The Mirambeena Regional Park, also known as Mirambeena Regional Reserve, is an urban

park system A park system, also known as an open space system, is a network of parks and other green spaces that are connected by public walkways, bridleways or cycleways. The concept first emerged with the need to minimize fragmentation of natural envir ...

and a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

within the suburbs of

Georges Hall Georges Hall, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the South-western Sydney regi ...

and Lansdowne in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It features recreational parks and nature reserves bounded by the Prospect Creek to the west and

Henry Lawson Drive Henry Lawson Drive is an urban road linking Lansdowne and Peakhurst in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road is named in honour of Henry Lawson (1867–1922), one of Australia's foremost poets. Route Henr ...

to the east.Places to Visit - Parks and Reserves
by Bankstown City Council. Retrieved July 5 2025. Mirambeena Regional Reserve functions as a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distr ...

land, regional trail, a river access and as a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. The Regional Parkland consists of the five parks, such as, Garrison Point and Lake Gillawarna in Georges Hall; and Flinders Slopes, Shortland Brush and Lansdowne Reserve in Lansdowne, all of which attract visitors from across Sydney and the broader encompassing regions.

History

For over 30,000 years, the area that was once part of the modern parkland was the traditional land of the

Gweagal The Gweagal (also spelt Gwiyagal) are a clan of the Tharawal, Dharawal people of Aboriginal Australians. Their descendants are Traditional owners, traditional custodians of the southern areas of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Country The ...

Bidjigal The Bidjigal (also spelt Bediagal, Bejigal, Bedegal or Biddegal) people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are modern-day western, north-western, south-eastern, and southern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

and

Dharug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...

tribes. In 1795

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early life Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George B ...

and

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

both explored the land near the Georges River and at the site of today's Garrison Point, Georges Hall declared the area as Bankstown, to honour

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James Co ...

. Lieutenant of the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

Captain George Johnston received a land grant and constructed his first home located near Prospect Creek, close to Henry Lawson Drive and Beatty Parade, where he named it it Georges Hall. The following posting of a military guard at the site is echoed in the present-day name of Garrison Point. In 1800, just beside Prospect Creek, Lieutenant

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.artificial ponds in Lansdowne Reserve, Shortland Brush and Lake Gillawarna. In this period, just two private properties persisted in the parklands in the northern division of Lansdowne Reserve.

Geography

Lansdowne Reserve is the largest reserve in the park system, and Amaroo Reserve is the smallest; both are situated on the eastern side of

. The other four parks which are Garrison Point, Lake Gillawarna, Flinders Slopes and Shortland Brush are situated between the western side of the Henry Lawson Drive and eastern side of Prospect Creek, one of

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

tributaries. Henry Lawson Drive is a barrier between the aforementioned reserves, with the only official pedestrian access being an overhead, shared pedestrian and cycle bridge that joins Amaroo Reserve to Lake Gillawarna. The reserve features a cycle track, play areas,

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, sportsgrounds, picnics, natural bushland and walking tracks.Mirambeena Regional Park
by the City of Canterbury Bankstown. Retrieved July 5 2025. There are also lookouts, an amphitheater, electric barbeque spots, cross and country tracks. Water quality in the lakes and ponds has been depraved due to stormwater pollution, bad

stormwater runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to '' channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

and shortage of maintenance. Most of the park is in high flood risk zone and its structures have been built to withstand flooding. The reserve features two threatened plant species, one threatened flora population and ten threatened animal species. Moreover, fifty-five threatened species and six

migratory bird Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. Th ...

species have been recorded in the park. Main tree species, remnant of the

Cumberland Plain Woodland The Cumberland Plain Woodland, also known as Cumberland Plain Bushland and Western Sydney woodland,River-flat eucalypt forests, include:

Eucalyptus microcorys ''Eucalyptus microcorys'', commonly known as tallowwood, is a species of medium to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or string bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped adult leaves, flower bud ...

Eucalyptus maculata ''Corymbia maculata'', commonly known as spotted gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of three, whit ...

Casuarina glauca ''Casuarina glauca'', commonly known as swamp she-oak, swamp buloke, swamp she-oak, marsh sheoak, grey she-oak, grey she-oak, native pine, or guman by the Gadigal people, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to eastern Australia. It ...

Lophostemon confertus ''Lophostemon confertus'' (syn. ''Tristania conferta'') is an evergreen tree native to Australia, though it is cultivated in the United States and elsewhere. Common names include brush box, Queensland box, Brisbane box, pink box, box scrub, and ...

and

Corymbia citriodora ''Corymbia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon-scented gum and other common names, is a species of tall tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has smooth white to pink bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds ...

. There is also a small portion of Sydney Freshwater Wetlands and Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest in the parkland.

Parks

* Lansdowne Reserve is the largest of the parks and is principally managed as a nature conservation zone that includes a registered BioBank site and features a vegetation

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

that offers strong enclosure and shading for visitors. Moreover, its regenerating woodland is in somewhat good condition, though there exists

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

invasion near drainage lines and the limits of the park, which originate from the adjacent properties and roadways. This area features a 2.1 km sealed standard cycling track, an

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, a remote-control car track, picnic shelters and a public toilet block. The bike circuit has served both local and regional competitions, where it accommodated three cycling clubs. * Garrison Point is a low lying, flat riverside

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

positioned where the Georges River meets the tributary of Prospect Creek that features shaded trees that makes it popular festive site for community events where it is exceedingly used by large groups of people, in addition to be the most publicly known of the reserves. The site also hosted major public celebrations for

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

. The Garrison Point beach is also the site where voyagers Bass and Flinders first landed and declared the area as

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...

. * Amaroo Reserve acts as an important entrance point to the reserve for the surrounding residents with an elevated pedestrian and cycle bridge that links this site across Henry Lawson Drive to Lake Gillawarna. The site features an open drainage canal and a gross pollutant trap (GPT) aids in enhancing water quality by removing waste. * Lake Gillawarna is low elevated, flat to somewhat undulating parkland that is situated between Henry Lawson Drive and Prospect Creek and set within a structure of wetland ponds with walking and cycling paths and picnic shelters. The area is also known for the large group of Australian ibis that nest on the islands in the lakes. * Flinders Slopes and Shortland Brush are long, thin stretch of parklands located between Prospect Creek and Henry Lawson Drive which feature highly dense native trees on undulating and elevated areas with steep slopes that provide panoramic views of the region. Shortland Brush contains a large artificial pond, in addition to recreational facilities, and Flinders Slopes has a grassed amphitheater.

Access

The Mirambeena Regional Reserve is crucial when it comes to regional connections through cycleways, pedestrian footpaths and automobile links to other areas of the City and local government areas such as

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

and

Fairfield City Council The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the coun ...

. There are several pedestrian and cycle tracks across reserve. Pedestrian access to Lansdowne Reserve is accessible from the east at Lucinda Ave, through Brooke, Kirrily and Boggabilla Reserves. The comprehensive path system across the park is part of the more extensive Georges River recreation track that spans from the

Hume Highway The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...

in the north near Prospect Creek and the Georges River to the south for about 9 km to East Hills. There is also a path to the Duck River trail. Vehicular access is from Henry Lawson Drive, and they are well maintained with carpark zones and entry signage. Lansdowne Reserve features an unofficial carpark on Henry Lawson Drive. Amaroo Reserve does not have an assigned carparking zone. Public transport is broadly inadequate with no bus routes on Henry Lawson Drive. Though

bus stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

s near Amaroo Avenue offer access to Amaroo Reserve and to Lake Gillawarna through the pedestrian flyover on Henry Lawson Drive.

References

{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse City of Canterbury-Bankstown Parks in Sydney Nature reserves in Sydney Urban forests Remnant urban bushland