Guide to Douglas Park New South Wales Australia

Douglas Park is a quiet village 75 kilometres south-west of Sydney, perched above the gorge of the Nepean River between Menangle and Picton. It has a station, a pub, a school and a few shops, and it is surrounded by farms and bushland that feel a long way from the city.

Known For

• The Nepean River gorge and causeway
• Scenic drives through Broughton Pass
• A quiet rural village

The village sits on the western rim of the gorge. Below it, a narrow road drops through the bush to a low causeway across the river, and far overhead the twin bridges of the Hume Motorway span the valley.

Things To Do in Douglas Park

Nepean River Causeway

Douglas Park Drive winds down to the river, where the causeway is a popular local spot for swimming, paddling and launching canoes. The water is calm and shaded by she-oaks, with sandstone cliffs on both sides. The causeway goes under after heavy rain, when the road is closed.

Broughton Pass

The road east to Appin crosses the Cataract River through Broughton Pass, a deep sandstone cutting with a weir and old water supply tunnels that are part of the scheme built in the 1880s to carry water to Sydney. It is one of the most scenic short drives in the district.

St Mary’s Towers

On a hill outside the village stands a sandstone mansion begun in the 1840s for the explorer and surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell. It has been a monastery and retreat centre for more than a century and can be seen from the road.

Where To Stay

There are a few farm stays and rural retreats around the village.

Motels can be found in Picton and Campbelltown.

Eat & Drink

The village hotel serves meals, and there is a general store. Picton, ten minutes away, has a wider choice.

History

Douglas Park is on Dharawal country. It is named after Dr Henry Grattan Douglass, a physician and politician who was granted land here in the 1820s and later helped found the University of Sydney. The railway arrived in 1863, and the village remained a small farming and dairying community.

Getting to Douglas Park

Take the Hume Motorway south and exit at Picton Road, about an hour and ten minutes from central Sydney. Trains on the Southern Highlands line stop at Douglas Park station.