945	Helensburgh Manufacturing Co established - name was later changed to Leathercrafts Ltd
1951	Supply of water to Helensburgh township officially opened
1952	Lilyvale Mushrooms Pty Ltd begins production in small tunnel at Lilyvale
1965	Mine purchased by Australian Iron & Steel, Port Kembla
1981	Population of Helensburgh 3,750
1985	State Government requests Wollongong City Council to undertake Local Environment Study for Helensburgh area
1985	Draft Plan for development of 2,200 lots in Camp Creek and Gills Creek Area and 40 hectare site for commercial development on the town's outskirts
1989	Wollongong City Council produces The Helensburgh Plan (Draft) on the future development of Helensburgh
2001	Massive bushfires in the area reach Helensburgh at lunch time on Christmas Day. A number of houses and businesses are destroyed or damaged.
2004	After a 25 year building process, the Sri Venkateswara Temple – the largest complex of its kind in the Southern hemisphere - is consecrated in a special ceremony involving 5000 Hindu people from Australia and throughout the world.
2007	Skate park constructed at Rex Jackson park. A $6.1 million upgrade to the railway station is also completed.
2008	A bronze statue commemorating the town’s mining heritage is unveiled near the Post Office.