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!

Wow!  What a wonderful Community Open Day!

Perfect weather, not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind and just the right amount of sunshine!  We had hundreds of the local community enjoy our Open Day.  A chance for the community to see the original buildings and gardens in their current state before we start our refurbishment program early next year.

We toured groups and individuals all day, showing off the original dormitories, classrooms and bathrooms (we refer to them as Harry Potter bathrooms, the most amazing circular basins are still in pristine condition).  Locals were delighted to know that we are restoring, NOT demolishing most of the spaces, preserving the history and memories of so many.  Our Harry Potter bathroom will be converted to an incredible art space for many different modalities. It is important to us that anything worth restoring is, an exciting project for the Waterbrook Development Team.

Coffee, Cake, Gelato and Frank Sinatra tunes were had and taken under one of the beautiful oak trees.  A chance for the community to relax and take in the still beautiful gardens.

We loved meeting so many of the community that have had many lovely connections with the College, from fruit suppliers to children (now adults) who played on the oval.  A number of old boys told some funny stories about their time at the College and it was great for us to find out more about how the College and its occupants lived, worked and interacted with the community.

We would like to thank so many of the local community for providing us with photographs and memorabilia to furnish the historic section in our new library.

Lastly, thank you to all those who attended, we hope you will all be proud of the transformation that will take place very soon!

Highland Skies

Upon entering our display space in Station Street, Bowral, your eye will immediately be drawn to the two magnificent artworks that are now hanging on our walls. The large canvases, capturing the atmospheric skies of the Southern Highlands, are the work of local Bundanoon artist, Del Cooley.

Del obtained her degree in Fine Arts from RMIT University in Melbourne. Twenty years ago, Del and her husband moved to the Southern Highlands, where she has continued to create and exhibit her stunning artworks. Her style has evolved over the years, but the core of Del’s talent lies in her abstract scapes. Del says exhibiting has always been first and foremost for her, and the painterly abstract qualities of all work has meant many successful showings in Sydney and Melbourne.  Del also has a love of teaching and has inspired many students locally.

Del says she is inspired by a “feeling” rather than something she sees. She starts with blocks of colour and then the painting just takes on a life of its own. The process takes a long time, sometimes months, as when Del finishes a painting, she’s happy at first, but as time passes, can’t resist adding some finishing touches.

We love to host visitors in our display to enjoy Del’s work as much as we do! Her works, Infinity and Highland Sky await or visit Del’s website, www.delcooley.com.

Jewel In The Crown

As part of our extensive landscape plan, we will be restoring the original garden around the main building and the chapel to its former glory for all Residents and their visitors to enjoy.

Located to the north of the rose garden is a magnificent 100- year-old oak tree, which our landscape architect says is “The Jewel in the Crown” of the garden. With its impressive domed canopy and broadly branching habit, it certainly provides a “wow” factor.

In Winter, the bare branches allow the warmth of filtered sunlight through, in Summer the bright green foliage provides welcome relief from the hot sun. During Spring the branches are filled with sprays of tiny green flowers and new leaf growth and in Autumn it explodes into a mass of vibrant yellows, reds and orange.

We are very proud to be the custodians of this most wonderful gift of nature.

The Spotted Pardalote

The spotted pardalote is a tiny bird, 8-10 cm long, found in coastal areas of eastern and southern Australia. Both male and female share similar colours and patterns with the female colouring being duller in appearance. This photo was taken at Ingleside on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
It prefers eucalypt forests and woodlands but is seen in parks and gardens with a well-established eucalypt canopy, where it hides high up amongst the leaves. It is largely sedentary and relatively common in urban areas. Its status is of least concern.

Spotted pardalotes forage on leaves for small insects and the sugary exudates from leaves and psyllids (lerp).
It has a characteristic three-note call with the second two notes higher than the first; “sleep-may-be”. These calls are regularly repeated during the mating season from about June to January and give the bird its nick-name of “the headache bird”.
The spotted pardalote’s nest is typically excavated in an earth bank and is a lined chamber at the end of a narrow tunnel, but sometimes they nest in tree hollows or man-made structures including rolls of carpet.
Both parents share nest-building, incubation of eggs and the feeding of hatchlings; spending around 21 days in the nest.

Photo and story by Andrew Tiede
Bayview resident