Boars Head has been a name used for a feature in Katoomba at least since 1882 and was described in the Katoomba and Leura Illustrated Guide of 1940 as “The perfect presentation of the head of a great boar, the beetling snout, the slavering jaws, the curved tusks”.
From Cahill’s Lookout on a misty morning
Today, Cahills Lookout and the Narrowneck fire trail are increasingly visited areas of Katoomba and a meet and greet ranger from National Parks & Wildlife Service has given information to visitors to the fire trail on certain days.Very few prominent features in the Blue Mountains can be easily photographed against such a variety of completely natural backgrounds – all the more so since the State Government purchase of Ngula Bulgarabang has apparently ruled out development on that outstanding plateau which provides a forest backdrop across Nellies Glen from the Boars Head.
From Cahills Lookout at sunset
From Glenraphael Drive with Peckmans Plateau and Ngula Bulgarabang Regional Park in background
The vicinity is worth revisiting to appreciate the changes in the Boars Head appearance according to the weather and the time of day.
Eleanor Dark, Eric Dark, Osmar White and Eric Lowe on the Boar’s Head Rock 1931 – first ascent of the rock by rope. Provenance: Photo by James (Jim) Starkey, copy donated by his daughter Jane Chadwick and son Ian: the Starkey Collection, Blue Mountains City Library – Local Studies
“If I wanted to get there, I wouldn’t start from here” is the punchline of an ancient joke about an Irishman giving directions to a tourist.Almost as ancient are the laudable objectives on this signboard about the 1995 project which could yet be the jumping off point for the transformation of the southern Newnes Plateau into one of Australia’s finest and best presented natural area experiences – a project aptly named Destination Pagoda in its new incarnation (see article in Blue Mountains Conservation Society’s May Hut News, page 2).
pagodas in Gardens of Stone NP (Photos by Christine Davies)
If you want to get to the finest views of pagodas in the Lithgow district, there’s no choice but to start from State Mine Gully.On a school holiday Wednesday in April 2019, Hut News noticed steady traffic which included standard two-wheel-drive vehicles making their way up and down the shockingly deteriorated escarpment road that connects the Newnes Plateau with State Mine Gully.Many of the drivers were protecting their vehicles by taking ten minutes to do one kilometre.
The intended picnic area underlines the wild and non conforming mood of State Mine Gully. (Photos by Christine Davies)
But this is the only viable access route for most of the plateau’s scenic delights that does not cross private property.It is the only route that truly allows the community of Lithgow a sense of ownership of the most ecologically and geologically diverse part of the town’s hinterland.
A sign lists noble aims of a project which, due to lack of government spending, has fallen far short of its potential. (Photos by Christine Davies)
At the site of the old rehabilitation project, you are confronted with numerous expensive changes that would still need to be made to convince the visitor that this is one of Australia’s most significant natural area gateways.The broom and blackberry plants, along with other weeds, need to disappear.The hardy Mountain Ash trees need their retinue of Banksia and Leptospermum understorey to swell.The discarded sleepers and rails from the old branch line need to be incorporated into the generally well-kept railway museum.And the picnic benches need to look capable of accommodating modern-sized posteriors without fracturing.It’s fortunate that Destination Pagoda has harnessed such experienced and dedicated activists – all our energy will be needed.
Broom plants and other weed species advance towards the Eucalypt forest at the Gardens of Stone gateway. (Photos by Christine Davies)
