By Julie Power
Empty shops. Cigarette butts. Graffiti. Decaying heritage buildings – including the Paragon Cafe – with small shrubs and old mail flourishing inside the art deco windows.
The millions of visitors who stop in Katoomba for the view of the Three Sisters from Echo Point have to endure a trip through the “blighted, deteriorating town,” says Rod Stowe, a resident who is also the chair of the Blue Mountains branch of the National Trust.
Rod Stowe, at Mount St Marys Convent, laments the disrepair that has befallen much of Katoomba’s heritage. Credit: Janie Barrett
Visitors report being “overawed with the beauty and extent of the vistas” of the UNESCO-listed Greater Blue Mountains but underwhelmed by the town’s closed shops, the hoardings around such state listed buildings as the Paragon and the broken glass and graffiti at Mount St Marys Convent.
Skip forlorn Katoomba and go straight to Echo Point, many say.
Far from its heyday as a glamorous getaway, Katoomba has become one of the state’s daggiest towns, says Mark Jarvis, the president of the local Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of the historic Carrington Hotel.
Jarvis said every day a guest checking into what was the country’s first resort would say they were ducking out to visit the Paragon, only for their faces to fall when told it was shut.
The Paragon’s awning tells the tale of much of its internal disrepair.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Walking down historic Katoomba Street, Stowe points to the thriving and restored Carrington, the town’s 1883 historic jewel, as an example of success.
Listed as a local heritage site, the 1936 Savoy Cinema with its massive basement Trocadero Dance Hall, is in partial use only, as a cafe.
When Stowe shows the Herald the old postmaster’s home, Froma Court, built in 1908, a warning blast tells us it is a restricted area, and “Please move away”.
On Lurline Street, the main road leading to Echo Point, some of the once-fabulous 1920s guest houses are restored. Others are falling apart.
Froma Court, which sits behind the Paragon. Credit: Rhett Wyman
Further on, one of the area’s oldest guesthouses, The Clarendon, is looking its age despite colourful awnings. It is the subject of an interim heritage order by the Blue Mountains City Council after unauthorised works.
For Aaron White, a residential house painter, news of what happened to the Paragon was the “last straw”. He’s offered to paint Katoomba’s buildings –free, if someone donates materials – to lift the mood and look of the town.
“Tourists bypass the town, and head to the scenery, and the businesses are missing out millions of dollars in revenue,” said White.
Resident Michael Hart said when something as significant as the Paragon closed, it had a ripple effect. When the Carrington closed in the late 1980s, other shops shut soon after. “That stuff adds up. It affects a lot of people.”
Some say Katoomba has always had booms and busts.
Harriet McCready, the cofounder of Mountain Culture Beer Co. – operating in a restored heritage building – says the streetscape hasn’t affected its business.
Katoomba remained vibrant even if the buildings looked derelict, she said. More life in the shops would be a plus, but the town was such a gem and the landscape so special that it drew visitors interested in bush walks, rock climbing, the art and their beer.
Who to blame depends on who you ask. Locals say the council is too slow to approve projects; others say absentee landlords and developers don’t engage with the community; congestion on the main bridge into town, say many, while others point to heritage rules, COVID, and the economy.
Many of the storefronts and heritage buildings in Katoomba are falling into disrepair. Aaron White, a house painter, wants to give the main street a free paint job. They provide materials, he does the work for free.Credit: Rhett Wyman
As a former regulator and head of NSW’s Fair Trading, Stowe advocates an inquiry to separate facts from conjecture He also says enforcement action is the most effective way to achieve compliance with heritage laws.
According to Destination NSW, the Blue Mountains is the most popular destination outside Sydney, attracting three million visitors a year.
Katoomba was once the top place to stay, as much for its ornate architecture as for its natural attractions. It has more historic homes and properties identified as historic or heritage by local, state, federal government and the National Trust, than the rest of the Blue Mountains.
Stowe said: “It was where tourism, in many ways, started in NSW. It was a place where people got away from the humdrum, the smelly city and into the mountain air.”
Lurline Street in Katoomba.Credit: Rhett Wyman
With its relatively intact shops and old boarding houses, Stowe says it could be the Australian version of NZ’s Napier, famous for its vibrant Art Deco architecture.
Michael Brischetto, a co-owner with Jarvis of Katoomba’s heritage-listed Carrington Hotel, said the state of the town’s heritage was an embarrassment that reflected poorly on all levels of government.
Empty shops opposite the station, bought by Carrington, are scheduled for restoration but are facing delays in approval from the council and Heritage NSW.
“Every time one of these absentee owners wants to sell one of their buildings, the community or local business people should be buying them,” said Brischetto. “Because we live here. We’re the ones who are embarrassed. Let’s start doing something about it, right?”
Brischetto attributes some of the decline in state heritage listed properties to understaffing of Heritage NSW, saying it failed to inspect and identify projects at risk before they fail. His hotel has been visited only twice in 21 years.
The decline of the historic properties deterred investors or businesses. “They see the hoardings up around places like the Paragon and ours and ask, ‘Why aren’t people renting these shops?’ ”
The NSW auditor-general 2023 report on Heritage NSW found almost 90 per cent of items (1583) on the register did not include a physical condition rating. It noted improvements in turnaround on applications for works on listed assets. But it found about 35 per cent (625) of items lacked detailed physical descriptions, which made it hard for officers to pursue breaches.
“The state heritage people are very well-meaning, and I know they’re under-resourced,” Brischetto said. For a laugh, he likes to read an old email from Heritage NSW sent a decade ago after he waited months for a response. It said: “Applicants applying pressure on Ministers to get more resourcing to process their applications would have more effect than anything else. ”
Brischetto said, “The heritage system is broken. It’s only when you’re trying to do something, when you’re trying to preserve or conserve or restore, that [Heritage] get involved.”
Mayor Mark Greenhill said Katoomba remained an outstanding tourist destination, and visitor numbers were increasing, not falling. The council was committed to Katoomba thriving as a welcoming destination, but could only operate within its jurisdiction.
Greenhill said the council had secured $7 million for improvements, including new street furniture, upgraded lighting and paving, outdoor dining areas and public art.
Stowe showed what could be done when the community came together. The Treeline Lurline project is aiming to restore the grand boulevard of trees that once led to Echo Point. Some new trees have been planted and powerlines moved underground.
In response to the Herald’s questions, a spokesperson for the Heritage Council and Heritage NSW said the owners of Mount St Marys had responded to representations from Heritage NSW and Blue Mountains City Council and were addressing urgent rectification works.
Heritage NSW said it took a risk-based approach to compliance and inspections.