Mélanie Thomas
Gardiner’s Creek:
the section from Glenferrie Rd till it feeds into the Yarra River (see Melways Map 59 B2-C2).
 

The Colonisation of Gardiner’s Creek - situated in Boroondara, Melbourne, Australia As Australia was colonised during the height of the industrial revolution in England, so too was the natural landscape which became captive to the process of urbanisation.  Gardiner’s Creek is a tributary to the Yarra River located in Melbourne, Australia.  The section from Glenferrie Rd till it intercepts the Yarra River in the suburb of Boroondara, will be interpreted in this essay using Lewis’ ( 1979:15), axiom of landscape as a clue to culture.  Lewis (1979:15), ascertains that “the culture of any nation is unintentionally reflected in its ordinary vernacular landscape”.  He makes this deduction through the observation and interpretation of ordinary run-of-the-mill matter that humans have constructed to create a particular landscape which Lewis (1979:16), concludes “provides strong evidence of the kind of people we are, and were, and are in process of becoming”. Gardiner’s Creek was originally referred to as Kooyongkoot Creek which is translated as “haunt of the water fowl” in Kulin, the local Aboriginal language (Website 1, Greenlink 2002:1).  This implies that the creek was once frequented by water birds, presumably drawn to it as a source of fish or other micro-organisms.  Thus we can conclude that in the days of the Kulin people, the creek teamed with life.  Kooyongkoot Creek was later renamed after John Gardiner who was an early British settler of Melbourne in 1836, in honour of his influence in establishing the settlement of Boroondara (Website 1).     McWilliam (1978), records the construction of a bridge over Gardiner’s Creek in 1860.  This may have been the red, brick, triple arched bridge situated under Glenferrie Road which appears to date from the late nineteenth century.  The use of bricks as opposed to wood or iron in the bridge’s construction indicates that it was built by an emerging middle class.  Elgar’s survey in 1853 records Box, Gum and Stringybark trees on the land surrounding Gardiner’s Creek (Greenlink 2002:1)  The material wood, therefore would have been found in abundance in the area.  As the cheapest and most convenient option, a wooden bridge would have been the preference of a lower class.  In addition, the aesthetic arching formation and simple decorative styling of indenting in the brickwork shows careful architectural design which would indicate a class with history of training and accomplishment of skills in craftsmanship.  Bricks are formed using sun dried clay and are a simple yet enduring material (Krebs et al. 1991:97).  In contrast, an iron bridge would require the extraction and transformation of raw materials which would have been a strenuous process in that early settlement era where machinery was still in the process of innovation and largely imported from Britain.  Acquiring and transforming iron for architectual purposes was therefore expensive and its use would only be obtainable by a wealthy class.     The substantial width of the bridge indicates that it could originally have been a main crossing over Gardiner’s Creek, possibly to accommodate for horse and carts or as a livestock crossing.  The increasing demand of the bridge over time is emphasised by an extension at a later date.  Concrete reinforcement presently overlies the original bridge to accommodate for the changed demands of the bridge over time.  The current bridge consists of double traffic lanes containing a tram line and a footpath on either side. The earliest cable tram in Boroondara noted by McWilliam (1978), was in 1885 and the first horse tram in 1890.  Consequently emphasis on transport dates early in Boroondara’s colonisation. Along this section of Gardiner’s creek, replacing its once natural flow, the creek has now been confined to a man-manipulated concrete pathway with even concrete banks for seasonal overflow.  Concrete pylons line either side to support the Citylink connection to the Monash Freeway running south-east. Suspended from the overhead freeway, a footbridge on the south-side of the creek joins Glenferrie road to the Yarra Boulevard.  The footbridge as the freeway, both enable travellers to eventually reach the city.  This is what Lewis (1979:15), terms ‘the corollary of cultural change’.  The landscape has been transformed from its original organic form to become urbanised where investment in time and money on infrastructure creation reflect value placed in efficiency.  Moreover it links Australian society’s emerging importance of the suburban lifestyle with connectedness to the city and the subsequent Australian ‘taste’ for home ownership. The freeway construction would have had impacted the surrounding creek environment dramatically.  In response to the proposed plans for freeway construction and drainage works, a team conducted a study in 1977.  It put forth a report which warned that drainage would “significantly change the form or location of the creek channel”, and that freeway construction would contribute noise and air pollution (Waterway Environs Study Team 1977).  These were not the foremost environmental concerns of the creek.  Colonisation allowed blackberries, willows and other imported species to creep in amongst natives to choke the landscape.  Evidence of this can still be marked upstream.  Cooper (1935:3), discovered that the Scotch College grounds were once a swamp but that environment change occurred due to the logging which accompanied settlement. The creation of sewage systems for Boroondara in 1905, according to McWilliam (1978), saw “the creek on the way under”.  Today the cement complex overwhelmingly dominates the natural environment.  It obstructs, where natural sunlight would usually meet the creeks waters.  It controls, where the meandering creek would once have carved through soil banks.  Without sunlight and soil, the creek is a captive, deported from its natural life. The panel which reviewed the Eastern Arterial Extension and Ringwood Bypass in 1990, found that the strongest sentiment to emerge from public submissions, “was the desire to reject the domination of our society by the motor car and to affirm the need to protect our natural environment”. Evolving environmental concerns may have sparked the native regeneration evident upstream on the bare grassy banks, where Eucalyptus and Acacias have been staked in orderly rows.  These initiatives are limited: overtaking weeds and accumulated rubbish continue to block the creek.  Efforts to restore Gardiner’s Creek may have been stalled following the Kennett era which saw council amalgamations and economic rationalism diminishing funds available for similar projects. The Waterway Environs study team (1977:2), highlights the valley’ psychological value to urban dwellers as a natural oasis within a cement human consolidated city.  The valley has been harnessed to facilitate leisure activities so that a maximum number will experience its psychological benefits of relaxation, open space and healthier air.  Soccer, football and hockey fields, a velondrome, a fitness track, play equipment and barbecues line the creek.  Special recreation facilities include the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club where the Australian Open was formerly held and the extensive sporting grounds of two elite private schools: Scotch College and St. Kevin’s.  The abundance, variety and calibre of these recreation facilities is a reflection of an affluent area. Graffiti under the old bridge alludes to a subculture rebelling against the norms of wealthy suburban Boroondara residents.  On the north side of the creek layers of Eucalyptus trees effectively shield the unsightly concrete mass when viewed from the Scotch College grounds.  The old hidden bridge scarred with graffiti, freeway maze and abused creek valley are blemishes to the surrounding prosperity.  The progression from a middle class which constructed the original brick bridge to the present wealth of Boroondara demonstrates that the suburb became financially wealthier over time which correlates to the creek’s demise. Boroondara’s landscape has been colonised by transport infrastructure to gain the cultural value of convenient access to wealth.  These developments have led to the disfiguration of the local Gardiner’s Creek which has promoted concern from the community.  However, the environmental health of Gardiner’s Creek on the political agenda has remained low in preference to the pursuit of wealth. Only the substantial recreational facilities along the creek’s banks keep concrete recontructions at bay.         BIBLIOGRAPHY   Cooper, J. B., 1935, Coopers History of Malvern, Malvern Library. Eastern Arterial Extension and Ringwood Bypass Review Panel, 1990, The Issues Reviewed: Draft Recommendations. Greenlink Box Hill Inc., Local plants for local places, talk presented at annual Workshop conducted by the Blackburn and District Tree Preservation Society, 30th July 2002. Krebs, W. A., et al., 1991, Collins Australian Pocket Dictionary of the English Language, William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, Victoria. Lewis, P., 1979, “Axioms for Reading the Landscape” in The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes, D.W. Meinig ed., Oxford University Press. Waterway Environs Study Team, 1977, “Gardiner’s Creek Valley Study”, Final Report and Appendices. McWilliam, G., 1978, Hawthorn Peppercorns, Brian Atkins, Melbourne. Website 1:  http://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/libraries.asp?PageID=537 Boroondara Library, John Gardiner, 5/08/2003.       (c)Mélanie Thomas 2004

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