Location & Description

McKay Reserve is located on the west-facing slopes above Pittwater.  It extends from the Pacific Road - Ralston Road junction in the north to Bynya Road above Dark Gully Park in the south. McKay Road passes through the Reserve between Ralston Road and Ebor Road.  Dark Gully Park is a small foreshore reserve located on the eastern shore of Pittwater at the mouth of Dark Gully Creek.

• View location on map

Environmental Projects in the Area

• Pittwater Spotted Gum Forest Restoration
• Community Action Asparagus Fern Control
• Asparagus Fern Control LGAG
• Bushcare Volunteer Group

Walking Tracks & Access

Access to McKay Reserve is possible from the junction of Pacific Road and the unmade part of Ralston Road, McKay Road, Ebor Road, Cynthea Road, Bynya Road and Barrenjoey Road.  Rights of way or access reserves between houses occur off Pacific Road, Cynthea Road and Bynya Road. 

McKay Road also provides access through part of the Reserve, splitting a section of the Reserve off from the bulk of the Reserve.  A track leads from McKay Road to the Water Board Reservoir.

Access to Dark Gully Park is from a steep pathway off Thyra Road.  Access is also possible from Pittwater.

Walking tracks in McKay Reserve are all informal and often obscure with no co-ordinated system of tracks.  The most popular area is the Lookout area where a large number of informal tracks exist.

• Dark Gully Walking Track Map
• Dark Gully Walking Track Map & Aerial Photo
• McKay Reserve Walking Track Map
• McKay Reserve Walking Track Map & Aerial Photo

Plants

4 vegetation communities are found in McKay Reserve:

• Red Bloodwood - Scribbly Gum Woodland
• Hawkesbury Sandstone Open-Forest
• Spotted Gum Forest
• Newport Bangalay Woodland

Animals

Four mammal species, 37 bird species, one frog species and three reptile species have been recorded for McKay Reserve.

Four animal species recorded in the Reserve are recognised as being of special significance:

• Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhyncus lathami)
• Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
• Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis)
• Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta)

Special Features

• McKay Reserve protects an example of the bushland of Barrenjoey Peninsula in a condition similar to that which occurred when the area was first visited by Captain Phillip in 1788
• it includes samples of plant communities which are uncommon in the Pittwater area and which are inadequately conserved in New South Wales; Newport Bangalay Woodland and Spotted Gum Forest
• it includes samples of a plant community which is poorly conserved on the Barrenjoey Peninsula; Red Bloodwood Scribbly Gum Woodland
• it protects populations of three plant species which have regional conservation significance; Snow Wood, Daviesia umbellulata and Large-fruited Red Mahogany
• it supports a wide diversity of fauna species in the context of urban bushland in the Sydney region
• it provides suitable habitat and food trees for four fauna species considered to be of special conservation significance; Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Koala, Squirrel Glider and Long-nosed Bandicoot
• it protects aboriginal sites which demonstrate the link between the land and its original human inhabitants

Related Info

• To find out more about McKay Reserve, download its Plan of Management
• Fire Management Plan for McKay Reserve and Dark Gully Park - PDF 1MB