History

Koolunga Reserve was once part of a large flower farm operated by one of the area’s oldest families, the Chandler family, who grew daffodils that were exported all over the state. Some of the local roads in the area, such as Daffodil Road and Pinevale Road, reflect this past history, The suburb of Boronia was named after the flower that grew on Alfred Chandler’s land. The Chandler daffodil farm features in old newsreel films from the 1930s, which show it was also used for the local gymkhanas. Thus Koolunga Reserve is an important link to the area’s history. Sir Gilbert Chandler sold the area of land that is Koolunga Reserve to the council for a nominal fee, on the condition that it would remain a public park.

Today it remains one of the largest areas of accessible reserve in the Boronia area which has not been subject to conversion into sport stadiums, and the large area of open grassland on the eastern side of it remains a quiet open space for use by the local community for all types of recreation.  The rows of tall pine trees that now provide shelter (and support the local population of yellow – tailed black cockatoos) are still providing the same function as they did years ago, when they were planted as windbreaks of the daffodil farm. But, as we now know, Knox City Council wants to change all this, and intended to do so without considering the wishes of the community.

 

What’s Changed?

On the 1st of March 2021 Knox City Council installed two signs in the reserve that explained Council planned to ‘redevelop part of the existing creek in the reserve into a wetland area…’.

The proposed wetland is massive and takes up ALL of the large grassed area shown in our title photo.. This is the best drained area of the park and is the ‘family friendly’ for general recreation. There are also two smaller grassed areas in the park that frequently are boggy and much less useable.

Some nearby houses received a letter drop later that week and the Council website explained ‘We are constructing a wetland within the Koolunga Native Reserve…… We value your ideas about: the location of pathways around the wetland, the number and type of seating areas provided in the space, whether any picnic areas should be included.’

The Council information left many parts of the community feeling this was a done deal. In fact Council reiterated the plan was ‘not negotiable’ at the public meetings.

The sentiment at the public meeting showed community wants to be involved in decisions with their parkland and call for true consultation including a working party made of park users from the community, to consider the best current and future use of the park.

 

How long has this massive change been planned?

Council explained the plans for the wetland date back 4 years. The wetland was funded in 2019/20 but works did not proceed due to Covid. We saw an enormous rise in people using the park during Covid. Families in the area used the park much more as organised sport was cancelled. Families adopted pets in record numbers and used the off-lead area for exercise and socialisation. New networks of friends were formed.

Council advised they planned to start construction in June 2021.

Our members went back into the old Council Meeting Minutes and found:

  • Minutes 2018_10_22 feasibility plan
  • Minutes 2018_11_26 detailed design
  • Minutes 2018_12_17 detailed design and functional layout
  • Minutes 2020_02_24 notes about construction date
  • Minutes 2020_02_24 Question 3 A member of public asked if there were plans for a wetland. The CEO responded he was unaware of such a project, but would take the question on notice and provide a written response
  • Minutes 2020_03_30 construction was expected to start May 2020
  • Minutes 2020_05_25 community consultation strategy with internal stakeholders was in progress
  • Minutes 2020_06_22 community consultation strategy planning was in progress
  • Minutes 2020_08_24 community consultation was underway

The residents and community were not consulted until after the project was funded!

But wait… There’s more changes

After various discussion with the community, Council recently altered the website to ‘a proposed wetland…’.

This means Council can alter the proposal, move the wetland, defer the construction, and could even not proceed with the project. Community member discussions with Council staff confirmed that Council is considering all options.

So, NOW IS THE TIME TO HAVE YOUR SAY. Tell Council how you want to use this reserve. Tell Council you want to keep the large grassed area because it’s the most useful part of the park for recreation.

How?

 

What can I do?

Contact Council

It’s important our voice is heard and we do this by:

Even if you’ve already emailed, please do so again.

What do I say to Council? You could email about:

  • the value of the grass area being the most useful part of the park
  • the existing use of the grassed area for footy and games
  • the wetland should be moved to the boggy areas of the park
  • we want to be part of a working group looking at the future of all of the park
  • can the creek be improved instead
  • what is the value of treating only part of the stormwater and losing the green open space
  • reasons you like the park as it is,
  • how important it is to have an off-lead dog exercise area
  • and anything else you can think of.

 

Have you signed our petition?

We’ve collected over 300 real signatures and presented the petition to Council. The petition started at the first Council public meeting when our community was concerned that the project was not negotiable.

And you can sign our online petition which can be found at:

https://www.change.org/savekoolungastopthewetland

Join over 500 people who have signed the petition – it’s free and is an easy way to show how much you want to keep the reserve with the grassed area.