The Nurragingy Nature Reserve is an Australian open urban park and forest, nature reserve and garden, it is a protected area owned by

Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...

Trust and operated by Blacktown City Council that opened in 1981. The Nature Reserve is a site of state heritage significance because of its combination of historical, social and cultural values. The site was the first land grant ever given to Aboriginal people in Australia. The landscaped park is complete with unique features including bridges, pavilions and waterfalls, a native

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate g ...

, New Zealand Garden, BBQ and picnic area and large

conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

for business meetings, weddings and other varying functions, it is a popular tourist attraction located in Knox Rd,

Doonside Doonside is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Doonside is located 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western ...

and

Rooty Hill Rooty Hill is a heritage-listed historic site and now parkland at Eastern Road, Rooty Hill, City of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1802 to 1828. It is also known as The Rooty Hill and Morreau Reserve. The property is ...

, New South Wales

Land grant

The land grant is associated with two significant Aboriginal figures from the early colonial period – Nurragingy and Colebee – to whom the land was jointly granted in 1816. The location of the land grant is significant because it was an Aboriginal choice, being on land belonging to Nurragingy's clan. The land grant is valued by the contemporary Aboriginal community and the wider Australian community as a landmark in the history of cross-cultural engagement in Australia. For Aboriginal people, in particular, it represents a key historical site symbolising Aboriginal resilience and enduring links to the land (Godden, Mackay, Logan, 2010).

History

The name "Nurragingy" commemorates one of the two Aboriginal people of the Dharruk (Dharug, Daruk) tribe who received the first land grant to Aboriginal people from

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, Lachlan Macquarie in 1819. The other title holder was Colebee, whose name has been given to the Centre within the Reserve. A painting by local Aboriginal artist Danny Eastwood, depicting this land grant hangs inside the Colebee Centre. Prior to the 1970s the land was part of the Cumberland Timber Forest which was a supplier of commercial timber. In the 1970s the land was purchased by the New South Wales state government with the intention of turning it into a

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

for Western Sydney which was facing rapid expansion. In 1981 the state government allowed a portion of the land to be used as a recreational area. Nurragingygardens

Flora

The surrounding vegetation contains a number a vulnerable and regionally specific species such as Shale-Gravel Transition Forest, Alluvial Woodland and Shale Plain Woodland as a part of a Grey Box and Forest Red Gum woodland. Cabbage Gum's, ''

Casuarina glauca ''Casuarina glauca'', commonly known as the swamp she-oak, swamp oak, grey oak, or river oak, is a species of ''Casuarina'' native to the east coast of Australia. It is found from central Queensland south to southern New South Wales. It has becom ...

'' and '' Melaeuca spp''. are present in the creeks and ponds. The shrub layer includes ''

Bursaria spinosa ''Bursaria spinosa'' is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m (35 ft) high, i ...

'', ''

Acacia decurrens ''Acacia decurrens'', commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and south west to the Australian Cap ...

'' and '' Dillwynia juniperina''. The reserve is home to many herbs and grasses as well as wetland species around the creek and streambanks.

Chang Lai Yuan Chinese Gardens

On 14 October 2003,

Liaocheng Liaocheng (), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the west. The Grand ...

municipality (Located in China) and

Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...

City council signed a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

agreement. In May 2011, to foster ties of friendship and economic partnership the two municipalities signed a memorandum of understanding relating to the construction of an authentic Chinese garden at Nurragingy Reserve. It was officially opened in August 2012. The name of the park is derived from a portmanteau of Dongchang (The former name of the Chinese municipality) and the Chinese translation of Blacktown (Bu Lai Ke Cheng). The garden is styled with elements from both the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

Dynasty and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

Dynasty and includes a Gateway, Seven Arch Stone Bridge, Light Mountain Pavilion and a Waterfall Gazebo.

Gallery

File:Nurragingy Waterfall.jpg, Nurragingy Waterfall File:151129 Nurragingy Reserve 8106 (22754250194) (2).jpg, Nurragingy New Zealand Garden

References