Wolli Creek Regional Park, Regional park in St George, New South Wales, Australia
Wolli Creek Regional Park is a 50-hectare regional park in the Wolli Creek Valley between Bexley North and Tempe, south-west Sydney. It holds bushland, wetlands, open grass, mangroves and endangered saltmarsh, with sandstone escarpments and walking tracks; the 8.9-hectare Girrahween Park is part of it. About 360 native plant species have been recorded, including tassel sedge.
The area became a regional park in 1998 after local groups fought to protect the valley and successfully had a major freeway moved underground. This victory preserved the valley and allowed it to develop into a recreation area.
The Wolli Creek Preservation Society coordinates volunteers who carry out bush regeneration along the creek, and volunteers can also join surveys of the park's animal and plant species. The valley was home to the Bidjigal clan before European settlement, who relied on the bushland for food and shelter.
Access is by public transport or bike, with Turrella and Bardwell Park stations the closest. The rail corridor runs along the south side of Wolli Creek, and Sydney Airport lies 1 km away, so aircraft and train noise is heard in the park. Parts of the site are steep, and the old quarry sits in the bushland below Highcliff Road, east of Turrella Reserve.
The park's bushland is a remnant of the flora that existed in the Sydney region before European settlement, and this type of vegetation is rare in inner Sydney. Around 360 native plant species have been identified, including tassel sedge (Carex fascicularis), uncommon in the Sydney Basin. In 2015, regenerating woody pear (Xylomelum pyriforme) seedlings were found with a mature plant nearby.
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