Georges River National Park is a protected
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n National Park, under the management of 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 and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land acr ...
. The park falls in the regions of the
Sutherland Shire Council
Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...
and
Canterbury-Bankstown Council. Located in the city of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, 25 km south-west of the CBD,
surrounded by neighbouring suburbs of Lugano, Illawong, Alfords Point, Padstow Heights, Revesby Heights, Picnic Point and Sandy Point. The primary use of the park is to service for recreational activities such as; bush walking, picnics, barbeques, boating, fishing, and water/jet skiing.
The park is Segmented into 15 sectors along the riverbanks of the Georges River, encompassing , housing many native aquatic and terrestrial Australian flora and fauna. The traditional custodians are the
Dharug
The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
people located on the north side of the river, and
Dharawal
The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...
people located on the south of the river.
The park is legally protected under the
National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974, with the aim to conserve nature through means of conservation, and ecology, encouraging people to visit the park in a safe, fun and sustainable way.
Park highlights and attractions

The main entrance to the park is off Henry Lawson Drive at Revesby Heights, on to Burrawang Reach Rd.
* Revesby Beach – the beach located on the Georges River is the most common and frequently used swimming spot for visitors to the park. The water way is a common passing for bull sharks so swimming in the deep waters is cautioned to visitors.
* East Hills District Men's Shed Association – The Men's shed Association (AMSA) is a national organisation that supports local men, through activities of common interest; furniture making, motor repairs, bike restorations, and many other types of hands on activities. The East Hills District Men's Shed Association Inc, are located in the Georges River National Park and specialise in engineering, woodwork, stained glass making, and leather work, taking part in many volunteer community-based work, and maintenance.
* Ridge Walking Track – is a total distance of 3.2 kilometres (1.6 km in and out). It is estimated to take 30 minutes to an hour to complete the circuit.
* Yeramba Lagoon Loop Walking Track – it is a 1.8 kilometre trail. 100 species of birds have been recorded in the area, and up to 15 different bird species are present at one time, making this trail most popular for birdwatchers. Many bird species are found in this area of the park due to the abundance of freshwater wetlands and lakes found here. It takes roughly 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete the trail.
* Burrawang Reach Picnic Area – located adjacent to Little Salt Pan creek and Morgan's creek, this spot is most popular for recreational activities such as barbecuing and picnics. Situated not far off the shoreline are moorings for temporary boat parking near the shore.
* Morgan Creeks Picnic Area – most popular spot for water activities such as fishing, jet skiing and boating, as there is a dual width boat ramp for visitors to use. It is also the closest picnic area to the car park.
Geography, Flora, Fauna
* Geography – The Georges River National Park lies upon a thick bed of
Hawkesbury sandstone
Sydney sandstone, also known as the Hawkesbury sandstone, yellowblock, and yellow gold, is a sedimentary rock named after Sydney, and the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common.
It forms the bedrock f ...
.
In other sections of the park at Sandy Point, Mittagong sandstone is more common. Mittagong sandstone is younger much finer grained sandstone compared to Hawkesbury sandstone. The 96 km long saltwater Georges River runs through the centre of the park, named and honoured after
King George the III. The parks highest point of elevation is at Mill Creek, 100 metres above sea level, with an average elevation of 60 metres. Additionally, the national park receives an average annual rainfall of 850-900 millimetres (mm),
435 mm less than Sydneys annual rainfall of 1309 mm.
* Flora – The river side predominantly consist of
mangrove swamps
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...
, occupying 24 hectares on the national park, and
salt marsh
A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...
es occupying 11 hectares of the national park. However, aerial photo analysis suggest between 1966 and 1998 unauthorised vehicles, BMX bikes, and motorised dirt bikes have reduced and declined these occupied areas of mangrove swamps and salt marches. The most common vegetation found throughout the park is Sydney Hinterland Exposed Sandstone Woodland, covering 293 hectares, characterised by
eucalyptus tree
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
s 10–25 metres tall and small sclerophyll shrub. However, other floral habitats can be found in the national park as well, such as, Littoral Rainforests, Sydney Coastal Heaths, Coastal Freshwater Lagoons, and Coastal Floodplain Wetlands. Prioritised tree species that are under threat identified in the park are swamp mahogany and red gum. These are flowering tree species which nurture and feed animals species such as the grey-headed flying fox and little lorikeets. They are under-threat due to high public disturbance, and are not widely dispersed within the park. Moreover, there has been a reduction in the numbers of hollow-bearing trees with in the park, which shelter and allow for the breeding of
Sittella bird species.
*Fauna – Roughly 248 native vertebrate species have been recorded in the Georges River National Park compromising of animals ranging from amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, both introduced and native. Out of the 248 species found in the park 20 of those species are threatened under the
Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 and 8 species listed under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999, including animals such as 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 ...
and the
blue billed duck. In total sixteen frog species have been recorded in the national park, the most common being the
eastern dwarf tree frog
The eastern dwarf tree frog (''Litoria fallax''), also known as the eastern sedge-frog, is a species of tree frog. It is a small and very common frog and found on the eastern coast of Australia, from around Cairns, Queensland, to around Ulladul ...
and
Tylers tree frog. Thirty two locally endemic reptile species can be found in the park, one freshwater turtle species, twenty two types of lizards (four geckoes, thirteen skinks, three dragons, two goannas), and nine snakes. The most abundant reptile species is the dark-flecked garden sunskink. Moreover, 180 species of native bird can be observed, 59 being waterbird species. Finally, twenty species of mammals are locally native to the park, the most frequently occurring being the common ringtail and brushtail possums, the swamp wallaby and the grey-headed flying-fox. A breeding population of Koalas live in the park, however are listed at as threatened. It is further noted that 59% of mammals are nocturnal microbats, such as the little forest bat, and the chocolate wattled bat. Eighteen invasive species threaten the parks native fauna, with the common fox being the most wide spread and devastating, impacting the long-nosed bandicoot population as well as the swamp wallaby.
Management Strategies
* Park management – The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 evokes that all 870 National Parks and reserves located in NSW, should have a plan of management to sustain the natural ecology of the parks for future generations. Georges River National Park plan of management, 1994,
objectively aims too; protect and preserve the natural beauty of the park, whilst conserving wildlife, and historical Aboriginal sites. Encouraging appropriate recreational activities and aiding in visitor education. Actions taken to adhere to these goals are; erosion and weed control on areas surrounding Henry Lawson drive, rehabilitation of disturbed areas, increased research and surveys of the area, accounting for introduced flora and fauna species and their eventual eradication, with the re-introduction of endemic species. Furthermore, swimming in the national park was a popular past time activity, but due to shark attacks swimmers were confined to netted areas, and with the increase in pollution in 1960 all swimming in the national park was prohibited. The plan of management does not permit for the re-opening of netted swimming areas out of fears the water is still far too polluted, 90% due to stormwater run off. The Georges River Keeper program are seeking to clean the river system, collecting on average 100 tonnes of litter, compromising of 68,000 plastic bottles, annually. Since the establishment of the Georges River Keeper program, they have witnessed a significant decrease in river pollution from 2015 to 2017, evident in their annual report. The NSW National Parks Wildlife Service seek to re-open netted swimming areas, however far more rehabilitation needs to be conducted.
* Fire management – The National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 also states that all National Parks in NSW should have a plan of management for natural disasters such as Bushfires. In 1985 80% of the Georges River National Park burnt due to a wild fire, therefore establishing the park as a threatened fire area.
Since then strict park fire management strategies have been emplaced, most recently the, Georges River Park Fire Management Strategy, 2018. This document is a legal requirement, that outlines operational guidelines for prescribed burning and wildfires. The fire management plan list operations to combat wildfires, such as; Aerial water bombing, Aerial Ignition, Back burning, Containment Lines, Fire Suppression Chemicals, Earth moving equipment, Visitor Management in case of fire, and Rehabilitation methods for burnt areas. The plan additionally maps out the current vegetation status of the whole National Park bush lands. Listing the areas as other vulnerable, frequently burnt, long unburnt or unknown. The management strategy also names and highlights threatened Fauna, which fire services should be aware, for example the
Hieraaetus morphnoides (little eagle), and
Ninox strenua (Powerful Owl), as well as their habitats (hollow bearing trees).
Park History
*Modern History — Following
WW2
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...
, the Georges River area and Bankstown City industrial industries accounted for 20% of all the factories located in Sydney. With the increase of industrialisation, pollution became a problem, as of 1971 the Georges river became the second most toxic body of water in all of Sydney.
The continual increase in industrial pollution encouraged locals to take action, advocating for the protection and conservation of threatened ecological niches along the river. As a result, between 1961 and 1967 the Georges River National Park was established,
and a trust group was founded, in order to manage and protect the park lands. During this period most of the funding for the park came from sand mine leases. However, after the introduction of the 1967 National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Georges River National Park was downgraded and listed as a state park, also known as a 'nature reserve'. Reasons for this was that the park did not meet certain qualities of having spacious land areas.
Finally, in 1992 the park was re-declared a National Park and increased in size from 173 hectares in 1961, to 514 in 2020.

*Indigenous History – The Georges River is known to the Indigenous people as the Tucoerah River,
evidence of past indigenous activity is present in the national park, including aboriginal shelters, rock engravings, and axe grinding sites. Upon European settlement of Sydney, the
Dharug
The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
and
Dharawal
The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...
people of the Georges River were forced up stream by colonist to the now located Georges River National Park. However, fast industrial growth in this area between 1900 and 1930, lead to many native families being forcefully evicted off their land. It wasn't until 1930 where an indigenous activist, Joe Anderson, appealed for
Salt Pan Creek
Salt Pan Creek is an urban watercourse of the Georges River catchment, located in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Salt Pan Creek rises west southwest of the suburb of Mount Lewis, w ...
to become a place of refuge for indigenous people. Salt Pan Creek located near Padstow in the Georges River National Park, became a place of shelter for many indigenous political fighters, such as
Jack Patten
John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist. He was a co-founder of the Aborigines Progressive Association and led some of the first organised Aboriginal protests, incl ...
, Bert Grovers, Ted Thomas,
Bill Onus
William Townsend Onus Jnr (15 November 1906 – 10 January 1968) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, designer, and showman, also known for his boomerang-throwing skills. He was father of artist Lin Onus.
Early life and educat ...
, and Jacko Campbel.
Additionally, Salt Pan Creek was the site for many aboriginal families to seek refuge from the Australian Government between 1910 and 1970, during
the stolen generations. The park and water ways allowed aboriginal people to hunt and gather food, practice indigenous associated rituals, and stay connected to the dreaming thus the land.
References
External links
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{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse
National parks of New South Wales
Protected areas established in 1992
1992 establishments in Australia
Georges River