Seaham Swamp Nature Reserve

Seaham Swamp Nature Reserve

Managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Seaham Swamp Nature Reserve, is a small, but important park. Located 40km north of Newcastle, it contains colonial heritage and an important bird habitat.

We parked in a car park near St. Andrew’s Church, which let us walk to Tom’s Cottage and to the swamp and its bird hut. The walk is graded as 5, implying that it is difficult, however, this is due to a lack of signs. The walk is flat, but you need to follow the tracks made by previous visitors as there is no signage.

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church

Built in 1860, St. Andrew’s Anglican Church is an interesting little church, notable for being one of the few buildings in Seaham to escape the 1939 bushfires. We parked nearby in the car park, so spent a few minutes wandering around looking at it.

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Tom’s Cottage

Seaham Swamp Nature Reserve is home to a historic slab cottage known as Tom McLellan’s Cottage, or simply Tom’s Cottage. This is an example of a typical colonial era rural dwelling which was moved to its current location in the early 1900s. Though it’s named for Tom, the cottage was actually first built as a retirement home for his mother, Mary McLellan.

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Seaham Swamp

An important bird habitat, Seaham Swamp provides refuge for migratory waterfowl. Depending on the time of year, different species are present, but during our visit, we only saw a few ducks. It was still an interesting walk because the swamp and trees provided interesting photos opportunities.

Only 300m one-way, it is an easy walk, but no signage means you need to keep track of where you are.

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Birdwatching Hut

The birdwatching hut is an all-weather bird hide allowing you to watch from a platform, ensuring you get great views and photos of the birds without disturbing them. Identification photos show the species that frequent the swamp, along with information boards explaining about the local wildlife.

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What Did We think?

These two short but interesting walks were fun. Not only did we see an old colonial slab hut and the swamp, but were able to see an old church too. Simple to find with easy parking, it made for a fun morning out.