Whites Creek (Annandale)

Whites Creek
Whites Creek near the corner of Brenan Street, Lilyfield, and Railway Parade, Annandale
Map
EtymologyJohn White
Location
CountryAustralia
StateNew South Wales
RegionInner West
Local government areaInner West Council
Physical characteristics
SourceHamond Hill Farm
 • locationAnnandale
MouthRozelle Bay
 • coordinates
33°52′26.3″S 151°10′10.0″E / 33.873972°S 151.169444°E / -33.873972; 151.169444
Basin features
River systemPort Jackson
DesignationNew South Wales State Heritage Register

Whites Creek, formerly known as White's Creek, was once a natural waterway that was concreted to improve sanitation.[1] The creek is now a heritage–listed artificial waterway located in the inner–west region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Sanitation was poor in the first 100 years of the new colony, and the waterways were contaminated. The waterway was concreted and became a Whites Creek Channel between 1898 and 1935, to cope with the runoff from the increasing amount of impermeable surfaces that. The Whites Creek storm drain as it is now, is located in flows in a northerly direction into Rozelle Bay, part of the Sydney Harbour.[2]

In 1898, an aqueduct was built to carry the sewerage over Whites Creek. This was the first use of the Monier system of reinforced concrete in Australia.[3]

Wetlands were constructed adjacent to the Whites Creek Channel in 2002, to filter out excess nutrients and improve the quality of water flowing into the harbour.[1]

In 2023, a major roads and tunnels project, the M4–M5 Link Rozelle Interchange, including a park (the Rozelle Parklands) and a shared user path bridge over City West Link adjacent to the creek, is under construction in Lilyfield.

Etymology

Whites Creek is named in honour of John White, the surgeon to the First Fleet. White received a land grant, which he named Hamond Hill Farm, to the south of Parramatta Road, where Whites Creek has its source.[4][5]

  • Whites Creek at Piper Street, Annandale, 2009
    Whites Creek at Piper Street, Annandale, 2009
  • At Brenan Street and Railway Parade, 2009
    At Brenan Street and Railway Parade, 2009
  • Looking upstream from Brenan Street, Lilyfield, 2023
    Looking upstream from Brenan Street, Lilyfield, 2023

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Whites Creek Valley Park". Parks and Playgrounds. Inner West Council. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Whites Creek Stormwater Channel No 95". Sydney Water. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Whites Creek Sewage Aqueduct". Sydney Water. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ^ Rienits, Rex (1967). "White, John (1756–1832)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 2. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  5. ^ Goodall, R. W. (surveyor); Bemi, P. L. (surveyor). Map of the Estate named Annandale situate in the Parish of Petersham and District of Sydney the property of Robert Johnston Esq. R.N. (Album view) (Map). State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 July 2017.