Know Your Creek
Nundah/Downfall Creek Catchment
Catchment characteristics
Nundah/Downfall Creek and its tributaries flow through the Brisbane suburbs of Everton Park,
McDowall, Chermside West, Stafford Heights, Kedron, Wavell Heights, Chermside, Aspley,
Geebung, Zillmere, Virginia, Boondall, Banyo, Nudgee and Nudgee Beach. The main tributaries
are Downfall Creek, Zillman Waterholes and Nundah Creek.
Natural Assets
Significant natural assets in Nundah/Downfall Creek catchment include:

7th Brigade Park

Raven Street Reserve – this area is one of four remaining heath communities in
Brisbane

Boondall Wetlands

Nudgee Recreation Reserve

Zillman Waterholes

Mountains to Mangroves – a self-guided nature trail on display at the Downfall Creek
Bushland Centre and other locations around Brisbane. It consists of signs highlighting the
area’s social, historical and environmental values.
Did you know?
Boondall Wetlands is the largest protected Wetland In Brisbane and is home to 190 species of
birds and numerous marine and terrestrial fauna.
Fauna
115 bird species have been recorded in Raven Street Reserve, including a number of locally-rare
species. Significant bird species in the catchment include grey goshawk (Accipiternovae
hollandiae), square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura), black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus
asiaticus), black-chinned honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis), lewin’s rail (Rallus pectoralis) and
painted snipe (Rostratula benghalensis).
Following requests from the community, Brisbane City Council protected the Boondall Wetlands
for conservation and recreation purposes. The largest protected wetland of this type in Brisbane,
it is home to numerous animals including 190 species of birds and numerous marine and
terrestrial fauna including the threatened water mouse (Xeromys myoides). It is also a temporary
home for migratory shorebirds that make their way each spring from their northern hemisphere
breeding grounds to feed in the mudflats and tidal wetlands of Moreton Bay and surrounding
areas. Migratory birds of significance include the eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis).
Flora
Raven Street Reserve covers about 24 hectares in Chermside West and is home to 200 plant
species from 72 families. The vegetation communities within the reserve
are predominantly open woodland with a mix of heath and grassy
understory. This area is one of four remaining heath communities in Brisbane and contains
numerous threatened species.
Much of the lower catchment area consists of freshwater and tidal wetlands, some of which lie
within Boondall Wetlands. Boondall Wetlands support numerous wetland communities including
mangroves, saltmarsh, melaleuca swamp, eucalypt forest and threatened plant communities
such as the Casuarina glauca forests.
Restoring Nundah/Downfall Creek
The Northern Catchments Network Inc (NCN) is a community-based organisation established to
connect individuals and groups across the catchments of Cabbage Tree Creek, Bald Hills Creek
and Nundah/Downfall Creek to consolidate efforts, skills and energy for enhanced environmental
benefits.
NCN’s vision is to ‘protect and enhance our northern catchments by connecting people, wildlife
and habitat, through education, engagement and better practice to create healthy ecosystems for
the future’.
The Downfall Creek Bushland Centre is located at the Raven Street Reserve, within the
Chermside Hills Reserve. At the centre you can view environmental and cultural displays, learn
about wetlands’ flora and fauna and the importance of preserving the natural areas of our
environment.
Council’s community conservation partnerships program helps community groups restore natural
habitats in parks, remnant bushland and wetlands along waterways. There are currently a
number of active bushcare groups tending rehabilitation sites in the Downfall and Nundah Creek
catchments.
The program also supports the community to protect and restore Brisbane’s waterways and bays
in partnership with groups, businesses, schools and individual property owners.
The Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre (BWEC) has extensive walking and cycling tracks
that meander through internationally-significant wetlands with links to the Nudgee Beach
foreshore. BWEC is open through the week and also on weekends.
For more information on Council’s community conservation partnerships program and
environment centres phone Council on (07) 3403 8888.
Websites
Brisbane City Council: www.brisbane.qld.gov.au
Northern Catchments Network Inc: www.northerncatchmentsnetwork.org.au
Brisbane Catchment Network: www.brisbanecatchments.net.au
Mountains to Mangroves: www.mountainstomangroves.org
Healthy Waterways: www.healthywaterways.org
SEQ Catchments: www.seqcatchments.com.au