As with the Haycock Trig to the south-east, Starkey Trig is reached either via a steep climb up through a series of broken cliff lines from the valley (starting from the Mill Creek campground), or a much longer bushwalk via the 11km Walking Track and then off-track along Flat Rocks Ridge. The trig itself is in reasonable condition, with its stone cairn surrounded by scrub.
The vanes are still in situ, although the mast has likely been burnt in a bushfire; the original nameplate has been attached to a brick.
Starkey Trig was likely to have been constructed in the early 1880s by a team under Thomas Charles Swannell, and named after the Starkey family who were early European settlers and workers in the Upper Mangrove and Gunderman area. The 1929 parish map shows land around Mill Creek and along the Hawkesbury River south of the trig owned by John Starkey and Thomas Starkey (a farmer with a large local family who bought a 50‑acre block at Gunderman in 1854 from John Ferguson on 1 July 1854 for £56).
Sadly, scrub surrounding Starkey Trig means there is no view and no line of sight to the Wiseman, Foody, Haycock or Gunderman trig stations. However, a short walk to the top of the cliffs to the south offers a sweeping view over the Hawkesbury River (Deerubin).
Getting to Starkey Trig
The quickest and most direct way to the trig station is from the Mill Creek campground, taking a direct route up to the ridge through several cliff lines. Alternatively, a much longer route can be taken by following the 11km Circuit Walking Track and the rough track up the Flat Rocks Ridge Group 6 Aboriginal site, and then following Flat Rocks Ridge to about 318517 6300276 where you need to cross a deep saddle to reach Starkey Ridge. Park at MillCreek Picnic Area or Mill Creek Campground. You can also combine these two routes into a loop bushwalk.
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