North Head Sydney Harbour

North Head

Hanging swamp, Memorial walk, Fairfax walk and Third Quarantine cemetery

After nearly two weeks of rain it was time to revisit the hanging swamp at North Head. The last time Sydney Nimble was there in early January the swamp did not exist. Bone dry!

Well the swamp is back with plenty of water.

A hanging swamp occurs when water soaks through sandstone and then hits harder to penetrate rock such as claystone or shale. The water percolates back up creating moist peaty soils which support swamp heath plants.

Close to the hanging swamp is Memorial Walk, a paved track that links 5 memorials dedicated to conflicts which have involved Australia, whether that be war or recent peacekeeping.

During WWII the whole of North Head was a significant defence base and one of the most fortified places in Australia.

The memorials have an oblong shape with information on raised plaques and have been tastefully built with sandstone.

After Memorial Walk we continued our walk east to another track, Fairfax walk, which has been re-opened after a major upgrade in 2023.

This walk provides access to two well designed lookouts, Burragula and Yiningma lookouts. Burragula is an indigenous word for ‘sunset’ and Yiningma means ‘cliff edge’.

We finished where we started (car park behind the café) and this loop takes around 60-75 minutes to complete.

A small detour to the Third Quarantine cemetery was made before getting into the car.

It is only a short walk from the car park and has many graves of Australians who died from diseases we no longer think too much about: smallpox, bubonic plague and scarlet fever.