The Hawthorne Canal, a southern

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

, is a heritagelisted artificial waterway located in the western reaches of

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

, in the innerwestern

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburbs of

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

, Summer Hill, Haberfield, and

Leichhardt Leichhardt may refer to: * Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives * Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia * Leichhardt Way, an Australian road route * Leichhardt, New South Wales, inn ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Hawthorne Canal and

Iron Cove Creek Iron Cove Creek (also known as Dobroyd Stormwater Channel), a southern tributary of the Parramatta River, is an urban stream west of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, located in the Inner West (Sydney), inner-western Sydney suburbs of Croydon, New S ...

are two significant tributaries that flow into

Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the Inner West (Sydney), inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney central business district, Sydney's central business district. It i ...

, where it flows into Parramatta River, before connecting with

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. The canal was originally a natural waterway known as Long Cove Creek, that has been straightened and given artificial banks.

History

In January 1890 a team of thirty men, employed by the Harbours and Rivers Department, began clearing the mangroves that lined the banks of Long Cove Creek. It was the beginning of the construction of the first stage of the canal. Within twelve months a navigable stretch of water would exist between

and Marion Street. Some housing development had already occurred close to the banks of the creek when parts of the Dobroyd Estate were subdivided in the 1880s, and there was a good deal of local pressure for the extension of the canal to Battle Bridge on

Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...

so that the new waterway could be brought within reach of centres of denser population. However, the extension of the canal was never realised. The canal had a ferry service operating from 1903 through 1904. The service was operated by the Drummoyne – Leichhardt Ferry Company, and there were nine ferries operated each weekday and twelve on Sundays. The ferry wharf was on the eastern side of the canal aligned with Barton St, and a footbridge was built from the western side. The ferry service became impractical due to sedimentation in the canal, and competition from the tramway.

Etymology

The canal at the time of its construction was variously known as the Long Cove Canal, the Leichhardt Canal and the Hawthorne Canal. The canal was named in honour of

John Hawthorne John Patrick Hawthorne (born 1964) is an English philosopher, currently serving as Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. He is recogniz ...

, who agitated in the

NSW Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New S ...

during 1890 for the construction of the canal; and the name was officially gazetted in 1974. The Hawthorne name has also been used for several features around the canal. Hawthorne Canal Reserve is a park on the banks of the canal; Hawthorne Parade is a street running parallel to the canal in Haberfield; and

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

is the name of a light rail stop on the

Dulwich Hill Line The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It is the original line of the Sydney light rail network ...

. The light rail line runs parallel to the canal for most of the canal's length.

Gallery

File:HawthorneCanalHaberfield.jpg File:Hawthorne Canal 20171102 01.jpg, Hawthorne Canal near Barton Ave, Haberfield File:Hawthorne Canal from footbridge at Haberfield NSW.JPG, Hawthorne Canal looking upstream near Lord St, Haberfield. File:hawthorne canal.JPG, Hawthorne Canal near Grosvenor Crescent, Summer Hill.

References

{{Rivers of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Creeks and canals of Sydney Canals in Australia Water transport in Australia Canals opened in 1890 Inner West Summer Hill, New South Wales