Wiritjiribin led the people to sanctuary in a cool green gully which had been missed by the fire, under the rocky cliffs of a gorge south of Appin.

Those who had perished in the fire were reincarnated as animals and Wiritjiribin appeared as a lyrebird, which became the clan's totem, a symbol of peace and caretaker of the Land of Gawaigl, an area which became a meeting place for Peoples from all over the east coast of Australia"[2]European settlement in the Appin district was prohibited for some years; Appin was part of the 'Cowpastures' where a small herd of cattle had established themselves, having escaped from the Sydney Cove settlement.

To protect these and help feed the colony, Governor Macquarie ordered 'No person to hunt or travel into the Cowpastures without licence under penalty of death'.

[6] Mrs. Allan McPherson, visiting circa 1856, wrote: "The next morning was fine and bright, and with somewhat better spirits we set out again, but the roads were heavy, and our progress consequently not very rapid, so that it was one or two o'clock before we reached "Appin," a small village, the last resting place on the Sydney side of Mount Keera.

As it was too late to attempt crossing the mountain--at all times a formidable undertaking--that evening, we were obliged to make up our minds to stay here.

I must be excused if my recollections of Appin are not very favourable, for at this half-dismantled little inn we were detained three days by incessant torrents of rain, such as I had hardly ever witnessed before, even in the colony.

[8] In the early morning of 17 April, Wallis led a surprise attack on this camp, which resulted in the deaths of at least fourteen Aboriginal people.

[8][9] Occurred approximately 600 metres underground at the Appin coal mine on the night of 24 July 1979, killing 14 people.

An explosion that was caused by sparks from a fan control box which ignited a buildup of flammable and poisonous methane gas ripped apart the busiest pit.

Hamilton Hume and his brother John were tireless investigators of the local countryside, often journeying in the company of Duall, a Dharawal man.

It is a pity Biddulph ever took this farm; still, he has gained some experience here, and, as his expenditure was chiefly in cattle and furniture, he has not lost much.Appin was for decades a major wheat-growing, and dairy-farming area, but wheat rust, and new railways reaching other primary producing areas of the State, reduced its importance.

A track from Campbelltown was in use from 1815; as settlement advanced along coastal Illawarra, routes to Sydney found their way up the escarpment, and through Appin; the resulting traffic increased the town's prosperity.

These include the former Courthouse and Gaol (1860s), the derelict Appin Inn (1826), a stone cottage used as offices, built circa 1840, the Headmaster's residence at the primary school, and St. Bede's Roman Catholic Church, 1834–7.

[18] Appin has a Playgroup; a Mobile PreSchool; a Community Hall, two sportsgrounds, and an off-leash area for companion animals near Wonson Oval.