Presentation to Friends of Stony Creek 1 July 2019 re the historic tributaries above the site of the August 2018 West Footscray toxic chemical storage fire. Updates earlier presentations and separates downstream section.

1. Upper Stony Creek Diversion
Returning low flow to downstream?
Presentation by Tony Smith
to Friends of Stony Creek 1 July 2019
drawing on and updating presentations to
Melbourne Emergence Meetup 13 September 2018,
Spotswood & South Kingsville Residents Group 21 February 2019

2. The industrial history of Stony Creek has had my increasing focus
over several years, more recently in the context of Waterways
Priorities versus Priority Waterways for Healthy Waterways
On Tuesday, 28th August, Victorian ministers on the banks of the
Maribyrnong announced the formation of a Ministerial Advisory
Committee to develop a “Waterways of the West Action Plan”
Two days later, we woke to radio news of a fire west of Footscray
closing off Somerville and Paramount Roads, making early ideas
for improving low flow downstream of old diversions timely
This brought forward already planned presentation to Melbourne
Emergence Meetup on Stony Creek as a case study of “Urban
Hydrology out of Sight” within wider Supervenience project
Given this context, noted that Stony Creek was both constructed
and later disconnected, especially in the maps, a product of minds
and money, a work in progress, compromised, still much needed
This presentation is restricted to Stony Creek above the fire site,
the second part of the earlier versions becoming the basis for a
complementary presentation on more direct industrial impacts

4. By 1860 Stoney Creek was on the map, at least as far as Anderson Road
The gold rush paid for a railway line to Bendigo and beyond to the Murray
Crossing then Stoney Creek required elegant archways, since obscured by
adjacent lines for Tottenham freight yard, standard gauge and Regional Rail
The archways fixed the course of the creek where it hadn’t been well defined
140 years later, when political manoeuvring divided the old City of Sunshine
between the new cities of Maribyrnong and Brimbank, the short stretch of
creek either side of those archways came to define part of their boundary
In the interim, flooding of Australia’s then leading manufacturing industry,
Sunshine Harvester Works, had provoked drainage works to divert flow ex
St. Albans and North Sunshine into Kororoit Creek and Maribyrnong River
While motivated by high flow events from increasingly urbanised impervious
catchments, big new drainage tunnels also diverted normal low flow away
from its old course, leaving Stony to start afresh in drains under Sunshine
November 2014 presentation to Brimbank Heritage Advisory Committee
The course of Stony Creek emerged from Victorian Volcanic Plains to serve
pastoral, infrastructure, industrial and more recently suburban purposes

5. ➊ Orion townhouse estate with wetland at Stony Creek end
➋ City of Maribyrnong Sara Grove planting site
➌ Creek is municipal boundary Matthews St to Sunshine Rd
➍ Current Upper Stony Creek Transformation Project
➎ Historic course of Stony Creek through central Sunshine
➏ First diversion of Stony Creek via Anderson Road
➐ Higher capacity diversion via Kororoit Street
➑ Diversion from east side of North Sunshine to Maribyrnong
➒ August 2018 factory fire source of creek pollution event
➊
➋
➌
➍
➎
➏
➐
➑
➒
Notes re potential restoration of low flow from
Stony Creek above Sunshine to Stony Creek below
became index for submission to Melbourne Water’s
Healthy Waterways Strategy renewal process
➊
➋
➌
➒

7. St. Albans East Drain runs beneath
staggered series of omitted blocks
and path south from Eisner Street

8. Sadly, the southern
blocks are staggered
so there is no back
fence connection,
the creek continuing
of the line of the
kink in Ivanhoe Ave.
Larger Biggs Street
Reserve at right on
map and pictured
next is rare higher
spot beyond which
water flows to the
Maribyrnong.

10. Blocks, driveways and fences twisted to fit
drainage easement at kink in Ivanhoe Ave.

11. Bonus short side trip to revisit vertical contrast of Maribyrnong Valley familiar from 2017-18 battle

12. St. Albans South Drain

13. Stradbroke Drive
St. Albans

14. Connection to
Watford Road
St. Albans

16. Novara Parade
East St. Albans

17. Grantham Green
East St. Albans

19. Laurel Street
East St. Albans

22. Moonstone Circuit
East St. Albans

25. Western Ring Road
adjacent Club Italia

28. Furlong Road
Sunshine North

31. Cary Street
Sunshine North

33. Sedimentation pond
15 March 2019

34. Treatment pond
27 June 2019

35. Storage pond outlet
15 March 2019

36. Storage pond
27 June 2019

40. Concrete channel unbroken
15 March 2019

41. Gilmour Road
Sunshine North

42. Albion-Jacana
Standard Gauge
& Freight Railway

47. Private crossing
Sunshine North

48. St. Albans Road
Sunshine North

49. Ballarat Road
Sunshine North

50. Ballarat Road
Sunshine

51. Anderson Road
Sunshine

55. Kororoit Street
Sunshine

56. Duke Street
Sunshine North

57. St. Andrews Drive
Sunshine North

59. Pheonix Street
Sunshine North

60. Alexandra Avenue
Sunshine

61. Hampshire Road
Sunshine

62. view from Dawson &
Service Streets
Sunshine

64. Devonshire Road
Sunshine

66. Kevin Wheelahan
Gardens

67. Dickson Street
Sunshine

69. Recent demolition beyond playground
across park from Stony Creek house

71. Recent excavation reveals Stony Creek
flowing diagonally in parallel pipes

72. Parsons Street
Sunshine

73. Duke Street
Sunshine

74. 368 days later

75. Orion Townhouse Estate
Maidstone

76. 368 days later

78. Ruby Way
Maidstone

81. VicTrack Planting & Tile Change
Braybrook Grasslands

83. Community Catchment Crawl

84. Sunshine Road
Sunshine

85. Standard gauge
freight rail to
Newport

88. Sara Grove
Tottenham

90. Quarry Road
Tottenham

91. With MFB remaining Incident Controller, a community meeting
was called for that first evening at Footscray Town Hall
Already committed to nearby session with Uncle Jack Charles
and the Moondani Balluk mob covering (mis)appropriation of
Indigenous Intellectual Property by occupiers/colonisers
Smoke plume dominated view from Tottenham Station
Always was, Always will be Aboriginal Land (and Water)

92. Yarra Act 2017
Environmental
Justice Australia
Action Plan re
other rivers
Waterways of the West
Ministerial Advisory Committee
Traditional Owners
Rivers of the West
Melbourne Water
Healthy Waterways
Strategy Refresh
Catchment Collaborations
Moonee Ponds Creek
behest of City of Melbourne
Maribyrnong pilot
City of Moonee Valley
Chain of Ponds
City of Moreland
Stony Creek Fire
Recovery phase
City West Water
Greening the West
Upper Stony Creek project
Critically endangered ecotype
Victorian Volcanic Plains
Basalt quarries used for landfill
A few of the interested parties

93. Yarra River Protection
(Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017
Woiwurrungbaluk ba Birrarung wanganyinu biikpil
Yarrayarrapil, manyi biik ba Birrarung, ganbu marram-nganyinu
Manyi Birrarung murrondjak, durrung ba murrup warrongguny,
ngargunin twarnpil
Birrarungwa nhanbu wilamnganyinu
Nhanbu ngarn.ganhanganyinu manyi Birrarung
Bunjil munggany biik, wurru-wurru, warriny ba yaluk, ba ngargunin twarn
Biiku kuliny munggany Bunjil
Waa marrnakith-nganyin
Balliyang, barnumbinyu Bundjilal, banyu bagurrk munggany
Ngarn.gunganyinu nhanbu
nyilam biik, nyilam kuliny – balit biik, balit kuliny: balitmanhanganyin
manyi biik ba Birrarung. Balitmanhanganyin durrungu ba murrupu,
ba nhanbu murrondjak!
We, the Woi-wurrung, the First People, and the
Birrarung, belong to this Country. This Country,
and the Birrarung are part of us.
The Birrarung is alive, has a heart, a spirit and is
part of our Dreaming. We have lived with and
known the Birrarung since the beginning. We will
always know the Birrarung.
Bunjil, the great Eagle, the creator spirit, made the
land, the sky, the sea, the rivers, flora and fauna,
the lore. He made Kulin from the earth. Bunjil gave
Waa, the crow, the responsibility of Protector.
Bunjil's brother, Palliyang, the Bat, created
Bagarook, women, from the water.
Since our beginning it has been known that we
have an obligation to keep the Birrarung alive and
healthy—for all generations to come.
The Yarra River is of great importance to Melbourne and Victoria. It is the intention of the Parliament that the Yarra
River is kept alive and healthy for the benefit of future generations.
This Act recognises the intrinsic connection of the traditional owners to the Yarra River and its Country and further
recognises them as the custodians of the land and waterway which they call Birrarung.
In the Woi-wurrung language of the traditional owners, Wilip-gin Birrarung murron means "keep the Birrarung alive".
The following statement (in the Woi-wurrung language and in English) is from the Woi-wurrung.

94. Wilip-gin Birrarung murron (Keep the Birrarung alive)
Actions
Action 24 Timing: Short term
MELBOURNE'S NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE TASKFORCE
Establish a Taskforce that brings together the skills of the
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
(DELWP) with the Traditional Owners, Parks Victoria, Melbourne
Water, VicRoads, Environment Protection Authority, and local
governments to:
• Investigate the benefits of combining waterway management,
open space, bay and coastal parkland management for greater
Melbourne.
• Establish ongoing collaborative governance arrangements
between DELWP, Traditional Owners, Parks Victoria, Melbourne
Water and local government to:
- deliver an integrated vision and strategy for Melbourne’s
natural infrastructure that increases the amount and quality
of publicly accessible open spaces (including the bays,
waterways and parklands)
- realise the synergies from coordinated delivery of related
projects from the updated Plan Melbourne, Water for Victoria,
Port Phillip Bay Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and
Yarra River Action Plan
- establish long-term funding arrangements for developing and
maintaining urban natural infrastructure
• Report to the Victorian Government on an improved integrated
institutional model for delivery of major natural infrastructure
in Melbourne.
Action 25 Timing: Short term
URBAN NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY
Develop an integrated vision and strategy for Melbourne’s open
spaces, including its waterway corridors and coastal parklands
to improve the liveability and ecological health of the growing city.
Action 26 Timing: Short - long term
MAP TRADITIONAL OWNER CULTURAL VALUES
Work with the Traditional Owners to map tangible and intangible
cultural values along the Yarra River, over a number of years,
starting with the highest priority reach.
Action 27 Timing: Medium term
PROTECT THE MARIBYRNONG RIVER
Use the landscape assessment methods applied along the Yarra
to establish stronger planning controls to protect the Maribyrnong
River and its environs.
Action 28 Timing: Medium term
PROTECT OTHER URBAN RIVERS AND THEIR PARKLANDS
Review the reforms to protect the Yarra River and consider
protection of other major Melbourne rivers and their open spaces
(such as the Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers).
Action 29 Timing: Short - medium term
RIVER CORRIDOR FOOTPRINTS
Identify the preferred open space footprint of Melbourne's key
waterway corridors and in particular those under sustained growth
pressure (e.g. Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers) and develop a plan
to secure this.
Action 30 Timing: Short term
PARKS CHARGE REVIEW
Undertake a broad based review of the Melbourne Metropolitan
Parks Charge to define the strategic goals/services it delivers
and identify the funding available for supporting priority projects
identified in the Yarra Strategic Plan.
Action 27
PROTECT THE MARIBYRNONG
RIVER
Use the landscape assessment methods
applied along the Yarra to establish
stronger planning controls to protect
the Maribyrnong River and its
environs.
Action 28
PROTECT OTHER URBAN RIVERS
AND THEIR PARKLANDS
Review the reforms to protect the Yarra
River and consider protection of other
major Melbourne rivers and their open
spaces (such as the Maribyrnong and
Werribee rivers).
Action 29
RIVER CORRIDOR FOOTPRINTS
Identify the preferred open space
footprint of Melbourne's key waterway
corridors and in particular those under
sustained growth pressure (e.g.
Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers) and
develop a plan to secure this.

95. Cynefin meets the Maribyrnong
and Moonee Ponds Creek
Tony Smith, Melbourne Emergence Meetup, 13 July 2017
Site Visit to Fish
Ladder at
Brimbank Park
▼ Innovative Collaboration Methodology
Inclusions in Maribyrnong Catchment ▶

96. Suggestions! Questions?
Mill Stream
Stellenbosch
Western Cape
during 2007 workshop on
Philosophy of Complexity