The original inhabitants of the Hawkesbury-Nepean area were the Guringai and Dharug people. The Dharug people generally lived in the western areas of the region whilst the Guringai people live in the coastal and lower Hawkesbury area. There is evidence that Aboriginal people were living in the general area some 13,000 years ago. Rock carvings and middens can still be found today.

On March 2nd 1788 Governor Phillip and a party of men sailed out of Port Jackson and made for Broken Bay in search of suitable farming land. After a series of expeditions much of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system was explored and by 1794 there were approximately sixty or seventy settlers farming along the Hawkesbury. Over the next Thirty years the population of the region steadily grew. Crops were grown ,timber cut, hides tanned, salt made, and the river trade expanded.

River tours have been running on the Hawkesbury for almost two hundred years but a local man, Spencer Lowe had a strong belief in the tourism trade and in the 1940s he purchased an ex Naval Vessel and began his “Bridge to Bridge Tours”. Today numerous boats frequent the picturesque waterways and enjoy a wide variety of water sports. The term “bridge to bridge” has remained but is known by many people in Australia as the “Bridge to Bridge” power Boat Race, a highly acclaimed annual event.

The race has its origins in the early thirties when in 1933 a challenge was taken up by Cec Hall to travel by boat from Windsor bridge to Brooklyn rail bridge a distance of approximately 120kms in less than three hours.

Nowadays, The Hawkesbury is a popular tourist destination and is famous for its fine seafood, notably the locally grown oysters which can still be bought direct from the farmers. There is something for everyone from picnic and barbecue facilities, sports centres, craft markets and restaurants.

Much of the area surrounding Mooney Mooney is National Park and one can walk for hours along bush tracks admiring the natural flora and fauna.