Abutting one of Sydney’s most beautiful bays sits one of the city’s most idyllic retreats. Born out of an act of love and grief, Wendy Whiteley started work on her secret garden at Lavender Bay in the weeks after the death of her husband, Brett, in 1992. She threw herself into clearing disused, rubbish-filled and weed-infested railway land with a passion that has created the garden that is now a sanctuary and place of wonder for locals and visitors alike.
When Whiteley started on this incredible journey, she had no permission from the often mercurial transport authorities for her guerrilla gardening and its fate was only secured in 2015 when the then New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, placed the garden under a long-term lease to North Sydney council.
Things could have been different if a state government had decided to make some fast money and sold this prime land for housing. It’s a salutary lesson for the new NSW government, following premier Chris Minns’ confirmation last week that it will be looking to “unused” transport land for redevelopment as housing. Decisions made today can foreclose even more valuable uses for publicly owned land – an all to frequent occurrence in a city like Sydney.
Lavender Bay is no stranger to community action to protect public land for the enjoyment of the public.
In fact, as the historian Ian Hoskins wrote in his history of Sydney Harbour, in the 1860s it was the site of what was perhaps Sydney’s first successful campaign to ensure the foreshore was not alienated from the community. When the prominent Milson family (of Milson Point fame) sought to claim the Lavender Bay foreshore to prevent the public using its small beach for swimming (and likely for a fair bit of skinny dipping, which was all the rage), the local MP, William Tunks, led a community campaign to ensure public ownership and access was retained.
The vision of Tunks and Whiteley and all those who have worked to defend Sydney Harbour’s foreshores is reflected today in the campaign led by local residents to create a high line on the old railway that borders Wendy’s Secret Garden. Many Australians have experienced the incredible high lines in New York and Paris, which have set the global benchmark for the creative reuse of rail infrastructure.
Sydney could have its own of equal value and prominence.
Proposals developed by the Sydney Harbour HighLine community organisation would see the railway stretching from Lavender Bay to Waverton converted into a 3.3km walkway. It would be a magical addition to the publicly accessible foreshore.
This part of Sydney’s rail network was originally the final approach to the terminus of the north shore line before the Harbour Bridge was constructed. Passengers heading to the Sydney city centre would disembark at Lavender Bay to make the final leg of their journey on the small armada of ferries which carried them to Circular Quay. It ceased transporting commuters when the Harbour Bridge opened and the new line linked Waverton directly to central Sydney.
Today, this spur line to Lavender Bay is used to stable a few trains on weekdays and is maintained at significant cost to NSW taxpayers.
The creation of a high line is not just about a new walking path for local residents, as worthwhile as that would be in such a densely populated part of Sydney. Like its New York and Paris counterparts, it would become one of our great tourist experiences and provide a new perspective on our world-famous harbour.
To create a picture of the opportunity, visitors would arrive by ferry at Milsons Point at the entrance to Luna Park. They would then walk on the historic rail viaducts at Lavender Bay past Wendy’s Secret Garden, through the intriguing 300m rail tunnel under McMahons Point and emerge to spectacular views of Berrys Bay and the western harbour. Along its route, walkers would have access to magnificent harbour-side parks and ultimately the bushland of Balls Head Reserve and the Waverton Coal Loader platform.
Harbour, heritage, history and nature all in one accessible and easy walk.
Its value as a less-than-busy rail stabling facility is considerably outweighed by its potential to be a major public asset and addition to our tourism economy.
Despite the efforts of the community and local MPs over the past six years, winning support within the state government has not been easy. The proposal needed a champion at the highest levels and a breakthrough came when Dominic Perrottet announced his government’s commitment to the project this year.
The opportunity to create such an enduring legacy for Sydney now rests with Minns, and the transport minister, Jo Haylen. It’s the type of vision that should be above the political fray so that this publicly owned land, uniquely preserved when so much else has gone, becomes accessible to all Sydneysiders.
• Trent Zimmerman is a former federal member for North Sydney
