Information and Guides
Location
The Research Station is located 110 km north of Broken
Hill on the Silver City Highway to Tibooburra.
Seventy-five kilometres of
the Highway are sealed to Fowlers Gap while the remaining 35 km is
regularly maintained gravel road.
However, the road can become
impassable after heavy rain which is an irregular occurrence.
You
can check for road closures with the Broken Hill District Office of
the Road and Traffic Authority on (08) 8082 6660.
Brochure
on Fowlers Gap  221
kb
Ecotourism infrastructure
Fowlers Gap has established five Eco-Trails ranging from 1 - 8 h that traverse representative landsystems
on the station. Each walk has a trail guide describing the route
and geomophology and a supplementary guide to key flora and
fauna. Fowlers Gap has two bird hides - one on a large
dam and the other at a small water hole with night illumination.
A further hide is planned on the homestead tank and a small
wetland will be developed near the homestead precinct. Tourism
operators and educational groups can contact the station (Phone:
(08) 8091 3809/2511, Email: fowlersgap@unsw.edu.au)
or complete an information request form regarding access to facilities that include bird and other fauna
viewing hides at water. Individuals and small parties visiting
the station for eco-tourism may use the booking
form.
Some of the trail guides and checklists to biodiversity
on the Station are available here.
The 'Creek Line' sculpture
On a rise on the approach to the Station homestead
complex, visitors are recommended to view the sculpture 'Creek
Line' by Alison Clouston. A rest area off the highway provides
parking. This large work is one of two installations forming
the Silver City Highway Sculpture Project. The other work is
in Tibooburra.
The naming of Fowlers Gap
The following excerpt from J.A. Mabbutt, 'Historical
Background of Fowlers Gap', addresses the naming of Fowlers Gap.
"In
1869-70 a gold strike occurred at Mt. Browne and subsequently
one at Tibooburra. Traffic northwards increased as a result,
and the bullock track from Umberumberka through Euriowie and
Fowlers Gap to Bancannia and Packsaddle developed into a mail
route. The mining episode was short-lived and was virtually
over by 1885, but the route remained for coach traffic and for
travelling stock. A stock route was gazetted in 1884, with a
branch along the eastern foot, of the ranges where it presumably
used the natural soakages and waterholes. The Gap may well have
received its name at this time. Hardy (1969) refers to a Fowler,
"perhaps an early Murray squatter", who may have pioneered
the Gap through the Ranges and an alternative suggestion is
that Fowler was a bullock-train driver who located the Gap on
his journeys northwards. However local reports identify Fowler
as a surveyor with one of the early exploration parties (K.
Conners, pers. comm.). Certainly the name already existed in
1892, when Fowlers Gap Hotel was built on the route, on the
left bank of Fowlers Creek about 3 km, downstream from the Gap
itself."
Read
the complete chapter on the history of Fowlers Gap from this link
[photogallery/photo00018432/real_p.htm]
|
