Hidden away in Faulconbridge and reached by a fairly short bushwalking track is Peggys Pool and Peggys Falls, situated along an upper tributary of Linden Creek. A small waterfall drops into the shallow and sandy pool. (A very short distance downstream is the deeper Freezing Hole.)
The pool got its name from a Peggy who once operated an illicit still in the area.
At the very bottom of the canyon was a superb waterfall and Peggy’s Pool, filled with icy water from that fall. Marea said that in the olden days when the nearby railroad was being built, a moonshiner named Peggy erected a still there, tapping the waters of the fall, and manufactured joy juice for the hardbitten gentlemen putting down the railroad. The railroad management were a bunch of puritans, insisting on a Clean and Dry work crew, but Peggy knew the men better than the managers.
Bob Tucker, Meat Pies, Moonshiners and the Blue Mountain
An undated photo from the Blue Mountains City Library image archives shows Peggys Pool surrounded by much less vegetation.
About 20m downstream (continue along the walking track) is Freezing Pool, which has also been called Fresia Pool and Freeza Pool. A small cascade drops into the deep pool, which would be much better for a swim than the silted Peggys Pool.
THE “Freezing Hole” at Faulconbridge, NSW is known to few. Situated in a deep fern-grown gully behind “Everton” (long the country residence of the Meeks’ family), it was used as a bogey-hole by both sexes during the hot mountain summer. It is reputed bottomless, and to be connected by an underground passage with the Grose River some miles away. The aborigines held it in esteem. Its great depth and shaded position make the clear waters cold almost to freezing point.
Sydney Morning Herald, 28 Jan 1922, p.18
A couple of Aboriginal grinding grooves just above the pool are evidence of indigenous occupation.
Getting to Peggys Pool
The walking track to Peggys Pool was constructed around 1886-99, and enters the bush opposite Faulconbridge Public School. The start of the bushwalking track is not at all obvious; but after the initial scramble down from the road, the rest of the track is fairly distinct.
A few stairs cut into the rock remain from the original construction of the track, which descends into the gully.
There’s a small drop over a wide ledge, before Peggys Pool is reached.
It’s only about 1km return for the walk; you can continue further downstream to Meeks Falls.
More information
- David Noble – Peggys Pool and Meeks Falls Walk
- Bob Tucker – Meat Pies, Moonshiners and the Blue Mountain
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