On a cool morning, we all drove to Mount Colah to park our cars and wait for the arrival of our coach. As we settled in our comfortable coach we were all looking forward to our day trip, grateful that Peter was doing the driving and we could sit back and relax.
Our morning tea stop was an unexpected treat with Anzac biscuits and a welcome cuppa. We stopped at Nurragingy Reserve in Doonside. This is an extensive bushland park of about 63 hectares and whilst we did not have time to visit the whole site we did see the water features and the Chinese Garden with its gateway, stone bridge, pavilion and waterfall gazebo. The park was opened in 1981 as an initiative of the Aboriginal Advisory Committee and commemorates the indigenous man, Nurragingy. He was an Aboriginal leader who worked as a native guide with Governor Macquarie in 1816. In 1918 he received a 30 acre land grant for his service to the government.
We visited the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. Our first stop was at the Western Sydney International Experience Centre (they do like long names!). This building overlooked the airport and gave us a great view of the future runway and terminal. The information session was interesting with large audio visual displays to supplement the talk. We learnt that the airport will operate 24/7 and will commence operations in 2026 with 1 runway and terminal serving an estimated 10 million domestic and international passengers per year.
At the moment Qantas and Jetstar have signed up to operate from Western Sydney. Future expansion will see the building of another parallel runway and a total of 4 terminals. Annual passenger movement is estimated to be 82 million per year when the airport is finally completed in the 2060s. There will be no navigation tower as flights will operate using satellite-based smart technology.
The drive around the perimeter showed us the massive size of the airport – it covers 4,398 acres with each runway being 3.7 km in length. At present access to the airport is reliant on the road network. The new M12 motorway has been completed and it is hoped the Metro will extend from Chatswood to the airport allowing travel by train.
We all enjoyed our lunch at the Nepean Rowers Club and refreshed set out for the Penrith Regional Gallery. Here we visited 3 exhibitions. The first 2 were an immersive sound and sculptural installation and an exhibition showcasing 12 local and emerging artists. The comment of most people on leaving this exhibition was “what did you think of the socks” (ask someone on the tour if you are interested in finding out more!). The third exhibition was a group of photographic works that represent a snapshot of Penrith and western Sydney as it has changed and grown over the last 60 years.
Change and growth were certainly on the mind of one of our members as we passed Nepean Hospital. She had completed her nurse’s training at this hospital and was amazed at the size and height of the hospital as it now stands. She was heard to comment that it would be much more difficult to find your way around the hospital today but we were too polite to enquire just how long it had been since her training.
On the way home, we had an unexpected drive around the Olympic Rowing Centre where our coach driver managed to talk his way in despite the road being closed for an event.
Following a long and enjoyable day, we finally arrived back at Mount Colah safe and sound. Thank you to our Outings Officer for organising such a good day out.
Report provided by a participating member.
