Following the proposed Great Koala National Park and the recently announced Great Southern Forest National Park on the NSW South Coast, which could become the state’s largest if it goes ahead, another major conservation project is now on the way. Gulguer National Park is set to become Western Sydney‘s newest national park, with the NSW Government unveiling plans for a vast protected landscape that will eventually cover more than 1,100 hectares. Located west of Bringelly, the new park will give locals a new place to go bushwalking, mountain biking and exploring nature, while also safeguarding important wildlife habitat, endangered ecosystems and significant Aboriginal cultural heritage. Once complete, it will be more than three times the size of Sydney’s Centennial Parklands and form part of a larger protected landscape in the city’s growing west. Here’s everything you need to know.
What to expect at Gulguer National Park
Gulguer National Park will be created on land between Bringelly and Silverdale as part of the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan, which balances Western Sydney’s continued growth with the permanent protection of environmentally significant bushland. While the national park currently covers 334 hectares, it will expand in stages to more than 1,100 hectares as additional land is added over time.
“The new national park will protect threatened species like the powerful owl and southern greater glider,” Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe said.
“It is part of our ongoing commitment to boost conservation in Western Sydney, to ensure our precious native creatures and plants exist here for generations to come.”
The new park will strengthen links between Gulguer Nature Reserve, Bents Basin State Conservation Area and Burragorang State Conservation Area, creating a larger connected landscape for native wildlife. It will provide habitat for at least 28 threatened species and protect areas of the critically endangered Shale Sandstone Transition Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest. Alongside its conservation role, the park is expected to become a major outdoor destination for the region, with opportunities for walking, mountain biking and nature-based recreation as visitor infrastructure is developed and public access expands. At the moment, visitors can only enter the park via Bents Basin State Conservation Area, although access is expected to improve as the park grows and new facilities are introduced.
Find more information about Gulguer National Park on NSW Environment and Heritage website.
