Hanlon Park / Bur'uda is an urban park in Brisbane, Australia and the focus of the Hanlon Park / Bur'uda Waterway Rejuvenation project. The centrepiece of the park is a rejuvenated stretch of Norman Creek, which from the 1930s until 2019 had been an open concrete drain, and was transformed into what has been described as a "living waterway" and a "vibrant urban oasis" that is home to native plants and animals. This example of urban rewilding has won several awards, and its success has informed the design of other rejuvenation projects. The site's dual names derive from the late Ned Hanlon, a former Premier of Queensland, and Bur'uda, a word meaning "forest oak" in the language of the site’s traditional owners, the Nunukul Jagera people.
Location Hanlon Park / Bur'uda is a 5.2 hectare site bounded by O’Keefe, Junction, Cornwall and Lincoln streets in Stones Corner, a medium-density inner suburb of Brisbane. The site contains public parkland, picnic and BBQ areas, public toilets, sport facilities, walking/cycling paths, seating, a nature-themed playground, public art, and areas of native vegetation around the regenerated Norman Creek. The park is close to major transport routes such as Old Cleveland Road, Logan Road, the Pacific Motorway, Eastern Busway, Veloway 1 bike path and Cleveland railway line. The South-East Freeway Bikeway passes through the park. Stones Corner is a local commercial and transport hub whose residential density is projected to increase under the Brisbane City Council's Stones Corner Renewal Plan. Thus, one function of Hanlon Park is to provide green space for current and future residents of a growing inner-city suburb. Activities at the rejuvenated site have included a weekly park run, a tour featured in Brisbane Open House 2025, free community dinners hosted by the local federal MP, and monthly working bees coordinated by the Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (N4C).
History
Norman Creek, a tributary of the Brisbane River, was called Kulkurum by Aboriginal people and was a source of food and resources for them prior to the European settlement of Australia. Early settlers in what is now Stones Corner referred to the area around the creek as Burnett's Swamp. During the 19th century this area transitioned from farming to industrial and residential use. This part of the creek is tidal, and prone to flooding after heavy rain. In the 1930s, in an attempt at flood mitigation, this section of the creek was channelized into an open concrete drain, with the goal that rain would flow away quickly instead of flooding. However channelization destroyed the ecosystem of the creek and simply moved flooding downstream. In 1954, the Brisbane City Council decided to rename part of Burnett's Swamp to be Hanlon Park and part to be A. J. Jones Recreational Reserve. The roots of the rejuvenation project lie in environmental and flood mitigation activism starting in the 1970s, including community protest against development near Coorparoo Station by Turbo Investments in the 1980s, and agitation by the Norman Creek Flood Action Group for better flood prevention. In 1991, a Brisbane City Council (BCC) project to straighten Norman Creek between Deshon and Stanley streets created an opportunity for citizens to regenerate 4 hectares of former industrial land at Moorhen Flats, between the new and old watercourses.
The Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (N4C) was formed in 1996. It forms part of the Brisbane Catchments Network, which manages environmental work across 12 major waterway catchments in the Brisbane area, and formalizes the relationship between volunteer environmentalists and the Brisbane City Council. The BCC's Norman Creek master plan acknowledges the passion of local volunteers as an inspiration for the rejuvenation project.
Hanlon Park / Bur'uda Waterway Rejuvenation project
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