Grose Valley - Description and History

Description and History

The Grose River has cut a deep gorge through the area as it makes its way east towards the Hawkesbury River. Sheer sandstone cliffs standing hundreds of metres above the river make for spectacular scenery and can be viewed extensively from the Blackheath area, where there are a number of accessible lookouts, the best known being Govetts Leap. The valley can also be viewed from lookouts near Bells Line of Road and points outside Mount Victoria.

Charles Darwin described the Grose Valley as "stupendous … magnificent" when he visited in 1836. In 1859 some of the first photographs in Australia were taken in the valley. At various times there were proposals for rail lines and dams but these have not proceeded. In 1931, the valley was the subject of one of Australia's first forest conservation battles.

Within the valley, the Blue Gum Forest is one place that stands out from the rest of the valley. It consists predominantly of towering Blue Gum trees (Eucalyptus deanei, also known as Deane's Gums, or Broad-leafed gums), with a thin understorey because the tall trees inhibit the growth of ground cover by blocking most of the sunlight. Protected by the Blue Mountains National Park, the forest can be accessed only on foot, with several trails from different parts of the Grose Valley and adjacent canyons meeting in the forest.

There are a number of walks through the valley, with various entry, exit points and valley arms offering a range of permutations to explore. A moderate-grade day walk covering approximately 10 km in five hours starts at Perrys Lookdown and descends sharply to the valley floor. Crossing through a corner of the Blue Gum Forest, the track goes south through the Acacia Flat camp ground, following the Govetts Creek. Passing several abandoned campgrounds, the path forks at Junction Rock; the route to Govetts Leap was closed in October 2003, following a landslide, and was reopened in December 2007. In the other direction, along Govetts Creek, the route then starts a continuous climb towards the Grand Canyon, where it forks again; one track goes to Neates Glen, while the other is a steep climb to Evans Lookout. The general direction of travel is towards the southeast and this direction is recommended as the final climb at Evans Lookout is not as difficult as the ascent at Perrys Lookdown. Creeks in the valley are seasonal and highly polluted, and are known to cause gastrointestinal upsets. The walk is much more strenuous in summer due to the higher daily temperatures and there is also an attendant greater risk from bushfire.

The valley has been affected by bushfires at various times, notably in 1982 and in November 2006. In particular the Blue Gum Forest was damaged by back burning. Owing to the harsh bushfires in 2006, the Blue Gum forest and other walking tracks in the valley were closed to bushwalkers to allow the regrowth of vegetation. As of March 2009, all tracks in the Grose Valley are open, with the exception of the Rodriguez Pass into the valley from Evans lookout and the Grand Canyon, closed due to a landslide. The entrance to the Grand Canyon via Neates Glen will not be available on weekdays from late march to the end of 2009 due to remediation work on the track.

The Grose Valley arguably became the cradle of the modern conservation movement in NSW when Blue Gum Forest was saved from threatened destruction in 1931-32. A group from the Sydney Bush Walkers club, led by Alan Rigby, were camped in the forest when they chanced upon a Bilpin farmer, Clarrie Hungerford. Hungerford had a lease of the forest and told the bushwalkers he planned to clear the blue gums to plant walnuts. The bushwalkers went away and started a campaign to stop him. Eventually, they raised 130 pounds which they paid Hungerford in exchange for his relinquishing the lease. It was a substantial amount at the height of the great depression. 80 pounds came in the form of an interest-free loan from James Cleary, then head of the NSW railways and subsequently chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Cleary was also a bushwalker.

One of the key activists in the campaign was Myles Dunphy, who at the time was developing his plans for the Blue Mountains National Park.

The valley's human history is far older than the above events. Firstly, it was home to Aboriginal people; their artefacts have been found close to the forest. During the 1800s there were various proposals to dam the Grose Valley, and one such dam would have been at the forest. The area was also the subject of a number of proposed coal and shale mining ventures, and in the 1850s it was planned that the main western railway line would be routed up the Grose River and through the forest.

In 1875 Blue Gum Forest was the scene of an artists’ camp established by Eccleston Du Faur, of the Academy of Art. Several magnificent photographs by Alex Bischoff and drawings and paintings by William Piguenit resulted. Another outcome was that the whole Grose Valley and surrounds was reserved from alienation because it was ‘a national spectacle’. At the time there was no national park in Australia, and indeed Australia was not even a nation—but the reservation in essence was the country’s first national park.