The area now known as Jerrawa lies on the traditional lands of the Gandangara or the Ngunnawal peoples.[5][6] These two groups spoke a closely related, if not identical, language. The name Jerrawa is said to be a settler rendering of an aboriginal language word for 'iguana',[7][8] probably referring to the goanna.
The railway station and siding were situated at a location where the railway line gradient was flat, after rising from the bridge over Jerrawa Creek and then rising again to the west.[9] A small settlement, including an Anglican church (Christ Church), a hall, and a school, developed on the southern side of the railway line, near the railway station.[10][11][12][13] Some of the houses in the settlement were for railway employees. It seems that the settlement was never proclaimed as a village.
The school operated from 1877 to 1963.[14][15] Jerrawa had a store that also served as its post office.[16] There was no Methodist church at Jerrawa but its inhabitants used the isolated Greendale church and cemetery, which was already in existence from 1862 and predated the settlement at Jerrawa.[17]
In August 1938, Jerrawa was in the path of a violent whirlwind that left a trail of damage a mile and a half long and 500 yards wide, damaging some of the settlement's buildings, in less than a minute.[18]
The presence of an iron ore deposit at Jerrawa had been known since around 1879.[19] During the Second World War, with a shortage of coastal shipping, local sources or iron ore were mined to feed the steelworks at Port Kembla.[20] One of these wartime ore mines was at Jerrawa.[21][22][23]
Jerrawa's hall is falling into disrepair.[13] Jerrawa has a showground and holds an annual agricultural show, around Easter time, referred to as 'the Little Easter Show.'[24][25] The old store still exists but is now a private residence.[16] All that remains of the old railway station is its sign, which has been re-erected beside the railway line.[4]