Most people are barely aware of Edgar’s Creek…unless they live along its banks. The devastating flooding in January 2023 certainly focused the minds of streamside residents. Many had damp feet and at least one house experienced flooding on the second floor. Minimising future flooding should be a priority here along with enhancing Edgar’s Creeks role as a biodiverse corridor connecting Cox’s Bay with the heart of West Lynn / Westmere.
The catchment
Edgar’s Creek drains the western edge of Grey Lynn through eastern Westmere into Cox’s Bay. It was named for John Edgar who operated a dye factory at what is now the northern end of Kingsley St from the 1880s to the 1920s. This was on land bought in the 1850s by gum merchant George Wilson and subdivided by land speculator Robert Greenwood in 1861 as the Well Park Estate.
The sources of Edgar’s Creek are springs on Sherwood Ave and Wilton St which are culverted down to Francis Reserve where a short section sees the light of day before diving under Wellpark Avenue. The stream appears again in Wellpark Reserve, a haven of calm with a small wetland which is occasionally deluged by stormwater diverted here by a couple of culverts. From Wellpark Reserve it is channelled and culverted under Warnock St down to the mangroves at the southwestern corner of Cox’s Bay Reserve at the foot of Kingsley St. Until the 1940s it flowed into a shared estuary with Cox’s Creek. This was gradually filled to form Cox’s Reserve playing fields, with Edgar’s Creek piped under them to join Cox’s creek about 50m upstream from West End Road.
The opportunity
Where is hasn’t been culverted, Edgar’s Creek is constrained into inadequate concrete channels closely bounded by housing which bore the brunt of the 2023 flooding. Despite this, Edgar’s Creek remains visible on aerial photos as a distinct line where there is more vegetation then in the surrounding suburbs. It undoubtedly already acts as an ecological corridor though it could be better. There are opportunities here to enhance native planting in the reserve areas (Francis Reserve, Wellpark Reserve, Kingsley St mangroves), and encourage weed control and native planting on private property.
The prospect for daylighting sections of the stream appear limited, though should be considered as part of any flood mitigation work.