Darling Mills Creek

Darling Mills
Creek[1]
Weir at the Darling Mills site, Windsor Road
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Regions	Sydney basin (IBRA), Greater Western Sydney
Local government areas	The Hills, Parramatta
Part of	Parramatta River catchment
Tributaries
- left	Bellbird Creek, Bidjigal Creek, Blue Gum Creek, Hunts Creek
- right	Excelsior Creek, Sawmill Creek, Bellamy Farm Creek
Source	Thompsons Corner
- location	West Pennant Hills
Mouth	confluence with Toongabbie Creek to form the Parramatta River
- location	North Parramatta
Length	10 km (6 mi)
Basin	107 km2 (41 sq mi)
Nature reserves	Bidjigal; Munro; Eric Mobbs Recreation
State forests	Cumberland; Darling Mills

The Darling Mills Creek, an urban watercourse^[1] that is part of the Parramatta River catchment, is located in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Darling Mills Creek near Northmead High School

The Darling Mills Creek rises in the north-western suburbs of Sydney, west of Thompsons Corner, near the intersection of Castle Hill Road and Pennant Hills Road, within the suburb of West Pennant Hills. The headwaters lie on the watershed between the Hornsby Plateau and the Cumberland Plain. The creek flows generally west, then south, joined by its tributaries including the Bidjigal, Sawmill, Excelsior, Blue Gum, Bellbird, Bellamy Farm creeks and the dammed Hunts Creek downstream of Lake Parramatta, before reaching its confluence with the Toongabbie Creek to form the Parramatta River, in the suburb of North Parramatta, in land adjoining the northern boundary of the Cumberland Hospital.^[2] The course of the creek is approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi); and the creek passes through the Cumberland State Forest, the Darling Mills State Forest, Bidjigal Reserve, Excelsior Park, and many smaller reserves and parks.^[1]

The Darling Mills Creek is transversed by the Cumberland Highway, the M2 Hills Motorway,^[3] and marks the boundary between Windsor Road and Church Street in North Parramatta.

History

Facade of Sydney Woollen Mills

The land adjacent to the Parramatta River and its tributaries, including the Darling Mills Creek, was occupied for many thousands of years by the Burramattagal, Toongagal, Wallumattagal, Wangal, and Wategora Aboriginal peoples. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade.^[4][5]

The Darling Mills Creek takes its name from a watermill constructed a short distance from the confluence with Toongabbie Creek.

An earlier watermill was built by Samuel Marsden near the confluence. It milled flour from 1804 to 1818.

In 1825, the Darling Flour Mills were built for John Raine, upstream on the Windsor Road.

The Darling Mills site was taken over by Sydney Woollen Mills, which operated from 1870 to 1975. Sydney Woollen Mills originally used steam rather than water power. Part of the facade of the building remains on the site, which is now occupied by Bunnings Warehouse's North Parramatta store. There is a weir on the creek nearby that was constructed in the nineteenth century.^[6]

See also

• Great North Walk
• Lake Parramatta
• Rivers of New South Wales

References

External links

• Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust webpage
  • Darling Mills Creek Sub-Catchment Map (PDF) (Map). Upper Parramatta Catchment Trust. December 2011. 
• "Bidjigal (D1010489) Reserve: Plan of Management" (PDF). Department of Primary Industries, Catchments and Lands. Government of New South Wales and Bidjigal Reserve Trust. 10 April 2012. 
• Dam across the Darling Mills Creek at North Rocks (streaming video). YouTube. 2 August 2013. 
• Scott Bird Photography

Coordinates: 33°44′56″S 151°02′49″E / 33.74889°S 151.04694°E / -33.74889; 151.04694