Canoelands, New South Wales facts for kids

Canoelands is a small suburb located north of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. It's about 60 kilometers north of the main city center of Sydney. This area is managed by two local councils: Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire.

Exploring Canoelands' Landscape

Canoelands is a small community with about 80 houses and 177 people. It stretches out east from Old Northern Road. You can find Canoelands between the areas of Forest Glen and Maroota. It's 10 kilometers north of Glenorie and 20 kilometers south of Wisemans Ferry. If you drive from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Canoelands is about 55 kilometers north.

The land in Canoelands sits on a high, hilly area called Canoelands Ridge. This ridge is made of Hawkesbury Sandstone. It has many steep valleys covered with a type of forest called dry sclerophyll forest. This forest is mostly filled with tall Eucalyptus trees. The area covers about 60 square kilometers. It is surrounded on three sides by the Marramarra National Park. This park is a large wilderness area covering 11,759 hectares.

Mount Blake is about 2 kilometers east of Canoelands Road. This spot is 270.3 meters above sea level. It's one of the highest natural points between Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River. The very highest point in Canoelands is 278 meters high, located at 49 Canoelands Road. All the water from this area flows into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system.

A Look Back at Canoelands' History

First People of Canoelands

The land around Canoelands was originally home to Indigenous Australians. They were part of the Dharug-speaking tribes. To the west, they connected with the Boorooberongal and Cattai clans. To the south, they met the Bidjigal people near Castle Hill. East of Canoelands were the large Eora-speaking tribes along the coast.

Inside Canoelands, you can find many ancient Aboriginal rock carvings. These carvings are in caves and on rocky areas. The National Parks and Wildlife Service looks after these important sites.

European Settlers and the Name Canoelands

In the early days, this area was important for getting timber for Sydney. Tree cutters found tall stringybark gum trees here. These trees had large, smooth patches of bark missing. Local Aboriginal people would cut these bark pieces with stone axes. They used the bark to make canoes for traveling on the Hawkesbury River. Because of this, these trees were called canoe trees.

Sadly, no original canoe trees remain in Canoelands today. This is because they were used for timber. However, you can see preserved examples in other places, like Pioneers Park in Griffith, New South Wales.

The area was first known as "The Canoe Grounds." This name appeared in a Gregory's Directory in 1946. Later, it became known as "Canoelands." This name was officially recognized by the NSW Government on November 12, 1993. Its boundaries were set and it became an official suburb of Sydney on December 1, 1995.

The first piece of land bought in the Parish of Marramarra, which includes Canoelands, was 6 acres. John Blake bought this land on June 6, 1835. He paid one pound and ten shillings for it.

Getting Around Canoelands

Old Northern Road was built by convicts a long time ago. It's a main road that stretches 34 kilometers north. It connects Baulkham Hills to Wisemans Ferry. Canoelands has two other roads. Canoelands Road is a 9-kilometer long dead-end street. Marra Avenue is a 2.2-kilometer long dead-end street. Most of Canoelands Road and all of Marra Avenue are paved.

You can enjoy beautiful views of the countryside, mountains, and even the city from these roads. The first and only street light in Canoelands was put up on June 6, 1994. It's at the corner of Old Northern and Canoelands Roads. At first, it only turned on when cars approached. But this didn't work well. Now, it stays lit from sunset until sunrise.

Life in Rural Canoelands

Canoelands is at the far northern edge of the Hornsby Shire Council area. The land here is classified as Rural Lands. This means that land plots must be at least 10 hectares (about 25 acres) in size. These plots cannot be divided into smaller pieces. Only one house can be built on each plot. However, buildings needed for farming are allowed.

The main industries here are farming. There are four plant nurseries and three large orchards that grow stone fruits. These orchards are often covered with special netting. This netting helps protect the fruit from grey-headed flying foxes. These flying foxes like to eat the fruit when it's ripe. The fruits grown here include peaches, nectarines, and plums. Sometimes, farmers also grow vegetables like tomatoes, snow peas, and zucchini. Beekeepers bring their beehives to the orchards when the trees are flowering. The bees gather honey and help the trees produce fruit.

A well-known plant nursery on Canoelands Road supplies plants to many stores across New South Wales. There is also a quarry that digs up gravel and another that digs up sandstone. The Hawkesbury sandstone is usually cream-colored. It has colorful patterns of red, orange, yellow, and white. This stone was once used to build houses. Now, it's mostly used for landscaping or as decorative panels in homes. The area also has some white and blue shale. White shale is mixed with clay to make light-colored bricks.

Services in Canoelands

Canoelands does not have any shops. The closest places to buy things are in Glenorie. For bigger shopping, people go to Castle Hill. That's about 32 kilometers south.

The Canoelands Rural Fire Brigade station is located at the corner of Canoelands and Old Northern Roads. The local telephone exchange is also there. Canoelands has electricity, natural gas, telephone, and internet services. However, it does not have public water pipes or sewerage systems. Residents rely on rainwater tanks and dams for water. They use septic systems to deal with sewage. Many homes have backup diesel generators. These generators keep water pumps and fridges working if the power goes out. One home in Canoelands even runs completely on solar power.

A large oil/gas pipeline that goes from Sydney to Newcastle runs along Canoelands Road. It then turns north and goes under the Hawkesbury River. This pipeline has two radio-controlled valve stations located in Canoelands.