Glenbrook Lagoon Bushcare Group
History
Glenbrook Lagoon is the only natural standing water body in the Blue Mountains (although it is no longer in its natural state as it has been dammed).
The Lagoon was originally fed by a natural spring; however, it now receives almost nothing but urban stormwater. As a reliable source of fresh water, the site was inhabited by the Darug Aboriginal people. The site was first recorded by Europeans in 1813 by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson three days after leaving Emu Plains -- "we arrived at a large body of water surrounded by tall reeds". In 1815, the inhabitants were a troop of soldiers collecting tolls (things haven't changed) from travellers on Cox's Road. They camped there until a base was established in Springwood.
In 1825, the Governor granted Barnett Levey 9,000 acres named Mt Sion that included the Lagoon. The grant was made as a reward for starting the first theatre in the colony.
The Lagoon was used by farmers, people travelling to the Bathurst goldfields, but the most significant changes were made by the Railways. In 1888, the Lagoon ran dry because of a drought and the demand for water to supply the steam locomotives hauling kerosene from Katoomba to Sydney. To avoid a future occurrence, the Railways raised the level of the Lagoon by more than 1 metre at the site of Glenbrook Road. To ensure adequate water, a pipeline was built from the Duck Hole on Glenbrook Creek to the Lagoon to pump water when the Lagoon ran low.
Voluntary environmental groups, Council and external bush regeneration contractors have endeavoured to return the site close to the condition that probably existed in 1813 and the bushy surrounds we enjoy today are due to the efforts of those people. The photo below is the Lagoon in full spring dress, Melaleuca linarifolia is in flower after high water levels and reasonable spring rain.
1 Melaleucas in full bloom Nov 2008
Site Description
Location is 100m East of the Lapstone Hotel and has an area of about 12 hectares, of which 7 hectares is water, depending on the water level. The aerial image below is from 2007.
Vegetation varies with proximity to the water. The higher North-Eastern corner (Glenbrook Road and Haymet Street) is an open forest of Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera), Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata) and Grey Gum (Eucalyptus punctata). This area is now in good condition and needs very little maintenance. The main challenge for the Bushcare Group and Council has been the wetter areas and the bushland edges adjacent to roads. The moisture is a great environment for weeds, such as Cobblers Peg, Paddy's Lucerne, Blackberry Nightshade, Privet, Kikuyu, Scotch Thistle, Paspalum and Milkweed. Even our local Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum) can become dominant in this lush environment. Competing very well with the weeds are the tall reeds (Lepironia articulata) that Blaxland recorded and Melaleuca linarifolia, which flowers a brilliant white and lights up the Lagoon in the late spring. On the South-West corner, we have a stand of She-Oaks (Allocasaurina littoralis). There are the local tree ferns (Cyathea australis), Cycad (Macrozamia spiralis) and Bleeding Heart (Homolanthus populifolius) and grass tree (Xanthorrhoea media).
During 2006, under guidance from Council's Bushcare Officer, Brit Rollo, our Group thinned out Pittosporum to encourage the slower growing Melaleucas and a more diverse range of plants. Then the drought broke and Karen Hising took over from Brit and shifted the focus to attacked the sudden surge of annual weeds. From spring 2007 to spring 2008, we removed a significant amount of Cobblers Peg particularly along tracks, so that the prickly seeds could not be moved to other areas of bushland. Ray collected seeds from the Allocasaurinas and these were propagated at a local community nursery and then planted in April 2008 in an area that had been dominated by weeds on the edge of bushland.
The Lagoon is widely used by children playing and adults walking, jogging and meditating. The bushland barrier between the houses and water provides a buffer to the Lagoon. Urban runoff and stormwater is collected from the "hardened" parts of the catchment (roads, paths, etc) into stormwater systems and they discharge directly into the Lagoon. Some of the stormwater detention infrastructure at the Lagoon will be upgraded in 2009 to improve the capacity for biofiltration/nutrient removal prior to stormwater entering the Lagoon. Water in the Lagoon tends to have a high Faecal Coliform count (associated with sewage and animal feaces) and infestations of two noxious water weeds called Salvinia molesta and Cabomba caroliniana. Salvinia coverage has been drastically reduced by mechanical harvesting, spot-spraying and ongoing hand-picking, but Cabomba still dominates the water column, as there are currently no effective methods of control available. Downstream spread of Cabomba would have enormous impacts on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and control of the weed at Glenbrook Lagoon will be a high priority once methods become available.
GLENBROOK LAGOON BIRDS
by Colin Scouler
Glenbrook Lagoon, small though it is and surrounded by residential housing, provides a haven for bird life. That particularly applies to water birds. As one of relatively few wetlands in the Blue Mountains, it attracts a small number of native ducks, mostly Pacific Black Ducks, which are identifiable by the stripe along the side of the cheek. We have had a flock of Hardheads (chocolate- brown ducks with pale bills and white eyes) on the lagoon for a while in the past. Other waterbirds are in evidence: Purple Swamphens (with red beaks), Eurasian Coots (with white beaks), Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants. On occasion an Australasian Darter, which looks rather like a long slender version of the cormorant, can be seen perched on a stump by the waterside. Plenty of bush birds inhabit the vegetation around the lagoon, especially on the southern side. Fairy-wrens, both Superb and Variegated, and Red-browed Finches keep low down in the scrub and rushes. Yellow Thornbills and Silvereyes haunt the melaleucas, while Eastern Yellow Robins drop to the ground to forage. Honeyeaters, such as the Eastern Spinebill and the Scarlet Honeyeater, feed on nectar from blossom in season.
Little Grassbird - Photo courtesy of Lindsay Hansch
One intriguing denizen of the lagoon is the Little Grassbird, shown in the picture. It's a small bird about the size of a fairy-wren and lives among the reeds and rushes at the water's edge, and is so secretive that it is rarely seen. In the breeding season in spring and summer you can often hear the Little Grassbird's call – a high-pitched, rather wistful, three-note piping "pee-pee-peeee" - the first two notes short and the last drawn out.
Over the period of a couple of years, we have noticed that the bird life around the lagoon has grown richer, both in the number of birds and the variety of species. To a large extent that is due to restoration and improvement of the natural habitat, for which the Bushcare Group and others, can take credit.
Some of our Group and their efforts
If you want to help keep the Lagoon a beautiful piece of bushland, come and join us on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 2 pm to 4 pm. Council provides all the gloves, tools and training required. You will be surprised how much the knowledge and skills you gain will help you in your gardening. If you want to talk to someone call:
Allan Murray – Group Co-Coordinator - 0408 704 283
Karen Hising - BMCC Bushcare Officer - 4780 5623
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