Fred Hollows Reserve New South Wales
A footbridge located in the Fred Hollows Reserve
Fred Hollows Reserve
Nearest town or city	Randwick
Coordinates	33°54′44.04″S 151°14′52.14″E / 33.9122333°S 151.2478167°E / -33.9122333; 151.2478167
Established	circa 1993 (1993)[1]
Area	0.02 km2 (0.0 sq mi)[2]
Managing authorities	Randwick City Council
Website	Fred Hollows Reserve

The Fred Hollows Reserve is a local government–administered reserve that is located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

The 2-hectare (4.9-acre) reserve is situated in a natural area in what was formerly known as Glebe Gully in Randwick. It is the result of conservation efforts by the Randwick City Council, since 1993, in a hilly part of the Coogee Basin. The park follows a gully from Alison Road to Clovelly Road.^[2]

The gully faces south away from the sun, forming a closed canopy and a relatively fire-free habitat, which contrasts with the nearby urban area and busy traffic.

History

The native life in the gully deteriorated in the 1970s from neglect and the deposition of urban refuse. Weeding and replanting has been neglected over the last decade and much of the native flora and fauna has disappeared.^[3]

In 1993, the reserve was named in honour of Fred Hollows, an ophthalmologist who lived in the area.^[1] Hollows is renowned for restoring the sight of thousands of people in Australia and overseas.^[4][5]

Flora and fauna

Flora includes various ferns such as false bracken, maidenhair fern, binung and gristle fern as well as grasses and Banksias. Other noteworthy species include coachwood, lillypilly, magenta cherry, scentless rosewood, callicoma, muttonwood, five-leaved water vine, bleeding heart and the locally scarce corkwood and Sydney peppermint.

Lizards, frogs, and a wide variety of birds are known to live in the gorge. Some of the local inhabitants include glebe gully skinks, rainbow lorikeet, welcome swallow, kookaburra, pied currawong, sulphur-crested cockatoo, magpie and many others.^[1]

Access

Randwick Council built a boardwalk and footbridge along and across the creek, so it is now a ten-minute walk from Alison Road to Bligh Place. The entrance to the park is 150 metres west of Carrington Road, on the north side of Alison Road.