Botany Bay and Catchment Alliance

Saturday 28 April 2012, 9.30am to 4.30pm

St George & Sutherland Community College , 127-129 Sutherland Road, Jannali
Course code 22706WJ

This course will be presented by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and include:
1.A presentation called “The Dharawal throughout the seasons – Dreaming Tracks, Song Lines and Survival” a look at how the Dharawal speaking clans moved into and out of the Southern Sydney Region throughout the year. This will include speculation on their occupation of this area over the last 8,000 years and where, why and how they moved around.
Presenter:Les Bursill, Dharawal Aboriginal historian, archaeologist antropologist

2.Presention on “Goannas, Whales and Wallabies”.

Presenter: Bruce Howell, a researcher of prehistoric sites in local area

3. A briefing on Constitutional change proposals – what would Constitutional change achieve, what are the options and what the Expert Panel has proposed.
Presenter: Larissa Behrendt is a Professor of Law and an award winning author.

4. Presentation on 20 years since the Mabo decision – what did the case achieve, how the national native title tribunal was set up and what does Mabo mean today.
Presenter: Michael Lavarch AO was the Attorney General in the Keating government.

Morning tea, a light lunch and afternoon tea are included in the fee of $33
(The course is organised by the Sutherland Shire Citizens for Native Title and Reconciliation (SSCNTaR) and
Sponsored by Sutherland Shire Council.)

Trish McDonald-Harrison
Sutherland Shire Citizens for
Native Title and Reconciliation
Mobile + 0417 273 176
Home + 62 9524 9685
93 Wonga Road, Yowie Bay NSW 2228 Australia
Living on the lands of the Goonamuttagal clan of
the Dharawal speaking peoples.

The following article is quoted from the Canterbury Bankstown Express for the information of those living beyond the paper’s circulation area. Our thanks to Jessica Clement for her fine reporting of this issue. Please note the Petition on the Cooks River Valley Association website. We recommend that you download the petition and circulate it amongst your friends and neighbours then forward it as noted on the website.

FOR more than 100 years, the Cooks River has delivered contaminated and filthy water to Canterbury, Campsie and Earlwood, through to Botany Bay.

A century-and-a-half ago it was the woolwashers and tanneries that contributed to the foul deluge.

Today, a university has found our ageing sewerage infrastructure is to blame.

Armed with this knowledge, residents led by the Cooks River Valley Association, have decided enough is enough.

“We need to show Sydney Water that this is the time to change their priorities and pay serious attention to the Cooks River,’’ association water quality co-ordinator Gayle Adams said.

A University of NSW study completed late last year pronounced the 23km waterway to be nothing but an “open sewer’’  carrying enough raw sewage to be deemed hazardous to human health.

The study, by Dr Stuart Khan, concluded that ageing sewers, some almost 100 years old, were leaking effluent into the river.

This confirmation has renewed calls for a clean-up.

“We’d hope that one day we could have this river restored to the point where it is safe to swim in at least one location,’’ she said.

Councils recommend nobody swim or kayak in the river. Fishing is banned.

A Sydney Water spokeswoman affirmed its commitment, in conjunction with councils, to protect the river’s health.

She said the organisation was designing plans to naturalise 1.1km of the river’s banks this year and would routinely monitor 19 stormwater drain in the catchment area.

PETITION
WHO:The Cooks River Valley Association has started a petition to clean the Cooks River and make it safe for swimming and human use
TABLED:They hope to have the petition tabled in parliament
HELP: Download the petition at www.crva.org.au or email info@crva.org.au
PLUS: Residents are also urged to contact their state MP to have the river cleaned

Canterbury Bankstown Express link to original article:-  http://express.whereilive.com.au/news/story/waterway-nothing-but-an-open-sewer/

The following gleanings are from recent Oatley Faura and Fauna Society Newsletters:-

CAMPHOR LAUREL: A PEST TREE

It was introduced to Australia as an ornamental species about 1822 and established in the Sydney Botanic Gardens in 1854. Its value as an ornamental tree was actively promoted in municipal parks, gardens and school grounds. 10 years ago, OFF News noted that this tree was a pest, 

invading natural habitats all along the coast, with its root system damaging pipes, fences, foundations, and preventing the growth of other species. It reported that Kew Gardens in U.K. found the roots of camphor laurels to be covered with tiny oil exudation glands that seasonally pump toxins into the soil and water courses, and impact on native wildlife. Surprisingly still well regarded by some, camphor laurel is now a declared noxious weed, but not in all localgovernment areas.

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ 

BIRDS IN OATLEY PARK

The Park provides a sanctuary for many species of birds, some of which nest within its boundaries Others simply use the park and itstidal boundaries as part of their wider search for food and shelter, returning regularly to the park, but nesting elsewhere. It is difficult to say exactly how many bird species can be found within the park at any one time; numbers vary depending on the season and availability of food. 

BIRDS OF OATLEY PARK

In a recent email to OFF, Warren Mallard made some interesting comments on the birds he remembers from Oatley Park in the 1950s. He notes, “Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters were the most prevalent, and there were colonies of Dusky Wood Swallows nesting at the end of Lime Kiln Bay. Grey Thrushes also nested in the area. A White-breasted Sea Eagle nested for a number of years in a large Angophora costata   at the end of Lime Kiln Bay,but left once Peakhurst houses sprang up. Southern Yellow Robins were common, nesting with Silvereyes in the Melaleuca forest of Lime Kiln Bay. There were two species of Quail also in the park, and there were no Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Noisy Miners, Rainbow Lorikeets, or Scaly-breasted Lorikeets. ”Warren’s notes open up the question of how different is the birdlife now. Official lists are from about 1975 basedon much earlier observations. One list contains 114 species; another more than 145, so there is a need for a new list for Oatley Park, Lime Kiln Bay, and Oatley Heights Park, noting behaviour and locations. It will take some time to complete, as a number of birds are summer visitors or only vagrants. The completed list will then go on the OFF website.

PROTECT OUR NATIVE ANIMALS IN THE BUSH

Stay on walking tracks in bushland.

• Admire wild flowers and plants – do not pick them.
• Leave natural features such as fallen timber on the ground.
• Leave yabbies, tadpoles, and water bugs in the creeks.
• Remove all your rubbish from the bush.
• Use your compost bin for garden green waste.
• Walk, rather than ride a trail bike.
• Keep equipment and boots clean. Spray with 70/30 mix of metho & water to stop spreading the fungal disease , Phytophthora
• Keep pets at home, particularly cats, and especially at night.

RECYCLING FOOD SCRAPS

Food scraps such as banana peels, apple cores, vegetable trimmings, bones, eggshells, and pizza crust are a wasted resource in landfill. As they decompose, they generate methane, but when composted, they produce oxygen, valuable to soil and plant health. They can now be safely collected and processed, and a growing number of municipalities provide special food scrap bins.

www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/

Our thanks to Hon. Editor: John Davoren for his excellent Newsletter reports

 Wolli Creek is a major tributary for Cooks River. The creek rises from springs at The Pole Depot, Penshurst, Penshurst Park, Olds Park, Narwee, and northern Beverly Hills. Wolli Creek is first mentioned in historic record during the December 1810 visit by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who passed over it following a visit to Townson farms at Kogarah Bay, then visiting Mrs. Hannah Laycock’s farm, “King’s Grove”, built between Wolli Creek and William Street. Old maps show a chain of ponds to Kingsgrove Road’s north, in the then creek bed. The land was clay with tea tree cover and large forests surrounding. The upper creeks converge into a single creek in Beverly Hills.

The municipal boundary for Rockdale, Hurstville and Canterbury is formed by the creek from Beverly Hills to it’s mouth at Cooks River, Tempe. In the past this has led to inter local government rivalry.

During the Great Depression (1929-1936), the southern creeks were bricked as State government unemployment projects organized by Hurstville Municipal Council. The creek is notorious for its flood prone nature. During the 1920s, low level flooding covered properties around King Georges Road, Beverly Hills and the Post Office was often inaccessible and known as the “Duck Pond” with water birds floated on the surrounding creek waters. Drainage could not contain the waterflow. The last major flood was in the early 1970s, when houses within 50 metres of the stormwater canals were inundated. Further north, East Hills Railway line was cut by flood waters at Bexley North. A diversion canal was built along Edgbaston Road, crossing below King Georges Road, Morgan Street and the railway line, taking water away from the shopping centre.

Our walk commences at Bexley North Railway Station, crossing to the north of Bexley Road, the creek is crossed and changes from cement stormwater canal to natural waterway. In recent times this bridged crossing became famous when evening news reports showed a driver being winched to safety from a car stranded in flooded creekwater on the bridge. Signs advise danger when heavy rain falls.

Entrance into Wolli Creek Regional Park is sign posted by a blue post with “TVT” (Twin Valley Track) just off an ashfelt path. From the bridge, the park and creek are overgrown by morning glory, privet and other noxious plants, but through the work of Wolli Creek Preservation Society and other bushcare organisations, the bushland behind this screen holds many wonders. Sydney Red Gum, Turpentine and other native trees form a magnificent canopy. The creek water is brown and holds evidence of recent heavy rainfall (domestic rubbish and other litter). A little further on a well signed water cleansing basin has been erected, taking stormwater from urban runoff, cleansing it before flowing into the creek. From this point the track follows an access road into a mowed grass meadow below housing, then enters another bushland area. Throughout this section invasive noxious plants flourish. A waterfall gully is seen and large native gums and turpentine flourish. The track is treacherous at this point where some backtracking may be needed by the unwary eye.

Crossing a metal bridge, over a creek, large Turpentines flourish, then the track opens into another mowed grass meadow beside the creek to the west of Earlwood RSL Club, on the eastern bank. In this area preparation is being made for native planting. The Creek continues in an overgrown state with privet and morning glory in profusion.

Crossing Hamill-Law Avenue, we leave the western portion of the Regional Park, entering the Central portion. Girrahween Park, a meadowed area, bordered by a bridged creek and a picnic area is crossed and some remedial work in being undertaken along the creek bank, water is a dirty brown and with willows and flame trees in profusion. During the 1980s the creek channel was cleared by a bucket and scoop, but much waste, lain on banks regenerated. Two channels were created between the road bridge an sewer aqueduct to the east.

The track follows an obvious sewer access trail, with overflow points along the way. Some magnificent native plants and trees and a profusion of butterflies are seen in this section. The track travels through damp sandstone, which once may have been rainforest type vegetation. Reaching its highest point, the track passes a number of natural sandstone overhangs, which may have been shelter for local aboriginal peoples. Unfortunately rock art of a different kind has defaced the sandstone. The track turns further north, passing a brick and cement tank, holding water. The tank seems quite old and is overgrown with vegetation.

Approaching Nanny Goat Hill’s base, Wolli Creek comes into clear view on a reeded sweeping bend. This area was previously a horse grazing area, but the peninsula was replanted by the Wolli Creek Preservation Society, forming a native bird habitat and wetlands. To the east of this wetland, Bardwell Creek enters Wolli Creek under the East Hills Railway line. The air is rich with bird calls. Walking around Nanny Goat Hill’s base, the track enters Turrella Reserve, leaving Regional Park’s Central portion. A short detour takes walkers to Nanny Goat Hill’s summit and excellent surrounding views.

Turrella Reserve and areas east and south were once Chinese Market Gardens. A weir was build conserving water for the gardeners. A Fish Ladder has recently been built allowing fish to traverse and breed above the weir. A substantial water quality project is being undertaken in the Reserve with a creek and saltmarsh project near completion. A large tree surveys the project as a centre piece. Weed eradication is underway and well placed signage describes past and future reserve use. Some willows will be removed from the watercourse, improving waterflow. From the weir to creek’s mouth, mangroves grow in abundance. Tidal flow is good, but rubbish abounds in the waterflow.

Moving to the northeast, the track enters the Regional Park’s Eastern section to Waterworth Reserve. Much work has been undertaken, removing lantana, privet, bamboo and other noxious plants in this area. One delight is walking down Jackson Lane, where a row of 1912 sandstone housed are seen, a pleasant reminder of yesteryear. A local resident stated houses are a good 10 degrees cooler in summer. Each is well loved and well kept. Moving towards the tiled sewer viaduct, more solid work has been undertaken by Wolli Creek Preservation Society, with a sign advertising vacancies for bushcare workers, a reminder that volunteers have made the walk a pleasure.

Crossing into Waterworth Reserve, a large sign reminds walkers this area was once property of Frederick Wright Unwin,a Sydney Solicitor, who build a bridge, connecting Sydney with Undercliffe. For some years this park was known as Tempe Tip where a famous resident, a deceased circus elephant, was buried without rites, on his demise.

The walk takes about 2.5 hours from Bexley North Station to Tempe Station. The track is easy walking most of the way with some climbing over sandstone. Wolli Creek Preservation Society is congratulated on their hard work, advocating for and maintaining the Regional Park.

Find out more

WolliCreek Preservation Society

Plan of management

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/PoMFinalWolli52-53Strategies.pdf

www.sydney.cma.nsw.gov.au/cooks-river/project-news/Page-5.html

Noxious Plants

Privet

 Cox’s Creek, is a tributary to Cooks River, draining a catchment from the suburbs of Greenacre, Mount Lewis, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Lakemba and Belfields.

Joining Cooks River to the west of Burwood Road, Belfield, the creek is enclosed in a brick and cement stormwater drain. It flows through, on it’s eastern bank, two well kept parks, where native planting stand in contrast to the industrial estate on the western bank. Reaching Cosgrove Road, the drains cross below Enfield Railway Marshalling Yards, which is being redeveloped as a regional rail centre for container transfer from Port Botany.

On the walk it was observed, after rain, there is a large amount of clay discolouration in the waterflow. Crossing to the south of the railway yards, stormwater is quite clean.

Below the railway yards the stormwater drains divide with a large drain meandering south near the Lakemba mosque, then running in a westerly direction through Parry Park towards Punchbowl. Another tributary runs in a more westerly direction, passing through Cox’s Bushland Reserve, in Moonda Ave. Greenacre. This area, once open bushland, has been redeveloped into an industrial estate and housing, having once been a telecommunications depot.

Cox’s Bushland Reserve is a unique Cooks River Castlereagh Ironbark Forest, typical of the pre-colonial country, once sweeping west to the Great Dividing Ranges on the Cumberland Plains. The reserve is wedged between houses and the Primo small goods plant, on a triangular, 1.65 hectare block.

The Reserve has been regenerated by a team of bushcare volunteers known as Friends of Cox’s Creek. The reserve is home to three endangered species.

• Downy Wattle (Acacia pubescens)
• Tadgell’s Bluebell (Wahlenbergia multicaulis)
• Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea)

On observation, urban run-off through the creek system is reasonably clean but PET bottles and drink containers persist, but in smaller quantities.

For more information on Protecting and restoring Cooks River Castlereagh Ironbark Forest:

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/EECinfoCooksRiverCastlereaghIronbarkForest.pdf

Cox’s Creek

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/threatenedspecies/08548tsdscooksriver.pdf