Grose Valley

Grose Valley from Govetts Leap at Blackheath from

Grose Valley from Pulpit Rock at Blackheath from

Blue Gum Forest (2002)

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Grose River is a river in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales. He 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 gorge in the mountains of the Blue Mountains. Steep sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet above the river. This spectacular scenery you can from the area around Blackheath peeking out well, where there are several easily accessible viewpoints. The most famous of which is Govetts Leap. Also from the Bells Line of Road ( road from Lithgow to Richmond ) and lookouts at Mount Victoria can overlook the river valley well.

Charles Darwin described the valley of the Grose River as " amazing (...) great," when he visited it in 1836. 1859 some of the first photographs of Australia in Grose Valley were made. There were frequent proposals for railways and dams in the valley, but none of them was ever realized. 1931 one of the first battles for the preservation of the forest in Australia was beaten for this valley.

The Blue Gum Forest in the Grose Valley a special attraction. It consists predominantly of very tall eucalyptus trees ( Blue Gum, Eucalyptus deanei ) with little undergrowth, because the tall trees hinder the growth of the undergrowth by shielding almost all the sunlight. This forest is protected by the provisions of the National Park and can be reached only on foot. Many hiking trails on the Grose River along and through adjoining valleys meet in this forest.

The Grose Valley runs through a network of trails with several entrances and exits and side valleys, which offers space for many discoveries. A brief day trip (10 km in 5 hours ) starts at Perry's Lookout and leads steeply down to the river. The path crosses a corner of Blue Gum Forest, leads south through the Acacia Flat campground and follows the Govetts Creek. It happened quite a few abandoned campsites and the skirt Junction the route divides. The route to the Govetts Leap was closed in 2003 after a landslide and reopened in December 2007. In the other direction, along the Govetts Creek, the road continuously towards the Grand Canyon rises, then divides again. A road leads to Neate's Glen, the other rises steeply and leads to Evans Lookout. The creeks in the valley only lead seasonal water and are very dirty, so that the enjoyment of their water can cause stomach and intestinal diseases. In summer, this hike is much more exhausting, because the temperatures are very high. There is also a higher risk of forest fires.

The valley of the Grose River has been frequently ravaged by forest fires, especially in 1982 and in November 2006. Especially the Blue Gum Forest was then severely damaged. After the forest fires in 2006, many trails were closed, so that the vegetation could recover. Since March 2009, all trails are open again in this area, with the exception of the path from Evans Lookout on the Rodriguez Pass into the valley and the Grand Canyon, the latter due to a landslide.

The Grose Valley was the cradle of the modern conservation movement in New South Wales, as the Blue Gum Forest was saved from destruction 1931-1932. A group of a hiking club from Sydney, led by Alan Rigby, camped in the woods, when she became aware of Clarrie Hungerford, a farmer from the Bilpin Range. Hungerford had leased a portion of the forest and told the hikers that he cut down the eucalyptus trees and wanted to plant walnut trees. The hikers went home and started a campaign to stop him. Later, they collected 130 pounds that they paid Hungerford to replace its lease. At the time of the Great Depression, this was a large sum of money. 80 pounds came in the form of an interest-free loan of James Cleary, then managing director of the Railroad of New South Wales and later Executive Board of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Cleary was also in a hiking club.

One of the main activists of the campaign was Myles Dunphy, who developed the plans for the Blue Mountains National Park at the time.

The history of the people in the valley, however, is much older than the above events. The first people who lived there were Aboriginal; were found tools of them in the vicinity of the forest. In the 19th century there have been several proposals for dams on the Grose River; one of these dams would run through the forest. In the river valley, coal and slate should be dismantled and in the 1850s the railway was planned to the west along the Grose River and through the woods.

1875 took place in the Blue Gum Forest an artist camp organized by Eccleston Du Four - the founder of the Ku-ring -gai Chase National Park - from the Art Academy instead. Here some great photographs by Alex Bischoff and drawings and paintings by William Piguenit came out. Another effect of the camp was that all the Grose Valley and the surrounding area has been protected from destruction, because it was considered a " national landmark ". At that time there were no national parks in Australia and actually Australia was still not even a nation - but this reserve has been an essential part of the first national parks in the country.

Important trails

• From Neate's Glen to Evans Lookout
• From the Rodriguez Pass to Govetts Creek
• From Govetts Leap Junction to rock
• From Junction skirt to Blue Gum Forest
• The Blue Gum Forest for Perrys Look Down
• The Blue Gum Forest on the Burra Korain Flat
• From the Burra Korain Flat for Victoria Falls Lookout
• From Govetts Leap to Evans Lookout
• Lockley track from Blue Gum Forest on Mount Hay Road
• Mount Hay Track

Important Viewpoints

• Govetts Leap
• Evans Lookout
• Point Pilcher
• Perrys Look Down
• Anvil rock
• Baltzer Lookout
• Walls Lookout
• Victoria Falls Lookout
• Lockley pylon
• Mount Banks