11 walkers enjoyed a very interesting and varied walk along Wolli Creek starting near the velodrome at Tempe, to Girraween Park, Bardwell Park. A brief stop was made at Turrella Reserve which was once market gardens. Wolli Creek Regional Park is about 48 hectares of urban sanctuary, protecting the last substantial area of native bushland in Sydney’s inner south-west.
Some points of interest were:
- The extensive bush regeneration project which has created a large corridor of planting, rich in birdlife
- The flying fox colony, which (unlike Myles Dunphy) still has lots of residents at home. We were able to observe them from a good angle, and quite close up.
- Jackson Place – a row of 6 sandstone houses built between 1912 and 1918 using rock quarried on the site.
- A rock climbing wall
- Some cabbage tree palms regenerating naturally after so many years
It’s a great example of how the community have come together to protect a precious local asset and preserve it for future generations. This area was saved by a community campaign to ensure that the M5 East was built in a tunnel, not along the bushland corridor of Wolli Creek. The Wolli Creek Preservation Society is doing an amazing job of local stewardship. Prior to that, resident action in 1967 prevented Brambles from destroying Nanny Goat Hill in Earlwood to use as fill for the second runway at the nearby airport.
Thanks To Vicki Bolling for leading a very interesting and well researched walk.
PROMO
Wolli Creek Regional Park is a precious pocket of bushland in Sydney, a long sliver of greenery in Sydney’s urban inner southwest; a beautiful gem in the suburbs. The park conserves a richly varied vegetation corridor along Wolli Creek, providing a home for an astonishing array of birdlife and grey headed flying foxes. The valley was saved from the proposed M5E surface motorway route in the 1980s following major campaigns.
Meet at Gough Whitlam Park (Bayview Ave) carpark (across the road from Tempe Train Station) near the café at 9.15 for 9.30 start. The walk will go to Bardwell Park and return (5km total). (Walkers can sign off here and return by train to Tempe (via Wolli Creek) – check for trackwork).
Please bring water, lunch, hat and walking shoes, etc. Some rough sections, mostly good track and boardwalks, some stairs, one block on road. Please contact (text or ring) Vicki on 0427 870 240 if you need or can offer a lift to others or for more information.