HAWKESBURY’S A HIDDEN GEM

The Hawkesbury area of the Sydney basin is so close to town that meeting and event planners can often overlook this historic and diverse resource.

The Hawkesbury area of the Sydney basin is so close to town that meeting and event planners can often overlook this historic and diverse resource.

The Hawkesbury has been the food basket of Sydney since the earliest days of European settlement, nurtured by the waters of the Hawkesbury River as it makes its way to the sea at Broken Bay.

The towns of Windsor and Richmond and villages such as Pitt Town (founded 1810), Kurrajong and St Albans all have a rich history and plenty of locals more than willing to share it with your conference group.

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They certainly know plenty about the conference market as coaches regularly bring international visitors to gain “dinky-di” Aussie experiences. Guests can enjoy freshly shucked oysters and meet the growers, artists and wineries as they tour the region.

The Hawkesbury is lucky enough to be part of and surrounded by National Parks, which provide a variety of recreational pursuits. Such as bushwalking, rock-climbing, canyoning, cycling, canoeing, picnicking and bird watching.

The region offers events every month, ranging from kayak racing (Jan) and a jazz festival (Jun) to the Hawkesbury Show (Sept). There’s also a folk music festival at St Albans in December.

You can visit over 40 different farms and businesses through the course of the year, depending on when their produce is in season, so there’s plenty of opportunity to design a conference program that embraces the best of the region at any particular time of the year. Agricultural production in this area is estimated at $502 million per annum.

There are also several well regarded golf courses in the Hawkesbury area. Travelling past Kurrajong Heights along the Bells Line of Road, the Mount Tomah cold climate botanic garden offers sweeping valley views. The rare Wollemi Pine and spectacular displays of plants from around the world are on show.