John's Blue Mountains Blog: reserve

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

HASSAN’S WALLS LITHGOW WESTERN BLUE MOUNTAINS

HASSAN’S WALLS LITHGOW

WESTERN BLUE MOUNTAINS

Anyone driving on the Great Western Highway between Hartley and Lithgow will have noticed the cliffs of Hassan’s Walls above them. They are outliers of the same Triassic sandstone familiar to everyone in the western Blue Mountains.

Like Govett of Govett’s Leap at Blackheath, people ask “Who was Hassan?” Answers will vary: he was an escaped convict (there was a convict stockade below the Walls in the early days), he was a character in the Arabian Nights, he was an Arab stockman.

The right answer seems to be that Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the Walls during his trip to Bathurst in 1815 on the newly built Cox’s Road. It is said that they reminded him of the Walls of Hassan in southern India, but whether this is true or not I cannot say. However the name came to be given, it has certainly stuck.

1895 newspaper quote

The Walls have always been a tourist attraction to visitors and the people of Lithgow. The area was made a Reserve as long ago as 1895; however it was the work of James Padley during World War 1 that laid the foundation for the Reserve as we see it today. Even a brief look at Trove (newspaper files) reveals the extent of the problems – vandalism, littering, stealing native plants

Illustrated Sydney News February 7th 1889

and just general apathy. Nor have these problems ceased in the district. The Zig Zag Railway has been suffering from constant vandalism and theft for years, most likely carried out by local residents, perhaps the descendants of the Hassan’s Walls vandals of earlier years.

Lithgow City Council is in the process of having a boardwalk, interpretive signs etc constructed right now (January 2014). No doubt these will be great assets and improve the visitor’s experience greatly. However, history shows that the graffiti “artists”, vandals and thieves won’t take long to get up there to try to spoil that experience.

The area has an incredibly varied fauna which includes plants scarcely known elsewhere. Please protect this environment – no rubbish, keep to made tracks and the boardwalk and definitely no fires!

Something needs to be said about the prominent rock outlier so noticeable during the drive around the “Forty Bends” at Old Bowenfels. Right at the end of a ridge, you can hardly miss the likeness to a man’s head. I’ve been aware of it for as long as I can remember. The old name for this erosional feature is “King George’s Head”, though I have heard it called “Indian’s Head” locally as well. Let’s stick to the traditional name.

So why King George’s Head? The king referred to is undoubtedly George III and the only likeness most people in Australia would have seen of the king was on his coinage. He faces right on his coins, as does the rock when seen from the Highway (which rules out Georges II and IV who face left on their coins). The best known image of King George (who reigned from 1760 to 1820) is on the celebrated "cartwheel penny” of 1797, which circulated widely in the colony. I believe this is the origin of the name.

NOTE ADDED 11th November 2017.The 1806 penny, especially a worn example (which was the usual condition of Australian circulating coins) is more likely to have been in the pockets of people in those days. They remained in circulation right up to the gold rush days.

You will find a fascinating account of Lithgow in this article from the Illustrated Sydney News February 7^th 1889) from which the pictures above come. The article also mentions King George’s Head. Click here.

A good article about the development of the Reserve in James Padley’s time may be found here.

You will find my video here and another (Holiday Hunter) here.

NOTE ADDED 28th March 2015 - report from the Lithgow Mercury on a recent landslide here.

https://johnsbluemountainsblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/links-to-all-blog-entries-and-relevant.html All Blue Mountains blogs and videos

https://johnsnewenglandminerals.blogspot.com/2013/12/list-of-all-blog-entries-to-date.html

All New England and other Geology blogs and videos

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/1325599670344725659?pli=1

Limestone Caves of NSW

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1147003616874115974/2430103125095714141

Song Studies. Bible studies based on hymns and songs

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/1515863000684737715

Shoalhaven District Geology.

Monday, 26 August 2013

THE KATOOMBA FALLS RESERVE, BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

THE KATOOMBA FALLS RESERVE

BLUE MOUNTAINS NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA

The Katoomba Falls Reserve has been a central part of the “Katoomba experience” for 130 years. Its proximity to Scenic World guarantees that the flow of visitors will continue unabated. So far as I can tell, the falls and surrounding bushland are part of the Blue Mountains National Park while the reserve itself (ie the adjacent picnic and park lands etc) is administered by the Blue Mountains City Council. Both have a continuing battle to keep these areas attractive to visitors and yet maintain their conservation and scenic value.

It appears from the Sydney Morning Herald of July 7^th 1880 that the reserve was established on June 4^th that year. It would have included the area around the falls themselves, no doubt, as well as the more level ground which we now think of the as the Katoomba Falls Reserve. From then on, sundry improvements began to be made and the area developed as a picnic ground. For example, we read in the Nepean Times of Saturday 29^th October 1887 that the local Congregational Church was to hold a Sunday School picnic there the following Saturday.

Railway picnics were great events in those days, bringing NSW Government Railway employees from far and wide for a day’s fun and games. The SMH reports of the picnics of 1912 and 1913 make it clear that crowds of 2000 people attended. The town council was criticised for not making better provision for such numbers. It is a subject worth reading about in Trove, and it's apparent that both Blackheath and Mt Victoria benefited from similar large assemblies.

The camping ground in 1958

At some point the town’s showground was established on the reserve, before moving to its present site around 1926. From that time the NRMA came onto the scene wanting to convert the showground site into a camping area. This was done and the site became a very popular venue in the 1930’s. I can only remember the place from the early 50’s but I am sure those early campers would be amazed at the facilities that are provided for visitors today. It is now known as the Blue Mountains Tourist Park and the website may be found here .

Cricket has been played at the reserve for a long time too. We read in the “Blue Mountain Echo” of Friday 2nd December 1910 of plans to set up a proper cricket ground there. Today there are two and the second one also serves as an off-leash dog area every morning.

I have copied the comment below from the Orphan Rock blog, as it is also relevant here.

"If you consult the map on page 251 of The Burning Mists of Time, you will see that by 8th June 1880, North had already given the land for Katoomba Park, basically all that land on the ledge from Katoomba Falls around to and including the Orphan Rock.

Access to the Rock was stopped in 1974 when a mudslide obliterated the access track, and BMCC never repaired it. I think they took it as an excuse to remove some more track maintenance from their books.

In 1998 I took the Mayor and the Head of NPWS up to the top of the Rock to see if it could be re-instated. At the time there was an issue as to whether Council or NPWS "owned" the Rock. Nothing ever came of it. Philip Hammon June 2014"

There are three main picnic areas at Katoomba Falls Reserve and on any day, sunny or not, there are always people there making use of this excellent park.

View my Blue Mountains videos here. The one dealing with Katoomba Falls Reserve is here