The Central Gardens Nature Reserve, also called Central Gardens, is a protected

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in the western suburbs of Sydney,

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. Established in 1976, the reserve,

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

and

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

is situated in the suburb of

Merrylands Merrylands is a suburb in Western Sydney, Australia. Merrylands is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is in the local government area of the Cumberland City Council. History Merrylands was named after the fo ...

and is managed by

Cumberland Council Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland in England. It is a unitary authority, the structural change order names the new Cumberland Council as only a district council. It will operate as a shadow authority until taking up its pow ...

. The park is regionally important and it attracts visitors outside the Cumberland local government area. The bushland contains remnants of

Cumberland Plain Woodland The Cumberland Plain Woodland, or Western Sydney woodland,

and is approximately .

History

Before opening, the area was first used for clay extraction pits and kilns for brick making in the 1970s. The design of the park began at that time, with the

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s and grass area developed. The reserve was officially opened on 12 April 1976 by The Hon

Tom Uren Thomas Uren (28 May 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Australian politician and Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1975 to 1977. Uren served as the Member for Reid in the Australian House of Representatives from 1958 to 1990, bei ...

, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition at that time. Many trees were lost in the park as a result of a severe storm in February 2002. The boardwalk and deck structure was built in 1993, which was designed to allow disabled persons to access the edge of the main lake.

Geography

The reserve is located between Merrylands Road, Paton Street and the

Cumberland Highway The Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links the Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/ ...

in Merrylands. The park's landform is made up of two main topographic regions — The northern half slopes gently from Merrylands Road towards the system of lakes in the centre of the park, whilst the section of park's south of the lakes is largely flat, with a small localised rise in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

opposite of Paton St. Water is pumped from the main lake to an outlet near the Cumberland Highway. The quality of the lake is rather poor. Factors include

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

laden runoff entering from adjacent areas, shallow waters, presence of

marine animal Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. M ...

s and lack of reliable water supply to fill the lakes up during dry periods.

Flora

The vegetation of the gardens generally consist of a mixture of remnant indigenous vegetation and planted trees. The most significant area of remnant vegetation, known as Central Gardens Woodland, is located in the northwest corner of the park adjacent to the Cumberland Highway. The Woodland of the park is isolated from other significant areas of vegetation in the region. A total of 78 native plant species have been observed in the reserve. The Reserve has vegetation species such as '' Bursaria spinosa'', ''

Eucalyptus moluccana ''Eucalyptus moluccana'', commonly known as the grey box, gum-topped box or terriyergro, is a medium-sized to tall tree with rough bark on part or all of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of se ...

'', '' Melaleuca decora'', ''

Exocarpos cupressiformis ''Exocarpos cupressiformis'', with common names that include native cherry, cherry ballart, and cypress cherry, belongs to the sandalwood family of plants. It is a species endemic to Australia. Occasionally the genus name is spelt "Exocarpus" bu ...

'', '' Lomandra filiformis'', '' Grey Box'', ''

Eucalyptus crebra ''Eucalyptus crebra'', commonly known as the narrow-leaved ironbark, narrow-leaved red ironbark or simply ironbark, and as muggago in the indigenous Dharawal language, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to eastern Australia. It ha ...

'' (Narrow-leafed Ironbark), '' Eucalyptus tereticornis'' (Forest Red Gum), '' Bursaria spinosa'' (Blackthorn), '' Dillwynia juniperina'' (Prickly Parrot-pea), '' Casuarina glauca'' (Swamp Oak) and ''

Themeda australis } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...

''. Exotic species include '' Ulmus parvifolia'' (Chinese Elm) and ''

Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...

'' (Sweet Gum).

Fauna

Some of the animals in the park include

kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

and wallabies,

Australian white ibis The Australian white ibis (''Threskiornis molucca'') is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and blac ...

, emus,

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

wombats Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

, and native birds, including

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...

s and cockatiels. Carps are found in the ponds, and also duck species such as the

Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...

, black swan,

Emden goose The Emden or Embden is a German list of goose breeds, breed of domestic goose. It is named for the town of Emden in north-westernmost Germany. History The Emden is the oldest goose breed of the area that is now Germany, with origins believed ...

dusky moorhen The dusky moorhen (''Gallinula tenebrosa'') is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in India, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple s ...

and the Australian wood duck. The main habitat area within the gardens is the

tree canopy In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...

, which is used by a range of bird species.

Features

The natural bushland features walking tracks, boardwalk, kiosk, amphitheatre, fountains, ornamental lake system, bird and animal enclosures (fauna and

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Avi ...

), also sports ground such as tennis courts and open fields. The reserve is a popular venue for wedding photos and company picnics. Yarrabee and Pinaroo areas may be hired for those large family or company picnics. Other features include hot water tank, sink, toilets, BBQs, picnic tables and dozens of shady trees. Concrete paths meander throughout the park. The lake's water jets help with water aeration, whilst also providing a visual and auditory perspective. A major attribute of the reserve is the exposed

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

rock face, formed during quarrying operations, when the site was used for brick making. Part of this cliff is used for a large (artificial) waterfall and is a conspicuous attraction in the park.

Demographics

The 1989 survey indicated that the most popular form of recreation in the park was picnicking and barbequing (62%), with relaxing also a favoured activity (55%). 83% of visitors to the park arrive by car and 15% of visitors by foot. Peak times for visitation occurred between 12 noon and 2pm. The survey found that 56.7% of park users were not residents of the Cumberland local government area.

Access

Bookings, which go through Cumberland Council, are required in order to access the tennis courts. Entry is free. Wheelchair access is available. Restricted access areas include the fenced woodland area, the animal enclosures and the works depot. The park is closed on

Christmas day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and Good Friday.

Gallery

CentralGardensAviary.jpg, The aviary cage CentralGardensWallabies.jpg, The fauna reserve with wallabies Centralgardens.jpg, Grass and wood area Playgroundpark.jpg, The park's playground Duskymoorhen.jpg,

Dusky moorhen The dusky moorhen (''Gallinula tenebrosa'') is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in India, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple s ...

s in a lake

References

{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse 1976 establishments in Australia Gardens in New South Wales Parks in Sydney Nature reserves in Sydney Urban forests Protected areas established in 1976 Remnant urban bushland Parks established in 1976