In Turrella Reserve this morning, Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe announced that the Minns Labor Govt is investing $130 million to help renew ageing infrastructure, upgrade facilities and improve accessibility across the national parks network. More visitors will be able to get out, explore and enjoy
these special places. The funding will support works on walking tracks, campgrounds, picnic areas, amenities, lookouts, roads, visitor centres and more. That’s great news.
Minister Sharpe was joined by NPWS Area Manager Ben Khan, local member Sophie Cotsis and WCPS Vice President Laura Zusters.
The NSW state Labor government has just sold off part of a green corridor that it said it supported. This is an embarrassing backflip for the Premier, Chris Minns, who less than a year ago made a public commitment to preserve inner urban green space.
Two blocks of publicly owned land at Wolli Bluff in Earlwood were sold at auction on 2 April 2025 for $2.93M. The blocks are part of our Unwin Green Street proposal, which itself forms part of a wider green link between the Cooks River and Wolli Creek valleys.
The auction was held off-site at 50 Margaret St Sydney. The Wolli Creek Preservation Society (WCPS) turned up with a banner and leaflets warning bidders that council could soon re-zone the blocks, and that the community will continue to oppose development at Wolli Bluff.
The President of WCPS, Chris Jordens, was escorted from the premises by a security officer who said he was acting on instructions from unnamed NSW government officials. A member of the public was also denied entry to the auction and told that,on instructions from the NSW Government, only registered bidders would be admitted to the auction room.
This sell-off was no administrative error. It was intentional, and the government did its best to conceal its intentions from the community and keep the community away from the auction. According to a Planning Certificate given to the bidders only a day before the auction, the blocks are on ecologically sensitive land.
WCPS is pursuing a freedom of information request (GIPA) and will inform our members and the wider community about what we learn, although this will take time.
The WCPS campaign to stop development on the blocks at Wolli Bluff has only just begun. We will continue to campaign for a green corridor linking the Wolli and Cooks River valleys and prevent any destruction at Wolli Bluff.
Out of the blue, the Department of Planning has listed two blocks of bushland at Wolli Bluff for sale by auction on 2 April. This is contrary to the expectations we had after meeting with several NSW State politicians.
The land has been combined into one large block, suitable only for developers.
For Sale sign
For many years WCPS has been campaigning to create a green corridor linking the Wolli Creek Regional Park to the Cooks River Valley. Our plans for the corridor include government-owned bushland at the Eastern end of the Regional Park. Our plans have been supported by Canterbury Bankstown Council and the local member, Sophie Cotsis.
We accept that Sydney needs more housing, but this should not come at the cost of open green space. Premier Chris Minns said so himself in a media appearance at Turrella Reserve on 8 March 2024:
“If we’re going to build houses, particularly closer to the CBD, we need to preserve and protect as much green space as we possibly can. … We can’t just build houses; we have to build world class beautiful parks, and that means preserving every bit of green space that we can possibly get our hands on.”
Despite the encouraging words, these two blocks of bushland that should form an important part of the green corridor will be lost on 2 April, unless the sale is stopped.
What you can do:
Ask the Premier to immediately withdraw the sale of bushland adjacent to Wolli Bluff (16-18 Bayview Avenue Earlwood)
A decade after it was saved from Westconnex, I recently visited the Johnston Street bushcare site and was amazed at how much work the bushcare team has done there. No longer choked by weeds, substantial areas of regenerating bush now look so open and beautiful. Wrens flit through bushes in dappled light and many turns of the track reveal another open view.
The walking track through the western end of the Regional Park leads from Johnston Street through bushland forest to the western park entrance on Bexley Road. This area was the site of one of the very first bushcare grants that the Society received, in the mid 1990s. Careful removal of vines and weeds in places revealed some brilliant bushland underneath and WCPS knew straight away it was worth saving.
Bushcare Coordinator Paul Ibbetson says,
“We have worked hard to open up the dense weedy canopy, vines and asparagus fern to let light in and encourage regeneration. Native plants do better in open, dry, sunny conditions. It’s a lot of work to manage and control the weeds. The bush does not come back by itself. We are very proud of our small team’s results. But we would love some more willing volunteers in our Wednesday morning sessions.”
Contact bushcare@wollicreek.org.au if you are interested in helping the team
Deb hugs tree 2012
Bushcare team member Deb Little says,
“We’re glad we campaigned so hard to save this bushland from Westconnex in the early 2010s. We were at risk of losing several hectares of native forest to a ‘cut and cover’ motorway tunnel. ”
Treemendous 2014Westconnex Protest 2015
As part of the Society’s protests, Deb organised several National Tree Day events to celebrate this bushland and highlight the threat of Westconnex. Many people participated in her ‘Hug a Tree Day’ in 2012, ‘Inspired by Wolli’ in 2013 and ‘Tree-mendous Wolli’ in 2014.
“This area was farmed, you can see remains of stone fences and terracing, so the bush was very disturbed, trashed in fact. It’s remarkable how much it has recovered. We are now seeing nice patches of native ferns and orchids and even the formerly very rare Cabbage Tree Palms are coming back. We’ve seen Eastern Yellow Robins and a Tawny Frogmouth too.”
Many of you probably noticed the fencing that was erected around the Turrella Reserve playground last year as work commenced on a long-awaited upgrade. In December, the new and improved playground and facilities were finally opened.
On my walk in early January, I checked out those new facilities. Most notable is the new play equipment, which is distributed between gardens with new plantings and connected by crushed gravel paths. The playground is shaded by mature trees, which have been preserved. There are three new picnic tables under shelters connected by a concrete pathway, as you can see below.
picnic shelters
Several new park benches have also been installed, as well as two sets of ibis-proof rubbish bins with recycling bins next to them. Four of the older picnic tables are still located nearby.
There are now two unisex toilets in the playground. Editor’s note: These long-awaited toilets are a huge improvement for school groups, track walkers and seniors. Though the composting toilets didn’t cope long with the large numbers of people at the Bat Watch Picnic in March and blocked up early in the evening.
new toilets
There are also two new electric barbecues with taps and a water fountain with NPWS branding next to the public toilets.
I was baffled by a piece of solar-powered infrastructure facing the toilets, until I took a closer look. The CCTV cameras, siren and red lights indicate that its main function is surveillance. Finally, NPWS have also installed a new walking track sign nearby, at the north end of Turrella Creek, that runs into Wolli Creek.
Two blocks of bushland at the foot of Wolli Bluff at the Eastern end of the Regional Park have just been listed for sale by auction on 2 April. You can view the adhere.
WCPS has been campaigning with residents of Unwin Street, Earlwood, to retain green space between the Eastern entrance to the Regional Park and Waterworth Park, as seen in the sales photo above from mcgrath.com.au. Our plans include a “gateway” to the park that would make use of a few blocks of bushland, some contaminated and unsuitable for residential development. Our plans are supported by Canterbury Bankstown Council and the local member, Sophie Cotsis.
We accept that Sydney needs more housing, but this should not come at the cost of open green space. Premier Chris Minns said so himself in a media appearance at Turrella Reserve on 8 March 2024:
“If we’re going to build houses, particularly closer to the CBD, we need to preserve and protect as much green space as we possibly can. … We can’t just build houses; we have to build world class beautiful parks, and that means preserving every bit of green space that we can possibly get our hands on.”
Despite the encouraging words, these two blocks of bushland that could have formed an important part of the green corridor will be lost on 2 April, unless the sale can be stopped.
We’re asking members to write a brief email to the Premier asking that the sale of bushland adjacent to Wolli Bluff be immediately withdrawn.
An unbroken corridor of Wolli Creek bushland is one big step closer to completion. Premier Chris Minns, local ministers, WCPS members and a media scrum met at Turrella Reserve this morning to announce the great news that almost 5 hectares of bush have been added to the Wolli Creek Regional Park. Chris Minns said that this ribbon of green space is incredibly important and that WCPS have been tireless in campaigning for decades to protect and preserve it.
Local members Sophie Cotsis, Steve Kamper, Penny Sharpe and Jo Haylen are big supporters of the Regional Park and were all in attendance this morning to show their enthusiasm. Sophie Cotsis was beaming and saying “What a great day!” and Steve Kamper said “This regional park is a national treasure. We said we’d do it and we are so proud to be here.” Penny Sharpe said, “Peter and the WCPS have fought off development from the beginning to save this valley.”
Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.
The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.
The State budget delivered on 19 September 2023 included a commitment of $13 million for the completion of the Wolli Creek Regional Park.
“We are overjoyed by the announcement”, said Peter Stevens, Vice-President of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society and long-time campaigner for the Park. “We have been campaigning to ensure the protection of the Wolli Creek bushland for four decades and have had to fight off two motorway proposals and numerous other threats.
“Over those decades we have seen many State Governments come and go and heard many verbal commitments to the formation and completion of the Regional Park. Now for the first time we have verbal undertakings backed up by a significant commitment of funds.
“There can be no doubt about the public backing for protecting the bushland: our campaign against destruction of one part of the bushland gathered over 5,000 signatures. And there is no question that a lot of people have devoted a lot of time to bring about the current outcome.
“It has taken the efforts of the many past and present WCPS committee members, WCPS members, and wider circles across the Sydney Basin and beyond to gain the recognition of the significance of this substantial area of inner-urban bushland that it warrants. A protected future should now be assured for this natural gem of Sydney’s inner south-west.
“We are thankful to have had the support of local MLAs Chris Minns, Sophie Cotsis, Steve Kamper, Jo Haylen, and Jenny Leong, MLCs Penny Sharpe and Sue Higginson, and the backing of the Councils of Bayside, Canterbury-Bankstown City, Georges River, Inner West, and the City of Sydney, all of which have residents that engage with the Wolli bushland. Numerous community organisations and individuals have lent their support. There are too many to list but we thank them all.
“We are keen now to see the timetable for completion and the details of how the funds will be used. People who want to stay in touch with how things develop can visit the newly re-vamped website of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society at www.wollicreek.org.au.
