The
Wallumatta Nature Reserve is a small and critically
endangered remnant of preserved bushland located at the corner of Twin and Cressy Roads,
North Ryde, and is significant for being the largest remaining expanse of endangered
Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest, which is an ecological community of plants unique to the Sydney
bioregion. With the arrival of European settlement this small reserve was originally part of the
Field of Mars Reserve in 1804. During the 1950s it was part of a larger parcel of land set aside for further development of the North Ryde Psychiatric Centre (now Macquarie Hospital) In the 1980s the Macquarie Hospital Bushland was saved from further building development. The reserve is an important resource for scientific research and environmental education. It is popular with botanists, nature lovers, school excursions. Dedicated bushcare groups help preserve this valuable remnant of original bushland. The 6.2ha reserve features a clearly signposted 0.6 km walking trail. It is open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset, subject to fire danger or bad weather. Admission is free. The heartland of this type of forest once covered some 26,000 hectares west to
Guildford, and North of
Parramatta River from
Ryde to
Castle Hill, as well as on the shale ridge caps in the
Hornsby Plateau and into areas of the inner western suburbs. ==See also==