Statement on Lennox River in NSW Parliament by Guy Zangari MP

Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to commend the efforts of Mr Lachlan Hyde, with whom I recently met to discuss a proposal to rename Prospect Creek to the Lennox River. Lachlan has been active in advocating for this change for our well-known waterway for quite some time, and it was interesting and enlightening to see the amount of research Lachlan has done into this particular matter. Currently named Prospect Creek, this particular waterway is in the Georges River catchment and runs through Blacktown, Holroyd, Fairfield, Liverpool and Bankstown local government areas. It is a beautiful stretch of water that winds its way through stretches of parkland, with many wildlife species residing contently in this river system. In 2020, a proposal was submitted by Lachlan to upgrade a 6-kilometre stretch of Prospect Creek to river status, which proceeded to the Geographic Names Board of New South Wales, GMB. The proposal put forward the renaming of this section of the Lennox River in honour of Scottish-Australian David Lennox, who was the designer of Fairfield's iconic Lansdowne Bridge, which crosses this waterway. Lachlan has been a fantastic advocate for the upgrade of Prospect Creek to river status. He has had many consultations with local residents near the waterway to hear their thoughts on the matter. His delving into the history of Prospect Creek turned up many interesting facts, including the fact that the creek has been known by many different names over the course of time, such as Prospect River or Fairfields River. This goes to show that Prospect Creek shows many characteristics of a river and can certainly be seen to be uncreek-like in its nature. nature. In fact, Prospect Creek seems to share the same characteristics of a river— wide and deep, with the possibility of being used by watercraft. Lachlan's proposal to change the status of our creek has been thoroughly researched, and he has taken into account the existing natural environment as well as the thoughts of many of the residents whose properties are near the waterway. Interestingly enough, throughout history right up until the present day, residents have always referred to this particular stretch of land as a river, and it seems justified that a proposal of this nature should come up for discussion in the present day. In interviews with local residents, Lachlan found many of them surprised that this proposal had not been considered a long time ago, with many comments adamant in the creek's river-like characteristics. One resident commented: My family have lived here in Canlyvale since before I was born, I do not think anyone has ever called it a creek. It is a river. Even when it floods, everybody here calls it a river. Another commented: My boys are often down here kicking a ball around or doing rugby training, and I enjoy the parks and walk, which the river is a big part of. Another resident stated: We learnt about the water in high school, and I know it is a creek, but it does not make sense. I walk over it most days and it seems like a river to me. Lachlan has also included input from local historians, who have an important role with respect to relating to the history of this particular area and the waterway. The residents of Fairfield have always been very proud of the Lansdowne Bridge, a heritage-listed road that carries traffic across the Hume Highway across Prospect Creek at Lansvale. I am also proud to note that this magnificent bridge has the largest span of any existing masonry bridge in Australia and is a fine example of Australian colonial architecture. It was constructed entirely by labour of convicts and is considered a masterpiece of design. It is thus fitting that the proposal stretch of the river should be named after the designer and building supervisor of the Lansdowne Bridge, David Lennox. It is a fitting tribute to a man who contributed to the advancement of what was then a new colony. His superior design was made to last the distance, and the evidence of this remains with us today when we cross the existing bridge. I commend Lachlan on his determination and for all of his hard work he has put in so far in an attempt to make this proposal a reality. I look forward to this particular stretch of Prospect Creek receiving an upgrade to river status and to being able to refer to it as Lennox River— a name change which is overdue and eagerly anticipated by the residents of Fairfield. I thank the member for Fairfield.