Glow Worm Tunnel

The Glow Worm Tunnel is a disused 400-metre railway tunnel in Wollemi National Park near Newnes, north of Lithgow, New South Wales. Built in 1907 as part of the Wolgan Valley Railway to serve the Newnes oil shale works, it is now a popular visitor attraction. Its dark, damp interior provides habitat for thousands of glow worms (Arachnocampa richardsae) whose blue-green bioluminescence is visible on the tunnel walls and ceiling.

Visitors can walk a short bush track through eucalypt forest and sandstone pagoda landscape to reach the 400-metre-long, curved, unlit tunnel. Inside, the tunnel is completely dark and damp with an uneven, often wet floor. When torches are switched off, the walls and ceiling glow with the blue-green light of thousands of glow worms. The surrounding area offers forest scenery, cliff views, and historic railway cuttings.

Constructed in 1907 as part of the Wolgan Valley Railway (3 ft 6 in narrow gauge) to connect the Newnes oil shale works to the Main Western railway line at Clarence. The tunnel was built through sandstone to carry shale oil products. Operations ceased in 1932 and the line closed in 1940. The tunnel and formation remain as evidence of early 20th-century oil shale mining and railway engineering in the Wolgan Valley.

Represents the industrial heritage of the Newnes oil shale mining community and is valued as a historic engineering structure within Wollemi National Park, now conserved for its heritage and natural values associated with glow worm habitat.