Crown Lands upgrades fire trails around historic Hill End

The NSW Government has upgraded four important fire trails around historic Hill End in the Bathurst region to help protect the community and preserve heritage buildings dating back to Australia’s Gold Rush.

Crown Lands in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) invested more than $1 million to fund improvements to 10 kilometres of fire trails in the Hill End fire complex, which have been undertaken by the Soil Conservation Service under contract.

A network of four trails has been upgraded to Category One Standard, including the Rifle Range Fire Trail, Bald Hill (Abercrombie) Fire Trail, Anderson Fire Trail and Western Fire Trial.

The four trails were not adequately accessible prior to the upgrade work. Work crews have repaired trail damage and installed turning and passing bays for firefighting vehicles to easily manoeuvre in the event of an emergency.

Excess vegetation was removed, and additional mitre drains were installed to improve drainage and mitigate against the trails eroding after heavy rain. Bed level crossings, which are large rock trenches to allow water to flow unobstructed along channels, were also installed.

All 10 kilometres of track was graded with gravel to ensure they are smooth and accessible by emergency vehicles.

The fire trail work will ensure firefighters have ready access to bushland areas to fight fires if they break out, to prevent the blazes from spreading and threatening nearby residential communities.

The work will protect the historic community of Hill End, which became famous in 1872 with the discovery of the largest gold specimen in the world – the Holtermann Nugget. The discovery attracted miners from around the world with Hill End swelling to 8000 residents, 28 pubs, an oyster bar and a kilometre of colourful and bustling shopfronts at the height of the gold rush. Some buildings from the era still exist today, allowing visitors and residents to learn about the impact and legacy of the gold rush in NSW.

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said:

“The NSW Government is focused on building better communities, and this includes protecting
beautiful and historic communities like Hill End from the threat of bushfire.

“It's vital we invest in good quality fire trails so firefighters and their vehicles can navigate bushland to reach fires quickly and safely to stop fire spreading to residential areas, to protect lives and property as well as wildlife.”