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.
Following the completion of a 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.
The civil works component of the stormwater management project that was undertaken in early 2023 in the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve within the stormwater channel, adjacent Freshford Avenue 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.
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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.
Master plan
The Master Plan for the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve was released after extensive community consultation. It proposes that the reserve serves as a park for the local community and provides a blueprint for its future development.
See the Master plan and Master Plan map.
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. We are proud to have:
- constructed a main shared use trail through the reserve including trails to Linear Park
- carried out revegetation, bush restoration and weed removal
- 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
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
For queries and further information on the Highbury Aqueduct Reserve, contact the Public Land Stewardship team.
