Background Information

The Gully is located in the Blue Mountains, west of the township of Katoomba, and is part of the upper catchment of the Kedumba River which feed Sydney’s drinking water supply. The Gully was declared an Aboriginal Place in 2002 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. The Gully was nominated as an Aboriginal place because of its significant pre-contact Aboriginal sites, and post contact settlements and its ongoing occupation by Aboriginal People until forced eviction in 1957. (1)

The existing Plan of Management, titled The Upper Kedumba River Valley was revised in 2004, and incorporated the public reserve of Frank Walford Park and parts of Katoomba Falls Reserve (McRae’s Paddock and Cascades/Selby Street section) This Plan of Management (POM) is 16 years old and does not reflect the contemporary cultural values and perspectives held by the Gully community. Funding from the NSW Government, NSW Heritage Grants – Aboriginal Heritage Projects has been made available to review and update the Plan of Management for the Gully.