SUSTAINABILITY REPORT - Landcom

CASE STUDY
WORRELL PARK
BEWARE OF CROCODILES!
If you wander down to the “woods” today at Worrell Park, you’re in for a
surprise. Slithering back into Wingello Creek, the local waterway, is a fourmetre
crocodile with a big barramundi clenched in its jaws. That the croc is
made of sandstone means it is safe to approach for a closer look. A surveyor
had a very different experience with a crocodile during the formative stages
of Worrell Park, but more on that later.
The sandstone croc is one of many pieces of public art that adorn Landcom’s
new estate near Wyoming on the Central Coast of NSW. Explore further and
you’ll find an oversized gecko, a spider’s web that doubles as a climbing frame
and a Godzilla-sized snake that winds its way through the estate.
The reptilian theme is a respectful nod to the heritage of the site, the former
home of Eric Worrell’s Australian Reptile Park. Worrell was one of Australia’s
leading naturalists and a pioneer of snake and spider anti-venom.
Landcom Senior Development Manager, Alan O’Reilly, says providing
community facilities has helped to make the 4.2 hectare estate a community.
“We spent a lot of time and effort creating the central park and public art
component,” says Alan. “For example, the croc is built on a viewing platform
that overlooks the creek corridor and the other reptiles are scattered
throughout the estate”.
Working with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural
Resources, Landcom has instituted a long-term plan to repair the riparian
corridors of both Wingello and Pernell Creeks.
Landcom has also enlisted the Central Coast Community Environmental
Network, an independent community group, to help rehabilitate the riparian
corridors at Worrell Park.
In the centre of the development there is a more formal park, with grassed
areas, seating, a mini-amphitheatre and a drinking fountain. It is framed by
a serpentine path that defines the area and winds its way through the park.
“We decided to incorporate those reptilian elements throughout
the development in response to the community requests,” says
Alan. “We are also rehabilitating two creek areas on either side of
the estate as natural bushland to protect the riparian corridor and
give children the chance to be Tom Sawyer for a day”.
During the early survey work for Worrell Park, things got a little too
wild for a local surveyor. Rummaging through the local creek one
day, he heard a rustle in the reeds. He turned to find, to his horror,
a real crocodile staring back at him. The beast had somehow been
left behind when the wildlife was moved from the Reptile Park
months earlier.
The surveyor finished work for the day – then and there – so the
relevant experts could “remediate” the site properly.
Eric Worrell would have laughed.
PUBLIC
DOMAIN
WORRELL PARK
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