Preston's Environmental History

 

Preston scored a starring role as Melbourne became a city.

When Preston's Yan Yean reservoir was built in the mid 1850’s (it was the biggest man-made reservoir in the world at that time), water was like “liquid gold”. In 1857 that water was piped into Melbourne’s CBD as its first main supply.

Preston had been a farming community before that, because the Darebin and Merri Creeks were good water sources but, once the Yan Yean project was up and running it all changed pretty quickly. Industry moved in because Preston had water literally “on tap”; the land was cheap; there was clay, bluestone and sand to be mined for building, and the neighbours were far enough away not to complain (too much) about the noise or smells.

And smell it did.

Bacon Works circa 1870
 

Victoria's first bacon factory was the earliest industries in Preston, and not only had lots of animal waste to dispose of, but also had fires burning daily to smoke the cured meats.

Clay quarries were dug, leaving gaping holes in the landscape, and had black smoke spewing from tall chimneys around the clock, to fire the bricks, pipes or tiles they made.



Clay pit circa 1858

Clay Brickworks circa 1858

Perhaps the worst of all were the leather tanneries, which had mountains of decaying animal flesh and putrid water as by products.

Where did all that filth go? Straight into the Darebin and Merri creeks, which were considered “good natural drains”!

An economic Depression in the 1890’s left most of the industries bankrupt, but there were some pretty stark reminders: mainly quarries up to 50 metres deep (that's about as high as a 16 storey building). Kids liked to play in those abandoned pits, and a few drowned in the huge pools created by heavy rains.

So the council decided to fill them all in with ...     
                                                                 RUBBISH...

The good news is that most of these quarries eventually became public parks!!!

The South Preston Brick and Tile company quarry became Adams Reserve  

H. Swain Reserve was formerly “McMahon’s clay hole”

The Fitzroy Steam Brick Pipe Tile and Pottery works became T.A. Cochrane Reserve

 Clifton Brickworks became Ray Bramham Gardens

It seems rather ironic that if not for the stinky industry in Preston almost 200 years ago, we wouldn't have much of the green space that we have today!

 
Two great resources on the history of the area are The Darebin Historical Encyclopedia  
and "Preston: An Illustrated History" Brian Carroll & Ian Rule, 1985.

Crape Myrtle street trees

Hibiscus was once the street tree where I lived, but in 2005 they were all ripped out and replaced that same day with Crape Myrtles. Admittedly the Hibiscus had all looked fairly “ratty” and were generally unkempt, but this was probably because, unbeknownst to me and likely the other residents in the street, according to the Darebin council’s Nature strip Planting Policy, “...the resident is responsible for the maintenance and tidy appearance of the nature strip planting...” .

 

I reckon that very few residents maintained their Hibiscus because

a) they had no idea that they were supposed to and

b) they had no idea how to!

While they were ordinary looking, none of the Hibiscus actually looked sick; they were just unloved. Oddly, and quite glaringly, one solitary specimen was left standing.  Did the council workers miss one? Had they been one plant short for the street?

 

8 years later, this is the remaining Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) ...not too healthy now! Though I was rapt with the replacement shrubs, I was miffed to still see ONE scruffy Hibiscus remaining. The council told me that they have a policy of retaining healthy trees/shrubs. Hmmm. If the 20 others were “sick”, how had this one specimen miraculously avoided disease?




Lagerstroemia indica - beautiful!

I’d seen Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) as street trees in Sacramento, California, which has a similar climate to ours. They’d looked amazing - so pretty when pruned to one main trunk; flowered beautifully and had gorgeous patterned bark; great autumn colour and didn’t interfere with overhead wires. They are a great street tree for all these reasons.

But no resident or tenant in my street was any the wiser. They’d no notion that it was their responsibility to care for it. 

 This is not a broad street to start with, and the nature  strips are barely one metre wide: these shrubs have a natural vase-shaped habit, branching very low to the ground (basal branching) and becoming really broad if not pruned to form a single trunk. Having thin bark they are also easily damaged by brush cutters, and should have a protective surround.

So we've a few specimens being maintained which are well-shaped with a single trunk, while others are unkempt with basal branching due to a lack of pruning. Rather than being uniform, they vary hugely in form and size.





Squat with no pruning

These unpruned shrubs will eventually branch well beyond the nature strip: into the roadway and the footpath. After enough people complain about it, the Crape Myrtles will either be cruelly lopped or replaced yet again, putting the streetscape years behind what it should be in terms of aesthetics. 

                                               

                                                                       Tall, single trunk

Preston Farmer's Market and Food Swaps

The Preston Farmers Market is only a small affair, but from little things, big things grow!

I went along to check it out recently, and was pleasantly surprised. With it’s small and quaintly suburban feel, they certainly had some wonderful things on offer: fresh fruit and veg, bread, organic meat, pasta, free range eggs: even the mandatory Sunday morning coffee!

Everyone seemed to know each other and most were chatting happily together in the morning sun while the kids played on the jumping castle or patted the animals in the small farm enclosure on site.

         

The Darebin Food Harvest Network is the main group behind the market and others like it in the area, with the idea being to get the community involved or interested in sustainable food ideas and improving food security.

Essentially they support anyone who wants to try and organise activities in the local area that comprise or offer and an alternative to the big bad old supermarket chains. Instead of Going to Coles, Woolies or IGA, locals can access locally grown fresh produce which is grown on a smaller scale. In this way there’s less reliance on large scale farming.

Sure, the Preston Market is only a few kilometres away, but it’s rather a bustling noisy affair: not a great place to take small children, and not everyone’s idea of a pleasant morning out!!!

 

 

One of the best things about The Preston Farmers Market it, in my opinion, was that it created a safe, family environment. I saw one boy chatting with the growers as he happily munched on apple samples, and a young girl and her mother talking to the “Orange Man”. It was a community event and a social occasion: and a chance for the grower and consumer to meet face to face.

Although the Preston Framers Market isn't certified by the Victorian Farmers Association, (which means they have only food that is GM free, certified organic or produced with no or minimal chemicals - click the link to see their website for certified markets), it seemed that most of the produce was labelled organic or free range.  

Preston Farmer's Market at Bell Primary School, corner Scotia Street and Oakover Road on the 4th Saturday of every month, 9am – 1pm

P.S. The Darebin Food Harvest Network is also a hub for info on Food Swaps in Preston and the Darebin area, where people growing their own produce in the suburban garden can bring any excess to swap for other food stuffs with members of their local community. Both brilliant ideas, and worth a look if you live locally!

 

Preston's Anti Green Spaces

I'm seriously worried about what's going on in Preston with regard to development, and wonder just how appropriate it is. The Darebin Urban Renewal Strategy
for High Street and Plenty Road mentions green space on one or two occasions, but only in saying it would be an asset for residents to be situated near one! The Junction Integrated Development Plan is much the same.

There are already limited park amenities in this area and, with the exception of Adams Reserve, the next closest park facility is GH Mott Reserve, which now has a small kids' playground but is essentially a soccer field.

100 Plenty Road, Preston

100 Plenty Road, Preston

This medium density building is the BEST example of greenery of any other developments to date, and that in itself is pretty alarming. The developers apparently aren't required by law to provide garden areas, either within the complexes or in front of the building.

78 Plenty Road, Preston

17 more new medium to high rise building developments in progress, means over 800 new residents. The 7,9 and 11 story buildings will overshadow homes and backyards, reducing the productivity of suburban gardens and increasing electricity use.

Everyone appreciates that development is a necessary evil in cities; to reduce urban sprawl and make best use of limited space; but it does all appear to be based on a short term plan. Eventually every site that once had a whiff of industry about it, on High Street and Plenty Road, will become high density housing.

Taking a look at what medium to high rise buildings currently exist in Preston, the future looks seriously grim. They are boxy grey monsters which loom ominously above the streetscape, with little or no garden area to speak of. They generally tend to open directly to the street and provide nary a stick of greenery.

This high rise was the pathetic runner-up in the "best garden out front competition". Roughly seven square meters of native grass on scoria.(This was once the site of Watson & Paterson's Bacon Factory, later Otto Worth)

How anyone could imagine that the existing green space can possibly cater to the new influx of Preston dwellers has me scratching my head.

I would have thought that in 2013; with the world somewhat across the notion of global warming; our need to instigate planning changes with the environment in mind was obvious.

  

 

GH Mott Reserve

Map of Preston boundaries, showing GH Mott Reserve in red



 GH Mott Kids Playground 

Preston's GH Mott Reserve has been seriously underwhelming as an open public since I can remember. It’s just generally depressing. Essentially it’s a cricket/soccer field on the northern end, and the remainder is flat open turf. A small space is dedicated to a kids’ playground which was built in 2010 after the locals had lobbied the council for four long years.

There are rooms for players to dress and shower in, and cricket nets to practise in: all cool and necessary, but games are usually played just one day a week, and Preston already has far more sporting reserves than parkland anyway (Darebin Open Space Strategy, 2010).

Locals would likely be using the reserve daily if it was better equipped and vaguely more interesting than a flat patch of grass with trees around the perimeter. The entire space is an “off lead” dog park area, which I think is great, but the doggy deposit bag dispenser is usually empty! There is a bin there, but without the bags there are usually lots of “dog apples” lying around.

                           Looking north

GH Mott Reserve covers a wide area, and so could be transformed into a multi-use space.

Some suggested improvements would include the installation of a BBQ & Picnic Area with a shelter and picnic tables. There are no public BBQ facilities nearby, and they’d encourage social gatherings with locals and other people who visit GH Mott to play sport. Parks Victoria did a study "Linking People and Spaces - 2002" and said these features could enhance community cohesiveness. The shelter would also provide protection for walkers caught off guard by rain or storms...this is Melbourne, after all.

                                                              Looking south

The old P.A.N.C.H. (Preston and Northern Community Hospital) is now the uglier Bell City Hotel, at the southern end of the park ... quite an eyesore itself. GH Mott Reserve could be landscaped at this end - next to Bell Street - without affecting the playing field. Bell Street is not only unattractive but noisy, so planting a green barrier here would be a nice visual buffer to it, as well as a sound buffer from street traffic noise coming back across the park. I'm sure the hotel guests would also welcome a more pleasant view from their windows, and the opportunity to wander through an inviting green space.

I think that creating some small mounded areas would break up the monotony of the flat expanse. This could be covered with native grasses and shrubs with some gravel pathways for jogging/walking meandering throughout, a few drought resistant trees (good for the environment and proving shade). Some additional seating would allow relaxed enjoyment of the landscaped area, and a central feature could be some kind of sculpture or artwork. Part of this area might also include a small concreted area with a basketball ring for teenagers.

With more and more high rise buildings going up nearby, we need to make the best use of what open space we have!!!