Preserving History and Environment: North Harbour’s Award-Winning Sustainable Community

June 28, 2019

Preserving History and Environment

North Harbour is creating a sustainable community to support future generations, providing multiple and varied recreation spaces for residents and visitors which enhance, preserve and incorporate our natural environment. Our unique design incorporates a proposed 1000 acres of open space and parkland (about the size of 600 football fields) including some environmentally significant areas which will be open to the community and protected in perpetuity. We will only be developing 45% of the site, with 55% of the area dedicated to green space.

North Harbour environment management has been so successful that the team has achieved a highly sought-after EnviroDevelopment accreditation. EnviroDevelopment is a scientifically based assessment scheme which independently reviews development projects and awards certification to those that achieve outstanding performance across four or more of the provided elements – Ecosystems, Waste, Energy, Materials, Water and Community.

North Harbour was awarded accreditation across all six elements of the EnviroDevelopment criteria. Our Project Director Peter Lightbody said, “We are very pleased to have achieved accreditation recognising the hard work that has gone into planning and delivering our community. We are continuing towards our goal of sustainable development which enhances and sustains our local environments and eco-systems.”

One example of environmental management is our rehabilitation and reforestation programme. The original North Harbour site had many incarnations prior to its present-day identity, and many of these previous uses necessitated land clearing i.e. sugar plantation, farming and so on. The North Harbour site has 9km of river frontage to the Caboolture River, and it is proposed that this be open to the public and protected as a wildlife corridor. In order to do this, we need to reforest and rehabilitate the area by planting native trees and shrubs to encourage the creation of wildlife habitat which can become sustainable. So far, we have planted over 60,000 trees and by the end of the project will have planted hundreds of thousands more.

As part of our community partnership initiatives, we have held several Tree Planting Days to allow our community to take part in reforesting an area along the Caboolture River. Local families have had the opportunity to plant some trees they’ll be able to come back and see for years to come. If you would like to attend a future Tree Planting Day please sign up to our mailing list.

Retaining and preserving the historical remnants of the North Harbour site is another crucial part of the North Harbour planning process. Following an application process which we initiated, the area has been listed and protected on the Queensland Heritage Register since 2011 as a place of Queensland State significance.

The North Harbour team is working with Heritage Expert Steve Chaddock from Timeline Heritage and his team of archaeologists at the remains of the “Moray Fields” property that was built by George Raff. As part of this work to create walkways and trails for Heritage Park, the archaeologists monitoring construction have uncovered building foundations that were not previously known.

Steve said: “We are looking to carefully record the exposed areas of the old house and its outbuildings and yards so that we can later interpret that to the public and in advance of a tree management program aiming to preserve the State Listed archaeological remains.”

The history of the site will be showcased in a dedicated “interpretive centre” in Heritage Park that delivers a ‘mind map’ of the site before it is experienced first-hand by visitors. The centre will present historic photographs, sketches and display objects which will allow visitors to appreciate the stories and significant developments from the past up to the present day.

Heritage Park is a new community attraction comprising a vast expanse of parkland, river access including a canoe launch/fishing platform and the aforementioned interpretive centre focusing on the heritage aspect of the North Harbour site.

Heritage Park is a three-year project which on completion at the end of 2019, will have invested over $3 million, with $1,535,062 of funds coming from the Federal Government through a funding agreement with the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology. Funding is through the Community Development Grants programme, provided through the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. The $1,535,062 Grant has been matched by North Harbour. The Abbey Museum and North Harbour are also working in partnership and providing significant “in-kind” support through project planning, project management, post-construction operation and maintenance.

The future Heritage Park area is currently able to be accessed on Saturday mornings at 7.00am for those participating in the free, weekly North Harbour parkrun which is one of only a few cross country runs in Southeast Queensland. For more information and directions please click here.

Find North Harbour

North Harbour’s Sales and Information Centre & Display Village is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm. Located on the corner of Buckley Road and Fraser Drive in Burpengary East, our 33 home Display Village is a great one-stop-shop for house hunters, showcasing brand new designs including environment-friendly homes from 17 of Australia’s best builders.

North Harbour is the winner of the UDIA Award for Best Residential Subdivision in Queensland and is EnviroDevelopment Accredited. To find out more about house and land packages at North Harbour please contact us and to keep up to date with the latest news and info, including our regular events, please> sign up for our email updates and find us on Facebook and Instagram (@northharbourliving).