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Marrickville Council is holding community consultation about the future of the parklands along the Cooks River. The parks are Mahoney Reserve, Steel Park, Warren Park, Richardson’s Lookout, Cooks River Foreshore Park, Mackey Park, Kendrick Park & Tempe Recreation Reserve.
DATES IN OCTOBER –
- Sunday 19th October 2014 – Feedback about all the riverside parks at Council’s stall at the Marrickville Festival tomorrow.
- Thursday 23rd October 2014 – Feedback about Mahoney Reserve. Meet at the Debbie & Abbey Borgia Centre – 5.30pm-7.30pm.
- Tuesday 28th October 2014 – Feedback about Steel Park. Meet at the Debbie & Abbey Borgia Centre – 5.30pm-7.30pm.
DATES IN NOVEMBER –
- Sunday 1st November 2014 – Feedback about Mahoney Reserve. Meet in the park 8am-12 noon.
- Wednesday 5th November 2014 – Feedback about Warren Park, Richardson’s Lookout & the Cooks River Foreshore Park. Meet at the Debbie & Abbey Borgia Centre 5.30pm-7.30pm
- Sunday 8th November 2014 – Feedback about Steel Park. Meet in the park 8am-12 noon.
- Thursday 13th November 2014 – Feedback about Mackey Park. Meet at Herb Greedy Hall, Petersham Road Marrickville 5pm-7pm.
- Saturday 15th November 2014 – Feedback about Warren Park, Richardson’s Lookout & the Cooks River Foreshore Park. Meet in Warren Park 8am-12 noon.
- Wednesday 19th November 2014 – Feedback about Kendrick Park. Meet at St Peter’s Town Hall, Unwins Bridge Road Sydenham 5pm-7pm.
- Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Feedback about Mackey Park. Meet in the park 8am-12 noon.
- Saturday 29th November 2014 – Feedback about Kendrick Park. Meet in the park 8am-12 noon.

The fantastic & much loved row of Poplar trees at Mackey Park. On the left are the two Mackey Park Fig trees.

The Mackey Park Poplars from across the river. All the Poplar trees along the river can be seen from some distance. I believe they are iconic to Marrickville’s section of the Cooks River.
I reported on a number of occasions about Council’s intention to remove the poplar trees at Mackey Park. I first heard this from a staff member at the opening of the Mackey Park on 9th December 2010.
I wrote, “These trees are being considered for the chopping block because there is belowground infrastructure here & because the soil is poor. I don’t know enough about the issues to present an argument at this stage. Just be aware that Council is thinking of removing them.” I have waited & waited.
In December 2010 a Poplar tree between Mackey Park & Steel Park lost a large branch due to boring insect damage. I was told this tree was to be removed, but somehow it is still standing there today. See –http://bit.ly/1dneE7L
In January 2011 I wrote about the problem on boring insects affecting the trees of Mahoney Reserve. Boring insects had also made their way almost to Mackey Park evident by the previous month’s limb drop. See – http://bit.ly/1cOo9B6
In November 2012 – I mentioned again the planned removal of the poplar trees at Mackey Park. See – http://bit.ly/1dYWAkd
Yesterday, 3rd February 2014, a post was made on Facebook about the rumour of the removal the Poplars at Mackey Park. I contributed what I had previously been told by Council. The discussion clearly expressed community opposition to the removal of these trees.
Here is the great news –
Marrickville Council posted on Facebook –
“I’m very happy to let you know that Council has no plans to remove these trees at Mackey Park.
There are plans to remove approx six poplars at HJ Mahoney Reserve around May/June this year. An independent arborist has assessed that they have a significant amount of internal decay and are dropping limbs. Council is currently undertaking consultation with the Cooks River and Environment Committee and will be seeking broader community comment closer to the date.
Please know that the ONLY reason council would consider removing a tree is if it poses a risk to life or property, leaf drop or messy characteristics are never a consideration for removal. We LIKE trees – honest! Our aim is to increase the canopy.”
After 3-years of waiting I can now not feel any angst when I ride under these trees as I often do.
I am hoping Council takes it a step further though, as it appears that boring insects have affected a number of the Poplars. This infestation is treatable, so to my mind, it is a good use of money to do what can be done to save the trees, than allow these destructive insects to continue their travels through the golf course and up through to Mackey Park.
When these six trees Council mentioned are removed it will make a loss of twelve Poplar trees in Mahoney Reserve since 2010. I think an urgent investment is needed to plant at least the number lost, so that the particular unique & iconic qualities that the Poplars scheme creates along the river is maintained in the long term. Sparse canopy gum trees will not have the same spectacular & beneficial effect as Poplars at that location.

Next door to Mahoney Reserve is Steel Park. The Poplar trees make a massive contribution to both the beauty & experience of this park.

There is an avenue of Poplar trees in a section between Mackey Park & Steel Park. These trees make it a joy to be in this area.

Scattered all over the huge area of playing fields at Tempe Reserve are plastic drinking bottles left behind by players after the game has finished. This happens after every game.
Twenty bottles & a cigarette packet – this is only one pile of plastic drink bottles left on the side of one field on the playing fields of Tempe Reserve. There were many other plastic bottles strewn elsewhere on the playing fields & this happens all the time. What is it with this park that people trash it so much?

The plastic bag that contained one of the players uniform was being blown towards the Alexandra Canal only metres away.
I even chased a massive plastic bag rolling across the playing fields that had contained the uniform of one of the players. Within 3 minutes at the most, this bag would have been in the Alexandra Canal starting a journey of destruction.
I don’t understand why the players do this. I also don’t think it is the job of Marrickville Council staff to pick up the vast amounts of litter left behind after each game – unless of course, this service comes as part of the hiring fees – which I doubt.
Next stop on our bike ride was Mackey Park, which is always left spotless by the clubs. Mackey Park gets just as much use by the clubs as do the playing fields of Tempe Reserve.
As fate would have it, I crossed paths with one of the managers of the Canterbury & Western Suburbs Cricket Association. He kindly answered a number of my questions telling me that the Club ensures that all the Club Secretaries & the Captains know to tell all players (7yrs – adult) that they must clean up after themselves & leave no litter behind. Leaving a mess behind may affect the Club’s ability to hire the park in the future. Cleaning up after oneself is seen as mandatory for being a member & the Clubs reinforce this message with their players often.
I commend the Canterbury & Western Suburbs Cricket Association for this as they leave the park spotless for the community & for the wildlife that use Mackey Park.
The soccer clubs that use Mackey Park at nights & on weekends do not leave litter behind either. So what is happening with the Clubs that use Tempe Reserve?
It’s a terrible message to give young people that they can simply leave their garbage behind when it has such a negative impact on the environment, especially with the river so close. The players need to respect the park & use one of the numerous garbage bins provided by Council or take their garbage home.
Maybe Marrickville Council should think about intervening. One idea is to oblige clubs to read out a short message about respect to the environment to players before each game & the Captains required to ensure all litter is removed before anyone leaves.

This is what we all should be doing with the environment – sporting clubs included. I can’t credit the photo as I don’t know its source.
Tonight is soccer training night at Mackey Park & I received a request to report on two issues.
First, the positive one. Marrickville Council has installed two park benches near the trees along the Richardson Crescent side of Mackey Park. This is a nice & very needed addition to the amenity of the park. The benches will go some way toward providing comfort to the families that watch games & training sessions or those who want to have a rest in the shade.
Second, the not so positive one. Some in the community have told me, & I personally observed, that Council is removing the support stakes from some of the trees planted in last year’s planting season. We have observed that, after the supports are removed, some of the young trees are falling over in the wind. At Mackey Park most of the new trees have been planted in a secure frame. These are thriving. Two of the young Gums near the clubhouse were not in frames, but were supported only by stakes. Council has recently removed the stakes & there is a 50% failure: One of the two Gums, which is about 1.2 metres tall, has bent over badly after the wind & is in serious risk of snapping. It needs emergency attention to re-stake it or provide a frame for it, so that we do not lose a valuable one-year’s growth & another tree.
While I understand that Council may be removing stakes from young trees in order to reuse them & save money, I think it is false economy when the outcome is a high percentage of young tree failure. Please Marrickville Council, save this young tree before it is too late. It would be good if stakes for young trees could be left a while longer. Some stakes & tree protection stay in place for some years. Why do some others need to be removed so early in the life of a tree?
I went to Peace Park in Chippendale this week to speak with a friend. We didn’t stay because the park was full of people & all the seats were taken. This isn’t a whinge. For a
small park it is a lovely area, full of seats & full of shade. It was not surprising that people chose to leave their homes or workplace & come & sit in the park. We just were not early enough.
It made me think of the number of people who have spoken to me of late about the lack of seating in Mackey Park or along the Cooks River. Sorry Marrickville Council, but they are not happy. Various people have approached me & said the following –
“I can’t take my 72-year old mum down to Mackey Park because there is nowhere she can sit. She doesn’t want to sit in the playground.”
“I’ve seen old ladies sitting on the ground. Why aren’t there any benches?”
“You can’t sit anywhere along the Cooks River & watch the water go by.”
“Two little benches is not enough for the clubs. These are not even enough for two teams & there is usually more than one game at the park at the one time.”
“Where are the families watching their kids’ games going to sit?”
“It’s hot. There are no trees near the fields.”
“Mackey Park was better 10 years ago. The older people used to come down to the park & socialize.”
“They don’t want the community to use the park.”
“Why aren’t there any shrubs on the embankment? It looks too bare.”
I vacillated about writing about this as Mackey Park is the golden project at the moment & a lot of money has been spent. I didn’t want to be seen as ungrateful & picking holes in the work that had been done. But too many people asked when was I going to write about this.
Personally I think the work that has been done is great, especially the wetland. I love that we still have the Mackey Park Figs & that herons, ibis, ravens & ducks have moved in. I like that the community can still walk through the park to Tempe Railway Station & they are not shoved out to navigate Richardsons Crescent as was the original plan. I like that 2 Eucalypts have been planted on the verge at Carrington Road. I also like the playground & think it is far better than what was previously there.
However, I have to agree that there needs to be seating around the fields for players, coaches, parents, any onlookers as well as use by the general community. A lot of people come to this park when there are soccer games & practice is on. I also think that tall growing shade producing trees could be planted around the perimeter of the park.
I think that some benches & tables could be placed near other shade trees, but close enough to the road for people to meet & talk with their friends. I very much believe that there needs to be a number of benches at intervals along & facing the Cooks River where there is a break in the mangroves & the river can be seen.
It’s wonderful that money was spent on Mackey Park, but there is serious community debate as to whether the infrastructure is sufficient for both the players & the community. When I suggested that people should contact Council & tell them themselves, I was told that this was my role, to speak for them in this case.
So Marrickville Council, how about planting some shade producing trees, putting in some more seating & a couple of tables? And maybe some ground-covering Grevilleas to cover up the bare earth & provide food for the birds on the embankment & add some colour & beauty? I think these things will make a lot of people happy.
I have posted a 1.14 minute YouTube video for those who are interested – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEyWqiLv3L8
There was a red carpet on the grounds of Mackey Park this afternoon for the official reopening of the $3.1 million refurbishment. $2.2 million was a grant from the federal government & Marrickville Council made up the remainder of the money.
The money has been well spent as much has been achieved that will benefit the community for years to come. The park looks wonderful.

Anthony Albanese Member for Grayndler (centre) surrounded by (L-R) Deputy Mayor Iskandar, President of Red Devils Soccer Club, Clr Olive, Mayor Byrne, Clr O'Sullivan, Clr Tsardoulias & the Red Devils
The contaminants have been removed from the soil & the fields have been redesigned. A drainage system has been put underneath the fields that will collect water & take it to a filtering system next to the newly constructed wetlands. There the water will be naturally cleaned & then directed underground to water storage tanks situated next to the playground. The recycled water will be used to irrigate the grass fields. Excess water will feed the new wetlands & cleaned. Any overflow will travel to the canal beside the park before entering the Cooks River.

(L-R) Clr O'Sullivan, Deputy Mayor Iskandar, Marrickville Council General Manager Ken Gainger, Anothony Albanese MP, Marrickville Mayor Byrne & Clr Olive
Mackey Park used to get quite boggy in some areas so the below ground drainage system will prevent this ensuring the grass has greater longevity & need less maintenance.
I have never seen the fields look so level. The cricket pitch is a strip of thick Astroturf, which should make it quite durable. There are pop-up water sprinklers that can be turned on for the areas that need watering.
Solar panels on Council’s depot building at Sydenham will offset the power Mackey Park will use.
The children’s playground is totally new & judging by watching the children today, it is already a success. This playground will be much used by the families who come to watch their children play sports as well as the local community.
The club house/amenities building has also undergone a refurbishment. There are new shade structures & a new fence between the playing fields & the playground. The 3-people-wide pedestrian path flows in front of the playground & alongside Richardsons Crescent before exiting opposite Tempe Railway Station.
A number of people mentioned the Mackey Park Figs saying that they were pleased to see these lovely trees still standing. I once again thank both the community & the Greens & Labor Councillors for saving these trees.
I did notice that the embankment of Mackey Park that borders Richardsons Crescent looks less populated by trees. I can’t actually say that any trees have been removed. Perhaps the undergrowth has been cleaned out. What this work did reveal was another young Hills Fig in this area that I have not noticed before, bringing the total to 2 Figs on the embankment & 4 for the whole park. I’d like Council to consider planting another couple of Fig trees along the embankment because there certainly is room to allow them to grow naturally. They would help stabilize the bank, provide a decent buffer to traffic, sight & noise & wouldn’t affect either Richardsons Crescent or the playing fields. They would also add visual beauty as well as provide food & habitat for birds & bats.
Marrickville Council has done a wonderful job on Mackey Park. There are many great aspects to the refurbishment. It will serve the community & the sporting clubs well.
The opening was great. The speeches were good. The mood was up. Everyone was happy. Even the rain held off after threatening to storm all day.
This week’s Council meeting was the Land Use, Assets & Corporate Committee Meeting. The following is how I understood the meeting. I have not included items that did not attract full debate. Any mistakes are mine.
1. Local Traffic Committee Advisory Meeting:
– Old RSL site Illawarra Road Marrickville. The Traffic Committee recommended the DA “be supported in its present form, given that there are no significant adverse impacts on traffic or parking.” The DA proposes 180 residential units with 171 parking spaces
for residents, visitors & shoppers. The developer amended the DA removing the supermarket, using smaller trucks & moving the loading bay to Byrnes Street.
A resident who spoke against the report said she has collected 1,114 signatures against the DA from the local community who are concerned with the bulk, height & scale of the development & believe it will bring significant traffic onto already congested Illawarra Road. She said Council was underestimating traffic movement in & out of the development & living next to railway stations did not mean people didn’t own cars. She spoke about the current parking difficulties saying many patrons of the previous RSL either walked or came by courtesy bus or taxis.
Clr O’Sullivan put up an alternative motion: that the Councillors note that the Traffic Committee believes there will be no problems with parking, but the Councillors advise the JRPP Secretariat of residents’ concerns regarding the validity of traffic projections contained in the applicants traffic study & request that any consent conditions have minimal or no impact on surrounding streets.
Clr O’Sullivan expressed concern about traffic saying Councillors are dependent on our Officers as Secretariat of JRPP to determine a sensitive, future-orientated response to the DA & talking about traffic is different from experiencing it.
Clr Thanos opposed the amended motion saying that it didn’t achieve anything because Council staff had assessed the traffic impact & believed there will be no traffic impacts & the motion was misleading to Council staff, residents & JRPP. He asked whether the motion was asking staff to change their minds & felt the JRPP will ignore a motion like this. He spoke about providing housing around transport nodes saying no one owns parking spaces on public streets & the number of cars people choose to own is their decision.
Clr Olive said he agreed with a lot of what Clr Thanos said, but he also thought there were valid points in the amended motion & would be supporting it. He said even though staff have made recommendations, this doesn’t mean we can’t make things better. He spoke about looking at traffic minimalisation by placement of driveways, entrances, sizes of entrances as examples & thought the report was coming from the position of looking at the previous DA. He said Councillors should be expressing the community’s concerns so the JRPP can look at the issue closely.
Clr Phillips supported the amended motion saying it highlights the problem of the JRPP being the decision maker instead of Councils & it’s important for Councillors to voice their concerns. He was not convinced there will be no impact on traffic & reminded that there will be further development in this area.
Clr Peters reminded everyone that the JRPP just approved a development at the Newtown RSL site that is to be a 66-room hotel, RSL Club, retail with only 17 parking spaces.
Clr O’Sullivan said that her motion was minimalist in that it only takes into account the traffic &, though she agreed with much of what Clr Thanos said, she said Councillors were representing the community’s interest for both the short & long term. She said the JRPP took heed of community concerns regarding the Tempe Depot development. Carried with Clr Thanos against.
– Mobility Parking spaces – One was approved in Terminus St Petersham & another rejected in Lymerston St Tempe because there was a space within 10 metres of the property. Clr Thanos said that every time someone wants a parking space, they claim disability. He said if it were important to the resident, they would have come to speak at the meeting. The Director recommended that the refusals be referred back to the Traffic Committee following proper procedure to prevent any appeal. Carried with Clrs Thanos & Peters against.
2. Report on Marrickville Transport Planning & Advisory Committee 20 May 2010 – Clr Tsardoulias said he had questions regarding the position of stops on the Light Rail. Clr Byrne said she was disappointed Railcorp is not providing a public toilet in the ‘unpaid’ area of Newtown Railway Station & hoped they would drop the access fee regarding airport access as this will increase use of public transport to the airport. Clr Thanos said he thought the access fee would not be dropped, mentioning that Airport Services use Council’s parking spaces at Tempe for their own employees. Carried.
3. Council Infrastructure for investment for Healthy, Safe & Happy Children’s Home/School Journeys – Council surveyed schools & families regarding the pedestrian routes used to travel to school seeking to learn about obstacles/problems that made this difficult or unsafe with the aim to create child-friendly routes.
Clr Byrne was unhappy that Tempe High School, Tempe Primary School & St Peters Public School were not included in the survey. Clr Olive agreed with the direction of the report, but wanted it noted that Council was not proposing an increase in the budget for this. He said people were expressing excitement about what they thought would happen, but in reality Council won’t be able to do much in the next 10 years. He gave the cost of a traffic light at $120,000 as an example. He said he was not against increasing the budget for this. Motion carried.
4. Floodplain Management Advisory Committee Meeting report April 2010 – recommending the report be adopted, especially the Eastern Channel Flood Study. Clr O’Sullivan mentioned the substantial risk of flooding in Marrickville & St Peters industrial areas. Clr Phillips mentioned climate change & extreme rain events citing Kogarah coast & Mackey Park deemed at risk. He said the science around climate change is changing rapidly with scientists thinking there will be a sea rise of 1-2 metres this century so did not want to see this study predicated on a ½ metre sea rise.
Clr Olive asked how much it was going to cost & whether Council would be approaching the state & federal governments for money. The Director said he did not know at this stage. Carried unanimously.
5. Membership of Wollongong City Council of Westpool & United Independent Pools – public liability, professional indemnity, personal accident, motor vehicle, property & travel insurance.
Clr Phillips expressed concern admitting a Council into an insurance scheme that doesn’t have a good track record. A staff member advised extensive due diligence was undertaken by 3 Pools leading up to Wollongong Council requesting to join & all 3 Pools were concerned about Wollongong Council’s application, especially around professional indemnity insurance. The only exposure Marrickville Council will have concerns motor vehicles & property. Clr Phillips was happy with this. Carried unanimously.
6. Council investments at 30 April 2010, Changes to Code of Meeting Practice, Update on status of petitions & Status update, Councillor Conferences, Outstanding Reports, Action Arising from Notice of Motions & Mayoral Minutes were dealt with together.
Clr Peters asked about the workshops & expert external input regarding Marrickville Council’s Urban Forest Program & whether it was still Council’s intention to provide this to Councillors. The Director said Councillors would have a conference at the end of June & a draft is ready to put to Council. Clr Phillips said she recalled a motion by Clr O’Sullivan last February that Councillors would be given education workshops & external input regarding tree management & now we will be getting the plan without the workshops. The Director said Council can do this. All items carried.
I remember discussion previously was to provide Councillors with training workshop about the issues surrounding greening the LGA. The emphasis was on getting external experts to provide an alternative view to removing 1,000 trees per year for the next 5 years that was recommended in February 2010. It appears to me that the Trees Strategy Issues Paper is being brought back to the Councillors with a new name: The Urban Forest Plan & training for Councillors on this issue is no longer suggested by staff.
7. Rescission motion by Clr Macri regarding previous decision to put 2 restricted parking spaces on Marrickville Rd Marrickville. Clr Marcri said Councillors did not follow usual procedure, there was no support from the community for the motion & the numbers were against any changes. He said the issue should have gone through the proper channels back to the Traffic Committee.
Clr Hanna said businesses in Marrickville Road had difficulty keeping staff because of parking fines. He mentioned that some councilors thought the $10 fee for parking in the Frampton St car park was too cheap, whereas Leichhardt Council provides it free. Clr Phillips said the café owner asked for 2 parking spaces, the process was transparent & if there are complaints from the community he would be happy to revisit the issue. Clr Macri said it was about democracy, that the survey was heavily against any parking restriction, it should have been advertised & taken to the Traffic Committee. Clrs Macri, Hanna, Tsardoulias & O’Sullivan voted to rescind. The rescission motion was lost & the meeting concluded.
Next was the Services Committee Meeting.
8. Branch Operational Costs – Clr Thanos declared a particular interest in libraries saying Council should saving money now to get a new library with many services up & running soon. To do this he believed some libraries in the LGA would need to be closed. Clr Phillips said he wouldn’t support closing libraries, but said there could be a new library at the Marrickville Hospital site when it was developed. Clr Byrnes was against closing libraries saying they provide many more services to the community than simply book loans. Clr Hanna didn’t support closing libraries yet, but said he would once a new library was built. Carried.
9. Review of Major Community Events & Community Cultural Events Programs –
Motion moved to defer item until Mayor Iskandar returns from his Sister Cities visits because he has had significant input & should be able to contribute. Clr Thanos supported deferral & said he will be voting against all events in preference for having money for a new library. Clr Olive said he was unhappy that the Cooks River Festival has gone to Canterbury Council & would be arguing for Council’s retention & involvement in this festival. He said both the Council & the Cooks River Committee’s involvement have been instrumental in good things happening at the Cooks River. Clrs Tsardoulias, Peters, Kontellis against motion to defer. Carried.
Here ends Report from the Gallery for this week.
I read in the May newsletter of the Marrickville Heritage Society that local resident Michael Pearce passed away on 28th April 2010 after a long illness. I am quite sad about this. Michael was one of the residents who addressed Marrickville Councillors on 11th August 2009 in the campaign to save the 2 magnificent Hills Fig trees in Mackey Park Marrickville South.
Michael was very supportive of the campaign to save these trees & kindly agreed to allow me to publish his speech to Council in SoT. This was very important to me as I desperately wanted these trees to be retained & SoT was only 2 months old at that stage. His support meant a lot to me & I was & still am enormously grateful.
He did help save the Mackey Park Figs & I hope he felt good whenever he saw them when he visited or passed Mackey Park. He knew the history of the park well as he had been going there since he was a young man. It was a pleasure to know Michael. He was full of verve & integrity. My thoughts go to his family.
Quite a few people have searched this site for Michael’s speech. This prompted me to add a more visible search box now located at the top of the left-hand column. You can read Michael’s speech by clicking on the following link- https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/17th-august-09-another-residents-speech-to-council/
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