SEPT UPDATE OUT NOW – BOOK FOR ANNUAL DINNER
Our Sept Update is out now. READ HERE
Bookings for the Annual Dinner close on Monday – so book now!
Read about spring walks, Wolli Bluff and Project Planet.
Update
JUNE UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE
The Wolli Creek Preservation Society June 2025 Update is now available to download.
This edition features an update on the Wolli Bluff Government land sell off. We also have reports from our recent guided walks and eco-paddles as well as information about two of our important activities that members of WCPS are involved in – bushcare and Grey Headed Flying Fox flyout counts. And the topic and speaker for our next annual dinner on Thursday 16 October is announced in this newsletter. Don’t forget to save the date!
And just a reminder to those whose membership is due that you can renew this via our website. You would have received an email from our membership email on 3 June if your membership is due.
Wolli Creek Eco-Paddle on Sunday 1 June
It was a perfect day for our Wolli Creek Eco Paddle on Sunday. One of our paddlers, Valerie, has shared her experience of the day.
The weather had been miserable – grey skies, cold winds, even dust. Quite off-putting. Then today, first day of winter – sunny, calm, clear air, perfect for paddling on the Wolli. Perfect for seeing the Wolli Creek Regional Park from the water. We learnt a little about the estuarine lifestyle of the Gadigal and Bidjigal people pre-colonisation; about how early settlers used this area; mangroves being decimated to make soap; about the SWOOS being a heritage engineering structure; the threats of the M5 being built on top of Wolli Creek; of the plan to scrunch Nanny Goat Hill into gravel for the airport’s new runway to extend into Botany Bay; of market gardens, industries, and more….
I turn 85 next month and I recommend this Eco Paddle as perfect for all ages. My allocated partner was a strong paddler. As well she was quick to spot the kingfisher, the advance guard of the yellow-tailed black cockatoos, cormorants, a white-faced heron… and more.
Back on land in the River Canoe Club on the Cooks there was tasty afternoon tea and info about the WCPS activities like vigilance re threats, bat count, bush care, bird surveys, bat picnic, guided springtime walks and the annual dinner
The WCPS Eco Paddle is fun, sociable and informative for all ages, for newcomers to the Valley and, also, to those who know the area well. Thanks to volunteers from WCPS and River Canoe Club for organising the paddle.
Thank you Valerie for sharing your experience. More eco paddles will be scheduled for later in the year.
UPDATE ON GOVT LAND SELL OFF AT WOLLI BLUFF
On 2 April 2025, the NSW state government sold two blocks of vacant land at Wolli Bluff. The blocks were bundled together to attract a developer, and the public was excluded from the auction. WCPS opposes development on these blocks and handed out flyers to bidders as they entered the auction. The blocks sold for $2.93M. This post describes the events leading up to the auction, and what we can expect in terms of possible future development.
Events leading up to the auction
2022-2024: WCPS campaigns for a proposal to “green” Unwin Street in Earlwood. The proposal includes two blocks of land at Wolli Bluff (16-18 Bayview Ave). In a series of meetings over two years, our proposal is apparently supported by the Premier, the local member, Sophie Cotsis, three ministers (Kamper, Sharpe and Haylen) and Canterbury Bankstown Council.
February 2025: Without any warning or consultation, the two blocks at 16-18 Bayview Ave are advertised for auction, bundled as one.
March 2025: Independent Councillor, Barbara Coorey gives notice of a motion to re-zone these two blocks at a meeting of Canterbury Bankstown Council on 29 April 2025. On the day prior to the auction, this motion is included in the contract for sale with a new planning certificate that locates half of the larger block (Lot 2 DP 1237702) in an environmentally sensitive area (Coastal Zone, shown as a hatched area in the diagram above).
2 April 2025: The two blocks at Wolli Bluff are sold for $2.93M at an auction from which the public is excluded. WCPS hands out flyers to bidders alerting them to community opposition to development at Wolli Bluff.
There is a narrow strip of land at the foot of Wolli Bluff zoned National Parks and Nature Reserves (Lot 1 in the diagram above). According to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, there are plans to transfer Lot 1 to the Wolli Creek Regional Park.
WCPS has several concerns and questions about Lot 1, including:
- the removal of trees and bushes
- timing of the transfer to the Regional Park
- Protections of the bluff from any heavy machinery used to clear the adjacent block (Lot 2) for development.
5 April 2025: WCPS put these questions and concerns to the Office of Strategic Lands and received a dismissive reply.
29 April 2025: Independent Councillor Barbara Coorey tabled her motions at a Council meeting. Both were seconded by Greens Councillor, Conroy Blood.
The first motion sought to re-zone 18 Bayview Ave and 16 Bayview Ave from Low Density Residential (R2) to either Public Recreation (RE1) or National Parks and Nature Reserves (C1). This motion was defeated by Labor councillors voting as a block, without any debate.
Councillor Coorey’s second motion calls on the Council to ensure the Department of Planning clearly marks the boundary between Lots 1 and 2 and ensures Lot 1 is protected. This second motion passed unopposed.
On 20 May, the Dept of Planning wrote to the Council and asserted there was no need to demarcate the boundary between Lots 1 and 2.
What are the implications for future development?
The narrow strip of land zoned C1 (Lot 1) cannot be used for residential development. WCPS will seek to ensure it becomes part of the Wolli Creek Regional Park.
The block at 16 Bayview Ave can be developed with a two-storey building for residential purposes with no environmental constraints.
The block at 18 Bayview Ave can be used for residential development but is currently subject to height restrictions and environmental constraints that require a comprehensive assessment of any development proposal (the developer cannot use a private certifier). WCPS will be pressing Canterbury-Bankstown Council to enforce these restrictions.
According to a title search conducted on 26 May 2025, the Dept of Planning was still the owner of the blocks. WCPS is keen to ascertain whether the sale has fallen through. If you have any further information, please contact us.
Chris Jordens
President, Wolli Creek Preservation Society
MISTAKEN IDENTITY: DILEMMA FOR MINNS
We call on the Premier to rectify an error which we believe has occurred in relation to the imminent sale by auction of crucial lots of publicly-owned, open space land immediately adjacent to Wolli Creek Regional Park at Wolli Bluff. For more see the recent WCPS media release
FEBRUARY UPDATE NOW AVAILABLE NOW ON THE WEBSITE
Lots of good info to read here at
https://wollicreek.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Feb-Update-2025.pdf
See reports on the new playground at Turrella Reserve, conditions on the walking tracks and repairs to the Turrella footbridge. See the Johnston Street bushcare site ten years after it was saved from Westconnex. And a rare sighting of a dancing Peacock Spider in the valley! There are also some great summer pictures from Dave Noble and Philip Le Mesurier.
We love our Rivers – Autumn Wolli Creek Guided Walks
The Wolli Creek Preservation Society is conducting guided walks this Autumn as part of the Canterbury-Bankstown Councils We Love Our River events.
This is a great opportunity to come along and walk part of or the full length of the track in the Wolli Creek Regional Park at a leisurely pace. We have two walks scheduled. One is 3.5km from Bexley North to Turrella Reserve on the 23 March. The second one is 5km from Tempe to Bexley North on 13 April.
Our volunteer guides will share their knowledge of this bushland, its cultural and environmental history, as well as information about the current issues facing the Wolli Valley and the bush regeneration (Bushcare) work the Society is undertaking.
This walk is sponsored by the Canterbury-Bankstown Councils We Love Our Rivers program
Bookings are essential. For further information and bookings see our Upcoming Events page.
GUIDED WALK FROM BARDWELL PARK TO TEMPE
We had a lovely walk in the Wolli Creek Regional Park on Saturday 19 October with 5 new members who joined the WCPS to do this 3.5km walk from Bardwell Park to Tempe. The weather was perfect for a walk and the rain stayed away until after we had finished. Our last guided walk for the year will be held on 10 November. Register now to join us. https://events.humanitix.com/a-story-of-survival-walk…
Wolli Creek Valley: Precious narrow strip of bushland
This overhead view of the Wolli Creek Valley from Apple Maps shows how precious the narrow strip of bushland is in this heavily developed area. And it’s so close to the airport.
May Fungal Foray
Many mushroom enthusiasts gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning. The group, led by David Noble of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Incorporated (SFSGI), headed out from Girrahween Park on a trail of fungi discovery along the Two Valley Trail. Many species were identified and keenly photographed. We found many varieties, here are just a few of them.
Ghost mushrooms – Omphalotus nidiformis. This amazing species of fungus is known for its bioluminescent properties. There are only a handful of places that you can see these growing in the wild and here they are right on our doorstep!
Waxcaps – often brightly coloured and have a dry to waxy cap. This one is the Verdigris Waxcap Gliophourus viridis. They were very sticky to touch.
Bolete mushrooms – Boletes can be identified due to their unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. These mushrooms can grow to huge sizes.
We also saw Lycoperdon puffballs. Puffball fungus when mature burst on contact or impact releasing a cloud of spores.
Due to the recent hazard reduction burn, we were lucky to see post-fire mushrooms. These Anthracobia muelleri are tiny disc-shaped fungus that fruit prolifically on burnt soil.
A huge thanks to everyone who came along today and to David for sharing his invaluable knowledge. Our walks along the trail will forever be more interesting armed with this “mush’’ knowledge.
Helen Addison & her son Oliver on behalf of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society