Grose River
| Grose River | ||
 Grose Valley from Govetts Leap near Blackheath |
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| Data | ||
| location | New South Wales , Australia | |
| River system | Hawkesbury River | |
| Drain over | Hawkesbury River → Tasman Sea | |
| source | at Hartley Vale, north of Mount Victoria 33 ° 33 ′ 9 ″ S , 150 ° 18 ′ 22 ″ E |
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| Source height | 953 m | |
| confluence | at Agnes Banks with the Nepean River to the Hawkesbury River Coordinates: 33 ° 36 '33 " S , 150 ° 41' 58" E 33 ° 36 '33 " S , 150 ° 41' 58" E |
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| Mouth height | 38.5 m | |
| Height difference | 914.5 m | |
| Bottom slope | 17 ‰ | |
| length | 54 km | |
| Left tributaries | Carmathen Brook, Hungerfords Creek, Burralow Creek | |
| Right tributaries | Victoria Creek, Hut Hill Creek, Govetts Creek, Wentworth Creek, Linden Creek, Springwood Creek | |
 Grose Valley from Pulpit Rock near Blackheath |
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 Blue Gum Forest (2002) |
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The Grose River is a river in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales . It has formed a wild valley in the northern part of the Blue Mountains National Park and is one of the headwaters of the Hawkesbury River . It rises near Mount Victoria between Katoomba and Lithgow on the western edge of the national park.
Description and history
The Grose River has cut a deep ravine into the Blue Mountains . Steep sandstone cliffs stand hundreds of meters above the river. This spectacular scenery can be seen from the area around Blackheath , where there are several easily accessible viewpoints. The most famous of these is Govett's Leap . The river valley can also be overlooked from the Bells Line of Road (road from Lithgow to Richmond ) and from lookouts at Mount Victoria.
Charles Darwin described the Grose River valley as "amazing (...) great" when he visited it in 1836. In 1859 some of Australia's first photographs were taken in the Grose Valley. There have been several proposals for railway lines and dams in the valley, but none of them have ever been implemented. In 1931 one of the first forest preservation battles in Australia was fought for this valley.
The Blue Gum Forest is a special attraction in the Grose Valley. It mainly consists of particularly tall eucalyptus trees (Blue Gum, Eucalyptus deanei) with little undergrowth, as the tall trees hinder the growth of the undergrowth by shielding almost all of the sunlight. This forest is protected by the regulations of the national park and can only be reached on foot. Many hiking trails along the Grose River and through adjacent valleys meet in this forest.
The Grose Valley is criss-crossed by a network of hiking trails with numerous entrances and exits and side valleys, which offers space for many discoveries. A short day trip (10 km in 5 h) starts at Perrys Lookout and leads steeply down to the river. The trail crosses a corner of the Blue Gum Forest, heads south through Acacia Flat campsite, and follows Govetts Creek . You pass several abandoned campsites and at Junction Rock the path splits. The route to Govetts Leap was closed after a landslide in 2003 and reopened in December 2007. In the other direction, along Govetts Creek , the path climbs continuously towards the Grand Canyon , where it divides again. One path leads to Neates Glen , the other climbs steeply and leads to Evans Lookout . The streams in the valley only have seasonal water and are heavily polluted, so that drinking their water can lead to stomach and intestinal diseases. In summer this hike is much more strenuous as the temperatures are very high. There is also a higher risk of forest fires.
The Grose River valley has been ravaged by forest fires several times, especially in 1982 and in November 2006. The Blue Gum Forest in particular was badly damaged at the time. After the forest fires in 2006, many hiking trails were closed to allow the vegetation to recover. Since March 2009 all hiking trails in this area have been reopened, with the exception of the trail from Evans Lookout over Rodriguez Pass into the river valley and the Grand Canyon , the latter due to a landslide.
The Grose Valley became the cradle of the modern conservation movement in New South Wales when the Blue Gum Forest was saved from impending destruction in 1931–1932. A group from a Sydney walking club, led by Alan Rigby , was camping in the woods when they heard of Clarrie Hungerford , a farmer from the Bilpin Range . Hungerford had leased part of the forest and told the hikers that he wanted to cut down the eucalyptus trees and plant walnut trees. The hikers went home and started a campaign to stop him. They later collected £ 130 which they paid Hungerford to replace his rent. At the time of the Great Depression , this was a large sum of money. £ 80 came in the form of an interest-free loan from James Cleary , then chief executive of the New South Wales Railroad and later director of the Australian Broadcasting Commission . Cleary was also in a walking club.
One of the key campaigners was Myles Dunphy , who developed the plans for the Blue Mountains National Park at the time.
The history of the people in the valley is much older than the events mentioned above. The first people to live there were Aborigines ; their tools were found near the forest. In the 19th century there were several proposals for dams on the Grose River; one of these dams would have run through the forest. Coal and shale were also to be mined in the river valley, and in the 1850s the railway line was planned westward along the Grose River and through the forest.
In 1875 there was an artist camp in the Blue Gum Forest, organized by Eccleston Du Four - the founder of the Ku-ring-gai-Chase National Park - from the Academy of Art. The result was a number of great photographs by Alex Bischoff and drawings and paintings by William Piguenit . Another effect of the camp was that the entire Grose Valley and its surroundings were protected from destruction because it was considered a "national attraction". There were no national parks in Australia then, and actually Australia wasn't even a nation back then - but this reserve became an integral part of the country's first national park.
Important hiking trails
- From Neates Glen to the Evans Lookout
- From Rodriguez Pass to Govetts Creek
- From Govetts Leap to Junction Rock
- From Junction Rock to the Blue Gum Forest
- From the Blue Gum Forest to Perry's Lookdown
- From the Blue Gum Forest to the Burra Korain Flat
- From Burra Korain Flat to Victoria Falls Lookout
- From Govetts Leap to Evans Lookout
- Lockley Track from Blue Gum Forest to Mount Hay Road
- Mount Hay Track
Important viewpoints
- Govett's Leap
- Evans lookout
- Point Pilcher
- Perry's lookdown
- Anvil rock
- Baltzer Lookout
- Walls lookout
- Victoria Falls Lookout
- Lockley pylon
- Mount Banks
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Map of Grose River, NSW . Bonzle.com
- ^ Neil Paton: Sydney and Blue Mountains Bushwalks . Kangaroo Press. Sydney (2004). Pp. 259-262
- ↑ Gregg Borschmann: The Burning Question . Sydney Morning Herald (December 11, 2006)
- ^ Blue Mountains National Park: Culture & History . National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales) ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Neil Paton: Sydney and Blue Mountains Bushwalks . Kangaroo Press. Sydney (2004). P. 264
- ↑ Gregg Borschmann: The Ghosts of at Enchanted Forest Demand Answers . Sydney Morning Herald (December 11, 2006)
- ^ Andy Macqueen: Back from the Brink: Blue Gum Forest and the Grose Wilderness . Andy Macqueen (2007). Chapter 27
- ^ Andy Macqueen: Back from the Brink: Blue Gum Forest and the Grose Wilderness . Andy Macqueen (1997, 2007). Part IV
- ^ Andy Macqueen: Back from the Brink: Blue Gum Forest and the Grose Wilderness . Andy Macqueen (1997, 2007). Parts I-II
- ^ Andy Macqueen: Back from the Brink: Blue Gum Forest and the Grose Wilderness . Andy Macqueen (1997, 2007). Parts III – IV
