building techniques. Improvement of the 1814 route throughout the 1820s also provide important evidence of later road building techniques and demonstrates the ongoing use of this key route to the interior, before it was superseded by the new Great Western Road laid out by Sir Thomas Mitchell in the 1830s. The Fish River Descent Precinct illustrates Cox's 1814-15 road and the way it was modified and improved, until it became superseded by new road lines after 1830. This precinct provides an excellent example of the progress made in road building between 1815 and , as three roads of progressively larger scale and sophistication still lie alongside one another. They illustrate the typical growth of a road from a rudimentary track to a "made " road , both in survey, location and construction. The original line of Cox's Road runs along the summit of the ridge, while less precipitous sections have been built on the slope below, the lowest of these with a long section of substantial convict-built retaining wall probably completed by a road gang stationed at Fish River in 1826. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Cox's Road and its remnants are demonstrated as having social significance at a state level by the substantial interest in identifying and promoting Cox's Road for cultural tourism and education, and celebrating the bicentenary of the road by the general public, state and local government bodies and a range of community organisations. The road is of particular importance to Cox descendants. The William Cox Fellowship first nominated sections of Cox's Road for heritage listing in the 1980s. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Precincts of Cox's Road have research significance at a state level for their ability to demonstrate early nineteenth century road, culvert and bridge building techniques using basic skills and technologies. The remains of the 1814-15 road illustrate the conditions of the period and contribute to an understanding of the process of exploration and development, and of early colonial road building and road use. The remains represent a major physical, technological and engineering achievement and exhibit fine details of workmanship. Several precincts of the 1814-15 road have specific archaeological potential. The place possesses uncommon, rare