The Apsley Falls are two

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s on the Apsley River in the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The falls are located about east of Walcha, and 1 kilometre off the

Oxley Highway Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia, linking Nevertire, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, and Walcha, New South Wales, Walcha to Port Macquarie, on the coast of the Tasman Sea. It was name ...

in a deep gorge, that is part of the

Oxley Wild Rivers National Park The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The park is situated north ...

. They are the first falls in a succession of dramatic drops in an area that has some of the most remarkable scenery in Eastern Australia. The first drop of the falls is about in depth, and the second, which is about further on, plummets to the bottom of the gorge.

History

Aboriginal people tell the story of how the Rainbow Serpent created the gorge at Apsley Falls in the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...

. The Rainbow Serpent is said to travel underground from the base of the falls to reappear 20 km upstream at the Mill Hole on the Apsley River in Walcha. The site is now marked at the Mill Hole by the Rainbow Serpent mosaic made with the help of the local Aboriginal community. Apart from Aboriginal significance of the area as a meeting place,

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

passed by the falls on 13 September 1818 and he named them the Bathurst Falls. He described it as "one of the most magnificent waterfalls we have seen". Oxley named the Apsley River and wrote in his journal that he was "lost in astonishment at the sight of this wonderful natural sublimity". In 1902 three men, Ted Baker, Jim McMillan and "Wattie" Joiner built the wooden stairway that zigzagged its way from the top of the gorge to the water's edge. All timber used in this dangerous and mammoth task was hand dressed with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

and

adze An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...

by this trio. The original stairway was used until 1932, when it was declared unsafe and partly demolished. in 2020 the wooden stairway was fully demolished.Walcha, 100 years of Local Government, Walcha Shire Council, 1989 Quite some time after parts of this stairway rotted and became dangerous, the Walcha

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

set about the huge task of erecting a steel staircase and viewing platform to halfway down the gorge. One of the Lions, Lindsay McMillan (son of the above Jim McMillan), designed the steel structure, lookout and platform. All materials were supplied by the Walcha Shire Council and it took the Lions Club members 1,745 hours to complete the job during 1961. The Lions were internationally, and justly, recognised for their tremendous contribution here. The official opening of the scenic stairway was on 14 October 1961 by the state member for Armidale, Davis Hughes.

Features

The sheer sided walls of the upper Apsley Gorge are largely caused by the slate in this area which splits vertically. The gorge rim supports a vegetation of forest and woodland with a limited understorey of shrubby plants. Common plants include a number of wattles, ''Acacia amoena'' (boomerang wattle), ''

Acacia dealbata ''Acacia dealbata'', the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (botany), family Fabaceae, native plant, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australi ...

'' (silver wattle), ''Acacia filicifolia'' (fern-leaved wattle) and green wattles, plus tea trees, '' Eucalyptus caliginosa'' (broad-leaved stringy barks), ''

Eucalyptus viminalis ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...

'' (ribbon gums), '' Eucalyptus nicholii'' (narrow leaved peppermint), forest red gum, ''

Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...

'' (yellow box), ''

Dipodium punctatum ''Dipodium punctatum'', commonly known as the blotched hyacinth-orchid, is a leafless orchid that is a native to eastern and south-eastern continental Australia. In summer it produces a tall flowering stem with up to sixty pale to bright pink fl ...

'' (hyacinth orchids), ''Hakea fraseri'' (gorge hakea), ''

Jacksonia scoparia ''Jacksonia scoparia'', commonly known as dogwood (from its strong odour when burning), is a native species of a pea-flowered, greyish, leafless, broom-like shrub or small tree that occurs in the south east of Queensland, Australia and eastern N ...

'' (dogwood or native broom) and daisy bush.A View from Yallaroo
Retrieved on 17 September 2008

Wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

s may be seen soaring on the

thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

s in the area.

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

crimson rosella The crimson rosella (''Platycercus elegans'') is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The ...

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

s also known as "spiny anteaters" and wallabies frequent the area.

Facilities

Since the National Parks and Wildlife Service took over they have constructed additional lookouts and walkways to view and photograph this magnificent gorge and the two falls. There are several short walks that can be taken from the car parks and these are highlighted in the information shelter erected in the area near the toilet facilities. The main falls and gorge can be easily viewed from a lookout accessible from the main carpark. in addition the Oxley Walk is a 2.7 km, hours walk on a sealed walkway, which crosses the river via a footbridge, then continues around the northern side of the gorge. A further lookout offers fine views of the main falls (650 m) and the track continues past another three lookouts, where one can view a second waterfall and the dramatic cliffs of the chasm. This bridge was washed away in a flood on 28 December 2009, but the replacement was opened in June 2012. Good facilities are available for caravan or tent campers, including fire wood, toilets, interpretive information, hardened walking tracks, access for disabled people, ten viewing platforms, Aboriginal history, flora and fauna. A small camping fee applies. Dogs and other domestic pets are not allowed.

References

*''Where They Grow Old Gracefully - Walcha District Hospital Centenary, 1892-1992'' by co-authors: E L Hogan, OAM, JP and G J Reynolds.

External links

* * * * {{New England NSW , state=autocollapse Waterfalls of New South Wales Northern Tablelands Cascade waterfalls

History

Features

Facilities

See also

References

External links