A natural history

Fourth Creek is one of the few creeks for which we know the original Kaurna (‘Gar-na) name, it was called the Moriatta (meaning ‘ever flowing’), which has since been corrupted to Morialta. However, some sources suggest that the name Moriatta only ever referred to the creek above the First Falls of the Morialta Conservation Park.

In the early Colonial period, Fourth Creek was briefly known as Anstey Rivulet, after George Alexander Anstey, of Anstey Hill fame, who owned Sections 277 & 278 in Campbelltown in 1838, but ultimately the simplicity of the surveyor’s number and the American terminology of ‘creek’ proved more popular.

Greenhill Rivulet – First Creek
Hallett Rivulet – Second Creek
Todd Rivulet – Third Creek
Anstey Rivulet – Fourth Creek
Ormsby Rivulet – Fifth Creek

There is good evidence that Fourth Creek did once flow all year round, or nearly so, unlike the other major creeks in Adelaide, which dried-up naturally during summer. Advertisements for the sale of land along Fourth Creek in the 1830’s proudly proclaimed the fact that Fourth Creek "runs all the year".

The reason why Fourth Creek once flowed nearly all year round, while the other creeks did not, is because Fourth Creek has the largest catchment area of all the suburban creeks (approximately 1,500 hectares), starting in the Marble Hill area of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Fourth Creek then runs through Morialta Gorge to form the Morialta Falls, winds its way through Woodforde and the suburbs of Rostrevor, Hectorville, and Campbelltown, before emptying into the River Torrens near Wicks Avenue, Felixstow. The mouth of Fourth Creek was originally a large area of densely forested, swampland, covering much of the modern-day suburb of Campbelltown.

However, by the 1860’s land sale advertisements stated that Fourth Creek "runs the greater portion of the year", an early sign of the creek's steady decline. It is not difficult to find the reasons why Fourth Creek became a seasonal watercourse, as numerous holding dams, irrigation pumps, and artesian wells have exploited its waters for many years.

As beautiful as Fourth Creek is today, it is difficult to imagine it in its pristine state, surrounded by complex and diverse woodland, with a fantastic array of native mammals, birds, and reptiles. Along with ring-tailed possums, there were western grey kangaroos, Tammar wallabies, wombats, emus, dingoes, echidnas, quolls, pygmy possums, bilbies, hopping mice, goannas, water skinks, and more. And of course, the birdlife was even more varied than it is today, including a wide variety of native ducks, black swans, Cape Barren geese, and many smaller bird species such as Superb Fairy-wrens.

In colonial days, there were no koalas in Adelaide, although they were present in the south-east of the State near the Victorian border. Koalas were introduced to Kangaroo Island between 1923 and 1925, and then to the Mouth Lofty Ranges between 1959 and 1969.

The creek bed itself was probably encrusted in freshwater mussels, like the River Torrens, and full of bulrushes and sedges, which provided both food and shelter for native animals. Yabbies (freshwater crayfish), frogs, small fish, native lamprey (eels), and leeches, were once plentiful in Fourth Creek. All of which provided food for the Kaurna People.

Another sign that Fourth Creek was once "ever flowing" is the fact that it was the only metropolitan creek to share certain plant species with the River Torrens, such as the white bottlebrush (Callistemon Salignus), which survived as clusters of old trees in the stream bed near St Bernards Road, Hectorville, until the 1970’s.

Fourth Creek remains a vital corridor for the survival of native birds and animals, which use its length to travel between the Mount Lofty Ranges, the foothills, and the Adelaide Plains. The higher density of bird species in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, points to the importance of the creeks in sustaining wildlife. The creek also provides a habitat for many rare species of native insects and micro-bats. On-going revegetation programs are assisting the survival of the native plant species and ensuring a future for native animals in the area.

Researched and compiled by Helen Thiselton, Local History Officer.

If you have any comments or questions regarding the information in this local history article, please contact Helen Thiselton, the
Local History Officer at The Campbelltown Library on 8366 9357 or hthiselton@campbelltown.sa.gov.au

References

National Parks South Australia. (n.d.). Morialta & Black Hill Conservation Parks. Adelaide (S. Aust.): Natural Resources Centre.
Lewis, Graham (n.d.) Finding Morialta – it might not be where you think!
Online: http://changing-views.tumblr.com/Finding_Morialta

Leaney, John (1968) Campbelltown 1868 – 1968. Campbelltown (S. Aust.): The Corporation of the
City of Campbelltown.

Cockburn, Rodney (1925) Pastoral pioneers of South Australia. Adelaide (S. Aust.): Adelaide
Publishers Limited.

An historical relic. (1899) in Adelaide Observer (S. Aust), Sat 12 Aug 1899, page 13.
Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162342663

Warburton, J.W. (Ed.) (1977) Five metropolitan creeks of the River Torrens, South Australia: an
environmental and historical study. Adelaide (S. Aust.): University of Adelaide.

Bagust, Phil (2010) The native plants of Adelaide: returning the vanishing natural heritage of the
Adelaide Plains to your garden. 2nd ed., Kent Town (S. Aust.): Wakefield Press.

The Torrens of old and the Torrens of the present day. (1878) in South Australian Register (Adelaide,
SA), Sat 9 Mar 1878, page 6. Trove: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40778568

Environmental Protection Agency. South Australia. (2008) Fourth Creek, Morialta: 2008 aquatic
ecosystem condition report.
Online: http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/reports_water/c0018-ecosystem-2008

Natural Resources. South Australia. (n.d.) Bats in your backyard. Leaflet.

"Koalas-past and present" [n.d] South Australia. Dept. of Environment and natural Resources. Fact sheet. www.environment.sa.gov.au

Campbelltown City Council (n.d.) Biodiversity. Campbelltown (S. Aust.): Website.
Online: http://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/biodiversity