Sackville


The tiny village of Sackville straggles along the road beside Sackville Reach on the Upper Hawkesbury River.

Where It Is?: 80km north-west of Sydney on the Hawkesbury River.

Things To See and Do
A stone by the river marks the site of the original church of St Thomas Anglican Church which was swept away by the great flood of 1867. Numerous gravestones, including those of two first fleeters who were among the early pioneers, remain in the old cemetery outside of town. The church's replacement (now a private residence), built in 1874, sits high on the hill behind the village.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church (1884) and fine sandstone manse (1879) is on the river bank opposite at Sackville North. The church and manse are now private properties. There are some other historic dwellings and remains from early settlement along Mud Island Road adjacient to the Sackville Reach section of the Hawkesbury.


Sackville Vehicular Ferry crosses the river to the east of the village. It is one of four ferry services which operate around the clock 7 days a week in the Upper Hawkesbury Valley and can be used at no cost to travellers. These are at Lower Portland, Wisemans Ferry, Webbs Creek and Sackville. These ferries form part of the regular transport infrastructure for many Hawkesbury residents, enabling travel to and from work, schools, shops and home.

A ferry service is known to have operated across the river at Sackville since at least 1883, and possibly the 1870s, primarily serving to carry children living on the farms on the northern river flats to the Sackville school. A vehicular cable ferry service has been in operation at the lower end of Sackville Reach - in its current location - since the early 1880s. The present ferry vessel was installed in 2009.

Sackville Ski Gardens, with its caravan park, wharf and boat ramp, is where water skiing on the Hawkesbury first began. In 1946, "Gelignite" Jack Murray, the famous rally car driver of the 1960s, joined with Alfred Najar to introduce water skiing to Australia; together they established the country's first waterski club at Sackville.




Jack loved water skiing, he also loved the Hawkesbury River to the north of Sydney. So great was his passion for both, he decided he'd be the first one to ski the full length of the river. In March 1951, he skimmed over the water at 130km/hr on a tow line from a light seaplane at Sackville. It was the first time in Australia that water skiers had been towed by an aeroplane.

It was not long before the idea of racing boats with skiiers towed on a ski line became popular. The death of Kemble Barclay, who was leading a race, fell and was struck by a fellow competitor's boat, changed the whole attitude of water skiers to racing and saw the introduction of time trials and marathon skiing. The Bridge to Bridge race came into being at this time.


Tizzana Winery was built in 1887 by Dr Thomas Fiaschi, who is commemorated by the bronze boar outside Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street, Sydney. After his death in 1927, the winery fell into disrepair but has been restored and is again producing wine from the vines Dr Fiaschi planted.

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