Bank Street Park, Blackwattle Bay

Blackwattle Bay (Tjerruing) is undergoing an exciting urban renewal that will transform over 10 hectares of industrial land into a sustainable, connected cultural, residential, commercial and civic hub.

The NSW Government is prioritising delivery of Bank Street Park, a 1.1-hectare waterside park that surrounds the southern pylons of the ANZAC Bridge. The new park will celebrate First Nations living culture together with its harbourside location and maritime history.

Infrastructure NSW engaged GML to provide heritage advice into the concept design for the park and to prepare a suite of built and archaeological heritage assessments to accompany the Bank Street Park’s development application. These included preliminary heritage assessment, a statement of heritage impact, a preliminary heritage interpretation framework, an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment report, a historical archaeological assessment, and a maritime archaeological assessment (in collaboration with Comber Consultants). 

GML’s rapid heritage assessment of the remnant maritime industrial buildings at the site and close collaboration with the design team identified a range of opportunities and constraints for the park. GML’s early advice ensured the design achieved a balance between acknowledging the area’s rich maritime industrial history and the creation of a high-quality public domain. The Bank Street Park design now proposes the adaptive re-use of one remnant building and the creation of an interpretation garden using the fabric of another, simultaneously reducing the project’s heritage impacts and achieving its project objectives.  

GML also identified the potential for Aboriginal and historical archaeological remains and prepared archaeological research designs for an archaeological testing program. Working alongside representatives from Registered Aboriginal Parties, the investigations confirmed a previously known area of Potential Archaeological Deposit (PAD), identified additional areas of PAD, and recognised ongoing Aboriginal cultural values connected to the site. The testing program also revealed evidence of historical quarrying and reclamation from the 1840s, as well as structural remains linked to former timber yards and storage facilities.

In August 2024 Bank Street Park reached a major milestone with the State Significant Development Application receiving the greenlight by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Updates from Infrastructure NSW about Bank Street Park can be found online.

Header image: Infrastructure NSW.