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Marramarra National Park

by
Niall Clugston
2008
CC BY-SA 2.0
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Marramarra National Park

Marramarra National Park, within the shire of Hornsby, was established in 1979, and covers over 11,500 hectares of rugged bushland between the Old Northern Road, Berowra Creek, and the Hawkesbury River.

It takes its name from Marramarra Creek, which rises in Dural and flows into Berowra Creek. Marramarra is believed to be an Aboriginal word meaning 'many fish'. [1]

Prior to European settlement, this was the land of the Dharug people. [2] The park still contains a diverse range of Aboriginal sites and artefacts, including cave art, engravings, grinding grooves, and middens. [3]

Dominated by Hawkesbury sandstone vegetation similar to that in neighbouring national parks, Marramarra National Park also contains a number of rare and endangered species and plant communities not well represented elsewhere. Native animals of special interest recorded in the park include platypuses, koalas, and eastern pygmy possums. [4]

Notes

[1] John P Powell, Placenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, Hawkesbury River Enterprises, Berowra Heights NSW, 1994, p 76–7

[2] Anne Ross, 'Aboriginal Life on the Lower Hawkesbury at the Time of European Settlement,' in Jocelyn Powell and Lorraine Banks, Hawkesbury River History: Governor Phillip, Exploration and Early Settlement, Dharug and Lower Hawkesbury Historical Society, Wisemans Ferry NSW, 1990, pp 31–32

[3] National Parks and Wildlife Service, 'Marramarra National Park: Draft Plan of Management', the service, Turramurra NSW, 1991, p 18

[4] National Parks and Wildlife Service, 'Marramarra National Park: Draft Plan of Management', the service, Turramurra NSW, 1991, pp 4, 6, 11, 13

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