Picton, NSW revisited


On a warm December day, the inland suburb of Picton, tucked away 80 kilometers from the Sydney Harbour Bridge,  in the south-west of the greater Sydney region, looks like any New South Wales regional conurbation with its rail station, main street, supermarkets, cottage produce shops, heritage buildings and surrounding farmland.  Coming from Picton Road, and approaching the unique Picton Railway Viaduct, I had to reduce my driving speed to accommodate a residential area before getting into town.  The place looks sparse initially but perhaps I was on the quiet side.



Lunchtime beckoned me to the cafe strip, with several choices in modern Australian themed food, ranging from all day breakfast to burgers to pasta.  There is a Vietnamese bakery offering pork rolls at Aud 4.50 a piece near to the IGA Supermarket, but this is away from the main food and shopping hub. Along the way to the cafe hub, an elderly lady at a furniture shop struck up a conversation with me - she had a large courtyard in various forms of timber and stone furniture for the outlet that her son operated.

The La Crema Cafe at Argyle Street  dished up a delicious sauce for the pasta I requested (picture above), replete with mushrooms, bacon strips and aromatic herbs.   The place had chatter mainly from locals, primarily retirees, tradies and young families.  Service at this cafe was with a smile. Do try the coffee, it's uplifting and aromatic.






Picton NSW  is the administrative centre of the Wollondilly Shire and is close by car to Campbelltown.
It has several buildings of interest and offers convict and ghost orientated tours to curious tourists. Otherwise, the Mowbray Farmhouse home stays and the Picton Botanical Gardens are also highlights.

Picton was established when the Great South Road was built to connect Sydney with Goulburn.  More recently, radio personalities Merrick and Rosso caused a commotion with the airing of "The Picton Song" in which local teenagers were depicted as having widespread under age sex in order to gain benefit form the Federal Labour Government's substantial baby bonus payments to parents.

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