Prospect Creek | |
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NASA satellite view of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, with the Prospect Creek mouth location, as marked | |
Location | |
Country | Australia |
State | New South Wales |
Region | Sydney Basin (IBRA), Greater Western Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown, Southern Sydney |
LGAs | Blacktown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Prospect Reservoir |
• location | north of Bulls Hill, Prospect |
• coordinates | 33°50′2″S150°53′20″E / 33.83389°S 150.88889°E |
Mouth | confluence with the Georges River |
• location | Dhurawal Bay, Georges Hall |
• coordinates | 33°54′35″S150°58′25″E / 33.90972°S 150.97361°E |
Length | 26 km (16 mi) |
Basin size | 98 km2 (38 sq mi) |
Basin features | |
River system | Sydney Basin catchment |
Dam / Reservoir | Prospect Reservoir |
[1] [2] |
Prospect Creek is an urban watercourse of the Georges River catchment that is located in the western region of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. As Prospect Reservoir forms a part of the Sydney metropolitan water supply, the flow of the creek is regulated in accordance with the operational requirements of Sydney Water.
Situated within the local government areas of Fairfield City and Canterbury-Bankstown Councils, the creek is 26 kilometres (16 mi) long, starting at the Prospect Reservoir at the top of the catchment and flows to the Georges River at Georges Hall, as its tributary.
Prospect Creek rises below Prospect Reservoir, north of Bulls Hill in Prospect, within the Blacktown local government area, and flows generally southeast by east, through the Holroyd, Fairfield, Liverpool and Bankstown local government areas, before reaching its confluence with the Georges River, at Georges Hall, spilling into Dhurawal Bay in the Chipping Norton Lakes. [1]
The catchment area of the creek is approximately 98 square kilometres (38 sq mi), and is largely urbanised with industrial land uses, residential and open space for recreation. [2]
Most forms of fishing are permitted in Prospect Creek, in both the tidal (lower) and freshwater (upper) catchments with fishing subject to bag and size limit regulations. [3] In 2023, Sydney Water Corporation was convicted and fined $200,000 in the Land and Environment Court of NSW after 282,000 litres of sewage was spilled into the creek. [4]
The creek's catchment area itself is a sub-catchment of the Georges River catchment, where it covers an area of 98 square kilometres. Areas within the Prospect Creek Catchment include, Fairfield City (65.6%), Cumberland Council (13.7%), Bankstown (10.5%), Blacktown (7.8%) and Liverpool (2.4%). Some of the streams and drainage lines in the catchment do not permanently transport water, and rather would only do so after rain events. [5]
Wetlands and ponds within the Prospect Creek catchment include, Warren Road, Woodpark (an artificial wetland); Gipps Road Park, De Freitas Wetland at Vine Street, Clarevale Wetland, Lake Mirambeena (Lansdowne) and Lake Gillawarna (Georges Hall). Clear Paddock Creek, Green Valley Creek and Orphan School Creek are all part of the Prospect Creek catchment, in addition to being Prospect Creek's tributaries (branches). [5]
Other systems that supply to the Prospect Creek include: [5]
There are catchment drains that lead to Prospect Creek in a northeasterly direction; They consist of three concrete-lined, trapezoidal-shaped channels that are 3.8km in length, 1.5 metres to 1.75 metres in width and a height that ranges from approximately 2.0 metres to 3.0 metres: [6]
The creek winds through a number of parks and reserves, with the most prominent ones being, Gipps Road Sporting Complex, Rosford Street Reserve and the contiguous Long Street Park in Smithfield, Fairfield Park Precinct and Cawarra Park in Fairfield, Fairfield Road Park in Yennora, Makepeace Oval in Fairfield, Carrawood Park in Carramar, Mirambeena Regional Park in Lansdowne, and Henry Lawson Reserve in Georges Hall, going from northwest to southeast. It also flows on the western fringes of Fairfield High School and just north of Bland Oak, a historical tree.
There are walkways or cycling paths that parallel the creek. The longest, continuous walking path that runs alongside creek starts from Widmere Road, adjacent to the Liverpool–Parramatta T-way, in the northern periphery of Wetherill Park, and ends at Fairfield Road Park in Yennora, opposite of Yennora Fire Station. The walkabouts are within the surroundings of the Australian bushland, which include native trees such as eucalyptus. [7]
In 2020 a proposal was submitted to upgrade a 6 kilometre (4 mi) stretch of Prospect Creek river status. [8] In September 2020, this proposal went before the Geographical Names Board of NSW (GNB) after Community Advocate Lachlan Hyde with the support of local state MPs [9] pushed the New South Wales Government on the matter. [8] This section would then be named Lennox River to honour Scottish-Australian stonemason David Lennox who designed and oversaw the construction of the Lansdowne Bridge which crosses this waterway. [8]
Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 11 local government areas: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".
The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the council's name was changed to the "Municipality of Fairfield" in 1920, before being proclaimed a city in 1979. The City of Fairfield comprises an area of 102 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and as of the 2021 census had a population of 208,475. The mayor of the City of Fairfield is Cr. Frank Carbone, the first popularly-elected independent mayor of Fairfield.
Wetherill Park is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield.
Smithfield is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Smithfield is located 31 kilometres (19 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Fairfield and Cumberland Council. Located in the Greater Western Sydney region, the suburb is one of the largest in Fairfield City by area.
The Liverpool–Parramatta T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta and Liverpool in Western Sydney. Completed in February 2003, the 31 km (19.3 mi) T-way was the first bus rapid transit infrastructure to be built in Sydney.
The Lower Prospect Canal Reserve is a heritage-listed former farm and public water supply canal and now bushy corridor and nature reserve stretching 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) through the heart of suburban Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The lineal corridor stretches from Prospect Reservoir to Sydney Water Pipehead at Albert Street, Guildford with the majority of the reserve located in Greystanes, which is a suburb within the Cumberland Council area.
Lansdowne is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lansdowne is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown and is part of the South-western Sydney region. Its western boundary is Prospect Creek, the north the Hume Highway and the east and south Georges Hall.
The Duck River is a perennial stream and southern tributary of the Parramatta River, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Division of McMahon is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
Bike paths in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, vary widely, with the majority either shared cycle and pedestrian paths or on road paths, and a small number of separated cycleways. In 2009 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that "Sydney's cycleways are not so much an organised network as a fragmented collection of winding paths and half-finished ideas. Most were built or designed when cycling was viewed as a pleasant pastime rather than a practical form of travel and are now poorly suited to commuting."
Clear Paddock Creek is a tributary of Orphan School Creek, which in turn, is a tributary of Prospect Creek, located in the City of Fairfield, NSW. The creek, being mostly concrete-lined, starts from Brisbane Road in St Johns Park and ends at Orphan School Creek to the east near King Road in Fairfield West.
The Lansdowne Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge that carries the northbound carriageway of the Hume Highway across Prospect Creek between Lansvale and Lansdowne. Situated in southwestern Sydney it is located on the boundary of the Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas. The bridge was named in honour of Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780–1863), an Irish Whig politician of the British Parliament and associate of the NSW Governor of the day, Sir Richard Bourke.
Brenan Park is a 20-hectare (49-acre) urban park situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Primarily categorised as a sports field, the reserve contains an open grassland, bushland and recreational areas within the vicinity of native plants, such as eucalyptus trees. It is named after John Ryan Brenan, who founded the suburb of Smithfield in 1836.
Rosford Street Reserve, or Rosford Reserve, is an urban park and nature reserve situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The reserve contains an open grassland, woodlands and recreational areas surrounded by native plants, such as eucalyptus trees. Janice Crosio Oval is a fenced sports ground incorporated within the reserve. The park is one of the largest in the Fairfield LGA area.
The Cumberland Plain Woodland, also known as Cumberland Plain Bushland and Western Sydney woodland, is a grassy woodland community found predominantly in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that comprises an open tree canopy, a groundcover with grasses and herbs, usually with layers of shrubs and/or small trees.
The Horsley Drive is a 13-kilometre (8.1 mi) urban sealed road located in the City of Fairfield in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road's northwestern terminus is located at the entrance of Western Sydney Parklands in Horsley Park and its southeastern terminus at its intersection with Hume Highway in Carramar.
Prospect Nature Reserve is a nature reserve and recreational area that is situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which incorporates the Prospect Reservoir, and also features picnic spots, lookouts, walking tracks and BBQ areas within the Australian bush. It is located within the Blacktown City local government area, but is also close to the boundaries of Cumberland Council and the City of Fairfield.
Smithfield West is a locality situated in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of Smithfield, it is an unofficial designation for the region, or neighbourhood area, westwards from Dublin Street to Wetherill Street on the boundary of Wetherill Park.
The Lennox River is the proposed name for a waterway located in Sydney's South-Western Suburbs. The existing waterway is the tidal reach of Prospect Creek, a tributary of the Georges River. A proposal has been made to upgrade and reclassify the waterway as a 'river'. The proposed river would be 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) long, starting at the confluence of Orphan School Creek and Prospect Creek at Fairfield and flowing to the Georges River emptying into Dhurawal Bay at Garrison Point.