Western Sydney Regional Park is a large

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

and a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

situated in

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, Australia within the suburbs of

Horsley Park Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Horsley Park is located 39 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Horsley Park is part of the G ...

and

Abbotsbury Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropica ...

.Western Sydney Regional Park Draft Plan of Management 2010
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Part of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water A precinct of

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 ...

, a

park system A park system, also known as an open space system, is a network of green spaces that are connected by public walkways, bridleways or cycleways. The concept first emerged with the need to minimize fragmentation of natural environments and was r ...

, and situated within the heart of the

Cumberland Plain Woodland The Cumberland Plain Woodland, or Western Sydney woodland,

, the regional park features several picnic areas, recreational facilities, equestrian trails, and walking paths within the

Australian bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or '' hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this ...

.Western Sydney Regional Park
National Parks and Wildlife Service. KI Studio. Retrieved 31 August 2022. The park is governed by the

NSW National Parks and 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 t ...

and is listed under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the's natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_m ...

''. In a 2009–10 survey, the park had attracted approximately 430,000 visitors per annum.

History

The Parkland was an area of specialty for the

Darug The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...

people and it is still deemed as important by the

Aboriginal Land Council Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...

. The Parkland has been visited by some early

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

, such as Edward Abbott and George Johnson. The Park was originally used for agricultural purposes which included

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, f ...

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history tha ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and othe ...

. Prominent early settlers such as Edward Abbott and George Johnson have been associated with the park. The original homestead of Abbotsbury is located within the park, and is leased by the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. In the late 1970s, the northern parts of the regional park had areas for rural residential lots (near

), though by 1997 the area was designated as ''Western Sydney Regional Park'', which is 583 hectares in size.

Geography

The regional park is bounded by

Westlink M7 The Westlink M7 or M7 Motorway, formerly Western Sydney Orbital, is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney and is a part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: M5 South-West Motor ...

to the west in Cecil Park, The Horsley Drive to the north in

, Cowpasture Drive to the east in

Bossley Park Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of th ...

and Elizabeth Drive to the south near Cecil Hills. There exists market gardens in the north, residential piece of land to the east and south, and agricultural residential and rural industrial properties to the west. The regional park is situated within the Fairfield local government area, the Hawkesbury- Nepean and

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easte ...

s catchment areas and the Deerubbin Local Aboriginal Land Council’s area. The park is mainly a

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...

(i.e. grassy woodland), though it grades into a dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

woodland in the southern portion. Located in the

Sydney Basin The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea. ...

, the park features three types of soils; the main one being Luddenham soil landscape, which originates from Wianamatta Group Shales on wavy hills, in addition to a small area of Picton Soil landscape. A ridgeline streams from north to south of the park which provides significant regional views from the elevated areas, such as the Moonrise lookout picnic spot in the west of the park. This ridgeline is linked with Prospect Hill to the east near Prospect Reservoir. The regional park rises as one moves to the west of it, with the elevation reaching at its highest point. Eastern Creek flows southwards at the park's northern end and

Ropes Creek Ropes Creek, a watercourse that is part of the Hawkesbury- Nepean catchment, is located in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Ropes Creek rises in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, near Devils Back Tun ...

flows in the west. The park also features small ponds and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. Th ...

which are a refuge for the native wildlife. Furthermore, two radio telecommunication towers are situated in the regional park on Border Road. The regional park features a part of the Upper Canal System (by

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the ...

), which was constructed in the late 1800's. Bonnyrigg Reservoir is situated at the southern point of the park.

Ecology

Western Sydney Regional Park features around 135 hectares of developed natural woodland communities where the bulk of the regional park constitutes 427 hectares of planted

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a lan ...

and cleared grassland environments, thus providing multifarious habitat areas for wildlife and vegetation communities. Four vegetation zones are known within the park, which are endangered ecological communities. They are: *

Cumberland Plain Woodland The Cumberland Plain Woodland, or Western Sydney woodland,

: Features the Shale Plains and Shale Hills Woodland, both of which are listed as a critically endangered ecological communities in the

Cumberland Plain The Cumberland Plain, an IBRA biogeographic region, is a relatively flat region lying to the west of Sydney CBD in New South Wales, Australia. Cumberland Basin is the preferred physiographic and geological term for the low-lying plain of th ...

* River-Flat Eucalypt Forest: Found on coastal

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goud ...

with the subtype

Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

Woodland * Western Sydney Dry Rainforest: Found in a small pocked of the regional park, and is listed as an endangered ecological community * Moist Shale Woodland: Also listed as an endangered ecological community

Vegetation

The main trees in the regional park's grassy woodlands include Eucalyptus moluccana,

Eucalyptus tereticornis ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', commonly known as forest red gum, blue gum or red irongum, is a species of tree that is native to eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in grou ...

Eucalyptus crebra ''Eucalyptus crebra'', commonly known as the narrow-leaved ironbark, narrow-leaved red ironbark or simply ironbark, and as muggago in the indigenous Dharawal language, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to eastern Australia. It ha ...

, Corymbia maculata, with

Eucalyptus eugenioides ''Eucalyptus eugenioides'', commonly known as the thin-leaved stringybark or white stringybark, is a species of tree endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough stringy bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, Fl ...

occurring more rarely. The shrub layer in the park is covered with Bursaria spinosa, with grasses such as Themeda australis and

Microlaena stipoides ''Microlaena stipoides'', synonym ''Ehrharta stipoides'', is a species of grass. It occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines.tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growi ...

s or abundant annual seed production to survive untoward conditions. Cynanchum elegans, Pimelea spicata and Acacia pubescens are listed as endangered species. The most widespread

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ...

and floodplain plants in the park include

, Eucalyptus amplifolia, Angophora floribunda and

Angophora subvelutina ''Angophora subvelutina'', commonly known as the broad-leaved apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical adult leaves, flower buds in ...

. Some smaller trees occur, such as, Melaleuca decora, Melaleuca styphelioides, Backhousia myrtifolia,

Melia azedarach ''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is nati ...

Casuarina cunninghamiana ''Casuarina cunninghamiana'', commonly known as river oak or river she-oak, is a she-oak species of the genus ''Casuarina''. The native range in Australia extends from Daly River in the Northern Territory, north and east in Queensland and east ...

and

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 ...

. Apportioned shrubs include Bursaria spinosa, Solanum prinophyllum, Rubus parvifolius, Breynia oblongifolia, Ozothamnus diosmifolius, Hymenanthera dentata, Acacia floribunda and Phyllanthus gunnii. The groundcover in the river flat areas mainly consist of forbs, scramblers and grasses including

Microlaena stipoides ''Microlaena stipoides'', synonym ''Ehrharta stipoides'', is a species of grass. It occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines.Dichondra repens ''Dichondra repens'' is a small, prostrate, herbaceous plant native to New Zealand and many parts of Australia. It is occasionally known as kidney weed in Australia and as Mercury Bay weed in New Zealand. Most commonly called dichondra in A ...

, Glycine clandestina, Oplismenus aemulus, Desmodium gunnii, Pratia purpurascens, Entolasia marginata, Oxalis perennans and Veronica plebeia. The Western Sydney Dry Rainforest, which is to the west of the park, features Melaleuca styphelioides,

Acacia implexa ''Acacia implexa'', commonly known as lightwood or hickory wattle, is a fast-growing Australian tree, the timber of which is used for furniture making. The wood is prized for its finish and strength. The foliage was used to make pulp and dye cl ...

and Alectryon subcinereus. Shrubs include Notelaea longifolia, Clerodendrum tomentosum and Pittosporum revolutum, including vines such as Aphanopetalum resinosum, Pandorea pandorana and Cayratia clematidea, whereby forming heavy

thicket A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in ...

s in sheltered areas. The Moist Shale Woodland in the park features a shrubby understorey that has plants from moist habitats. They include Eucalyptus tereticornis, E. moluccana, E. crebra and Corymbia maculata. Smaller trees, such as

and Acacia parramattensis ssp parramattensis are also predominant. The shrub layer includes Breynia oblongifolia, Clerodendrum tomentosum and Sigesbeckia orientalis ssp orientalis. Invasive plant species include, Araujia sericifera, Cardiospermum grandiflorum,

Asparagus asparagoides ''Asparagus asparagoides'', commonly known as bridal creeper, bridal-veil creeper, ''gnarboola'', smilax or smilax asparagus, is a herbaceous climbing plant of the family Asparagaceae native to eastern and southern Africa. Sometimes grown as an ...

Rubus ulmifolius ''Rubus ulmifolius'' is a species of wild blackberry known by the English common name elmleaf blackberry or thornless blackberry and the Spanish common name ''zarzamora''. It is native to Europe and North Africa, and has also become naturalized ...

, Cestrum parqui,

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant within the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introdu ...

, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata,

Ligustrum lucidum ''Ligustrum lucidum'', the broad-leaf privet,Weed profile: Privet
New So ...

, Ligustrum sinense and

Lycium ferocissimum ''Lycium ferocissimum'', the African boxthorn or boxthorn, is a shrub in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). The species is native to the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Free State provinces in South Africa and has become naturalised in Au ...

Wildlife

A Wildlife Atlas survey has observed and identified 167

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, wi ...

fauna species in the regional park, with records since 1980. Animals in the river flats include

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

s and

egrets Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

, such as

Pandion haliaetus The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, Egretta novaehollandiae, Haliastur sphenurus, Haliaeetus leucogaster, Phascogale tapoatafa, Petaurus australis, Petaurus norfolcensis,

Petaurus breviceps The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its abi ...

and Pteropus poliocephalus. The Moist Shale Woodland area in the regional park provides a decent habitat for birds and insects, in addition to convenient nests for mammals and birds. Threatened animal species such as Falsistrellus tasmaniensis, Daphoenositta chrysoptera, Hieraaetus morphnoides, Mormopterus norfolkensis, Neophema pulchella and Meridolum corneovirens, as well as two bat species Miniopterus schreibersii and Scoteanax rueppellii. Pest animals include Oryctolagus cuniculus, Vulpes vulpes, Lepus capensis and

Rattus rattus The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus '' Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but i ...

Recreation

The park is particularly used for family

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

s, walking,

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...

, fitness and for its natural environment. Western Sydney Regional Park contains Calmsley Hill Farm, which is protected under State Heritage listing. The park is visited by school students for cross-country, sports and for environmental education. Other visitors include disabled groups,

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

and mothers groups. The park features a broad system of walking and cycling opportunities on various tracks which link the several fundamental recreational areas. The park also features the Sydney International Equestrian Centre, which was built for the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. The park's main recreational points include Pimelea, Sugarloaf Ridge, The Dairy and Plough and Harrow picnic areas, all of which have shelters, playgrounds and free barbeques, in addition to large parking spaces. There exists a walking track called the ''Spotted Gum Trail'', which is 3 km in length, that loops around Plough and Harrow within the native bushland, thereby allowing walkers to encounter kangaroos and wallabies, in addition to

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

.Spotted Gums Loop
Western Sydney Parklands Every entrance to the recreation spots contains prominent planting accompanied by a large signage to indicate access. Access to the park is through Cowpasture Road, Elizabeth Drive and The Horsley Drive. Recreational areas and facilities include: * Lizard Log – Features a nature themed playground for children, over 20 picnic shelters, scenic walks, a pavilion and an amphitheater. * The Dairy – Features picnic shelters and electric barbeques on a hilltop location. * Plough and Harrow – An area surrounded by native bushland that features a café, a playground, over 20 picnic areas, a high ropes course and an open space at the west end. * Moonrise Lookout – A recreational lookout area that has an altitude ranging from above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. * Sugarloaf Ridge – Also a highly elevated lookout area, adjacent to the above place, which features two large picnic shelters. * Calmsley Hill City Farm – An educational

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used f ...

aimed for school children. * Sydney International Equestrian Centre – A facility which was used to host equestrian events during the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

and

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

. * TreeTops Adventure Park – An attraction that features high ropes on tree tops, and includes activities such as multiple

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the b ...

s and aerial challenges on the native trees.

Gallery

Western Sydney parklands 4.jpg, Walking path in The Dairy Western Sydney parklands 7.jpg, Walking path near Plough and Harrow picnic area Western Sydney parklands 8.jpg, Lizard Log play area Picnicshelters.jpg, Picnic shelters Lookoutridge.jpg, ''Sugarloaf Ridge'' picnic area Western_Sydney_parklands.jpg, A small savanna (grassy woodland) near Lizard Log Western Sydney parklands 17.jpg, Walking path near Lizard Log Western Sydney parklands 3.jpg, Looking over a swamp and woody grassland Parkmap.jpg, Park map

References

{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse Nature reserves in New South Wales Parks in Sydney Protected areas of New South Wales Regional parks in Australia City of Fairfield Western Sydney Remnant urban bushland