Cooks River - Ecology

Ecology

The river begins at Graf Park, Yagoona, then flows in a roughly north-easterly direction to Chullora. It reaches its northern-most point at Strathfield, where it leads into a concrete open canal, no more than one metre wide and thirty centimetres deep, and heads towards the south-east. Part of the river, where it runs through Strathfield Golf Course, has had the concrete lining removed. Here the plants have returned and have created an environment where the water is filtered and runs clean, and where wildlife has returned. One section here is called the Chain of Ponds.

At Belfield it joins with the Cox Creek Channel and flows in an easterly direction. The canal widens and deepens as it picks up stormwater from surrounding suburbs, such as Campsie and becomes influenced by tidal action.

At Canterbury, it is joined by Cup and Saucer Creek. Industrial areas line the Cooks River at Canterbury. In the past, factories discharged their waste directly into the water.

The valley becomes more pronounced as the river reaches Tempe, where it is joined by Wolli Creek and the Alexandra Canal. The Princes Highway crosses the Cooks River and links Tempe to the suburb of Wolli Creek.

The course of the final south-flowing section of river is entirely artificial, altered to accommodate the expanding Sydney Airport. Cooks River connects with Botany Bay at Kyeemagh.

The corridor of land beside the river is a conduit for many services along large parts of its length including electricity, high voltage lines, a high pressure oil pipe owned by Shell, and high volume sewage pipes. Many of the lower lying areas have been filled and are parks and sports grounds. In spite of this the river and adjacent lands are being recognised for their beauty, history, amenity, environmental value, if not also for potential for improvements. The walkway and cycleway beside much of the "river" is part of the path connecting Sydney Olympic Park with Botany Bay.