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North Bondi/Rose Bay basin

This zone extends north-west from the Bondi basin of Blair Street to the lower slopes of Rose Bay. The area’s original vegetation consisted of sand dunes and low lying swamps. It once supported stands of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub – now listed as a threatened ecological community.

Some of the more significant tree species that were found here include: Wallum Banksia (Banksia aemula) and the Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in the flooded lagoon areas behind the sand hills.

Other notable species found in pockets of woodland were Scribbly Gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma), Red Bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), Smooth-barked Apple (Angophora costata), and possibly Eucalyptus oblonga or Eucalyptus sparsifolia (Benson and Howell, 1990).

Streetscape Character

The landscape of this area varies widely from established tree-lined streets such as Chaleyer Street, Murriverie Road and Onslow Avenue to sparsely planted streets such as Gilgandra Road and Niblick Street with wide bare naturestrips.  These open expanses can be explained by the recent loss of many mature plantings of New Zealand Christmas Bush (Metrosideros excelsa), a once dominant tree in this area. Generally the majority of streets have wide grassy naturestrips with only a few constrained by overhead wires.

Dominant Trees

A number of well established streets with plantings that date from the 1930’s and 1940’s, including:

Issues and Considerations

• While there is good soil depth there is very little organic matter and the soils have become water repellent
• Over the long-term, planting larger trees may help to ameliorate these affects
• A number of streets such as Onslow Avenue and Liverpool Street should be considered for heritage listing

Strategies

• Re-establish tree species that were once common in this area
• Provide habitat corridors linking bushland remnant areas to the adjoining open space of Royal Sydney Golf Club.
• Investigate the potential for more avenue planting

Actions

• Increase the width of planting holes to a minimum of one metre and incorporate quality native soil mix and water crystals
• Use agricultural pipe in planting holes to ensure deep watering and rooting
• Encourage residents to adopt newly planted street trees
• Plant tree species that were indigenous to this area and others that will tolerate low fertility sandy soils

Preferred Tree Species

*= may only be available from specialist native nurseries