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ICYMI, there’s a whole lot of development going on in Sydney's west. There’s the new airport, of course, plus the ever-expanding metro network, a whole new CBD and a major transformation taking over Parramatta. Now, we’ve got more wholesome development news to share – with a new patch of protected wilderness officially in the works. The NSW Government has just announced the creation of Gulguer National Park – a sprawling 1,100-hectare reserve that will be more than three times the size of Centennial Parklands.
Set just west of Bringelly, the new national park is set to become a leafy playground for walkers, mountain bikers and birdwatchers – giving Western Sydney locals a free, nature-filled day out right on their doorstep. The park will expand the existing protected landscapes surrounding Bents Basin State Conservation Area and Gulguer Nature Reserve by around 700 hectares. The announcement comes as Western Sydney continues to expand – with 73,000 new homes also in the works across the region alongside the projects we’ve mentioned above.
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Named after the swirling waters of the nearby Nepean River, Gulguer National Park will safeguard significant Aboriginal cultural sites, including rock art, shelters and artefacts, while protecting habitat for at least 28 threatened species. According to the NSW Government, the area is currently home to owls, southern greater gliders, giant burrowing frogs and native bats, and the creation of regulated protection will provide stronger protection for two critically endangered ecological communities: the Shale Sandstone Transition Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest.
Gulguer is the second new national park established by the NSW Government in Western Sydney, following the creation of Warranmadhaa National Park along the Georges River. It's welcome news for locals watching Sydney’s west grow at breakneck speed – a vast new national park packed with walking trails, wildlife and heritage sites, within striking distance of the major infrastructure projects transforming the area.
You can learn more about the project over here.
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