Wollombi Road

We had previously been out to Wisemans Ferry and St Albans, but had never driven up along the Wollombi Rd all the way to Singleton. We were truly amazed at what we found – great scenery, wonderful history and heritage, and such a brilliant drive so close to Sydney. Wollombi was a treat. We will certainly be back.

We drove Wollombi Rd on 15 March 2020, from Wisemans Ferry to Singleton.

Getting There

Newport > Wisemans Ferry (87km) > Wollombi (101km) > Singleton (74kms) ~ 262kms

We live on the Northern Beaches in Sydney so drove to Wisemans Ferry via Hornsby and Galston Gorge. Then is was s delightful drive north to Singleton.

Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia

History

Prior to European settlement, the land in the vicinity of Wollombi village was home to the Darkinjang, Awabakal or Wanaruah Aboriginal peoples, and this area was a significant meeting point for coastal Aboriginal peoples. Wollombi means “meeting place” or “meeting place of the waters” and is an important ceremonial place. There are over 300 significant Aboriginal sites dating back over 13,000 years with many sites in Yengo National Park and surrounds, well-preserved and can be visited today via walking and driving tracks.

Steeped in colonial history, Wollombi was established as the administrative centre of the district in the 1830’s. The village developed as a stopping place on the Great North Road which was constructed between 1826-1830.

Veterans of the Napoleonic Wars were granted 40 ha lots in the area from about 1830 as they were discharged from NSW regiments. A village site was reserved in 1833-34. Allotments in the village became available from 1838, and it developed as a service centre for the local farming community and for travellers on the Great North Road.

The village developed at a major junction in the Great North Road from Sydney which forked, with one road heading north-east to Maitland and the other heading north through Broke to Singleton. The road was built by 3,000 convicts between 1826 and 1834 and remnants of their labours – stone culverts, bridges and retaining walls – can still be seen on the winding road between Wollombi and Wisemans Ferry. The village has been revitalised in recent years by the tourist trade. Several shops now sell gifts, clothing and bric-a-brac. It has become a desirable place to live for commuters and weekenders

To Wisemans ferry

The highlight of this section was the drive through Galston Gorge – a very steep and tight-cornered drive down on the Hornsby side, and a shorter climb up the other side. At the bottom of the gorge is a small parking area from which I got down to the river. It was a bit of a scramble and the track certainly needs work. There were good views of the river and the bridge further along. Lovely place to stop for a rest – even if you don’t walk down the hill and back up again… The trees are amazing here. A little rainforest close to Sydney.

Under the bridge is a series of concrete stepping stones, so this must be part of a more substantial walk.

On the road again we crossed the 1893 timber truss bridge.

It is a really interesting drive through Galston, Glenorie and Maroota – we did not realise so much rural lands were so close to Sydney. Before we reached Wisemans Ferry we got to Hawkins Lookout – great views over the Hawkesbury River.

At the ferry, we were surprised that there are 2 ferries crossing side by side. It is a short crossing and there is no charge. The Hawkesbury looks great.

It is then a gravel road to St Albans – about 17km. A few potholes but not bad at all. It is really interesting country to drive through – mostly forests but then some small open farmlands, and also some rugged escarpments.

Before we reached St Albans, we stopped to look at the St Albans Old General Cemetery. I am surprised that there are graves of so many elderly people – dating back to the mid 1800s Some of these deceased must have either been convicts or first settlers. Sadly, quite a few were very tiny children too. A few graves have been marked with clearer plaques which is great… brings history to life.

The mainstay of St Albans is the Settlers Arms Inn – a lovely old pub we had visited previously. Well worth the drive our here for lunch. But for us it was too early for even a cup of coffee. We drove on. I suspect on this trip that we will not meet many people close-up. Thankfully. Surprisingly, in the car pictured below, there was a child seat – in spite of not having any windows. Makes you wonder really.

We had been to the St Albans Inn years ago – but on a fine summers day and had lunch and a drink in the beer garden when a band was playing A lot quieter now on a Monday.

To Bucketty

From St Albans there is 35kms of gravel road almost to Bucketty. Lovely country – initially with lowlands and lakes, then the road climbs up onto the plateau – gets quite narrow in places with a sheer drop to a long way down. We even saw a cave-like rock shelf beside the road.

We really enjoyed the drive. Just before the intersection with the George Downes Dr, we came to a memorial to The Convict Trail, Bucketty precinct. Here a number of convict relics along a 400m section of the Great North Rd. Features include a curved wall which once supported a small bridge, hand picked-out gutters and rock faces, a rock cutting with the road surface cut into the bedrock, a stone lined box culvert and a large culvert with winged walling. This was built in 1829-31 by No 29 road gang. This was a real surprise. Truly amazing that this has survived. The Asst Survey General was in charge… by the name of Mitchell.. I assume Thomas Mitchell.

Lovely homestead before Bucketty. The roof is amazing – as is the ironwork on the verandah.

To Wollombi

From Bucketty we were on the Great North Rd – excellent road through lovely countryside, but quite busy as it was a Sunday. Lots of cars and motorbikes around – all out for a Sunday drive in this spectacular countryside.

We had read that 3km further along the road to Wollombi from the Great North Road intersection there is a spectacular retaining wall with a buttressing flume as part of the Convict Trail. Unfortunately we did not see any signs to this. Nor were there signs telling us we were approaching other relics, so we missed those as well, until we got to Thompsons Bridge when we saw it up ahead of us.

The historic town of Wollombi is a great stopping off place – lots of interesting shops, cafes, and a good pub. We loved the old Post office (built in 1839 and the most dominant building in town, looking more like an elegant Victorian house than a post office), Saint Michael the Archangel’s Catholic Church (built in 1893 with some wonderful stained glass windows), and a few others.

We had an excellent lunch at the Harp of Erin cafe. We could have spent lots more time at Wollombi and will return one day for a more casual visit.

To Singleton

The road from Wollombi to Singleton starts as a narrow sealed road, taking us through some pretty country. Increasingly we saw a range of vineyards and stud farms.

The road changes to an excellent wide road as we neared Singleton – presumably built to serve the mines in the northern part of this area. So many mines. So sad to see so many coal mines still going. Why are we not retraining and transitioning the miners into a healthier, cleaner way of earning a salary???

Singleton has a long history. Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area around Singleton was occupied by the Wanaruah people for tens of thousands of years.

When the explorer John Howe traversed the Hunter Valley near Singleton in 1820 he reported: “On our way down the river we came thro as fine a country as imagination can form … it for cultivation and equally so for grazing“. It was this eulogy, combined with the enthusiasm of Benjamin Singleton, which led to the rapid settlement of the area from that time. By the late 19th century there were 16 mines operating in the district.

Over the years there have been periods of great prosperity in the town. After the railway arrived in 1863 there was a flurry of building and this is reflected in the city’s large number of elegant homes and commercial buildings. The same occurred in the 1980s when the city became the centre of the Hunter Valley mining and electricity generation industries.

The town retains many historic buildings, including the original court house built in 1841, various large churches and many traditional Australian pubs. The countryside surrounding Singleton contains an unusual number of fine old mansions, reflecting the aristocratic nature of land grants when the area was settled. These are all in private ownership.

Today the local economy is diverse with the principal sources of income including dairying, beef cattle, viticulture, vegetable growing, tourism, commerce and the large army base. By 1996 coal mining operations in the shire employed 4,000 people and produced 46 million tonnes of coal.

The last section of our trip into Singleton was along the Putty Road into the more modern section of town. We headed to the New England Highway section of town and walked around looking at the magnificent old buildings.

One of the best is the Patrick Plains Shire Council Building. Built in 1911, a classic example of elegant Edwardian architecture, it served as the chambers of the Patrick Plains Shire Council from 1911 to 1975. It is a striking building but needs a bit of TLC. A lot of TLC actually is needed – the mortar in a lot of the building needs re-pointing reasonably quickly. Such a shame it’s been let slip.

Another fine example is the Percy Hotel. This started life as the Horse and Jockey Inn which was built on this site as far back as 1839. The current building dates from 1892.

Near the pub is a park with many of its trees a haven for bats. We stopped here a couple of months ago on our way back from a funeral in Goondiwindi. On a 42 degree day – and it was almost too hot to get out of the car…. Glad to see the flying foxes have survived that awful period.

Standing proud on a street corner is the Caledonian Hotel – a large brick building, built in 1851. It was the venue of the first municipal council meeting in 1866.