Pakapakanthi Interpretive Trail

This vantage point provides a wonderful view over Pakapakanthi. This is a Kaurna word meaning ‘to trot’ and was given to this park as reference to its former use as a racecourse.

Prior to their dispossession, Kaurna Miyurna used the area for palti (ceremony), burials, and camping.

Today, the abundance of open and recreational space available to the public means Pakapakanthi is also known as the People’s Park of Adelaide / Tarntanya.

Tarntanya means male red kangaroo rock and is the name given to Adelaide in reference to the original rock formation that is central to Kaurna’s Red Kangaroo Dreaming.

Did you know that the south-east corner of our city is the boundary between two water catchments?

North and east from here, the Torrens Catchment collects kauwi (water) and directs it into the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari (Red Gum Forest River). South and west from here, the Patawalonga Catchment collects kauwi and directs it into the Patawalonga / Pathawilyangga (Swamp Gum Foliage Place).

Historically, both catchments met in an ephemeral wetland system known as The Reedbeds / Witungga (Reed Place) that lay between the coastal dunes and inland sand dunes, stretching from the Pathawilyangga to Port Adelaide / Yartapuulti (Land of the Sleeping).

The urbanisation of our region has resulted in land that once absorbed manya (rainfall) being covered by hard, impermeable surfaces. Stormwater now gathers and flows along urban roads and streets where it collects pollutants such as litter, nutrients, oil, organic waste, and sediment.

The result is a high volume of poor-quality water entering the wetland here during heavy manya events.

To combat this, the first stage of the wetland is a deep inlet pond to slow the flow of kauwi (water) and remove coarse pollutants. A series of weirs and culverts further regulate flow during significant flood events.

The tall trees around you are a mix of Sugar Gums, karra (River Red Gums), Spotted Gums, and Aleppo Pines. 

Urban forests are great for providing punga (shade) and cooling our city, as well as improving air quality and people’s access to nature. The trees also provide habitat for a range of woodland species such as pirlta (possums), maityumaityu (bats), and palti-palti (parrots).

How do you feel? Compare this with how you feel in the grassland or next to the water.

Did you know that approximately 97 per cent of the vegetation that existed on Tarntanya Wama (the Adelaide Plains) prior to European colonisation has been cleared?

This pocket of woodland contains remnant species, meaning they have lineage to the original vegetation community. 

Areas like this are critically important as refuges of genetic diversity. They act like a biobank, storing biological information in the form of the genetic makeup (genotype) of the different species that exist here.

This area is special, so if you’d like to explore, please tread carefully.

By the time it’s reached this point, stormwater has passed through the entire wetland.

The main area is made up of a series of macrophyte zones with a diverse range of aquatic plants to filter, collect and process the fine pollutants. There are also a series of deeper pools and marsh zones that support a diverse range of aquatic animals.

Consequently, the quality of kauwi (water) exiting the wetland has improved significantly. 

By filtering out the pollutants, the health of downstream environments is improved. Increased kauwi quality promotes growth of aquatic plants and the presence of important water critters (aquatic macroinvertebrates), contributing to healthier Country.

Did you know that during the landscaping of the wetland, 108,000 plants were planted from 58 different species?

This includes a mix of aquatic (water-based) and terrestrial (land-based) plants and represents a significant boost to the biodiversity of this area.

Of the 58 total species, some rare species were planted including Wavy Marshwort (Nymphoides crenata) and Water Plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica). The system also supports a population of the endangered Mount Lofty Speedwell (Veronica derwentiana subsp. homalodonta). 

Threatened species such as these are being reintroduced to the region to protect them from extinction and contribute to the region’s plant diversity.

Did you know that wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services? These include flood mitigation, water filtration, habitat and biodiversity, recreation, and amenity.

Incorporating these benefits into holistic and coordinated management of kauwi (water) in an urban setting is known as Integrated Urban Water Management.

The Pakapakanthi Wetland is a great example of this. It is part of the Brown Hill Keswick Creek Stormwater Project, a collaborative effort between the Cities of Adelaide, Burnside, Mitcham, Unley, and West Torrens to provide flood protection to the community.

Other benefits of the project include improved quality and re-use of stormwater, watercourse and biodiversity rehabilitation, and improved recreational and visual amenity.

As our urban areas warm, increasing canopy cover to cool our parks and streets will be important.

Making space for tuthangga (grasslands) is important too. 

Native grasslands and grassy woodlands are types of native vegetation where grasses are a dominant feature on the ground. Both types support native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services such as natural management of kauwi (water) and yarta (soil).

Punga (shade) from large trees prevents many grassland species from growing, so it’s important to keep the open, grassy character in some areas, and have thicker canopy for urban cooling in others.

Kaurna culture is deeply connected with the ecology of our region. The sustainable management of yarta (land) by Kaurna Miyurna, including the use of fire, had a major impact on the landscape character of Tarntanya Wama (the Adelaide Plains). 

Over tens of thousands of years, grassland and woodland plant species have become adapted to regular kardla (fire) in the landscape. The use of kardla in the right conditions - resulting in cool, controlled burns rather than large, damaging fires - cleanses and rejuvenates the land. 

Aboriginal knowledge is vital for the practicing of the right fire for the right country, and the reintroduction of cultural burning to this landscape can help regenerate our grasslands and woodlands, as well as regenerate Kaurna culture and wellbeing.