How many trees will be lost?
According to a tree count conducted on 28 February 2006, Marian Street Park is home to 115 trees.
The adjacent carpark and pavement that both used to be part of the park contain an additional 73 trees.
The Redfern community stands to loose a total of 188 trees.
March 8th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
I live on the eastern side of the Watertower. My partner and I listen to bird calls whenever we are home. The trees in the park are food source to many visiting birds. We see Rainbow Lorikeets, Red Wattlebirds and Noisey Minors feeding on flowering gums, banksias, wattles, grevilleas and other flowering native trees. During the last ten years or so, Rainbow Lorikeet has been on the increase, thanks to the growing number of native flowering trees in the area. The large plane tree on the western side of the park has been home to Peewee families. We and other neighbours watched chicks grow in the nest. The parents regularly take pieces from the hanging baskets on the fourth floor balcony. They survive on insects and worms in the park, as so do other birds - Swallows, Wrens, Willy Wagtails (we have seen little Willy Wagtails threaten dogs in the park), not to mention Magpies and Currawongs. Other occasional visitors include Sulphur Crested Cockatoos (I saw several flying by under our window - not high above us - this afternoon), Yellow Winged Honeyaters, Silver Eyes, Kookaburras, Galahs and Bul Buls. At night, we also hear fruit bats. We do not recognise other unfamiliar calls or see smaller birds, but we have taken such comfort from listening to those birds amongst the traffic noise, alarms and sirens during the nineteen years we have lived in this building. The precious piece of nature has provided us with a buffer against various stress associated with inner city living. The psychological benefits is not always obvious, but we cannot imagine life in the Watertower without Marian Street Park.
March 11th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
As a Watertower resident I’m angered by the statement on page 50 of the draft RWA BEP which states “the public domain within and around the site”,(Redfern railway station/Gibbons St) “is unattractive and uninviting”. I say, take a look at Marian Street Park and the Watertower building.
Other parts of this web site outline a cogent case for the preservation of Marian St Park and the absolute necessity to have the area (boundered by Gibbons and Rosehill Sts) REZONED as RESERVATION OPEN SPACE. The easement must be removed and the entire park area gazetted and registered as PUBLIC RESERVE in perpetuity. This should include the area in front of the Watertower building and north of Marian St which is currently being used as a car parking space. This is publically owned land and should remain that way, as parkland (social capital).
Public awareness is very mature these days in relation to the invaluable social importance of URBAN GREEN SPACE. Some important battles have been fought and won - our battle must be fought and won. The community needs this green lung of mature trees (so do the variety of 20 kinds of birds seen here). We need it for health, recreational and aesthetic purposes.
The WATERTOWER apartment building, with its eastern facade facing on to Marian St Park, has a symbiotic relatioship with the park - the integrity of both the park and building are intermeshed.
The Watertower is not listed as a heritage site, but is regarded as having great historical and architectural significance. It was built in 1903 and is in the genre of buildings on the Everleigh site, the wool/bond stores and Powerhouse Museum. The building was originally the factory for McMurtrie(N.S.W.) Pty Limited making Macmur and Coo-ee boots and shoes - there were also many outworkers for McMurtrie in cobblers’ shops along Regent Street. Louis Stone in his novel, JONAH, refers to McMurtries as Packards. ABC TV screened a mini series based on Jonah, starring Steve Bisley.
The Watertower is often referred to as a landmark building and at present it commands a majestic presence in the local environment. This is an all too rare quality in Sydney these days and Sydney, let alone Redfern, needs to preserve it as such.
You can destroy a building in more ways than actually demolishing it.
The RWA state on page 51 of their BEP that they want to be sensitve to the existing residential development in the vicinity.
They’d be on to an absolute winner by preserving Marian Street Park and rezoning it as parkland forever.
Image taken from ATP 2002 general information booklet.