Macquarie Park

Macquarie Park is on the west side of the Hawkesbury River in Windsor, right next to Windsor Bridge. The park was named for Lachlan Macquarie, the Fifth Governor of the colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821.
Governor Macquarie was a fascinating man who had a big influence on this area. The Scottish born Macquarie had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of Australia, and historians credit him with transforming the penal colony to a free settlement. Macquarie befriended Andrew Thompson, a former convict who became the wealthiest man in the colony with his successful wheat farms. Thompson had a general store directly across the river where the historic open space and surrounding colonial buildings are known as Thompson Square. In 1811 Governor Macquarie named this open public space after Andrew Thompson, a ‘founding father’ of Green Hills, later renamed Windsor. See separate review for Thompson Square.
Macquarie Park has walking trails, a bike path, picnic and BBQ areas, a children’s playground and restrooms. The BBQ’s are electric. People swim at the sandy beach and some people fish when it’s quiet. You can launch canoes and kayaks here. Being on the rural side of the river, it is a nice place to take a walk and hang out. If it is quiet you can see some interesting water birds.
The annual Hawkesbury Classic canoe race participants launch their canoes and kayaks from the beach at Macquarie Park. They travel 111 km along the Hawkesbury River to Brooklyn, Broken Bay, starting at 4:00 to 6:00 pm and arriving at night or in the morning.