Rotary Community Oxley Hill Lookout - Some History
The centenary of Rotary International was celebrated in 2005, and to mark the celebration every Rotary Club was asked to develop a community project. The Rotary Club of Berrima District identified the creation of a lookout on Oxley Hill as their project, with this lookout providing not only a place of quiet reflection but also a substantial community asset and tourist attraction.
Highland Landscape Architects, Rotarian Chris & Charlotte Webb designed the lookout and associated landscaping for the project which was built on a road reserve owned by the local Council. The only condition applied to the development was to acknowledge the original owners of the land, the Gundungurra people. Consequently, many discussions and meetings were held with local Aboriginal Reconciliation Group. The final design of the lookout embodies and acknowledges not only the original inhabitants of the land but also reflects its strong connection to the site by using local basalt field stone; trachyte stone quarried on nearby Mt Gibraltar and the use of predominately endemic species in the planting.
The inclusion of a Sundial of Human Involvement not only provides an unusual tourist attraction but also connects the element of time and the passing of time to a project which is in itself a celebration of time. The Rotary Community Oxley Hill Lookout project was awarded the AILDM (Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers) National award for the best Public or Commercial landscape design in 2007.