THE GEOLOGY OF MT WILSON: THE WATERFALL TRACK BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

THE GEOLOGY OF MT WILSON: THE WATERFALL TRACK BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

The Waterfall Track at Mt Wilson (northern Blue Mountains) takes the walker down through rain forest into a valley where the basalt which makes up the upper part of the Mountain can be seen to lie above older sandstone. This is the situation all over this basalt capped mountain, as it is with others in the area, but this spot is perhaps the most accessible and the most studied of all.

You can see the area on my video (here) but it is one of those places you can easily visit yourself if you have a reasonable degree of fitness. Leave it as you find it – no specimens please!

Examine the extract from the 1:250 000 Sydney geological map. You will see that in this part of the Blue Mountains the geology is fairly simple. Comparatively flat lying basalt (Tv) occupies the highest ground (as you can easily see from viewpoints like Anvil Rock at Blackheath and Wynne’s Rocks at Mt Wilson). Beneath the basalt is the normal series of Triassic age sedimentary rocks seen throughout the central Sydney Basin: the Wianamatta Group (TRwl), the Hawkesbury Sandstone (TRh)and the Narrabeen Group (TRn).

Interpretation of the strata beneath Mt Banks

The Wianamatta Group of silty sediments is not present beneath the basalt at Mt Wilson whereas it is at Mt Tomah and Mt Irvine. The Hawkesbury Sandstone, likewise is present immediately beneath the Wianamatta Group in those same places but is not shown as being present at Mt Wilson. NOTE: see Additional Information at the end of this Blog. However, in the publication “Layers of Time”, the Hawkesbury Sandstone is stated to be present on Mt Banks beneath the basalt (p. 28) and is shown as such in the accompanying geological section. The Sydney 1:250 000 map does not show the Hawkesbury Sandstone as being present on Mt Banks  (bottom 

Mt Banks from Wynne's Rocks

left of map extract above , spot height 3474’).

I suspect that the Hawkesbury Sandstone is present, albeit a thin layer of it, in places around the edge of the Mt Wilson basalt, partly because of the considerable difference in elevation between the mountain and the general level of the tableland around it, and by analogy with Mt Banks.

You can download a copy of “Layers of Time” by going to DIGS (see my Blog entry on how to do this here). The reference number is GS1998/519. The Waterfall track is discussed on page 29. Another reference (old, but still good reading) is Rev J Milne Curran’s “Geology of Sydney” (1898 and 99). 

Columnar basalt at the waterfall

f

Sandstone beneath the basalt

Joseph Carne has something to say about Mt Wilson in Memoir 6 of the Geological Survey of NSW (1908) titled “The Geology and Mineral Resources of the Western Coalfield”. His main subject is, of course, the coalfield itself; however on pages 132-4 he quotes an article by AG Hamilton from the Linnean Society (1899) which is specifically about Waterfall

Sandstone at Wynne's Rocks

Creek at Mt Wilson. At the end of this Blog you will find the text of the most relevant passage in this book.You can download a copy of the entire work from DIGS (reference number Geology Memoir 06).

I need to make one further comment on the geology of Mt Wilson. Carne points out that there are a number of places in the area where sediments of Tertiary age lie beneath the basalt but above the older Triassic rocks, which represent the land surface at the time the basalt was poured out. There must have been streams flowing across this old land surface and it is the alluvium from these stream beds and flood plains which is preserved in a few places. Mt Tootie is one of these, Airly Mountain is another. In the case of Airly Mountain, gold, diamonds and sapphires are present in the old gravel. As the base of the basalt at Mt Wilson is not level (as with all the volcanic residuals), it is possible that such a deep lead is present there. About the only way to follow this up would be by examining the sediments in the streams draining the mountain. To do so will require a lot of bush-bashing. Perhaps Bowen’s Creek and the Wollongambe River carry some of these dense minerals in their alluvium, which might have come from such deep leads, whether still present in part on these peaks or now completely eroded away. 

Extract from "Geology and Mineral Resources of the Western Coalfield"

Additional Information 26th November 2014

 The Geological Map of the Western Coalfield (Southern Part), issued by the NSW Department of Mineral Resources in 1992 (DIGS Reference R00027991) clearly shows the Hawkesbury Sandstone (TRh)beneath the basalt under much of Mt Wilson, including the Waterfall track area. My apology for not checking this resource earlier.

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MARK’S TOMB: MEDLOW BATH, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

MARK’S TOMB: MEDLOW BATH, 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

      The story of Mark’s Tomb is a fascinating one. So that there is no misunderstanding, this is not a real tomb, but would have been if Mark Foy had had his way.

Mark Foy (1865-1950) was a successful Sydney businessman. Along with his brother Francis, the department store was commenced in 1885 in Liverpool St, in what was then the heart of the Sydney retail district. Fashionable clothing one was one of the store’s specialties. The business (named for their father, Mark Foy Senior) thrived but eventually went the way of similar retailers in that part of the city, closing its doors in 1980. The building survives as the Downing Centre, a group of courthouses.

Apart from the business, the name of Mark Foy will forever be associated with two of his major interests – sailing and the Hydro-Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath. It is with the second of these that we are, of course, now concerned.

To understand the story of the famous Medlow Bath landmark, I suggest that you download a copy of a guide to the Hydro-Majestic Hotel, from around 1910. Go to Trove here, select “Books”, tick “Available Online” and type in the key words: Hydro Majestic Medlow Bath. Press Enter, and a short list will come up. Select the second of these, which you can now download as a PDF file. It will only take a few minutes at most. You will be amazed at the opulence of the place.

The Hydro was undoubtedly a pet project of Mark’s. The “hydro” in the name refers to the idea of 

water treatments in alleviating – even curing – a wide range of ailments. The “Bath” in Medlow Bath takes us back to the same idea in Europe, notably “taking the cure” in places like the hot springs in Bath, England, and the many spas across Europe. It is still widely practiced today, the hot springs of New Zealand are extensively used for the same purpose and Sue and I appreciate the hydrotherapy pool here in Lithgow where we live.

I can’t say that the idea was as successful as Mark Foy would have liked, but the hotel certainly grew in fame as one of the places to be seen at in the Blue Mountains, at the top of the list with the Carrington in Katoomba, in fact. Foy lived to see his dream hotel managed by others who probably didn’t share his vision for the place, and to see it taken over as a military hospital for American servicemen in World War 11. Since then it has had many ups and downs and at the moment (May 2014) there is major construction and refurbishment going on there. Hydrotherapy will again be available at the Hydro. One thing will never change, though, and that is the superb views of the cliffs and valleys from the rear hotel balconies and lawns. Visit this site here for information on the hotel today and into the future.

Foy was so taken with the area that he wanted to be buried there, selecting the eroded sandstone cave we know as “Mark’s Tomb” as his final resting place. I don’t know what his family thought about the idea, if they even knew about it before his will was read. As things turned out, the courts overturned the instruction to build the tomb there and now all that remains is the sign pointing down the hill from the Wonderland Track reading “Mark’s Tomb”, and even this looks like it won’t last much longer.

You can read the newspaper articles from the Sydney Morning Herald (Mark Foy Left £68,981) and (Elaborate Mark Foy Tomb Need Not Be Built), both from 1951.

To find Mark’s Tomb, go to the end of Belgravia St, follow the “TRACK” sign on the tree and take the first track to the right. About 15 minutes along this (the Wonderland Track) you will see a track branching off down the hill to the left. This is where the “Mark’s Tomb” sign is nailed to a tree on the left side of the track. My video about the Wonderland Track and Mark’s Tomb may be found here. 

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CLIFF TOP TRACK EVANS LOOKOUT TO BARROW LOOKOUT, BLACKHEATH NSW AUSTRALIA

CLIFF TOP TRACK EVANS LOOKOUT TO 

BARROW LOOKOUT, BLACKHEATH NSW AUSTRALIA

Lockley Pylon across the Grose Valley

Just when this track was first constructed I can't say, but I believe its present route dates from after World War 11.  One thing is certain, however: the National Parks and Wildlife Service has done a great job in reconstructing the track in recent years and it is a pleasure to walk on.

At Evans Lookout, the track leaves from the left of the parking area just as you enter it. If you’re a first time visitor to the lookout, make sure you include the short walk down to Valley View Lookout as well as to the main one. You will get a better view of Hayward Gully Falls (Gossamer Falls) from here than you will along the Cliff Top track. They are on the left as you stand at the lookout.

The first landmark you will reach as you head towards Govett’s Leap is the shallow indentation of Hayward Gully. All the references I have been able to find say that this is named after William Hayward, said to be the first European to descend into the Grose Valley, in 1847. Just where he achieved this is not stated. It certainly wasn’t by going over the cliffs at this point! Just what connection there is between Hayward and the gully I don't know. Since my uncle and aunt (Phil and Bess Hayward) and their family lived along Evans Lookout Road in the 1950’s near the head of Hayward Gully, I prefer to believe the gully was named after them!

Grif Taylor

The cliff line along here has been known as Griffith Taylor Wall since Myles Dunphy named lots of Blue Mountains features in the 1960’s. Thomas Griffith Taylor (Grif to his friends) was a pioneer Australian geographer, whose ideas on the origins of the scenery we see today culminated in his well-known book "Sydneyside Scenery” in 1958. I still have a badly typed letter he sent me in 1963 after I had written an account of the geology of the Nowra district in my first year of teaching at Nowra High School (1963). It was probably typed on the very machine in the photograph!

Horseshoe Falls from near Barrow Lookout

There is no denying the influence of Grif Taylor on generations of students (and the general public) and, despite new discoveries and interpretations, we can still learn from him. His maps and sketches are a delight and I have extracted one from Sydneyside Scenery which shows just how much information can be crammed into a small space. 

Tony Luchetti

The name “Luchetti Lookout” still appears in current publications, though there is no sign of it along the track. It was approached by a side track (now lost) and is at the point of land where the Cliff Top track diverges from its cliff edge route for a few hundred metres or so. The lookout, presumably named after long serving local member Tony Luchetti, was never a developed one and had no guard rails etc.

Barrow Lookout is the subject of another blog, to be found here, and video here. It is just above the top of Govett’s Leap (the waterfall, that is) and provides great views of the Grose Valley, Horseshoe Falls, Govett’s Leap Lookout, the track into the valley and the cliffs opposite. It’s one of those place you won’t want to leave.

My video of the walk is here. 

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Track to the bottom of Govett's Leap taken from Barrow Lookout

QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK, LITHGOW NSW AUSTRALIA

QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK, LITHGOW NSW AUSTRALIA

So that we all know what we are talking about, Lithgow Park and Queen Elizabeth Park are one and the same place, the name change being made to coincide with the Queen’s visit to Lithgow on Friday 12^th February 1954.

Lithgow isn’t short of playing fields, but it is rather light on parks and gardens. This is changing as the city grows in the 21^st century, but the older parts of town are still deficient. This is a direct result of the city’s industrial past and the acute housing shortages caused by two world wars, when the coal mines and the Small Arms Factory were vital to Australia’s survival. Simply housing an extra 10 000 people took priority and the rapid decline in population after these conflicts were over caused another set of problems.

In the early days, there were practically no public spaces near the centre of town. What are today vacant areas used as sporting fields were often industrial sites then. As the population grew, so did the agitation for public parkland.

We read in the “Evening News” from Sydney for 27th November 1894, on page 4, “that Lithgow, which was one of the most important towns in the western district, was without a park of any description, and as far as the deputation knew, there were no Crown lands which were available for the purpose, and the Minister was asked to resume a suitable block for the purpose. At present there was no place where they could hold sports, nor where children could play, without trespassing on private land. In reply the Minister for Lands said there was no money available for the purchase of lands for parks, but should any sum be placed on the estimates for the purpose, the claims of Lithgow would be carefully considered.”

By February 1897 there had been little change and it was not until the following year that we read in the “Sydney Morning Herald”, for Saturday 19th November 1898, on page 9 that “The Hon. J Cook is in receipt of a communication from the Lands Department notifying that the Minister for Lands has approved of 14 acres of land being purchased as a public reserve and park for Lithgow”. Joseph Cook, later Sir Joseph, was a former Lithgow coal miner who had become the local member in the NSW parliament. Later still, he became Prime Minister of Australia. The new boardwalk at Hassan’s Walls (2014) has been named to honour him.

Finding and purchasing the site was one thing, but developing it was another. More than 10 years later, money was still being sought for park development. Mr Charles Hoskins, one of the owners of the steel works at Lithgow, offered a sum which had to be matched by other donations. This was proving hard to come by.

1920's - note the smoky background, now a thing of the past

After World War 1, the decision was made to place the city’s War Memorial in Lithgow Park, which has meant that the park from then on became the centre of public ceremonies and festivities, a tradition which continues today. Probably the greatest of these was the visit of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on February 12^th, 1954. There is a good report of the event in the “Herald” of Saturday 13th February, on page 6. It was to honour Her Majesty that the park’s name was changed from that day on. It sounds like a great time was had by all and the memories of the day remain strong in the district, 60 years on.

My video of Queen Elizabeth Park may be found here. 

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Uncle Christy Hayward in Lithgow Park 1953

CASTLE HEAD WALK, NARROW NECK KATOOMBA, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

CASTLE HEAD WALK, NARROW NECK KATOOMBA, BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

If you stand at Echo Point and look across to the Ruined Castle, Castle Head is the point of land immediately behind it. What appears to be a solid tableland is in reality a narrow projection of land into the valley. Near its end it’s only a few metres across, making it an exciting place to stand. Like most such places it is only dangerous if you do silly things.

To get to this spot looks difficult. It’s not. Take the road to Narrow Neck from Cliff Drive, Katoomba. You’ll find the turnoff (Glenraphael Drive, an unsealed road) on the left as you drive around past Scenic World. It’s the only left hand turn along here.

The road descends to the first Narrow Neck before rising again onto the higher ground beyond. There is a car park at the track turnoff to the Golden Stairs, and another at the locked gate across the road shortly after. (There is a steep concrete section of road between the two, constructed to overcome severe erosion problems on the steep hill.)

From the locked gate on, you walk. The track to Castle Head turns off on the left about 15 minutes after you start walking. It’s marked by two round posts, the left one has “Castle Head” written on it in pencil or charcoal. (The track is not shown on the map opposite.) From here you are on a narrow foot pad through the bush, which soon comes to the cliff edge and then follows it to a Trig station (surveyors mark) and finally to the end of the headland.

Hikers on the Ruined Castle

The views along here are amazing in all directions. You can see the 1931 landslide, Katoomba Falls, Echo Point, the Three Sisters, Sublime Point and across to Kings Tableland. Below, looking east, is the Ruined Castle itself (which is the origin of the name Castle Head), behind which is Mt Solitary with the track to the summit easily visible. To the right of this is the gorge of Cedar Creek with Lake Burragorang beyond. (This is the water backed up by Warragamba Dam). A continuous vista of cliffs and valleys leads around to the continuation of the Narrow Neck peninsula. If it’s been raining, you will see a waterfall coming over the cliffs opposite.                                                              

The distant view of Katoomba Falls

Yellow-tailed black cockatoos

This is a popular abseiling spot and there are quite a few YouTube videos about this. The link to one of these is here. My video of the walk is here and a Bushwalking NSW link is here.

It is about a 2 hour return walk from the locked gate, one that you will always remember. Happy hiking! 

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BONNIE DOON TRACK, KATOOMBA BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

BONNIE DOON TRACK, KATOOMBA 

BLUE MOUNTAINS NSW AUSTRALIA

View of Nellie's Glen from North's Lookout

The area known as “Bonnie Doon” lies on the western side of Katoomba, south of the “Explorers' Tree” and adjacent to Nellie’s Glen. There have been tracks through this area since the 19^th century, though the present day one appears to have been constructed about 25 years ago, judging from its deteriorating condition. Today’s track seems to be in a different location from those shown on old maps.

The track basically runs between two lookouts (North’s and Therabulat) crossing several minor streams as it winds through bush land. Sadly, there are no views of the cascades and waterfalls which the walker can hear further down the valleys. It is as if the track has been constructed in the most economical way possible to connect two points while staying away from the more difficult places, which no doubt are the very ones the walker would like to see.                                                                                 

It is possible to see the lowermost of the so-called Bonnie Doon Falls from Peckman’s Plateau Lookout, on the cliff top south of Therabulat Lookout (see my video here) or from a track which leaves the Six Foot track in Nellie’s Glen. This is the fall identified as Ethel Fall in early accounts of the locality. The other falls (3, according to the 1909 map illustrated) remain hidden from view.

Access to the area is from the Nellie’s Glen car park (just past where the Explorers' Tree used to be), turn left off the highway), which takes you down to North’s Lookout and from the end of Stuart’s Road, off Cliff Drive. This leads to Therabulat Lookout (take a left branch). Either way, if you  

The view from Therabulat Lookout to Megalong Valley

continue far enough along the track, you will encounter a newly constructed track coming from who knows where (no signpost in March 2014). Why this track has been pushed through a declared Fauna Study Area (thus destroying hundreds of thousands of native plants) is anyone’s guess.

The other disturbing feature of the walk is the evidence which remains around Nellie’s Glen of the environmental damage caused when an attempt was made to construct a fire trail down the Glen some years ago. One could be excused for thinking that the powers-that-be are less concerned about the scenic and conservation values of this part of Katoomba than they are, say, of those around Katoomba Falls and Echo Point. When you read old newspaper accounts of Bonnie Doon you will soon discover that this has always been an area which has suffered from the hands of timber getters, wild flower pickers, bush rock gatherers and the like. It is an attractive and interesting place and deserves to be better appreciated.

From a 1905 guide book

There are many accounts of walks in this area. Simply Google “Bonnie Doon” Katoomba to come up with a list.  My video on Bonnie Doon is here and the one on Peckman’s Plateau is here. 

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The top of Ethel Fall from North's Lookout

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

ROCKET POINT LOOKOUT, WENTWORTH FALLS NSW AUSTRALIA

ROCKET POINT LOOKOUT, WENTWORTH FALLS 

NSW AUSTRALIA

Rocket Point Lookout from Princes Rock

Rocket Point Lookout is one of the oldest constructed lookouts in the Blue Mountains. Like Fletcher's Lookout and the Princes Rock Lookout, which is immediately across the valley, all have a “parapet” construction (now reinforced with the usual steel poles, bars and wire). It is believed that the work was done by Peter Mulheran, some time in the 1880’s and probably largely by him alone.

Mulheran is one of the best known names associated with Wentworth Falls. He was operating a small guest house and guiding service at the time and appears to have undertaken to build many of the tracks we know and love today. Later on he was a member of the Wentworth Falls Reserves Trust. We owe the man a great debt indeed.

Another well known Wentworth Falls name from those days is Captain John Murray. He was the Chairman of the Trust at the time Peter Mulheran and his assistants were engaged in the construction of the now famous National Pass track. This track descends into the valley by means of a staircase carved from the cliff face below the Rocket Point Lookout. Murray is generally credited with having identified the route by being lowered over the cliff on a bosun’s chair. No doubt his seafaring background qualified him for this job, but he would have been over 70 at the time.

Approaching the lookout from Wentworth Falls

The name “Rocket Point” appears in a “Herald” article dated 17^th October 1889, which is several years before the Murray’s arrival in Wentworth Falls. Some have attributed the name to his practice of firing off flares or rockets from this point to enable people below to get a compass bearing on the point. The dates are against this being the correct explanation. Others use the name “George Murray”, but I can find no such person associated with Wentworth Falls in those days.

An obituary of John Murray appeared on page 6 of the Sydney Morning Herald for Tuesday 4^th February, 1919.

The Mountaineer guidebooks (early 20^th century) contain remarks that the cliffs of Rocket Point are the highest in Australia at 1,000 feet, though how true either statement is, I cannot say. Whatever the truth, this is a most impressive spot and well worth a visit. The lookout is only about a 15 minute walk past the stepping stones at the top of the falls, branching off the National Pass track.

My video of the walk is here.

Top of the Falls from the lookout

 

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