Belanglo State Forest is a planted forest, of mainly pine but some native forestry around the edges, open to the public, in the Australian state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

; its total area is about 3,800 hectares. The Belanglo State Forest is located south of Berrima in the Southern Highlands, three kilometres west of the

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

between

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The forest is owned by the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

and contains some of the earliest

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

plantings in the state. The first radiata pines were planted in this area in 1919.

Reputation

Despite being an area of outstanding natural beauty, Belango Forest has a sinister reputation, and place in Australian folklore, due to the forest's connection to multiple murders.

Ivan Milat murders

In 1992 and 1993, seven skeletons were found in the forest, in what was described by media as the backpacker murders and was considered to be the work of a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. Eventually,

Ivan Milat Ivan Robert Marko Milat (27 December 1944 – 27 October 2019) was an Australian serial killer who was convicted in the backpacker murders in 1996. Commonly known as the Backpacker Murderer, Milat captured, assaulted, robbed and murdered two me ...

was convicted of the murders in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Other murders

On 22 November 2010, three teenagers (including one related to Milat) were arrested on suspicion of connection with the discovery of a murdered male in the forest, following a tip-off. David Auchterlonie was celebrating his 17th birthday on 20 November; Mathew Milat, 17, and Cohen Klein, 18 had planned for over a week to lure Auchterlonie to his death. A third person, Chase Day, 18 whose charges were later withdrawn by the DPP went to police midday 21 November to report the murder.

Deaths

On 29 August 2010, trail bike riders discovered a human skeleton in the forest. Media reports at first linked the killing to Milat, but later forensic work disproved this theory as the remains were left there after he was sent to prison. On 21 October 2015, the bones were identified as the body of

Karlie Pearce-Stevenson Karlie is an English and Swedish feminine given name that is a feminine form of Karl, a diminutive form of Karla and an alternate form of Karly. Notable people known by this name include the following: Given name *Karlie Hay (born 1997), American ...

, aged 22, from

Alice Springs, Northern Territory Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Ali ...

. The body of Pearce-Stevenson's daughter, Khandalyce Pearce, aged 2, was found in a suitcase near

Wynarka, South Australia Wynarka is a very small town in South Australia southeast of Adelaide on the Karoonda Highway (B55) and Loxton railway line in the Murray Mallee. Wynarka lies within the District Council of Karoonda East Murray. Founding The government town of ...

, on 14 July 2015. Visitors to the park are warned by a sign to 'please be careful', as they enter the territory. Detectives who worked on the Milat murders have said there is 'pure evil' in Belanglo State Forest.

Park Usage

Despite the sinister reputation, Belanglo State Forest is a popular tourist recreation destination.

References

{{reflist New South Wales state forests