The Great North Road is a historic road that was built to link early Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, now Australia, with the fertile

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

to the north. Built by

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

between 1825 and 1836, it traverses over of the rugged terrain that hindered early agricultural expansion. The road is of such cultural significance it was included on the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

on 1 August 2007 as a ''nationally significant example of major public infrastructure developed using convict labour'' and on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

list as amongst:

" .. the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts."

The road was an engineering triumph, with some sections constructed to a notably high standard. It was not an unqualified success in practical terms. Apart from the steep grades, there was a lack of water and horse feed along the route. For these reasons it quickly fell into disuse with the development of alternative means of getting to the Hunter Valley, such as steamships and newer roads. Much of the road fell into total disuse while other parts were absorbed into the urban and rural road network.

The route

The Great North Road commences at

Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...

, at what is now the Sydney suburb of

Five Dock Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Location F ...

. Historically, it crossed the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...

by boat at Abbotsford, after which passed through

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

and

Dural Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills District ...

before reaching the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...

, to the north. It then winds through isolated and often rugged bushland along the edge of

Dharug National Park The Dharug National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney central business district and west ...

, continuing through

Bucketty Bucketty is a locality in the City of Cessnock local government area (LGA), in New South Wales, Australia. It is in the south of the LGA, immediately adjacent to the border with the City of Hawkesbury and Central Coast Council, in the Hunter R ...

until forking at

Wollombi Wollombi ( ) is a small village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within the Cessnock City Council LGA, situated southwest of Cessnock and north of Sydney. To the south is the village of Laguna, to the east, the villa ...

. From there one branch continues to Warkworth via Broke and the other goes to Cessnock,

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

and on to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

The Great North Road today

The Great North Road survives to this day, but different parts are preserved in very different ways. Much of it is under bitumen and concrete, either as suburban streets or rural backroads, while some is preserved in national parks and protected from vehicular traffic. Slight evidence of its past, such as bypassed bridgeworks or even convict rock carvings, survives within the Sydney metropolitan area; by contrast large stretches remain in original condition north of the

. The first few kilometres, from

to the

at Abbotsford, pass through the largely residential suburb of

Wareemba Wareemba is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wareemba is 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Wareemba sits on ...

. The historic name is retained for this section, the only reason anyone would think twice about this unremarkable piece of suburban road lined with houses and a few village shops and cafes. This section of the road ends at Abbotsford ferry wharf, there being no longer a corresponding wharf on the north bank. On the opposite bank of the Parramatta River, the former alignment of the Great North Road leading from the former ferry wharf is now called Punt Road, in

Gladesville Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde a ...

. Punt Road ends at Victoria Road. The former alignment is picked up again just northwest of Top Ryde City shopping centre, as North Road, in

, leading to Blaxland Road in Eastwood. The road then recommences at the

Baulkham Hills Baulkham Hills is a suburb in the Hills District of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 30 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district within the local government area of The Hills Shire. Ba ...

intersection with Windsor Road. Known as Old Northern Road, and Tourist Drive 15, it winds up past the suburbs of Castle Hill, Glenhaven,

, before continuing north as a two-lane undivided road. Old Northern Road terminates at

Wiseman's Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales, Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downs ...

. At

, it is once again renamed the Great North Road. Two sections of the original route: the Devine's Hill (Wisemans Ferry) to Mount Manning section and the Mount Manning to Wollombi section are listed on the

New South Wales Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

Preservation

In 1990, the local communities of Bucketty and Wollombi established the 'Convict Trail Project', aiming to restore, maintain and promote the road as a museum of convict engineering. Original sections of the road which are on view have provided valuable insight into early road construction techniques in the colony of New South Wales, and how English road-building technology of the time was imported and adapted. Prisoners from facilities managed by

Corrective Services NSW Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) is a division of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales, Australia. CSNSW is responsible for the state's prisons and a range of programs for managing offenders in ...

have been involved with maintenance.

World Heritage list

In July 2010, at the 34th session of the

World Heritage Committee, the Great North Road and ten other Australian sites with a significant association with convict transportation were inscribed as a group on the World Heritage List as the

Australian Convict Sites Australian Convict Sites is a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips at Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, ...

. The listing explains that the 11 sites present "the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts". Of the 11 sites the Hyde Park Barracks, Cockatoo Island,

Old Government House Old Government House may refer to: * Old Government House, Parramatta, Australia * Old Government House, Queensland, Australia * Old Government House, South Australia, Australia * Old Government House, Hobart, Australia * Old Government House, ...

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

are also within the Sydney region. As part of the works to bring about public engagement with the UNESCO World Heritage Listed 'Old Great North Road' that is managed by the

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the ...

, a living history theatre production was commissioned to tell some of the stories in-situ on Devine's Hill in Dharug National Park, Wiseman's Ferry, along the living remnants of The Road itself. 'Convict Footprints on the Old Great North Road' is a heart-touching, at times funny, at times deeply sad journey with the men and women that built The Road along the very cobbles they themselves walked.

Engineering heritage award

The road is listed as a National Engineering Landmark by

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

Gallery

File:Old Northern Rd convict workgang carving.jpg, Image:Carving_suburbia.jpg, Image:thomas_james_bridge.jpg, Image:devines_hill.jpg, Image:embankment_devines.jpg, Image:gutter.jpg, Image:cutting_devine_hill.jpg, Image:drill_holes_devines_hill.jpg, File:Convict-built stone embankment, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built Embankment, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW. File:Detail, Convict-built stone embankment, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built embankment, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW.
Distinctive markings on cut stones have been used in archaeological studies to estimate the number of convicts in an 'ironed-gang' i.e. offenders sentenced to work in chains, or other metal restraining devices, on heavy labouring tasks like road-making.
There are recognisable and recurring patterns, attributable to individual stone-cutters. File:Gutter cut in stone, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW.
Gutter cut in stone. File:Cartwheel tracks, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW.
Cart-wheel tracks in stone. File:Convict-built road, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW. File:Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW. File:Convict-built stone box culvert, Great North Road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid,
Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW.
Stone box-drain culvert beneath road. File:Convict-built road, NSW.jpg, Convict-built road, Mount McQuoid, Great North Road, Bucketty, NSW. File:Convict-built stone embankment, St Alban's Road Ramp, NSW.jpg, Convict-built stone embankment,
St Alban's Road Ramp, Great North Road, NSW. File:Convict-built stone embankment, NSW.jpg, Convict-built stone embankment,
St Alban's Road Ramp, Great North Road, NSW.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{Streets of Sydney Australia Historical roads of New South Wales Streets in Sydney Transport on the Central Coast (New South Wales) Convictism in New South Wales Australian Convict Sites Protected areas of New South Wales 1825 establishments in Australia Roads in the Hunter Region The Hills Shire Hornsby Shire City of Cessnock World Heritage Sites in New South Wales Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers