Ithaca Creek, Bardon, Queensland, Australia – 15 Carwoola Street

Ithaca Creek is a waterway in the Enoggera Creek catchment, in the western suburbs of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It arises in the

Taylor Range The Taylor Range or Herbert Taylor Range is a mountain range on the western edge of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first named The Glenmorrison Range by John Oxley during his exploration of the area in January 1824. In 1828, the coloni ...

at the

Mount Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , there were no residents in the suburb. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mou ...

forest with two streams, one arising at

J C Slaughter Falls The J C Slaughter Falls is a cascade waterfall on the Ithaca Creek lin the suburb of Mount Coot-tha, approximately west of the Brisbane central business district in Queensland, Australia. History During World War II, large parts of Mount C ...

, the other and stronger source being Simpson Falls, the western branch. Ithaca Creek runs through the suburbs of Bardon, Ashgrove and Red Hill, where it joins

Enoggera Creek Enoggera Creek is a creek which flows through the City of Brisbane in South-East Queensland, Australia. Geography Enoggera Creek rises in the suburb of Enoggera Reservoir on the D'Aguilar Range and flows into the Brisbane River (becoming ...

. Ithaca Intact, a creek restoration project by

Save Our Waterways Now Save Our Waterways Now (SOWN) is a community-based organisation rehabilitating Enoggera catchment in Brisbane, the largest city in Queensland, Australia. The principal waterway in the Enoggera catchment is Enoggera Creek with two main tributa ...

went into its third year mid 2010, backed by Queensland parliamentarians

Kate Jones Kate Jennifer Jones (born 10 April 1979) is an Australian former politician from Queensland. She served as a Labor Party Member of Parliament in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2012, and again from 2015 to 2020. Jones firs ...

, Member for Ashgrove and then Minister for the Environment, Andrew Fraser, Member for Mount Coot-tha and Queensland Treasurer, as well as local government councillors Geraldine Knapp and David Hinchliffe. On 9 August 2020, it was discovered that

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

accidentally changed the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the ...

name to Ithaca Creek after a complaint for the original Ithaca Creek being named Brisbane River.

History

According to

Queensland State Library The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contain ...

, Ithaca Creek was named after the birthplace of Lady Diamantina Roma Bowen, wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, British colonial administrator, the 1st Governor of

(in office 1859 - 1868). This appears to be in error as, according to the

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

Diamantina was borne on Zante, another of the Ionian Islands. The Ionian Islands, now part of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, was a British protectorate at the time and likely referred to collectively rather than individually.

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

in Greece has one of the world's largest natural harbours and is famous in legend as

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's Ithaca, the home of Ulysses, whose delayed return to the island is one of the plot elements of the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

's novel Ulysses sets the story of the wandering Ulysses on one day in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in the early 20th century. Ithaca Creek was briefly considered as a potential main water supply for

but overlooked in favour of Enoggera Creek, upon which Enoggera Dam was constructed.

Nathan Avenue

Land on Ithaca Creek at present day Nathan Avenue, named after Queensland Governor

Sir Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Quee ...

, was owned at one time by Charles James Graham (Under Secretary for Public Instruction until 1878). The land was subdivided in the late 1920s. It once joined Bruce Esplanade, named after Australia’s Prime Minister

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929, as leader of the Nationalist Party. Born ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s and World War 2 from 1939 to 1945, the land was owned by the Gramenz family. After 1947 it became part of a technical college known as the Ithaca campus of TAFE. In 2016 the 8000sqm creekside property was sold to TriCare Limited for $5.4 million for redevelopment as an aged-care facility.

Ithaca Intact

Ithaca Intact is a project by Save Our Waterways Now to restore the whole creek from Mount Coot-tha to Red Hill by building partnerships with business and government, informing and involving the community, reducing key weed species on private and public land, improving water quality, increasing flora and fauna and providing a peaceful and safe environment for enjoyment and relaxation.Ithaca Intact
Save Our Waterways Now. In 2008, Ithaca Intact and the

Ithaca Creek State School Ithaca Creek State School is a heritage-listed state school and war memorial at 49 Lugg Street, Bardon, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Work (involving Andrew Baxter Leven, Nigel L ...

in Lugg Street Bardon developed an education unit based on sustainability and natural and built environments, using Ithaca Creek as the local learning context. The topics which were discussed included water quality, biodiversity, sustainability, fauna movement corridors, invasive species and the role of native species within Enoggera Catchment. Activities included habitat sampling and macro-invertebrate sampling highlighted through Channel 7’s The Great South East. Class 4/3 D ran activities throughout Science Week for the entire school. The students and teachers from Ithaca Creek State School formally adopted Ithaca Creek, taking responsibility for on-going care of the creek including monitoring litter, water quality and engaging with the local bushcare group regarding working bees and tree plantings.Ithaca Creek State School
Save Our Waterways Now.

References

{{Rivers of Queensland Queensland articles missing geocoordinate data Tributaries of the Brisbane River Geography of Brisbane Ithaca, Queensland

History

Nathan Avenue

Ithaca Intact

See also

References