Unearthed Treasures

Look what the Waterbrook Bowral Team found buried under the old tennis court….  Springett’s family Lemon Fizzy glass bottles, circa 1950!

The boys from the OLSH school obviously obtained the drinks and took them to their common hiding place near the courts and who would have thought, 70 years later, that the Waterbrook Team would find them intact with not a chip in sight – naughty boys!

The Springett Family were retail and wholesale, food and beverage pioneers in the Highlands. The Springett’s had established themselves in Bowral when they opened a general store in 1926.  Two decades later the Springett Family expanded this general store into a bakery and soft-drink plant. These buildings were the first to distribute soft drinks and sliced bread in the Highlands. The soft drink plant was the first in Australia to bottle the iconic fizzy drink Passiona.

In 1972 the Springett’s opened Springett’s Arcade in Bowral. Today the Springett family are still managing this historic building with 38 shops and offices in the heart of Bowral.

Looking forward to finding more treasures!

Let us introduce you to Waterbrook Bowral’s
Head Landscape Architect – Julian Brady!

Julian is a registered landscape architect affiliated with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. Julian has tertiary qualifications in Landscape Architecture where he was awarded honours and tertiary qualifications in Environmental Science.

Having over 18 years’ experience and knowledge of landscape design, Julian has developed a reputation for delivering a highly professional and personalised design service winning excellence and innovation in landscape design.

Julian has had extensive private and government experience in residential and commercial projects including single/multi-residential, mixed use developments, hotels, resorts & spas, hospitals, infrastructure developments (roads & airports), industrial estates and aged care developments.

Julian was General Manager of Jamie Durie¹s design practice Patio for 6 years, during which time Patio won over 20 awards including Gold Medal with Flemings Nursery at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show in the UK. Julian has designed and completed large development projects throughout Australia, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the UAE.

Julian is so excited to be working on our Waterbrook Bowral project.  Not only does he love iconic, old gardens, he loves working with the individual to ensure their garden is an extension of their home and personality.  Julian’s concept for the garden is all about honouring the old and meshing the new.

Julian will be talking all things Waterbrook Bowral gardens in February 2020 at the historic Harper’s Mansion.

If you are interested in purchasing plants – Julian has a store at Miranda and online – www.sdstudios.com.au. It’s worth visiting!

Bellbirds: Friend or Foe?

What a wonderful thing to hear, the call of the Bellbird. All who visit our Waterbrook Bowral site are greeted and delighted by the sound, however this is not the case for the other species of birds trying to share a habitat with them.

Bellbirds, or Bell Miners, are territorial and pugnacious, so that when they move into a patch of forest they usually evict most of the other small birds.

This becomes a problem as Bellbirds are strongly associated with psyllid (tiny insects that feed on leaves) infestations in gum trees, causing the disease called ‘dieback’. Studies have shown that Bellbirds maintain psyllid populations at high levels by protecting them from other birds and by maintaining sufficiently large territories so that they don’t over-feed on the psyllids themselves.

So whilst we want the Bellbirds to remain, we also want all the other local birdlife to enjoy our beautiful stretch of Mittagong Creek as well. We are currently working on achieving this through consultation with local Rivercare, Bushcare and Birdlife Southern Highlands groups. Stay tuned!