‘Altogether barren, peculiarly romantic’: the sandstone lands around Sydney

SUMMARY The poor and rugged sandstone plateaux around Sydney were long seen as little more than a barrier to the fertile inland. Yet this wilderness has had a fascination for artists and sightseers alike. Economic impacts came slowly, while action to preserve the landscape met with considerable success, but over the last decade there has been increasing conflict between developers and conservationists. A geomorpho‐logical account of the sandstones is presented here, both as a contribution to the rational resolution of that conflict, and as a guide to the look of the land. Emphasis is given to the interaction of surface processes and bedrock characteristics.