Darwin walked there, but we can't.
Council's Charles Darwin Walk needs $1 million in repairs and is waiting on funding from other levels of government.
Ward 2 Councillor Romola Hollywood has real fears that the popular track at Wentworth Falls "could be closed for some time" due to flood damage.
"As this latest massive 'rain bomb' this weekend shows, it's vital the upgrade of the Charles Darwin Walk is built to withstand the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events," she said.
Just one year on from a flooding disaster that also affected the Leura Cascades (also still shut), Cr Hollywood said state government funding was desperately needed.
"Without support from the state or federal government, I fear the walk could be closed for some time to come".
Council estimates it will cost $1 million to fix the historic 2.4 km Darwin walk and it would not be possible to reopen without support from the state or federal government. Council has included the restoration of the walk in its funding bid for the second round of Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) funding. The Blue Mountains controversially missed out on the first round.
"The force of the flood waters down the Jamison Creek eroded much of the creeks embankments and ripped up many of the boardwalks and little bridges that criss-cross the beautiful creek," Cr Hollywood said.
"It is proposed that the restoration is part of a wider project to complete the multi-day Grand Cliff Top Walk."
Since its closure in February last year, many community members had expressed concerns about the walk being shut, she said.
"Its where the naturalist Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution, visited in 1836 as part of his voyage of the Pacific on the Beagle. Charles Darwin came to this area because of its unique natural beauty, plants and wildlife."
"Someone did remark to me - Charles Darwin walked there - you would think with its heritage, that state and federal governments would be falling over themselves to fix it."
It is also home to rare species such as the Water Fall Pine, she added.
The Labor councillor hopes the Liberal state government looks favourably on their funding application.
"In the application, the Charles Darwin Walk is set to become the gateway for the development of the Grand Cliff Top Walk from Wentworth Falls to Katoomba. Given the recent highly publicised controversy when the Mountains missed out on bushfire recovery funding ... in my view, it would be a brave government that would overlook this important project as part of its economic and social bushfire recovery plans for our community."
The walk starts near Wilson Park and follows Jamison Creek down to the national park and the world-renowned waterfalls at South Wentworth Falls.
Council is expecting a response in June.
