Nesca Park

Nesca Park is a wonderful destination for families and visitors alike. Located in the very heart of the city, just off Darby Street in The Hill, it is a spacious park filled with green lawns, palm trees and surrounded by beautiful coastal bushland.

A modern playground includes BBQ facilities and covered picnic tables. The park is also home to the Newcastle Pétanque Club and is popular with dog owners thanks to its large, approved off-leash area.

Once the site of the AA Company's Sea Pit, operating from 1886 to 1916, it employed more than 1,100 people. After the pit's closure, its water storage dam was adapted to supply water to Newcastle's first power station the Newcastle Electric Light Station.

During the 1960s the area was transformed into parkland, with the eastern surrounds planted with a mix of native and exotic tree species.

Since 2022, Landcare has been transforming this park with an impressive variety of coastal woodland and rainforest species. Enhancing biodiversity has been a key focus, with the introduction of native stingless bees, nesting boxes for Eastern Rosellas, dreys for Ringtail Possums, and watering points for local birds and wildlife.

On the eastern side of Nesca Parade, the gully leading up to Memorial Drive has a woodland corridor connecting to the Trig and King Edward Park. Calls of Whipbirds can be heard each morning.