Know Your Creek

Cubberla / Witton / Toowong / Sandy Creek Catchments

Catchment characteristics

Cubberla Creek rises in the foothills of Mt Coot-tha Reserve and runs south for seven kilometres to meet the Brisbane River at Fig Tree Pocket. With a catchment area of 10.5 square kilometres, Cubberla Creek’s main tributaries are the Boblynne Street branch, Akuna Street branch and Little Gubberley Creek.

Witton Creek descends from Mt Coot-tha through Chapel Hill and Indooroopilly before entering the Brisbane River upstream of the Walter Taylor Bridge. A small, relatively steep creek, it lies immediately to the east of the Cubberla Creek catchment and has a catchment area of about four square kilometres.

Toowong Creek starts on the eastern slope of Mt Coot-tha, covers an area of 3.9 square kilometres and travels through the Botanic Gardens and the suburb of Toowong before entering the Brisbane River near Perrin Park.

Sandy Creek is 3.8 square kilometres in area and starts in Taringa before emptying into the Brisbane River at the St Lucia Golf Links in Indooroopilly.

Natural assets

Significant natural assets of the Inner West catchments include:

·  Mt Coot-tha Reserve – Brisbane’s largest natural area. There are numerous walking tracks throughout the reserve, some leading up to the summit of Mt Coot-tha.

·  Merri Merri Park

·  Cubberla Creek reserve

·  Rainbow Forest Park – Given its name by local children who use the area as a place of play and fantasy. The forest lies in the eastern section of the park and has a number of walking tracks.

·  Moore Park – The area was once a sheep quarantine reserve and the site of Queensland’s first animal disease research trial. The park also hosted cricket matches and scout camps.

·  Kimba Street reserve

·  Anzac Park.

Did you know?

More than 500 Species of native plants have been recorded within the Cubberla and Witton Creek catchments.

Fauna

Squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) still inhabit the eucalypt forests and sometimes enter suburban gardens in Chapel Hill. The Cubberla-Witton Catchment Network has compiled a list of 223 bird species recorded across the catchments since 1962. Some are only occasional visitors, like the wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) and the endangered red goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiatus). Others are seen in the catchment seasonally.

Flora

Lush rainforests once grew along the entire length of Cubberla Creek, from the foothills to the creek mouth, and on all the adjoining alluvial flats (that are now parks). Most of this rainforest was felled long ago for farmland, but some small remnants have survived along creeks and drainage lines. The remaining remnants are remarkably rich in plant species, with more than 100 trees, shrubs and vine species represented.

In Witton Creek catchment, anecdotal evidence suggests that instead of rainforest, stands of bottlebrush (Melaleuca viminalis) grew in the small areas of alluvial soil along the waterways.

The drier slopes within both catchments support tall open forests dominated by eucalypts. Extensive stands of these forests still remain in the areas within Mt Coot-tha Reserve.

More than 500 species of native plants have been recorded within the Cubberla and Witton Creek catchments.

Visit www.cwcn.org.au/ or view a comprehensive plant species list.

Land Uses

Cubberla, Witton, Toowong and Sandy Creek catchments consist primarily of urban development. The Western Freeway runs north and south dividing Cubberla and Witton catchments.

The upper reaches of Witton and Toowong Creeks have been piped under the Western Freeway and sections of Cubberla Creek have been ‘relocated’ and piped to enable the construction of sports ovals and for flood mitigation. Sandy Creek is primarily piped with only a short section of the creek exposed as it travels the last two kilometres to its mouth.

Restoring Inner-West Creeks

The Cubberla-Witton Catchment Network (CWCN) is a community-based organisation with the aim to support whole of catchment projects for Cubberla, Witton, Toowong and Sandy Creek catchments, including making applications for grants and facilitating research into biophysical components of the catchments.

Today, the network links groups and individuals that share an interest in the health of the Cubberla, Witton, Toowong and Sandy Creek catchments in Brisbane's inner-west. Initial members included representatives from Waterwatch, The Hut Environment and Community Association (THECA) and all of the Habitat Brisbane bushcare groups active in the Witton and Cubberla catchments at the time.

Volunteers from all walks of life have joined bushland care groups active in the inner-west creek catchments and receive guidance as well as material support through Brisbane City Council's community conservation partnerships program.

The program also supports the community to protect and restore Brisbane's waterways and bays in partnership with groups, businesses, schools and individual property owners.

For more information on Council’s community conservation partnerships program and environment centres phone Council on (07) 3403 8888.

Websites

Brisbane City Council: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

Cubberla-Witton Catchment Network: http://www.cwcn.org.au/

Brisbane Catchment Network: www.brisbanecatchments.net.au

Healthy Waterways: www.healthywaterways.org

SEQ Catchments: www.seqcatchments.com.au

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