Catalina Park

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Coordinates: 33°42′44″S 150°18′14″E / 33.71222°S 150.30389°E / -33.71222; 150.30389
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Garguree (The Gully) formerly Catalina Park
Matich SR4, 1969, Group A Sports Cars
)

Catalina Park is a disused

Darug clans to the area.[1][2]

Overview

The 2.092 km (1.300 mi) circuit opened on 12 February 1961.

Matich SR4) at 53.4 seconds, an average lap speed of 141 km/h (88 mph).[3][5]

Originally used for top level

armco railings and hillside. The track became used less with the opening of other circuits nearer to Sydney such as Oran Park and Amaroo Park
.

In the 1970s the circuit was used for Rallycross, where the cars would use half the bitumen track and a dirt infield section with jumps, like Motocross.

By the 1980s the track was only being used for lap dashes with single cars on track at one time and was used until the mid-1990s for this.

The circuit still exists and can be walked around however it has deteriorated quite badly with grass growing through the track surface on what was Lockheed Straight and Dunlop Corner, and water seepage has caused part of the track to collapse between Craven A corner and Castrol corner.

History

Catalina Park, circa 1965

Catalina Park, commonly known as The Gully, is situated in Katoomba and is also known as the Katoomba Falls Creek Valley. The Gully forms the headwaters of the Katoomba Falls Creek and is therefore part of the

culturally sensitive place.[citation needed
]

Before

traditional owners of the Gully – the Gundungurra and Darug peoples – used the Gully as a summer camp. Settlement at the foot of the mountains forced many Gundungurra and Darug people to resettle permanently in the Gully well before 1950. The flooding of the Burragorang Valley in the 1950s made this process irreversible.[citation needed
]

In 1946, their relatively peaceful co-existence was shattered when the area was developed as a tourist park. The

merry-go-round, swimming pool, as well as a small cinema.[6]

Eventually the amusements park became dilapidated and unpopular, with the government buying the land in 1952. The Catalina was removed and eventually sold for scrap, and a treated swimming pool was built. Five years later, a racetrack was organised by a group of 83 local businessmen (the Blue Mountains Sporting Drivers Club Limited) who were supported by the then Blue Mountains City Council. The last traditional owners were forcibly removed by 1959.[citation needed]

The Gully was declared an

Aboriginal Place on 18 May 2002. From the time it was nominated until its declaration as an Aboriginal Place, took only nine months. The Gully in Katoomba became the largest Aboriginal Place in NSW. The Aboriginal Place declaration was warmly welcomed by the Gundungurra and Darug traditional owners and was marked by Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike with an official celebration in November 2002.[citation needed
]

Since 2002, a significant amount of goodwill has slowly built up in Katoomba. Several small victories have taken place in the symbolic field. Among the most significant of these is the documentation of the history of the Gundungurra and Darug peoples in a book whose publication was supported by both the Sydney Catchment Authority and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism at the

University of Technology, Sydney. Sacred Waters: The Story of the Blue Mountains Gully Traditional Owners was written in close collaboration with the Gully people by anthropologist Dianne Johnson.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Lance, Allan. "A Heritage Study of the Gully Aboriginal Place, Katoomba, New South Wales". Blue Mountains City Council. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b Korff, Jens. "The Gully (Catalina Park)". Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b "TRACKS: Catalina Park". www.speedcafe.com. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Catalina Park - Racing Circuits". www.racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-949757-35-7
  6. ^ "Catalina Park, Katoomba". Blue Mountains Local Studies. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

External links

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