Great North Walk: Difference between revisions

|trailheads=[[Macquarie Place]], [[Sydney]] / Bicentennial Park, [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]]

The '''Great North Walk''' is a walking track which runs from [[Sydney]] to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] in [[New South Wales]], Australia. The main track, {{convert|250|km}} in length, runs between the Obelisk in [[Macquarie Place]] in Sydney to [[Queens Wharf Tower]] in [[Bicentennial Park, Newcastle|Bicentennial Park]] in Newcastle and is well sign-posted. There are many "side tracks" which link the track to populated areas along the length of the walk. The walk includes a huge variety of wildlife and scenery.

A {{convert|25|km|adj=on}} section at the northern, Newcastle end, is also known as the '''Yuelarbah Track'''. This section runs from the [[Teralba, Newrailway South Wales|Teralbastation]] railway station to the [[Queens Wharf]] on [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] [[Harbour]]. At [[Kahibah]] Station, the Great North Walk uses a short section of [[The Fernleigh Track]] and passes along the northern side of [[Glenrock Lagoon]] to get to the coast.

The Great North Walk was initiated by Gary McDougall and Leigh Shearer-Heriot. They both planned and marked the original route from [[Sydney]] to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], with access to many linking tracks. Today's Great North Walk is quite true to the original trail. There have been books written about the walk.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildwalks.com/books.html |title=Books |publisher=Wildwalks Books |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829005453/http://wildwalks.com/books.html |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="auto">'The Great North Walk Companion' A. Henderson-Sellers et al., 2009</ref>

The original name for the Great North Walk was the 'Sydney to Hunter Project'. The name 'the Great North Walk' was derived from the first road from the [[Hunter Valley]] to Sydney, called the '[[Great North Road, AustraliaNew South Wales|Great North Road]]. Construction began in 1987 and was completed less than a year later in early 1988, in time for the Australian Bicentennial celebrations. Workers from several countries including China, [[Thailand]] and [[Vietnam]] were hired by the NSW State Government to complete the track by 1988. A small amount of local controversy followed as the labourers won the contract to construct the track over a local landscaping and environmental business. Claim was made that the contract was only won because it cost as much as three times less than the local bid.<ref>''An analysis of occupational outcomes for Indigenous and Asian employees in Australia'' V.K. Borooah & J. Mangan, Economic record, 2002.</ref>

The company, Ning-Pow Australia, who were responsible for providing the labourers for the project, were heavily scrutinised for slow construction and poor treatment of their workers. The track was eventually finished but was of poor quality. Following the bicentennial year, the NSW State Government handed over maintenance responsibility to each sections respective land owners, mainly NSW [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (New SouthNSW Wales)|National Parks and& Wildlife Service]] and [[State Forests (New South Wales)|State Forests]].<ref name="auto"/> Under new responsibility, the track was upgraded to a higher quality. In several places the track had to be re-constructed taking completely different routes, because the original had been so terribly built. Eventually, the track was completed to a good standard and remains well maintained in most places.<ref>''Australia and Asian capitalism'' A. David & E.L. Wheelwright, 1989.</ref>

After its official start in Macquarie Place, the walk continues through the suburb of [[Hunters Hill, New South Wales|Hunters Hill]], where there are many heritage homes, then arrives at the [[Lane Cove River]].<ref>Sydney and Blue Mountains Bushwalks, Neil Paton (Kangaroo Press) 2004, pp.8–19</ref> It follows the river through the [[Lane Cove National Park]] to [[Thornleigh, New South Wales|Thornleigh]], then follows Berowra Creek. Further north, the track crosses over to the [[Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park]]<ref>Sydney and Blue Mountains Bushwalks, pp.74–76</ref> before proceeding to [[Brooklyn, New South Wales|Brooklyn]], on the [[Hawkesbury River]]. The river can be crossed either by train or boat, after which the track proceeds north through [[Brisbane Water National Park]]<ref>The Great North Walk, McDougall, Shearer-Heriot (Kangaroo Press) 1988, pp.96–100</ref> and the Ourimbah Valley<ref>The Great North Walk, pp.117–119</ref> before reaching the Watagan State Forest.<ref>The Great North Walk, pp.114–136</ref> Further north, the track veers east in the vicinity of [[Brunkerville, New South Wales|Brunkerville]] and follows the Myall Range for some distance before reaching [[Teralba, New South Wales|Teralba]], on the southern fringes of Newcastle. It then proceeds to its official finishing point in Newcastle.

* [http://www.thegreatnorthwalk.com/ The Great North Walk] – dedicated information site n

* [httphttps://org.wildwalks.com/bushwalking/general/list-of-walks.html?groupid=20 Detailed Track notes and Topographic Maps for Great North Walk] – Wildwalks.com