Blue Mountains Canyoning Bibliography

Photo - Rob Hynes abseiling down the hole in the floor of a Northern Blue Mountains canyon

This is a list of references to Canyoning articles or other publications. It is only fairly provisional at the moment and certainly not comprehensive. I hope that some people may find it of use.

Any problems, corrections or additions would be welcome. Please email me

• Kanangra Canyons
• Jamison Valley
• Southern Grose
• Carmarthen Labyrinth
• Northern Grose
• Wollangambe Wilderness
• South Wolgan
• North Wolgan
• Glen Davis
• Northern Canyons
• Coricudgy/Widden
• Bylong Labyrinth
• General
• Guides

Kanangra Canyons

• Carra Beanga Ck, KBC walks reports 1964
• Carra Beanga Ck, KBC walks program 9-10 jan 1965 (R Butler leader)
• Mathiesons Ck, Doris Ck, KBC walks reports 1965
• Morong Deep, KBC walks reports 1962/3
• Thurat Rift, KBC walks reports Feb 74
• Ti Willa Canyon - KBC walks reports, 9-11 Mar 62
• P Vanamois, Danae Brook, Compass, No 3
• J Boyd, Up The Brook (reverse of Danae Brook), Kameruka Vol 7 No 2
• R Clarke, Ti Willa Canyon, Kameruka, Vol 11 No 1, Winter 72
• J Franklin, Kalang Falls, SUBW Journal No 1 1974
• P Walsh, A Smashing Time in Dionne Dell, The Waysider No 196, Apr/May 86
• G Clarke, Davies Canyon, The Waysider, No 69, July 62
• T Hager, Upper Gingra Ck, The Waysider, No 190, March 85
• M Doyle, Davies Canyon, The Waysider, No 166, March 81
• D Butler, Rescue in the Kanangra Gorge, The Bushwalker, Vol 2 No 2
• P Thomas, Kanangra Falls and Dionne Dell, NBC May 88
• T Williams and D Noble, Down The Kanangra Canyons, Australian Outdoors Aug 81
• T Williams and D Noble, Canyoning Around Kanangra, Action Outdoor Feb 86
• T Williams and D Noble, Blue Mountains Highs, Adventure Sports Magazine
• J Barrett, Kanangra Walls, 1993
• T Acker, Danae Days and Cold Nights, Wild, Apr 89

Jamison Valley

• Berrima Inga Ck, KBC Walks reports 1970

Southern Grose

• R.H. Shumack, The Conquest of a Canyon (Arethusa), The Bushwalker 1945
• Q Burke, Arethusa canyon, The Bushwalker, No 10, 1947
• S Graham, Crayfish Ck, KBC walks report, 23-24 Jan 1971
• W Williams, Canyoning - wet,wonderful but cold(Fortress Ck), Australian Outdoors, Mar 74
• J Boyd, Shedju - Struya (near Mt Hay), KBC walks report, 27-29 Sept 63.
• Hat Hill Ck, KBC walks reports 1962/3
• Cut Throat Canyon, KBC Walks program 7-9 Sept 62 (E Hartley leader)
• Crayfish Ck, KBC Walks program 4-5 Jan 64 (M Frost leader)
• J Barrett, Butterbox - an Anthology, an Appreciation, and a Bit of History, The Waysider, No 177, Jan/Feb 83
• F Bendeich, Crayfish Gully and Yowie Ck, The Waysider, No 172, March 82
• F Bendeich, Hat Hill Canyon and Beyond, The Waysider, No 166, March 81
• G French, Butterbox Canyon(reprinted from Waysider 68 (1962), The Waysider, No 167, May/June 81
• R Holmes, Letter to the Editor (first decent of Mt Hay Canyon?), Wild, Oct 88
• D Sutton, Arethusa Canyon, VS&M, No 11, 1992
• T Williams, Mt Hay Canyon, VS&M, No 12, 1993
• J Blows, Abseil to Hell (Jugglers Canyon), VS&M, No 12, 1993

Carmarthen Labyrinth (including Bowens Ck)

• B Dunnett - Reflections on Claustral, KBC Walks reports 10-11 Jan 70
• J Pettigrew,A Merriman,N Lewis, The Bell Road Canyons (map), Kameruka , Vol 2 No 2, June 63
• B Dunnett, First Attempt on Claustral Canyon (describes attempt of 1-2 Dec 62), Kameruka Vol 4 No 1 Aug 65 (extracts reprinted in Kameruka 40th Anniversary 1986)
• Dave Rhodes, Good Grief (Claustral Canyon - describes first successful descent -Jan 63) Kameruka,Vol 6No 1 1967
• B Dunnett, Raynon Brook, KBC walks reports, 27-29 Apr 62
• T Thomas, The Black Hole (Claustral Canyon - early attempt (1961?)- bypassed the waterfalls) SBW Sept 63
• Federation report (accident in Thunder Canyon 17 Mar 63) SBW May 63
• A Abrahams, letter to M Hungerford (describes early trip (1964) and history of Carmarthen canyons) 1972
• T Williams, Five men Against A canyon (Thunder Canyon), Push On - 40 th Anniversay Magazine (SUBW) 1986
• I Hickson, Claustral By Night (first night descent) Kameruka, Vol 16 No 1, Mar 78
• P Mahony, Overcoming Claustral - Phobia, The Waysider No 196, Apr/May 86
• J Barrett, North Bowen Canyon, The Waysider, No 179, May 83
• J Barrett, Ranon Canyon, The Waysider, No 176, Nov 82
• J Pettigrew, The Importance of Being Naive (Jack Pettigrew's account of the first KBC attempt on Claustral - when he got bitten by a canyon snake), The Bushwalker, Vol 2 No 3
• J Hand, Bowens Ck, NBC Mar 88
• M Smith, Ken's Canyons (Bowens via Range Ck and Water Dragon) SBW Apr 95
• J Hand, Bowens Ck, NBC Mar 95
• S Kos, Claustral Canyon, The Waysider No 249, Mar 95
• D Noble, Claustral Canyon - Black Hole int the Blue Mts, GEO, Vol9 No 3, Sept 87
• Bandicoot, A Day Trip Through Claustral Canyon, SBW, Apr 64
• D Noble, News report - Stump in Claustral gone, Wild, July 90
• J Cronin, Flight From A Canyon, VS&M, No 9, 1990
• C Gibson, Carmarthen Canyons, VS&M, No 11, 1992
• D Noble, Claustral at night in winter (news report), Wild, Jan 83

Northern Grose (including Dargans Ck area)

• Cut-a-Rumble Ck, Beebuk Ck, KBC walks reports 1965

Wollangambe Wilderness

Photo - Col Gibson and Rod Costigan in Bad Luck Bertie Canyon

• R Lockwood - SBW March 68 (p 18)
• R O'Brien, Upper Bungleboori Ck, SBW December 67
• R Wyborn, The First Descent of Clatterteeth Canyon, SBW, March 64
• A Wyborn, The Elusive Crater, SBW, Nov 68
• Yarramun Ck, ITB June 67
• Dumbano Ck, ITB Dec 66
• H.P.G. Clews, The Bad Bit Cross The River (General story of the surveying of the Wollangambe- Colo area - in two parts) , The Waysider
• J Pettigrew, Canyon Exploration Bungleboori Ck, KBC walks report, 1-2 Feb 1964
• Canyon Exploration - Nayook Ck, KBC Walks program 4-5 Apr 64 (B Powell leader)
• Canyon Exploration - Bungleboori Area, KBC Walks program 16-17 Jan 1965 (J Pettigrew leader)
• Dumbano Ck , KBC Walks program 25-26 Feb 1967 (B Dunnett leader)
• Yarramun Ck, KBC Walks program 11-12 Oct 69(J Lucas leader)
• N Gooch, The Wollangambe River (- Part I) Kameruka, Vol 16 No 1, Mar 78
• N Gooch, The Wollangambe - Part II,III and IV, Kameruka, Vol 16 No 2, July 78
• C Cosgrove, Report on a New Canyon - Short Ck, Kameruka, Vol 13 No 1, Sept 74
• C Cosgrove, The Wollangambe - Colo Area, Kameruka, Vol 12 No 2, Dec 73

Photo - Chris Cosgrove, circa 1978

• A Eagle, A Wet Day Trip - or Wooshing Down The Wollangambe, Kameruka, Vol 12 No 2, Dec 73
• The Buddha, Wollangambe Ck or Bust, Kameruka, Vol 8 No 1, Winter 69
• M Doyle, Waterdragon - A Canyon, The Waysider, No 178, Mar 83
• J Forster, Dumbano Canyon - Mystery Walk (Yarramun Canyon), The Waysider, No 135, Mar/Apr 75
• M Doyle, A Traverse of The Wollangambe Wilderness, The Waysider, No 163, July/Aug 80
• F Bendeich, Wollangambe Crater to Bell Ck, The Waysider, No 179, May 83
• J Barrett, Wollangambe Canyon, The Waysider, No 172, March 82
• M Doyle, Rain Ck, The Waysider, No 169, Sep/Oct 81
• T Hager, After the Fire (Nayook Ck), The Waysider, No 165, Nov/Dec 80
• Wollangambe Tunnels, The Waysider, No 166, March 81
• J Hand, Crikey Ck, NBC Mar 78
• M Smith, Ken's Canyons (Bowens via Range Ck and Water Dragon) SBW Apr 95
• D Rostron, Mt Cameron To Bell, SBW, July 82
• D Wheen, In Search of Canyon, VS&M No 2, 1993
• G McCredie, Wollangambe Canyon, VS&M, No 10, 1991

South Wolgan

Photo - Keith Maxwell on the abseil into Heart Attack Canyon, 2nd descent party - March 1976

• E.J. McKenzie, Lithgow District Historical Society, The Commonwealth Oil Shale Corporation at Newnes, Wolgan Valley. (From SUBW logbook 1967)
• A Barry, Newnes Decline and Fall, Compass (2 parts)
• J, Tiger Snake Canyon Introduction, The Waysider, No 177, Jan/Feb 83
• Jo Barrett, Tiger Snake Canyon, The Waysider, No 177, Jan/Feb 83
• C Cosgrove, Heart Attack Canyon (describes first descent) Push On - 40 th Anniversay Magazine (SUBW) 1986
• D Noble, Wolgan Canyons, Kameruka, Vol 15 No 1, Sept 77
• D Noble, The South Wolgan Canyons - Part II, Kameruka, Vol 16 No 2, July 78
• M Doyle, Canyons East and West, The Waysider, No 178, Mar 83
• T Hager, The Cairn Above the Creek (Birds Rock area), The Waysider, No 154, Sep/Oct 78
• P Harrington, The Wolgan Valley (History), The Waysider, No 137, Jul 75
• J Barrett, Leader Loses Budgie in Rocky Ck Canyon, The Waysider, No 172, March 82
• M Doyle, Thunderstorm Canyon, The Waysider, No 171, Jan 82
• M Doyle, Bell's Folly (Tiger Snake Canyon ?), The Waysider, No 156, Mar/Apr 79
• B Burton, Surefire Canyon, The Waysider, No 155, Jan/Feb 79
• M Doyle, Rock Ck Canyon,( Rocky Ck) The Waysider, No 166, March 81
• M Gorman, Little Dingo Canyon - walks report, The Waysider, No 160, Feb/Mar 80
• P Harris, Walks Report - Deanes Plateau - Rocky Ck, National Parks Association Journal, Oct 73
• R Breckwoldt for The National Trust of Australia. Wolgan Valley - A study of landuse and conflicts. 1977
• J Hand, Walks report - Surefire and Heartattack canyons, NBC, May 83
• J Hand, Thunderstorm Canyon, NBC Feb 89
• A Marshall, Rocky Ck Canyon, The Waysider No 249, Mar 95
• D Noble, A Bushwalker in the Colo Wilderness, GEO Vol4, No 3, Sept 1982
• J Friend,The Upper Wolgan Valley, NPA Journal, Oct 77
• D Noble, The Lower Wolgan Valley, NPA Journal, May(?) 78
• R Lembit, Newnes Plateau, The Newsletter of the Bushwalkers of NSW, Vol 6 No 4, May 81
• G Eardley and E Stephens, The Shale Railways of NSW, ARHS, 1974 (chapter on the Newnes Railway)
• R Bradstock, Contradiction Canyon, VS&M, No 5, 1986
• D Wheen, In Search of Canyon, VS&M No 2, 1993
• J (The Bishop) Turton, Surefire Excitement VS&M, No 12, 1993

North Wolgan

• T Hager, Weeks Walk - Glen Davis - Mt Cameron Area (Newnes Canyon) The Waysider No 147 May/June 77

Glen Davis

• M O'Leary, Anzac Day at Glen Davis, The Waysider, No 136, May/June 75

Northern Canyons Area (Coorongooba/Numietta)

Photo - Bob Sault and Tony Norman in Jans Canyon

• Tayan Pic - Coricudgy Area - KBC walks report 1964
• Gospers Hole Area - KBC walks reports 1965
• Canyon Exploration from Gospers Hole Road, KBC Walks program 28-29 Aug (J Pettigrew leader)
• T Willams, Koonadah - The Super Canyon, Kameruka, Vol 17 No 1, Dec 79
• H Fairlie-Cuninghame, Walks Report - The Road to Gospers Mt, National Parks Association Journal, Aug 71
• J Hand, Walks report - Coorongooba Ck, NBC, June 93

Coricudgy/Widden

• D Munro, Walks Report - Emu Ck, Mt Pomany, Turon Ck, NBC June 78
• J Hand, Walks report - Widden valley (Turon Ck, Bass Crater) NBC Aug 83
• D Noble, Features of the Widden Valley, VS&M, No 9, 1990

Bylong Labyrinth

• D Noble, A Walk Through The Bylong Labyrinth, Kameruka, Vol 16 No 1 Mar 78
• R Vincent, Walks report - Bylong River, NBC Aug 78

General

Photo - Gordon Thompson in a narrow Northern Blue Mountains canyon

• W.N. Holland, Origin and Development of Hanging Valleys in the Blue Mtns NSW, Phd Thesis,
• University of Sydney, 1974
• J Barrett, Safety in Canyons, The Waysider No 196, Apr/May 86
• J Barrett, About Canyons, The Waysider, No 190, March 85
• B Blunt, Canyons in the Blue Mountains, (plagiarism of other articles) Mountaineer 81(MUMC Journal - Vol 1 No 4 - June 81)
• J Davis (ed), Rope and Rucksack, 1969, Angus and Robertson (chapter on canyoning)
• J Davis and G Steer, Follow the Waters, Rucksack Magazine No 4, Summer 1968
• P Blackwood, Canyoning, Australian Outdoors, Dec 75
• C Child, A Wilderness in Waiting, Australian Geographic, No 31, July 93
• J E Carne, Geology and Mineral Resources of the Western Coalfields, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of NSW No 6, 1908 - a classic on the geology of the Northern Blue Mts.
• D Noble, Abseiling and canyoning Accidents, Wild, Jan 86
• D Noble, Canyon Exits, Wild, Jul 87
• C Cosgrove and D Rittson, The Greater Blue Mountains National Park Proposal. NSW Federation of Bushwalkers.
• D Noble, Blue Mts Rockclimbing and Canyoning - seminar report, Wild, July 89
• D Sanders, Canyon Statistics, VS&M, No 11, 1992

Guides

• R Jamieson, Outdoor Senior Scouting Near Sydney, scout Ass'n of NSW, 1968 - Has a chapter on canyons.
• Sydney University Rover Crew, Gundungura, 1970 (Kanangra Canyons)
• R Sault, Canyons in The Wollangambe Wilderness, The Newsletter of the Bushwalkers of NSW 1979(?)
• Catholic Bushwalking Club - 40th Anniversary Book.(canyon guide chapter)
• D Noble, Blue Mountains Canyons, Wild, Jan 82
• D Noble, Kanangra Canyons, Wild, Oct 84
• D Noble, Blue Mountains Canyon Guide, Wild, Apr 88
• D Noble, Blue Mountains Canyons, Insert to Wild, No 50, Oct 93
• R Jamieson, Canyons Near Sydney, 1993
• R Jamieson, Canyons Near Sydney, (second edition) 1995

Notes

• SBW refers to "The Sydney Bushwalker", monthly magazine of the Sydney Bush Walkers.
• "The Waysider" is the bimonthly magazine of the Catholic Bushwalking Club of Sydney.
• VS&M refers to "Volleys, Scunge and Mac" the yearly magazine of Sydney University Bushwalkers.
• ITB refers to "Into The Blue" the magazine of the Coast and Mountain Walkers of NSW
• NBC refers to the Newcastle Bushwalking Club monthly magazine
• NPA refers to the National Parks Association of NSW
• ARHS refers to the Australian Railways Historical Society