Decision details

Moved by Councillor Thalis, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note that historically:

(i)          there have been Aboriginal settlements at Rushcutters Creek on what is now known as Rushcutters Bay Park;

(ii)         the Aboriginal placename for the bay is Kogerrah;

(iii)        Indigenous and European rushcutters harvested the rushes that grew abundantly in the inter-tidal zone, an activity that gave the English name to the place;

(iv)       European occupation was formalised when a land grant was awarded to Thomas West in 1810 to establish a water mill. The estate was known as Barcom Glen;

(v)         West's Creek flowed through the area once known as the Valley of La Croza (or Lacrozia Valley), from Oxford Street near Victoria Street, through Lacrozia Lane and Barcom Glen to the present New South Head Road into Rushcutters Bay; 

(vi)       Rushcutters Creek is located in the Woollahra Council area, flowing from Trumper Park down towards New South Head Road, where it joins Rushcutters Creek near the junction of Bayswater Road and Neild Avenue to flow through Rushcutters Bay Park to the harbour;

(vii)      the Rushcutters Bay Stormwater Channel (No. 84) is listed on the State Heritage register as it is one of the first nine purpose-built stormwater drains to be constructed in Sydney in the 1890s; and

(viii)     prior to this period the water courses carried rainwater and were in their natural state. However, with urbanisation they became receptacles for stormwater and sewage from the growing population which had settled on the slopes above;

(B)        Council note that currently:

(i)          Rushcutters Creek has complex ownership, including Woollahra Council, City of Sydney, Rail Corp, Roads and Maritime Services and private easements;

(ii)         Sydney Water has a responsibility to manage the stormwater channel that is Rushcutters Creek;

(iii)        the Rushcutters Bay Catchment Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan was prepared for the City of Sydney in 2016;

(iv)       Woollahra Council unanimously adopted a motion in July 2019 supporting a “Paddington Greenway”, including a pedestrian and cycling path and renaturalisation of Rushcutters Creek as it passes through their Local Government Area;

(v)         students from the University of Technology Sydney have developed a plan to renaturalise Rushcutters Creek within the Woollahra Local Government Area, in the process proposing a pedestrian and cycling route / connection;

(vi)       the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces commitment to reclaim “forgotten land” including riparian corridors set aside for drainage;

(vii)      this plan could provide connections to open space and parks (e.g. southward to Centennial Park) and connect to the City of Sydney’s regional and local cycling network;

(viii)     this plan is in line with the NSW Premier’s Priorities to green our City by increasing tree canopy and green cover across Greater Sydney and to provide greener public spaces by increasing the proportion of homes in urban areas within 10 minutes of quality green, open and public space;

(ix)       this plan is in line with the NSW Government Architect’s Sydney Green Grid which notes Rushcutters Creek as a green grid project opportunity; and

(x)         this plan has the potential to provide a 3.5 kilometre green corridor and cycle path from Yarranabbe Park through Rushcutters Bay Park (in Woollahra Council) to Centennial Park; and

(C)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to engage with Woollahra Council to:

(i)          develop a feasibility assessment for this project;

(ii)         investigate funding opportunities for this project (including grants from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and Transport for NSW);

(iii)        investigate possible connections between the greenway and the City’s regional and local cycling network (including both the existing cycle ways in Kings Cross Road and Craigend Street, and other potential connections); and

(iv)       investigate water quality improvements and treatments along the creek’s lines and in the larger footprint of Rushcutters Bay Park, Reg Bartley Oval and environs. 

Carried unanimously.

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