Johnstons Creek (New South Wales)

Originally a natural watercourse, Johnston's Creek was converted into a brick and concrete channel in the 1890s in order to improve sanitation in Sydney^{[citation needed]}. The creek rises in Petersham and initially marked the eastern boundary of the land granted to Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston^[1] in the 1790s, which he named Annandale. The Annandale Estate was subdivided in the latter part of the 19th Century into what is now the suburbs of Stanmore and Annandale. The channel now forms a boundary of Annandale, Forest Lodge, Camperdown and Stanmore.^{[citation needed]}

Johnstons Creek has one minor tributary, Orphan School Creek, an urban canal that joins Johnstons Creek at Forest Lodge.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2009 a bull shark believed to be 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) long was sighted in Johnstons Creek. The shark was last seen swimming along the Glebe foreshore in the direction of the Anzac Bridge.^[7]

The Johnstons Creek route is an unbuilt arterial route proposal from mascot and Annandale, which follows Johnstons Creek along part of the alignment. There is "precious little literature" on the route proposals.^[8] The WestConnex plans for the widened Campbell Street bridge over the canal to Alexandria used part of the Johnstons Creek Route corridor.^[9]

The DMR (the predecessor to the Roads & Traffic Authority) had been purchasing properties along the corridor, where a reservation had existed since 1945.^[10] In the 1970's, the Department of Main Roads had started knocking down buildings with the intention to widen Erskineville Road.^[11]: 5 Green Bans Park was eventually built on the site on one empty lot.^[11]: 5

In 1976, the Federal Government commissioned alternative plans to the Department of Main Roads' proposed North Western Expressway to reduce cost and the number of housing demolitions required. It included an alternative freeway proposal or an arterial improvement alternative. The scheme to improve arterial roads included "The Crescent, Annandale, would be upgraded to a 6-lane road to take traffic to the south-east".^[12]

In 1981, Mr Whelan announced four proposals for a second harbour crossing. An "arterial route from Darling Harbour to Rozelle with a new bridge at Glebe Island" and the "Johnstons Creek County Road" were described as associated roadworks.^[13] The Darling Harbour to Rozelle crossing was known as the Glebe Island Arterial^[14] and later named Anzac Bridge.

In 1987, Laurie Brereton announced the Department of Main Roads abandoned a number of proposed freeways, link roads and road widenings. This included the abandoning of the "Johnstons Creek route" planning scheme reservation between The Crescent, Rozelle and Parramatta Road, Annandale.^[15]

In 2004 and 2005 residents and groups including EcoTransit stopped an extension to the F6 (which they named the "Johnston's Creek Extension") which would have run from Anzac Bridge, through Newtown to Randwick. Michelle Zeibots launched a campaign and distributed 100,000 newsletters, though route plans were not public. Mary Jane Gleeson located one email exchange between members of the Roads & Traffic Authority referring to construction.^[10][16]

As of 2005, constructed segments included part of Bourke Road (Mascot), between O’Riordan Street and Coward Street (1988) and between Coward Street and Gardeners Road (1999).^[8]

Subsequently, most of the Johnstons Creek Route corridor was removed in March 2006, but not all of it.^[9]: 13

The Inner West Bypass (or Inner-West Motorway^[17]) proposal roughly followed the route of the "Johnston's Creek Extension Road".^[18]

• Whites Creek
• Glebe and Wentworth Park railway viaducts