UPPER HAWKESBURY
Windsor to Wisemans Ferry
![]()
Mount Portal Lookout, Glenbrook
Nepean River: a river to the east of Sydney, the Nepean rises near Robertson in the Southern Highlands about 15 kilometres from the coast. North of Penrith, at the junction of the Grose River near Yarramundi, the Nepean becomes the Hawkesbury River. Eleven weirs located on the Nepean River significantly regulate its natural flow.
Colo River: a pristine and wild river on the border of Sydney, the Colo river was one of the first rivers explored after white settlement of Australia. The upper reaches of the Colo river seldom sees visitors other than the occasional hardy bushwalker. The river flows through a deep gorge in the northern Blue Mountains and ultimately into the Hawkesbury river at Lower Portland.
![]()
Uppper Hawkesbury River Drive: being the third settlement in the colony of New South Wales, The Upper Hawkesbury is full of history and heritage, and as such is an ideal place to visit for those who have an interest in the early days of our nation. During its first 100 years, the colony relied on the Uppper Hawkesbury River for its food. Today, it is steeped in history, with sleepy colonial era villages, Aboriginal habitation sites and convict relics awaiting discovery. This drive is a round trip from Windsor to St Albans, taking in the Macdonald valley.
![]()
Tebbutt's Observatory, Windsor
Windsor: once a thriving inland river port through which produce in and out of the area passed, Windsor has retained its olde worlde charm thanks to a collection of fascinating, well maintained 19th Century buildings, the oldest of which is the Macquarie Arms Inn, built in 1815. A walking guide to Windsor's historic buildings is available from the town's museum in Thompsons Square.
![]()
Richmond: now almost a dormitory suburb of Sydney, historic Richmond was established in January 1811 on the hill where Gov. Arthur Phillip had camped overnight on 5th July 1789 during a search for good farming land. The river flats opposite were settled in 1796. Richmond contains a number of historic buildings.
![]()
Castlereagh: now a suburb of Sydney, Castlereagh is one of Australia's most historic sites, being one of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's five towns founded in 1810. After two hundred years, the rich river flats continue to provide for a thriving agricultural industry along the Nepean River. Many of this district's pioneering families originated from Castlereagh.
|
MIDDLE HAWKESBURY
Wisemans Ferry to Brooklyn
![]()
Wisemans Ferry: an historic settlement at the river crossing where a ferry still carries vehicles across the Hawkesbury River. The descent into Wisemans Ferry from Maroota passes by more convict built stone walls, 14 culverts under the road, a small bridge, pick-axed rock faces and quarries dating from 1830. Wiseman's Ferry derives its name from Solomon Wiseman, a local businessman who established the ferry across the Hawkesbury at the location when the Great North Road was being built.
![]()
Devines Hill Convict Trail Walk: if you want to see at close range the handiwork of the 19th century's convicts who played a major role in establishing modern day Australia, this walk is perfect. It follows the well formed Devines Hill ascent portion of the Old Great North Road near Wisemans Ferry. The convict built road is impressive and there are good information signs along the trail. The visible remnants of the Old Great North Road include rock cuttings, stone retaining walls and butresses, an old quarry site and Hangmans Rock.
![]()
Convict built culvert at Fernances
Old Northern Road Drive: follow the historic road, built by convicts and opened in 1830, through the Hawkesbury and Macdonald River valleys to Bucketty, then Wollombi and on to Cessnock in the Hunter Valley. Stone culverts and buttresses built by convicts in the 1830s along this historic pathway have long been abandoned by the majority of northbound travellers, but they remain to delight those who take this less travelled road.
![]()
Devil's Rock: located adjacent to the extreme north-west corner of Marramara National Park are 12 groups of Aboriginal rock engravings. These include a ceremonial stone arrangement, 4 sets of axe grinding grooves, 3 rock shelters, 2 scarred trees and an open air campsite.Engravings include fish, eels, human and bird tracks, a shield and boomerangs. Also of interest are motifs of European contact, which are rare in the Sydney region. These include a sailing ship, a man in a top hat and a woman in a crinoline dress.
![]()
Maroota: a locality on the ridge-following Old Northern Road. This was the main early road, constructed by convict gangs, from Sydney north to Singleton in the Hunter Valley. Aboriginal engravings are located near Laughtondale Gully Road (see below). An historic cemetery contains the graves of Solomon Wiseman and his first wife, pioneer settler George Laughton, miller James Singleton and first fleeter Peter Hibbs. Hibbs was a Marine with HMS Sirius who later captained the Norfolk in which George Bass and Matthew Flinders became the first to circumnavigate Tasmania in 1798 (they named Point Hibbs in his honour).
![]()
Dharug National Park: 14,834 ha. of rugged dissected plateau featuring rainforests, heathlands and more convict roadworks. Named after an Aboriginal tribe of the area, Dharug is important for its great wealth of rock engravings. Activities include bushwalking, photography, observing birdlife, wildflowers. Sections of the world heritae listed old North Road pass through the park.
![]()
Naa Badu Lookout, which overlooks Berowra Creek
Berowra Creek: a tributary of the Hawkesbury River, Berowra Creek is drowned river valley estuary to the north of Sydney, consisting of steeply incised gorges with surrounding plateau areas. As the creek flows to the north, it flows through mostly bushland and includes parts of the Berowra Valley Regional Park, Marramarra National Park and Muogamarra Nature Reserve.
![]()
Berowra Waters: a secluded section of Berowra Creek where it an estuary, Berowra Waters is a popular weekend retreat. A ferry takes motorists across the creek and on to the orchards and farms of Arcadia and Dural. North of Berowra Waters on the shore between Oaky Point and Deep Bay, some 2 metres above the water, are Aboriginal engravings of fish.
Marramarra National Park: a peaceful 12,000 hectare bushland reserve overlooking the Hawkesbury River, Marramarra Creek and Berowra Creek. Perfect for canoeing on little-known waterways and observing the local wildlife. There are sandstone ridges, deep gullies and excellent examples of mangrove forests at Big Bay, Pumpkin Point and Gentlemans Halt.
![]()
Peats Bight: accessible only by boat, this bay contains a restaurant and a number of oyster farms. It has links to colonial times as a track to it from Pacific Highway was built by convicts. It was here that cricket was first played in 1878. In 1895 a snake swallowed a cricket ball during a match. The batsman killed the snake and retrieved the ball so that play could continue.
![]()
Bar Island: contains the ruins of a church built in 1876, a graveyard, a large Aboriginal shell midden on the shore and axe grinding grooves around the corner from the jetty. Nearby Ballast Island was created when three very small islands were used as a dump for ballast brought out from England in empty sailing ships to make them stable at sea. They returned fully laden with cargo from the Hawkesbury region. Bar Island - Plan of Management
![]()
Mooney Mooney Bridge over Mooney Mooney Creek
Mooney Mooney Creek: a major northern tributary of the Hawkesbury River, it enters the river alongside the Pacific Highway road bridge near Brooklyn. Abundant wildlife can be seen including herons, Kingfisher, cormorants, sea eagles, fish, stingrays and more.
![]()
Brooklyn: the area on the Hawkesbury River where Pacific Highway and the Sydney to Newcastle Freeway cross the river some 50 kms north of Sydney has become a focal centre for both holidaymakers and daytrippers in seach of the peace and tranquility afforded by this picturesque section of the river. Brooklyn is a charming, easy going fishing and holiday village that is an ideal base or starting point from which to explore or otherwise enjoy the central Hawkesbury River region.
|
LOWER HAWKESBURY
Brooklyn to Barrenjoy Head
Bobbin Head: a suburban Sydney superb picnic and holiday site, either for a day trip or an extended stay. It has a modern boating complex from which a wide range of hire boats are available, including house boats, cruisers, fishing dinghys, paddleboats etc. Bobbin Head gives easy access to the flora and fauna of the river and nearby Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. There are also refreshment kiosks, picnic and barbecue facilities, swimming locations, toilets, river cruises and kayak hire.
![]()
Cottage Point: an isolated outpost on Cowan Creek, idylically located in the middle of beautiful waterside bushland. The eateries here have developed an enviable reputation and are visited by motorists, passing sailors and float planes alike. In 1899, the area south of Cottage point was the subject of a bizarre plan to build Australia's Capital there. To be called Pacivica, the plans called for the town to replicate London, with castles, a tower and a suspension bridge giving access from Sydney via Bobbin Head.
![]()
Broken Bay: a large inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The bay comprises three arms, being the prominent estuary of the Hawkesbury River in the west, Pittwater to the south, and Brisbane Water to the north. The entrance to Broken Bay lies between the northern Box Head and Barrenjoey Head to the south.
![]()
Brisbane Water: a meandering waterway to the north of Broken Bay. It loops past St. Huberts, Rileys and Pelican Islands and opens out in a wider expanse near Gosford. Entry to Brisbane Water, around Lion Island and West Head, can be quite squally and the water choppy, but the views of the shoreline are magnificent.
![]()
Brisbane Water National Park: set in rugged sandstone country, it's a great place to see wildflowers and Aboriginal engravings, and to go bushwalking, birdwatching and sightseeing. Brisbane Water National Park is located in the lower reaches of Mooney Mooney Creek, which enters the Hawkesbury estuary from the north. The creek is ideal to explore by canoe, through beautiful mountainous wood country, with semi rainforest coming right down to the waters edge.
![]()
Patonga: a tranquil seaside village situated on the edge of recessed Brisk Bay near the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. Its calm, pleasant, relatively quiet and waters face in a south-easterly direction across to West Head, Pittwater and Barrenjoey.
![]()
Riverboat Postman: there was a time when postmen delivered mail to out of the way riverside towns across Australia by boat. This time honoured tradition is still maintained on the Hawkesbury River. Every day guests can travel with the postman and visit the small isolated river communities along the river. Along the way they are entertained by a commentary of the river and its history.
![]()
Pittwater: a wide inlet to the south of Broken Bay and the entrance of the Hawkesbury River. Located some 30 kms north of Sydney, it is now part of suburban Sydney, and a boat owner's paradise. The suburbs built on its shores are all fashionable residential areas which benefit from expansive views towards Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park on its eastern shore and the inlet's calm waters.
![]()
Scotland Island, Pittwater
Scotland Island: located in Pittwater off Church Point, Scotland Island is a quiet, secluded paradise which is home to a few hundred people including a number of artists, musicians and film makers. Scotland Island is today encircled by houses nestled among tall gums and natural vegetation. A road winds around the island which takes approximately 35 minutes to walk around and there are no cars to worry about.
![]()
Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park: comprises of around 16,200 hecatres of bushland on the foreshores of Cowan and Creek and Pittwater, about 23 km north of the Sydney CBD. Roads and walking tracks throughout the park lead to picnic sites, rocky cliffs and secluded sandy beaches as well as numerous rock art sites created by the Aboriginal people after whom the park is named.
![]()
Barrenjoey Headland: made up mostly of Hawkesbury sandstone and not volcanic as popularly believed, the former island is connected to the mainland by a sand spit or tombolo. A customs station was established on the headland in 1843 at what was considered to be the back door of Sydney for smugglers. The Barrenjoey Lighthouse was the third light on the Headland and was completed in 1881. A walking track leads to the lighthouse, which offers expansive views in all directions.
|
