Allens Creek is no ugly duckling in a podcast that uncovers forgotten corners of the Illawarra.
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In fact University of Wollongong researchers expose the beauty of the little-known waterway that flows through an industrial estate at Unanderra and reaches the sea at Port Kembla.
"There's no place like..." started out as a conversation between Dr Chantel Carr, a human geographer from the Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS), and local journalist and producer Jennifer Macey.
Episode one follows Dr Carr, Associate Professor Michael Adams, Dr Jenny Atchison and Dr Leah Gibbs as they explore the riverbanks of Allens Creek.
The sounds of flowing water and chirping birds compete with the rumble of heavy machinery and traffic from the industrial estate through which the creek flows.
Dr Carr said human geography was about the relationships of people with environments.
"We are all in lockdown at the moment and it was a good chance to spend some time exploring some of the back corners of the Illawarra, our own backyard," she said.
"In the podcast my colleague Associate Professor Michael Adams, talks a lot about all the things that are living in this creek as it works its way through the back industrial estates of Unanderra, which are sort of blocked off and difficult to access.
"There is a lot of nature, a lot of living things back there that have been allowed to flourish.
"I think in some of our landscapes in the Illawarra there is opportunities for nature and wildlife to sort of flourish in the back corners...and that is what we have found in this particular place."
In the podcast, the geographers follow Allens Creek as it bends and winds through the steelworks on its way to the ocean at Port Kembla.
Dr Carr (who started her working life at the steelworks as an apprentice electrician) explains the significance of the steelworks to the local area.
It's a huge area, she says, about 840 hectares, and different parts of it have different characteristics and different workforces.
"We think of this landscape as an object within the Illawarra landscape overall, but it's actually a number of different plants," Dr Carr said.
"You can work in the coke ovens and have no idea about what happens at the other end. You can spend 40 years there, as many people have, and have no idea about the processes at the other end of the steelworks."
Visit https://shows.acast.com/theres-no-place-like/ to download the firs two episodes of "There's no place like..." podcast.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
