ABOUT KINGSMEADOWS RIVULET

KINGS MEADOWS RIVULET FILES

ABOUT KINGSMEADOWS RIVULET

The rivulet's course has been changed
since early settlement of Launceston.

The area around the rivulet was used
by the horses of the King's Regiment.

In later years there was a Chinese Market
Garden in the area.

A tile factory and clay pits was operating
on the entire site,there is still evidence
of this previous use along the rivulet.

The Kings Meadows Hotel occupies a site of
an early hotel.

A supermarket development is adjacent to the
rivulet and a warehousing development occupies
the tile factory site.

While the warehouses are a more friendly
neighbour,the supermarkets and hotels pose a
greater risk to the health of the waterway.

Run off from the busy Hobart Road also
contributes to the degradation of the Rivulet.

More recently

The area that the Litter Prevention Taskforce is concentratimg on is in the middle of a busy suburban shopping centre.

The

The Rivulet begins in the Kate Reed
Recreation Reserve flows through a
heavy industrial estate before it goes
underground and comes up in the shopping
centre.

From the focus of this development it flows
through a golf course to a residential area
disappears again in a grassed area,at times
of heavy water flows the stream this grassed
area becomes a floodway.

The rivulet resumes its natural progress from
Morshead Street passes through a gorge to the
Punchbowl Reserve a popular picnic spot through
a school playing field and to Queechy Lake where
it drains to theNorth Esk and Tamar River.

The Rivulet as a habitat

In past times there has been an
abundance of wildlife including
frogs eels, other fish platypus

Some of the older residents in the
area have fond memories of dropping
a line in to catch "tiddlers".

Weed Infestations include;
cumbungi , hawthorn , blackberry
gorse ,crack willows , dock

Even after the River Works Funding ,

Waterwatch has delivered a report to Council,

naming the Rivulet as one of the dirtiest in the city.

Weed infestations continue to be out of control.

The Launceston City Council would appear

to have no active policy of containing the spread

of any of the weeds that are prevalent along the Rivulet.

The adjacent Schouten Industrial Estate

would be responsible for the spread of most of the weeds

onto the Riparian Strip,yet Council takes no action

to insist that a weed eradication programme

be put into place on this site.

The current rehabilitation of
the Kingsmeadows Rivulet has
come about as a result of
vigorous lobbying by
CLEAN UP LAUNCESTON and
KINGSMEADOWS/YOUNGTOWN
LANDCARE.

KINGSMEADOWS/YOUNGTOWN
LANDCARE is an individual
landcare project founded by
Terence Seymour to focus on the
Merino street section,the area
coming down from Kate Reed to the
Industrial estate.

The area was twice nominated as
a Clean Up Australia 2001 project,
a project of the Launceston City
Council since 1984.

Council showed no interest in
the Kings Meadows Rivulet,or
Clean Up Australia 2001,even
though it made a commitment to
CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA to form a
committee and get a project
established.

TERENCE SEYMOUR CLEAN UP LAUNCESTON
KINGSMEADOWES/YOUNGTOWN LANDCARE

GUS GREEN OLYMPIC LANDCARE

STEVE RATCLIFFE COUNCIL
PROJECT MANAGER

ROSS SMITH COUNCIL

RUTH MOLLISON LAUNCESTON WATERWATCH

NIALL SIMPSON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT