The Nature of the City of Knox

South from Boronia Road, the Dandenong Creek runs through flat country which was once farming country, but which is now being used as an "easement" for enormous lines of "War of the Worlds" creatures (as Brigid calls them) - huge power pylons, striding towards Melbourne from the coal fields and power stations of the Latrobe Valley, in Gippsland. "Transfield" a huge industrial corporation is a major shareholder in this power supply system. This "green belt" is also being used as a corridor for the "Eastlink" toll road, of which Mr Bracks may yet be brought to book, over a broken promise to make the road a free-access highway (literally a "free" way).

Fortunately, Parks Victoria has at least tried to save some of this environment, by creating a chain of parks running for about 10 Km, from Boronia Road to Wellington Road, along the course of the original Dandenong Creek.

Knox City Landscape Architect, Christine White, posed (1999) amongst introduced weeds beside the muddy Dandenong Creek, in a photo published by Melbourne Water's "The Source".
Why she agreed to this stupid posed photograph amazes me.

It is not all peace and tranquility in these parks. Seldom have I seen such out-of-control weed infestation in a "Park".

I will acknowledge that this chain of Parks is a much better option than it being totally turned into "industrial precincts" as is happening on the east side of the creek, along Ferntree Gully Road. There one is confronted by a solid wall of warehouses. That is a frightening sight. This wall of warehouses, noticeably, starts shortly after one enters the territory of the "City of Knox", whose Economic Development Unit (at Council) is clearly out of control, lacking any sense of balancing economic development with the needs of the environment, or even social development principles. I would bet that most of these factories and warehouses are merely assembly or distribution points for Chinese manufactured goods. The EDU may be building something, but at what social and environmental costs?

Jells Park, accessible from Waverley Road, has been developed as a conventional park and "recreation" area. It is what city people would think of a popular picnic area. But there is also a conservation area, where activities are restricted and people are asked to keep their dogs out. For more interesting bird watching, try accessing this line of parks, from Boronia Road, at "Koomba Park", or the "Bushy Park Wetlands", accessible via Highbury Road.