I have posted before about the changes to the village of Hazelbrook over time, and now and then an historical photo pops up which provides yet another point of comparison.

Today's example below was taken somewhere around the turn of the 20th Century. The Great Western Highway is a slim dirt road, bounded on the northern side by cottages that no longer exist. The railway station (opened in 1890) sits affably in the background and a horse and cart plies its way towards the photographer.

I cannot find the exact spot where this was taken and to stand in that spot today would invite being crushed by traffic heading for Katoomba, unlike my predecessor, who obviously had all the time in the world. So I did an approximation, difficult because of the changed foliage and road alignment and much besides but nevertheless, giving a sense of just how much change has occurred. I am standing at the corner of the GWH and Beechmount Ave, though I should be standing on the medium strip or in the far lanes.

A different time it was, before two world wars, atomic energy, radio, television, the internet, the discovery of penicillin, I could go on, but you get it.

And yet, I know which Hazelbrook I prefer, romantic that I am.