Sheltered Valley

Large Paperbark trees in Sheltered Gully near BronteThe hilly landscapes of Bondi and Bronte have a number of areas that could be referred to as small sheltered valleys or gullies. They are protected from the coastal influences that limit the success of tree planting; receive greater water run-off; have deeper soils and are more protected from strong winds.

Some examples are:

Blandford Avenue Bronte

Leichhardt Street Bronte

Cuthbert Street Queens Park

Varna Street Waverley

Streetscape Character

Many of these streets already benefit from having mature established trees primarily because of these improved growing conditions. The streets vary from wide to very narrow with corresponding widths of naturestrips. A number of the narrower streets have a canopy of trees that covers the width of the street

Dominant Trees

These streets are fortunate to have a high proportion of mature large trees such as:

Common name
 Botanical name
Brushbox
 Lophostemon confertus
Paperbark
 Melaleuca quinquenervia
Hill's Fig
 Ficus microphylla 'Hillii''
Blueberry Ash
 Elaeocarpus reticulatus
Tuckeroo
 Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Jacaranda
 Jacaranda mimosifolia

Issues and Considerations

  • Many of these streets already have successful street tree plantings and only require infill plantings to consolidate the streetscape
  • Some streets may benefit from the replacement of overhead wires with aerial bundle cabling to allow for larger trees to be planted
  • A high percentage of these trees are classified as over-mature and many are in decline

Strategies

  • To further enhance and expand the existing canopy cover in these streets.
  • To use tree species appropriate to the scale of the street and the width of the naturestrip planting areas
  • Choose trees from the accompanying table of trees

Actions

  • Undertake trial plantings of rainforest species that may be suitable for some streets
  • Increase the width of tree planting holes to a minimum of one metre and incorporate quality native soil mix and water crystals
  • Determine which streets only require consolidation or infill planting
  • Assess the number of streets that would benefit from the replacement of overhead wires with aerial bundle cabling (the bunching of the several strands of electricity wires into one sheathed cable) and prioritise within the aerial bundle replacement program

Preferred Tree Species

Size Common name Botanical name

Small
(to 6 metres)

 Dwarf Apple Angophora hispida
Weeping Bottlebrush Callistemon ‘Dawson River’
White Feather Honeymyrtle Melaleuca decora
Prickly Paperbark Melaleuca styphelioides
Pittosporum James Stirling Pittosporum ‘James Stirling’

Medium          (6 to 12 metres)

 

 

 Purple-leafed Willow Myrtle Agonis flexuosa ‘After Dark’
Lemon Myrtle Backhousia citriodora
Old Man Banksia Banksia serrata
NSW Christmas Bush Ceratopetalum gummiferum
Tuckeroo Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Blueberry Ash Elaeocarpus reticulatus
Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus haemastoma
Cheese Tree Glochidion ferdinandi
Riberry Syzygium luehmannii
Watergum Tristaniopsis laurina
Waterhousea Waterhousea floribunda
Large
(over 12 metres)		 Sydney Red Gum Angophora costata
Cook Island Pine Araucaria columnaris
White Stringybark Eucalyptus globoidea
Mugga Ironbark Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Port Jackson Fig Ficus rubiginosa
Jacaranda Jacaranda mimosifolia
Brushbox Lophostemon confertus
Fine-leafed Paperbark Melaleuca leucadendra
Swamp Paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia
Italicised names may only be available from specialist native nurseries