Hawthorne Canal

The Hawthorne Canal is a short canal that connects with Port Jackson, in Sydney, Australia. It was originally a natural waterway known as Long Cove Creek, that has been straightened and given artificial banks. It borders on Summer Hill, Lewisham, Leichhardt and Haberfield. Hawthorne Canal and Iron Cove Creek are two significant tributaries that flow into Iron Cove.

History

In January 1890 a team of thirty men, employed by the Harbours and Rivers Department, began clearing the mangroves that lined the banks of Long Cove Creek. It was the beginning of the construction of the first stage of the Hawthorne Canal. Within twelve months a navigatable stretch of water would exist between Iron Cove and Marion Street. Some housing development had already occurred close to the banks of the creek when parts of the Dobroyd Estate were subdivided in the 1880s, and there was a good deal of local pressure for the extension of the canal to Battle Bridge on Parramatta Road so that the new waterway could be brought within reach of centres of denser population. However, the extension of the canal was never realised.

References

*"Speed the Plough - Ashfield 1788-1988" pp. 123-28, by Sheena & Robert Coupe, published by Ashfield Municipal Council, 1988 ISBN 0 9595234 1 3