Catalina Park

Catalina Park is a disused motor racing venue, located at Katoomba.  

The 2.1km circuit opened on 12 February 1961.  Races were held until 1970 when the company went into liquidation.  At the time of the circuit's closure the lap record was held by Frank Matich at 53.4 seconds, an average lap speed of 141 km/h.  

The circuit still exists and can be walked around however it has deteriorated quite badly with grass growing through the track surface on what was Lockheed Straight and Dunlop Corner, and water seepage has caused part of the track to collapse between Craven A corner and Castrol corner.

The Gully was declared an Aboriginal Place on 18 ay 2002 and became the largest Aboriginal Place in NSW.  

Since then, extensive landscaping works have been carried out with interpretative signage.

When I was young we used to come up to Katoomba to holiday in cabins across the road and used to spend time racing around the track (sans vehicles).  Later, when we had moved up to the mountains, the track became the district carnival cross country track and all three of our children used to run themselves ragged running through the mud and leaping over fallen logs.