SuburbBerowra WatersTypeOtherDetailsThe Woolwash is a location on the western shore of Berowra Creek about one kilometre up from the Berowra Waters ferry crossing. Early settlers brought wool here by boat where it was washed in spring water and then taken by boat to Pittwater or Sydney.
Shortly after the Europeans of the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove they began to explore the region. In March 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip sailed into Broken Bay to examine the Hawkesbury River, and camped at Dangar Island. In April 1788 he made a land expedition and is believed to have crossed the upper reaches of the Berowra catchment near Pennant Hills. In the following year, June 1789, he again explored the Hawkesbury. On 9 July the expedition entered and investigated Berowra Creek, Captain John Hunter charting the course and depth of the creek up to about the Woolwash just before Sams Creek. Captain Hunter noted in his Journal encounters with the natives and the discovery of corpses, possibly the result of smallpox (Hunter, 1968 [1793], pp.109-12). CreatorPowell, John P. 1994, Placenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, Hawkesbury River Enterprises, Berowra, p.120
Powell, John P. 1994, Placenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, Hawkesbury River Enterprises, Berowra, p.120, The Woolwash. Hornsby Shire, accessed 18/03/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/4393
