Located alongside the suburb of
Newington, New South Wales
Newington is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of City of Parramatta.
Newington is 2 km west of Wentworth ...
, and named in honour of Australian paralympic wheelchair racer
Louise Sauvage
Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM (born 18 September 1973) is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach.
Sauvage is often regarded as the most renowned disabled sportswoman in Australia. She won nine gold and four silver medals at fo ...
, the Pathway is the longest continuous section of pathway in
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
. As such, the pathway is suitable for walking and pushbikes, as well as wheelchairs.
Facilities
The Pathway is two-lane, marked and sealed throughout, with numerous detours along its length, ranging from two-lane and marked, to one-lane sealed and an assortment of recognised and unrecognised unsealed paths. The pathway is only interrupted in two locations where the access roads cross into
Newington, the former
athletes' village. Amenities for travellers are provided along the path, including five water fountains and a toilet facility.
Historical links
The Pathway provides a north-south link between 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. Seco ...
and the
Western Motorway, passing the last remaining piece of virgin woodland in Sydney's
Cumberland basin. The Pathway also provides access to
Newington Armory
Newington Armory is a heritage-listed former Royal Australian Navy armament depot, now used for tourism purposes, at Holker Street, Sydney Olympic Park, Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1897 by the Royal Austral ...
as well as passing by some adjoining land, closed to all public access due to unexploded ordnance buried in the swamp.
Two of the former buildings of the Newington Arms Depot are accessed by the Pathway and no longer within the grounds of the Armory: Building 46, a renovated educational building operated by
Ausgrid
Ausgrid is an electricity distribution company which owns, maintains and operates the electrical networks supplying 1.8 million customers servicing more than 4 million people in Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales, A ...
, and a former
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
trench-style
artillery bunker behind
Newington Precinct 3. These bunkers were serviced by narrow-gauge railway to carry the highly sensitive explosive shells; the rail tracks are still maintained, and many are openly accessible via the Pathway.
Environmental links
Numerous waterways and wetlands adjoin the Pathway and its linking paths. Some of the water bodies such as
Haslams Creek
Haslams Creek, a southern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a creek west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, Australia. It flows through Sydney Olympic Park and joins Parramatta River at Homebush Bay. In 1793, the first grants were made t ...
link to 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. Seco ...
, whereas others such as the
Narawang Wetlands are artificial lakes created as part of the
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
environmental rejuvenation. The Bell Frog Boardwalk side-track provides access to some rare habitat of the
Green and Golden Bell Frog
The green and golden bell frog (''Ranoidea aurea''), also named the green bell frog, green and golden swamp frog and green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abi ...
.
The Newington Nature Reserve contains a
Turpentine Ironbark Margin Forest that survives intact in the same condition as it was before Sydney was colonised.
Recreation and Events
Each year in September the pathway is closed for one day to make way for long-distance bicyclists travelling through
Olympic Park
An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics c ...
. The pathway forms an integral part of the route for sporting events such as the Sydney Spring Cycle (Classic Route).
For cross-city riding, many preferred routes will use the combination of Silverwater Road Bridge, River Walk and Louise Sauvage Pathway. Such routes include any travel from the
Hills District to the southern suburbs around Liverpool, and from
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 ...
to the inner-western suburbs or
Sydney Airport
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
via the
Cooks River cycleway
The Cooks River cycleway, also called the Bay to Bay Shared Pathway, is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The north-western terminus of the cycleway is in Settlers' Park, , ...
.
See also
*
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
*
Newington Armory
Newington Armory is a heritage-listed former Royal Australian Navy armament depot, now used for tourism purposes, at Holker Street, Sydney Olympic Park, Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1897 by the Royal Austral ...
*
Newington, New South Wales
Newington is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of City of Parramatta.
Newington is 2 km west of Wentworth ...
References
{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse
Cycling in Sydney
Cycleways in Australia
Parks in Sydney