Bruce Ridge: Bruce Ridge, Gossan Hill and O'Connor Ridge

by Murray Dow

Time: 2-3 hours

Distance: 6km

Map: Canberra Nature Park leaflets

The Bruce O'Connor ridge is the northern part of Black mountain massif, but is separated from it by Belconnen way and is perhaps easily overlooked. Nevertheless it provides a pleasant afternoon's walk of unexpected interest. I was fortunate to have enjoyed the company of Donna and Anthony from Open Family, without whose help my young son would have had to stay home. Bruce

The walk starts in O'Connor at the intersection of Kunzea and Dryandra St. Follow the bike path north as it heads away from Dryandra St, passing a house with horses out the back.

When the second gravel road comes in on your right, go through the locked gate on the left and head straight west, under power lines, ignoring two tracks which head north. Here we startled two wood-duck looking for nesting hollows. Another bird, usually rare but common here, is the speckled warbler whose 'elfin and elusive song' can be heard in late winter and spring.

On your left you can see the 'Motor Village'. After about 1/2 km a track from the Motor Village comes in on your left and on the right are concrete structures. Continue to a concrete object with the red number 9 on it.

Walk past it then turn right up the short second gravel track which is a dead end - at the end is a building with a sticker on the door reading 'where would we be without water'. Leave the formed tracks and go left up the hill on a small foot track. When you reach the top of the ridge and a road turn right around the large in ground water tank, across a deep concrete gutter.

About 30m around, on the north side a small foot track goes downhill to the north-west. Follow this for one kilometre through a junction where you go left uphill, then across two roads. The foot track ends at a rear entrance to Calvary Hospital. In the distance you can see the Pinnacle.

Head right gradually down hill along an enjoyable 1m wide track, ignoring any side tracks until you reach the bike path beside Purdie Circuit. Across Haydon Drive I was startled to see double-barred finches, apparently common here. Go through the wooden stile into Gossan Hill nature park. The narrow track soon widens and goes past several houses on your left. Ignoring side tracks, follow this to the bare saddle which has several tracks leaving, opposite Weatherburn Place.

Head slightly west of north here onto the hill where you get a view of Canberra University. As you descend, on your right you may notice the reddish earth and rock of an iron oxide outcrop, called a 'gossan'. This curious word is of Cornish origin. There is another gossan at Red Hill, Gungahlin which was used by the aborigines to obtain ochre.

Find your way back to the bicycle path and follow it past Bruce TAFE and the Australian Institute of Sport. If you have time it is worth walking through these - I got an excellent view of a brown-headed honeyeater in the native gardens in the car parks.

Take a street directory with you to navigate through here.

I was disappointed and disoriented to see that the magnificent yellow box out the front of the swimming pool building had been removed. I have marked on the map a bee hive in a tree hollow - feral honey bees are of some concern, as they take potential nesting hollows from native birds. In my experience however it is the introduced starling and indian mynah that are a far greater threat in this regard.

As you leave the AIS and go under the large powerline, a last diversion is O'Connor ridge on the left, which has one main track along the ridge to the north east end, the return trip adding on 2 1/2 km.