Western Sydney Parklands

Western Sydney Parklands
New South Wales
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)

Looking over a southern section of the parkland, from Calmsley Hill Farm in Abbotsbury.
Western Sydney Parklands
Nearest town or city Blacktown
Fairfield
Liverpool
Coordinates 33°51′28″S 150°51′28″E / 33.85778°S 150.85778°E / -33.85778; 150.85778Coordinates: 33°51′28″S 150°51′28″E / 33.85778°S 150.85778°E / -33.85778; 150.85778
Established 2006
Area 52.8 km2 (20.4 sq mi)
Managing authorities Western Sydney Parklands Trust
Website Western Sydney Parklands
See also Protected areas of
New South Wales
Western Sydney Parklands
Type Urban park, wildlife park, nature reserve
Location Western Sydney in New South Wales, Australia
Area 5,280 ha (13,000 acres)
Created 2006
Visitors 430,000 to 790,000 annually[1][2]
Status Open all year

The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system located in Western Sydney.[3][4] The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and is listed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.[5]

The Parklands begin in the north in the City of Blacktown, cross the City of Fairfield, and end in the City of Liverpool. The Parkland, being one of the largest in the world, features picnic areas, nature reserves, sport facilities and walking tracks. The Parklands are formed by a series of connected green spaces, roughly following the western section of the Westlink M7 motorway. The Parklands form an elongated shape, narrow in the east-west direction.[6]

History

The Parkland was an area of specialty for the Darug people and it is still deemed as important by the Aboriginal Land Council.[7] The Parkland has been visited by some early settlers, such as Edward Abbott and George Johnson. The Park was originally used for agricultural purposes which included gardening, dairy farming and grazing. The early settlement in the Parklands took place in Prospect in the 1790s. The Parklands were planned in 1968, as Western Sydney needed open space and recreational areas.[8]

Environment

The Parkland's environment has remained very similar to how it was prior European contact. The park consists of 135 hectares of woodland, with the majority comprising 427 hectares of planted vegetation and cleared grassland areas. Until recently, the NSW Government has re-vegetated the area through the Greening Western Sydney Program. The Parkland's revegetation has been going since the early 1990s.[9]

The Park contains threatened and endangered species which are protected under State and Commonwealth legislation. Wildlife in the parks includes many native species of frogs, birds, lizards and bats. Foxes and rabbits are rare, but not unheard of.[10] Around eighty native vertebrate species exist within the parkland. A search by Wildlife Atlas returned the identification of 167 vertebrate fauna species within the Park.[11] One group of birds that is present all year round are the parrots. Many breed in the Parklands' trees are found, such as rainbow lorikeets, rosellas, red-rumped parrots, galahs and cockatoos.[12][13]

Geography

The Parklands are bounded by the M7 motorway in the north, and begin in the suburb of Dean Park in the north, then largely follow the eastern side of the M7 motorway south to reach the M4 Western Motorway, at which point it extends east to incorporate the Prospect Nature Reserve around Prospect Reservoir. The Parklands continue to follow the M7 motorway south, and near Cecil Hills crosses the M7 motorway to incorporate parkland on the western side of the motorway, from where it continues south, and ends in the suburb of Horningsea Park.

Recreational features

From north to south, the following parks, reserves, geographical features and sporting facilities are incorporated into the Western Sydney Parklands: Western Sydney Parklands, situated in Horsley Park and Abbotsbury, is 583 hectares and contains a few recreational areas:

Northern Parklands:

Southern Parklands:

See also

References

  1. ↑ WSPT Annual Visitor Monitoring 2009/2010
  2. ↑ http://www.westernsydneyparklands.com.au/resources/499/Annual%20Report%202010-2011
  3. ↑ HASSELL (2010a) Stage One Report, Context and Analysis, Western Sydney Parklands Plan of Management.
  4. ↑ DECCW (2009), Draft Recovery Plan for the Cumberland Plain. DECCW, Sydney.
  5. ↑ http://www.westernsydneyparklands.com.au/resources/613
  6. ↑ http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/b9c7c3b89e6e3fcbca256a71001d5611/$FILE/b01-074-p03.pdf
  7. ↑ RTA (2008) The Western Sydney Regional Aboriginal Heritage Study. NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change
  8. ↑ HASSELL (2010b) Draft Western Sydney Parklands Plan of Management 2010–2020.
  9. ↑ DECC (2006) A Vertebrate Fauna Survey of Western Sydney Regional Park. Unpublished report. NPWS, Parramatta.
  10. ↑ DECC (2006) A Vertebrate Fauna Survey of Western Sydney Regional Park. Unpublished report. NPWS, Parramatta.
  11. ↑ NSW NPWS (2002) Native Vegetation of the Cumberland Plain - Final Edition. NPWS, Sydney.
  12. ↑ http://www.westernsydneyparklands.com.au/page/about-us/environmental/parklands-wildlife/
  13. ↑ DECCW (2010) website as accessed 21 July 1010 - http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/home_species.aspx

External links

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