At one end of Manly Creek you’ll find the beautiful bush-lined Manly Reservoir (the very last body of freshwater in Sydney where the water is still clean enough to swim).
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| Manly Reservoir |
At the other end, adjacent to the glorious surfing beach at
Queenscliff, is Manly Lagoon, renowned for being the most polluted lagoon on the
eastern seaboard of Australia.
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| Manly Lagoon Mass Fish Kill from Herbicide Spill 2001 |
So
let’s take a quick journey along this 3 kilometer stretch of creek and do it
with a mission...to save the pockets of important remnant bushland, connect
them into a wildlife corridor and try to ensure that the waterway itself is
conserved as an important sanctuary for native fish and waterbirds.
The
creek itself was rudely interrupted in 1892 when a concrete dam was built
across it to ensure that the settlement of Manly had a reliable source of
water. These days the waterway relies on leaks in the structure (or scheduled
releases from the dam) for its sporadic flow.
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| Manly Dam
Immediately
abutting the heritage listed dam is a small section of land owned by Sydney
Water . The creek then flows through the facilities of Manly Hydraulics Lab and
the UNSW Water Research Lab.
Because this area is fenced off and
fairly secluded, the areas of native vegetation are of good quality (swamp
wallabies, bandicoots and goannas have been spotted here!). Some work has
also been conducted to tackle the problem of invasive weeds which are the
scourge of remnant bushland.
Fenced off section of good bushland on Sydney Water Land
Image of Lace Monitor (Goanna) eating a rabbit
(courtesy UNSW Water research Lab)
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There
is a small pool of water on the creekline within the university grounds
Mini Mermaid Pool
... and the
larger “Mermaid Pool” and waterfall is just downstream from here.
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The larger (and more famous) of the "Mermaid Pools"
Mermaid Pool sadly became a dumpsite in the
years since the area became part of Sydney’s suburbia but more happily in
recent years it has been lovingly restored thanks to the “Return of the
Mermaids” project. Read the full story
here:-Everything you need to know about restoring Mermaid Pool
Mermaid Pool falls within the far western boundary of Warringah's District Park which is currently being assessed for a new Plan Of Management. District Park encompasses a number of playing fields and a golf course as well as this section of creek line. Submissions to a discussion paper were canvassed and received but unfortunately the "vision" to include unreserved areas of crown land in the District Park precinct have so far not registered. Submissions are now being received for a "Draft Plan of Management District Park Draft Plan of Management. (comments close 14th July 2015).
Unfortunately the District park boundaries tend to hug the creek-line fairly closely in this section (especially on the northern side) leaving much of the remnant bushland outside the boundaries.
Heading towards Manly Lagoon and the beach !
Read about the benefits of wildlife corridors:-here
Please support community efforts to conserve, protect and improve this important part of our natural heritage.
NEWS UPDATE
The NSW Government is currently seeking ways to transfer parcels of crown land to council jurisdiction SMH article (28.3.14).
Read A fact sheet detailing the concern for the future of Crown Lands here:-Crown Lands fact Sheet
Unfortunately the District park boundaries tend to hug the creek-line fairly closely in this section (especially on the northern side) leaving much of the remnant bushland outside the boundaries.
Some of the fragile bushland surrounding Mermaid Pool
This leaves various parcels of crown land very vulnerable.
It would be great if these parcels could be transferred to District Park
classification.
The specific parcels in question, near Mermaid Pool that are zoned R2 -(residential) include portions of Lots 7369 & 7370 DP 1165551 and 7371 DP 116557 ). This anomaly apparently happened during the "translation process from LEP 2000 to LEP 2011".
One of the volunteers working to restore this special place.
This area of bushland has the highest biodiversity value of
all the creeks leading into Manly Lagoon. The Department of Lands has
already indicated in the past that they would be happy to transfer this land to
Council jurisdiction without charge. This would help
secure this unique riparian zone and protect a wonderful (but often unheralded)
feature of District Park. Conserving the upper catchment, of course, is also
the best way of ensuring the environmental health of Manly Lagoon (so
long under scrutiny).
The Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (Plan of Management), states (page 61) that:- “Bushland linkages need to be
protected and enhanced to enable movement of flora and fauna between reserves
in Warringah. Other areas adjoining the Park could be considered as linkages
including District Park
As the creek leaves Mermaid Pool on its journey towards the ocean it passes a magnificent stand of ancient rainforest before invasive weeds close in.
Surviving patch of glorious Rainforest...
...followed by a wall of invasive weeds..morning glory, lantana, privet etc
One particular nemesis is the noxious Ludwigia Peruviana (yes it was introduced from Peru) which has the capacity to block the flow of the water.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that you could once paddle in a canoe from Mermaid Pool to the beach...although a section of piped creek in Warringah Golf Course would now make this impossible. ideally as part of the new Plan of Management the piped area will be rehabilitated to assist the migration of native fish up the creekline. For more information on the fish population of Manly Creek read here
Anecdotal evidence suggests that you could once paddle in a canoe from Mermaid Pool to the beach...although a section of piped creek in Warringah Golf Course would now make this impossible. ideally as part of the new Plan of Management the piped area will be rehabilitated to assist the migration of native fish up the creekline. For more information on the fish population of Manly Creek read here
Volunteers, Wol and Andrew retrieving discarded graffiti paint spray cans
from under Condamine St bridge.
Warringah Council has already produced an excellent
blueprint for the future of Manly Creek, in a report titled:-
“Warringah Council Local Habitat Plan, Habitat Restoration Plan, Manly Creek Corridor”. This document details plans to preserve, restore and expand the pockets of bushland that still survive along Manly Creek as well as other ways to improve and protect this important community amenity. All we need now is for them to implement it !
“Warringah Council Local Habitat Plan, Habitat Restoration Plan, Manly Creek Corridor”. This document details plans to preserve, restore and expand the pockets of bushland that still survive along Manly Creek as well as other ways to improve and protect this important community amenity. All we need now is for them to implement it !
Other important related documents are:-
Warringah Natural Area Survey, Vegetation History & Wildlife
Corridors, August 2005
Warringah Natural Area Survey, Vegetation Communities &
Plant Species, August 2005
Warringah Local Habitat Strategy November 2007
Further down the creek, volunteer, Tom Hazell and his team have done an amazing job in planting indigenous vegetation along the waterway between Nolans and Passmore Reserve. This is Manly's hidden Venice but in a glorious native plant and parkland setting.
