Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve

For after hours urgent public health matters including environmental health, radiation safety, food poisoning and communicable disease management phone:

1800 022 222

ACT State Emergency Service

Emergency help
during flood or storms

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve is a 262-hectare protected area in north-eastern Tuggeranong adjacent to the suburbs of Fadden and Macarthur. The reserve is great for birdwatching and offers ridgetop views of southern Canberra and wildflower displays especially in spring.

The reserve is part of an extensive landscape of remnant wooded vegetation providing connectivity and enabling wildlife movement through to NSW in the east, to the Murrumbidgee River in the west, and to the southern ACT through Tuggeranong Hill and Rob Roy Range nature reserves.

Cycling is only permitted on management trails and on the Centenary Trail.

Horse riding is permitted on marked equestrian trails only. There is only one of these, about 800 m in length, in the north-eastern corner of the reserve.

Dogs are permitted on-leash on a track or trail only.

Natural values

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve protects:

a high diversity of open forest and woodland plant species including several uncommon in the ACT
critically endangered Yellow Box–Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland (about 15% of the reserve)
important habitat for threatened and regionally declining woodland birds
in rocky areas, a population of the vulnerable Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella)
Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax), which occasionally nest in the reserve

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve is protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014. Thank you for taking care of the natural environment.

Add a sighting to the NatureMapr or visit the Canberra Birds website.

Things to do

Activities

Features

Dogs on-leash
Lookout
NO BINS – take your rubbish with you
Walking track/s

Restricted or prohibited

Aircraft landing/take-off prohibited
Camping prohibited
Chainsaw use prohibited
Domestic animals (other than dogs) prohibited
Off-road driving prohibited
Driving on management trails prohibited
Drone use prohibited
Fires prohibited
Wood and timber collection prohibited
Metal detector use prohibited
Trailbikes prohibited except on public roads

Dogs are permitted on-leash on a track or trail only
Horse riding is permitted on marked equestrian trails only
Cycling is only permitted on management trails and on the Centenary Trail

Ngunnawal Country and People

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve is located on Ngunnawal Country, an ancient and diverse landscape managed and cared for by Ngunnawal people for tens of thousands of years.

For time immemorial Ngunnawal people have maintained a tangible and intangible cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to these lands and waters.

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve likely includes as-yet-unrecorded Aboriginal heritage sites.

All Aboriginal places and objects in the ACT are protected under the Heritage Act 2004 and must not be disturbed. Aboriginal places and objects within reserves are additionally protected under the Nature Conservation Act 2014. Anyone finding an (unregistered) Aboriginal object or place has an obligation to report it to the Heritage Council.

European heritage

With European settlement of the Tuggeranong Plains in the 19th century, the lands of the reserve were primarily used for pastoral grazing. 'Waniassa' was the largest property in the Tuggeranong area. It was renamed 'Tuggeranong' in 1858 following its purchase by the Cunningham Family (from Thomas Macquoid) and incorporated into the Lanyon pastoral enterprise, until the Commonwealth Government acquired the area for military purposes in 1917.

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve was established in 1993.

Before you go/How to get there

Before you go

Prepare by understanding safety and checking alerts.

Respect Canberra Nature Park reserves by:

staying on the tracks to minimise your impact
taking your rubbish home with you
leaving what you find, including plants, animals, rocks and timber (dead and alive)
respecting our heritage - leave cultural sites undisturbed
riding safely and following trail etiquette as a horse rider
riding safely and following trail etiquette as a bicycle rider
collecting and responsibly disposing of your dog's droppings (where dogs are permitted)
cleaning your outdoor gear, including bicycles, to avoid spreading weeds and disease

Remember:

bring your own drinking water
carry a mobile phone, especially if you are on your own
let someone know where you are going and when you'll return
be bushfire alert - on total fire ban days some reserves may be closed

How to get there

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve is accessible from Erindale Drive on the reserve’s western side and also from the suburbs of Fadden and Macarthur.

Boundary mapping is indicative only.

More information

If you notice any issues during your visit:

report maintenance issues to Access Canberra
report vandalism or other illegal activities to the police on 131 444
in an emergency, call 000

Find out about:

In a life threatening emergency dial Triple Zero (000)

triple zero 000

5124 0000

6201 6111

1800 629 354

6205 1065

13 11 26

5124 9977

(02) 6205 1700