Doreen Carter report on Kelly's Bush, Hunters Hill

MLMSS 12150

fonds

July 1971, June 1991

Textual Records, Cartographic Materials, Graphic Materials, Photographs, Ephemera

9680234

0.02 metres of textual material (1 folder) - typescript

Upon the closure of the Sydney Smelting Company tin smelting works in 1968, the State Government advocated for the former industrial site and adjacent bushland at Woolwich, known as Kelly’s Bush, to be rezoned for residential purposes. The bushland that had been used by the smelting works as a buffer between the industrial site and the nearby residential area was purchased by property developers A.V. Jennings, with the aim of constructing houses, town houses and unit blocks. However, the proposal to redevelop the bushland was met with local opposition, which by 1971 had grown into a public campaign lead by the community activist group known as the Battlers for Kelly’s Bush. The campaign was supported by the Hunters Hill Trust and the Builders Labourers Federation, who imposed a ‘Green Ban’ on the proposed redevelopment. By 1983 the bushland and former industrial site was returned to public ownership, then handed over to Hunters Hill Council in December 1993.

Doreen Frances Carter (1932-2021) of Gladesville was the Treasurer (1984-1986) and Secretary (1986-1987) of the Hunters Hill Trust. Doreen was also a long serving contributor to the Ryde-Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society, especially at the Field of Mars Wildlife Refuge where she volunteered at the Visitor Centre and worked as a bush regenerator at the reserve.

References:
1. "Doreen CARTER Death Notice". The Sydney Morning Herald Tributes. 16 March 2021. Accessed 3 May 2024.
https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/402193/doreen-carter?r=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/smh-au/

2. “Kelly’s Bush Area” The heritage of Hunters Hill Greenbook: Celebrating fifty years of The Hunters Hill Trust. Accessed 3 May 2024
https://greenbook.huntershilltrust.org.au/kellys-bush-area/

3. “Vale Doreen Carter.” Wallumetta, The Newsletter of Ryde-Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society Inc., April 2021, No. 287, 12. Accessed 3 May 2024
http://www.rydehhffps.org.au/Wallumetta.php

4. Library acquisition file

Vendor purchased this collection from an online auction site.

The collection consists of an unpublished typed report by Doreen Carter, accompanied by a contemporary colour photographic print and an older published pamphlet that was housed in the original green plastic cover. The report is an assessment of the environmental condition of Kelly’s Bush, with an emphasis upon the remanent native bushland. The report includes a history of the site, vegetative descriptions, a detailed listing of native plant species, site elements and areas for improvement. Descriptions of drainage, boundaries, signage and bushland regeneration are included as well as a statement of proposed costs, recommendations for enrichment planting for species diversity and strategies for the preservation of Aboriginal sites. Appendices include extracts from published reports. The report is illustrated with maps, diagrams and colour photographs.

1. Report, 'Kelly's Bush: Past, Present, Future?‘ On second page, 'Assessment of a Bushland Area. Kelly’s Bush – Hunters Hill. Doreen Carter. JUNE. 1991.’
2. Photographic colour print of bushland, probably 1991.
3. Pamphlet, black and white, ‘This is Kelly’s Bush Now’, the Municipality of Hunters Hill Council, 12 July 1971.

In copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder