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Highbury Aqueduct Reserve

Highbury Aqueduct is a 50 ha reserve located in the City of Tea Tree Gully, approximately 10 km north east of Adelaide. The reserve has been a community park since 2013, when a small 8 ha area was opened to the public. Since then a further 35 ha have been opened with the final 12 ha opened in late 2019. The opening of the reserve is now complete and the reserve has become popular with local residents for walking, bike riding, bird watching, gardening, exercising and conservation. The reserve is home to the Pioneer Court Community Garden and is an active Bush For Life site.

The Kaurna people are the traditional custodians of this land and we acknowledge and respect their ongoing links to Country.

Things to see and do in Highbury Aqueduct Reserve

Trails and parking

Please note, the walking trails at Highbury Aqueduct Reserve are Grade 3 shared use walking and cycling trails and can be steep in parts.

There is no unauthorised vehicle access into the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve.

Cars can be parked on any road or street provided that parking restrictions are observed.

Please DO NOT park in front of reserve gates – these need to be accessible at all times for maintenance and emergencies.

The map below shows the Aqueduct trail in dark orange with linking trails to the Torrens Linear park in light orange, as well as the nearest public toilets.

View a map of Highbury Aqueduct Reserve

History

This iconic place has a fascinating history from the 1870s, when the state government bought the land and developed the aqueduct to transfer water into the Hope Valley Reservoir.

The old aqueduct infrastructure has now been decommissioned.

A brief history Highbury.

Master plan

The Master Plan for the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve was released after extensive community consultation. It proposed that the reserve serves as a park for the local community and provides a blueprint for its future development.

Following the completion of the Master Plan in 2013, works were undertaken to reduce risk throughout the reserve, remove boundary fences to allow public access and shared use trails were constructed. Several other projects across the site include stormwater erosion control, revegetation works, tree management and weed control.

See the Master plan and Master Plan map.

Recent stormwater management project

A stormwater management project was undertaken in early 2023 at Highbury Aqueduct Reserve within the stormwater channel adjacent Freshford Avenue. The civil works component of that project is now complete. There are still some related project components to be completed such as fencing and trail links at the site, however these are expected to be completed by mid 2024.

Find out more about the 2023 stormwater management project.

Achievements

A lot of hard work has gone towards implementing the Master Plan – there have been many achievements and there will be many more to come. The 'A brief history of Highbury' document link above details achievements at Highbury Aqueduct Reserve. We are proud to have:

constructed a 4km main shared use trail through the reserve including linking trails to Linear Park.
carried out revegetation, bush restoration and weed removal throughout the reserve.
held school and community planting days.
undertaken stormwater management projects.
carried out tree risk mitigation works across site.

Significant progress has been made towards implementing the Master Plan objectives thanks to the invaluable partnerships developed to support the restoration of the reserve. We would like to thank the Green Army, Aboriginal Learning on Country, The Carlisle group, Bush For Life, Pioneer Court Community Garden, Local Residents and Friends Group, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Natural Resources Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and more recently the Green Adelaide Board.

Management of the reserve

Management of the reserve includes maintenance of fire tracks, entrance gates and signage as well as regular rubbish collection, slashing and brush-cutting for fire management purposes, weed control, tree management, restoration, revegetation and community engagement.

Know before you go

Trails can be susceptible to weather events and surfaces may vary - be aware of varying trail surface conditions including slipperiness and uneven surfaces.
Please stay on the designated trails.
Be aware of other trail users and share the trails.
Please comply with all signs.
Beware of snakes – this is their home, if you don’t bother them they shouldn’t bother you!
Fires and smoking within the reserve are not permitted.
During the fire danger season – usually November to April – trail users are asked to use caution and should not use the trails during Total Fire Ban Days.
Remember to plan your walk or ride, check the conditions on the day and tell someone where you are going.
Wear appropriate footwear and protect yourself from heat, cold, wind and rain.
There are no safe drinking water sources within the reserve or along the trails – carry sufficient food and drinking water.
Tread lightly and leave no trace- there are no bins in the reserve – please take your rubbish with you.
There is no camping permitted in the reserve and no camping facilities provided.
Dogs on a leash or under effective control are permitted in the reserve. It is your responsibility to always maintain effective control of your dog.
Consider keeping your dog on a leash to prevent conflict – dogs may be aggressive toward wildlife or other park visitors.
Even friendly dogs can knock people over causing injury.
If your dog is unleashed, it is more likely to impact on native wildlife.
Even if your dog is friendly, other dogs may not be.
Please do not collect firewood, pick flowers, disturb vegetation, interfere with wildlife in any way.

How can I get involved?

Bush For Life

Highbury Aqueduct Reserve has a 3 ha Bush For Life site behind Valley View Drive. The site contains a remnant patch of Blue Gum woodland and is home to over 65 indigenous plant species, providing habitat for echidnas, koalas, kangaroos and possums, to name a few. Many bird species also visit, including a flock of up to 150 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos.

The Bush For Life program trains volunteers to care for precious remnant bushland sites like the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve. The site coordinator runs regular group activities and is always looking for help. If you would like to get involved please email Mark or call 0417 421 474.

Pioneer Court Community Garden

The Pioneer Court Community Garden was established by local residents over 20 years ago, when the land was owned by SA Water. These intrepid gardeners created a productive and beautiful garden of fruit and nut trees and vegetables – home to over 180 different kinds of plants.

There are garden plots available so if you’d like to lease one to grow your own veggies and/or help manage the existing orchard, please register your interest. Email Pioneer Court Community Garden, or phone Marina Birch (President) on 0417 816 782 or Barry Lane (Garden Manager) on 0414 826 460.

You can also check out their Facebook page.

Volunteering with rangers

If you live locally and would like to help with weeding or revegetating, contact the Senior Ranger for Highbury Aqueduct Reserve on 0407 610 359.

Contact

If you live locally and would like to help with weeding or revegetating, or

if you have further queries or would like more information on the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve
if you would like to report land management issues, such as dumped rubbish, damaged infrastructure or vegetation issues

Please contact the Public Land Stewardship Team:

Email: NPWS-AMLR-PLS@sa.gov.au

Phone: Contact the Black Hill Office on 8336 0901 and ask to speak with someone from the Public Land Stewardship Team

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