Save Manly Dam Bushland Group won the Landcare Community Group Award in 2025 for protecting a vital green corridor through education, advocacy, and restoration for over 20 years. Presented by the Greater Sydney Landcare and Local Land Services.

After much lobbying by SMDCC, the Manly Warringah War Memorial park was listed on the State Heritage register in Jan 2023 (predominantly for its biodiversity values). Unfortunately land in the “Aquatic Reserve area of the park was not included in the listing . The reason for this is unknown but it suggests that more development proposals could be forthcoming.

In 2002, “The Return of the Mermaids” was registered as a Clean Up Australia Day event, which saw 71 volunteers remove more than four tonnes of rubbish from the area. In 2005 Clean Up Australia recognised it as a “Fix-up” project.

Clean Up Australia celebrated 20 years of involvement by working alongside a group of dedicated volunteers as they continued their mission by hauling bricks, debris, weeds and litter out of the Mermaid Pools environs.  (Additional major clean ups were required after heavy rain events washed rubble into the pool from upstream).

Construction of a new Forest High School commenced at Allambie Heights in 2022.  Since then SMDCC has exposed terrible silt pollution in nearby Curl Curl Creek (the main feeder creek to Manly Dam). This threatens the survival of the ancient Climbing Galaxias fish, the only place in Sydney where it survives. This environmental degradation was as a result of bushland clearing in the catchment, without adequate stormwater retention infrastructure, by the NSW Department of Education. We are imploring the EPA to fund surveys to help identify whether the Climbing Galaxias fish population has survived whilst encouraging monies (gathered from fining the developer) to be directed towards conservation efforts in the park

In 2021, Northern Beaches Council announced a proposal for a plastic fibre boardwalk that would cut through undisturbed bushland and threatened species habitat. It would also involve drilling metal footings into ancient rock faces. 

Despite a rigorous campaign tabling cheaper and non-destructive alternatives, clearing of vegetation proceeded and the boardwalk was completed in 2024. There are now fears that Council plans to extend it around the dam. This is the antithesis of the “Keep Manly Dam Wild” ethos.

SMDCC joined the campaign against converting the grass sports pitches at David Thomas reserve in Manly Vale into artificial surfaces.  This would have threatened to pollute the adjoining Manly Creek with microplastic particles whilst negatively impacting the foraging area of a large diversity of local birds. This proposal is currently on hold.

Our group has also been active in ensuring that the rezoning of four parcels of land surrounding Mermaid Pools was reversed. The crown land blocks were inexplicably transferred to R2 zoning and thus potentially subject to low density residential housing development. First we worked to change the zoning to E1 (public recreation) which provided better conservation status. We then sought the support of conservation groups such as Birdlife Australia and Landcare to turn the land into a protected small bird habitat corridor. Council has deferred any decision whilst their draft Local Environment Plan (LEP) is developed.

In 2019 the NSW government proposed to build the “Beaches Link Tunnel”. This would have involved clearing 39 football pitches worth of threatened species habitat adjoining Manly Dam and fumes being belched into the atmosphere from unfiltered exhaust stacks.  Manly Dam’s sensitive creeks would also have been subject to extreme pollution threats. Thankfully, after intense community pressure, this scheme was abandoned in 2023

SMDCC received a federal "Communities Environment program" grant to conduct ecological surveys. The results have been incredible with 1124 plant species & 420 animal species were recorded (4x the previously known number).

However, in the same year a development application for units on crown land adjoining the park was refused by the Local Planning Panel in Sept 2019, further to SMDCC objections.  Unfortunately, this was later approved by the Land and Environment Court and bushland has been recently cleared within the park.

In early 2018, Council proposed to build an intrusive “Regional Playspace” at Manly Dam - 18x the size of the original playground. The plans were radically reduced after intensive SMDCC lobbying.

Photo © Northern Beaches Council

The community fought hard to try and change the design of the proposed Manly Vale Public School expansion in 2017.

Instead of construction on the original footprint, planners decided to extend deep into surrounding bushland  (clearing  what was formerly the schools outdoor learning area). In previous years the school had ironically been awarded the distinction of attaining  “centre of excellence in environmental education” status .  Despite fierce lobbying, the government compulsorily acquired land inside the War Memorial Park and removed yet more native vegetation for fire safety purposes.  Eastern Pygmy Possums were identified for the first time in the area during Environmental Impact studies but their habitat was ultimately bulldozed.  As a result of heavy rain after land clearing, huge amounts of silt was washed into Manly Creek at Mermaid Pools.

After SMDCC advocacy, Manly Warringah War Memorial Reserve was formally gazetted as a State Park on 7th April 2017.

But this year was also marked with the NSW Department of Education clearing 9 acres of high conservation value bushland to extend Manly Vale School (despite a protracted SMDCC campaign). Some of this land had been previously saved from a proposed Landcom housing development on McComb Hill, Manly Vale in 1995.

Following SMDCC action, Sydney Water land at Seaforth (adjoining Manly Dam) was withdrawn from sale to developers. This same land was then flagged as a construction entry point for the proposed "Beaches Link Tunnel" (meaning large tracts of threatened species habitat would be lost).  SMDCC was an influential member of advocates who helped get the destructive tunnel project cancelled. We continue to lobby for the return of the surplus Sydney Water land to the park.

The Save Manly Dam "Return of the Mermaids" Project was the winner of the Community Group Environment Award at the 2011 Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority Regional Awards.

A successful campaign to prevent hard surface netball courts being built, at the top of the sensitive catchment, was carried out in 2008. 

Volunteers involved in the Mermaid Pools Restoration decided to expand their sphere of influence. On National Tree Day 2005, community members planted an avenue of native plants along King St, Manly Vale, past the entrance to  Mermaid Pools and on  to the approaches to Manly Warringah War Memorial Park. 

This celebrated the contribution of local conservationist Ray Cox (a merchant navy war veteran and SMDCC member), the “Avenue of Honour” was dedicated to the service of Merchant Navy personnel in times of war.  The focal point is a stone memorial at King Reserve where the formerly bare and weedy park has been planted with native species (and continues to be maintained by volunteers).

The one positive outcome of the Ardel development’s impact on the environment, was that campaigners decided to rehabilitate a section of creek downstream towards Manly which had become a weed infested dump site.  This was the genesis of the Mermaid Pools Restoration Project.

Since then for all these years volunteers have gathered once a month to connect over cake, conversations and bushcare to restore the Mermaid Pools. If you would like to get involved and meet this wonderful community of volunteers, get involved here.

* With thanks to Northern Beaches Council for their support of the Bushcare component of this work.

Photo © Michael Allen

This was the defining campaign for the Save Manly Dam Catchment Committee at the turn of the century. Ardel bought sensitive bushland at the headwaters of Manly Dam, which had been bequeathed to a nearby charity.  Ardel proposal for a sprawling housing estate on this land, resulting in protest marches, demonstrations, innumerable Council meetings  and diverse events including the “Jam for the Dam’ and the Save Manly Dam Golf Classic at Wakehurst Golf Club.  

The case went to the Land and Environment Court where the presiding Commissioner termed the development proposal “disgusting”. Sadly the initial refusal was overturned on appeal and threatened species habitat plus a “Tasmanian-esque” creek was bulldozed and built on.

The world’s first ever pro-environmental Golf tournament (The Save Manly Dam Golf Classic) was held in 2000. This was attended by sports champions, rock stars and prominent politicians.

The tournament was organised to protect Manly Dam from the Ardel housing development which was ultimately approved (on appeal) by the Land and Environment Court. Details of the campaign can be viewed here.

Photo © Michael Allen

The ‘Jam-for-the-Dam” was a community event where 4000 people marched along Manly’s sea-front to the Corso. This was to raise awareness of the campaign to stop the Ardel development at Allambie Heights (now Madison Way). A wide range of musical acts performed on stage and several prominent politicians and activists gave speeches.

Photo © Michael Allen