Historic Park Plan To Create Wetland

Newcastle Herald

Thursday April 28, 2005

By FRANCES THOMPSON

MATERIAL excavated from city building works will be used to complete what is said to be the original plan for King Edward Park, devised in the late 1800s.

Newcastle City Council, as trustee of the Crown land park, approved its own development application for the work this week.

The council's recreational project officer Roger Ward said fill from central business district building projects, including stabilisation of cliffs near the Bogey Hole and above South Newcastle beach, would be used to fill the gully and shape it to create more public recreation space.

Over coming weeks, Mr Ward said a wetland area would be built, and areas now infested with the noxious weed bitou bush would be cleared.

He expected the work to take three to four months.

Mr Ward said a heritage report commissioned by the council showed the designer of the original park, Edward Sharp, envisaged pools and ponds in the eastern section of the gully, below the formal gardens.

However, he said only "notations" of Mr Sharp's scheme remained and he did not know where the original plans could be found.

Greens councillors and the Parks and Playgrounds Movement opposed the plan.

Greens councillor Keith Parsons, who wanted the approval deferred until the NSW Heritage Office commented, said the original plan was being used to justify an expedient way of disposing of waste.

The Parks and Playgrounds Movement said the work would change the quality of the park.