Hawkesbury River in the context of "Sydney, Australia"

Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 km (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and south-west. Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as "Sydneysiders". The estimated population in June 2024 was 5,557,233, which is about 66% of the state's population. The city's nicknames include the Emerald City and the Harbour City.

There is evidence that Aboriginal Australians inhabited the Greater Sydney region at least 30,000 years ago, and their engravings and cultural sites are common. The traditional custodians of the land on which modern Sydney stands are the clans of the Darug, Dharawal and Eora. During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, James Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay. In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. After World War II, Sydney experienced mass migration and by 2021 over 40 per cent of the population was born overseas. Foreign countries of birth with the greatest representation are mainland China, India, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Brisbane Water National Park is a national park on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Sydney and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southwest of Gosford. It consists the Brisbane Water and Mooney Mooney Creek waterways.

The National Park includes the Lion Island and the Spectagle Island near the Pacific Ocean. Brisbane Water National Park features fertile valleys which runs along the northern side of the Hawkesbury River towards Brisbane Water and the Pacific Ocean. The national park has an area of 11,506-hectare (28,430-acre) and is inhabited by the Darkinjung people.

The Blue Mountains (Gundungurra/Dharug: Colomatta or Gulumada) are a mountainous region and a mountain range located in New South Wales, Australia. The region is considered to be part of the western outskirts of the Greater Sydney area. The region borders on Sydney's main metropolitan area, its foothills starting about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of centre of the state capital, close to Penrith. The public's understanding of the extent of the Blue Mountains is varied, as it forms only part of an extensive mountainous area associated with the Great Dividing Range. As defined in 1970, the Blue Mountains region is bounded by the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers in the east, the Coxs River and Lake Burragorang to the west and south, and the Wolgan and Colo rivers to the north. Geologically, it is situated in the central parts of the Sydney Basin.

The Blue Mountains Range comprises a range of mountains, plateau escarpments extending off the Great Dividing Range about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) northwest of Wolgan Gap in a generally southeasterly direction for about 96 kilometres (60 mi), terminating at Emu Plains. For about two-thirds of its length it is traversed by the Great Western Highway, the Main Western railway line and the proposed Blue Mountains tunnel. Several established towns are situated on its heights, including Katoomba, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, and Springwood. The range forms the watershed between Coxs River to the south and the Grose and Wolgan rivers to the north. The range contains the Explorer Range and the Bell Range.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a national park on the northern side of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The 14,977-hectare (37,010-acre) park is 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the Sydney central business district and generally comprises the land east of the M1 Pacific Motorway, south of the Hawkesbury River, west of Pittwater and north of Mona Vale Road. It includes Barrenjoey Headland on the eastern side of Pittwater.

Ku-ring-gai Chase is a popular tourist destination, known for its scenic setting on the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater, significant plant and animal communities, Aboriginal sites and European historic places. Picnic, boating, and fishing facilities can be found throughout the park. There are many walking tracks in Ku-ring-gai Chase. The villages of Cottage Point, Appletree Bay, Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay, Coasters Retreat, Great Mackerel Beach and Bobbin Head are located within the park boundaries.

Wondabyne railway station is a heritage-listed railway station and request stop located on the Main Northern line in New South Wales, Australia. It serves the southern Central Coast area known as Wondabyne and opened on 1 May 1889. It is the only station in Australia that does not have road access.

Wondabyne station is mainly used by trail goers on the Great North Walk and the homeowners who live on the other side of Mullet Creek which is a tributary of the Hawkesbury River. It is a favoured spot of trainspotters. The area has a quarry that is used intermittently and several houses which can only be accessed by boat from a jetty next to the station.

The Central Coast is a peri-urban region lying on the Pacific Ocean in northern New South Wales, Australia, just north of Sydney. The area is the third-largest urban area in New South Wales and the ninth-largest urban area in the country.

The Central Coast is generally considered to include the region bounded by the Hawkesbury River in the south, the Watagan Mountains in the west and Lake Macquarie, lying on the Sydney basin. The region is filled with subtropical national parks, forests and also encompasses the major coastal waterways of Brisbane Water, Tuggerah Lakes and southern Lake Macquarie. The region's hinterland has fertile valleys, rural farmland and wineries, and also includes the Watagan Mountains.

The Mooney Mooney Creek, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.

Lion Island is an island that is located at the mouth to the Hawkesbury River in Broken Bay on the Central Coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The island is located just off Pearl Beach and is part of the Central Coast Council local government area.

The island is a descriptive name because it resembles a Sphinx, a mythical figure of a crouching lion. Lion Island is part of the Brisbane Water National Park, as it being one of the two islands located within the national park along with Spectacle Island in the Hawkesbury River.

Spectacle Island is a 36.4-hectare (89.9-acre) island in the village of Mooney Mooney that is located in the Hawkesbury River on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Spectacle Island is located on the junction with Mooney Mooney Creek and the Hawkesbury River.

Spectacle Island is one of the two islands located in Mooney Mooney along with Peat Island. It is considered a protected nature reserve precinct and is part of the Brisbane Water National Park.