Goolay’yari/Cooks River is a special place. One of the largest and longest urban rivers in Sydney, among the most polluted, and neglected, but the most cherished too. In this new monthly program from Radio Skid Row and Pelican River Studio we bring you interviews with those who care for the river and the stories, histories, events, news and people that make up this beautiful urban waterway.

Goolay&rsquo;yari/Cooks River&nbsp;is a special place. One of the largest and longest urban rivers in Sydney, among the most polluted, and neglected, but the most cherished too. In this new monthly program from Radio Skid Row and Pelican River Studio we bring you interviews with those who care for the river and the stories, histories, events, news and people that make up this beautiful urban waterway.

Goolay'yari Cooks River Radio

Coming Soon - Goolay'yari Cooks River Radio

This month we’re spending time in the part of our river catchment with the worst reputation of all. The most unloved part of a river system that was unloved for so long. The most unnatural, the most toxic. The worst of the worst.

I’m talking about Shea’s Creek, but you might know it better as the Alexandr(i)a Canal.

In this episode you’ll hear from historian Ron Ringer about the history of this waterway, and how it came to be the way it is. We’re also delving into a recent controversy; we’re following up on the significant oil spill here recently and asking questions of the authorities about their response and their efforts to hold the perpetrators to account.

While this incident shows how this waterway continues to be neglected and abused, the waterway itself is resilient and despite being a so-called man-made landscape, it supports an ecosystem and contributes to the local area. 

It’s this resilience and the way the natural qualities of water interact with and sometimes overrun the man-made features of the landscape that have also inspired artists, like Ashley Frost, to engage with these places, and to teach us something about them.

Later in the episode, you’ll also hear how the swamp’s persistence inspires local rapper BAYANG (tha Bushranger), and we’ll chat about his new song Sydney Swamp (Pemulwuy Paddles Along Gulay’yari).

And finally we share points of interest and controversy from the Cooks River Valley Association’s Annual Report and AGM, including a chat with new millennial committee member Maja Sorensen. 

And of course we have all your River News for August 2026.

Guests: Ron Ringer, Ashley Frost, BAYANG (tha Bushranger) and Maja Sorensen.

Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons  

Music by: riverkid 

Thanks to all of our guests, and also to Jason L’Ecuyer and Zoe Ferguson.

All of the statements we received are here in full: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fLSKI68FIHZahWvnv6M36HU6G6eyf2Zg?usp=drive_link

This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.

This month we&rsquo;re spending time in the part of our river catchment with the worst reputation of all. The most unloved part of a river system that was unloved for so long. The most unnatural, the most toxic. The worst of the worst.
I&rsquo;m talking about Shea&rsquo;s Creek, but you might know it better as the Alexandr(i)a Canal.
In this episode you&rsquo;ll hear from historian Ron Ringer about the history of this waterway, and how it came to be the way it is. We&rsquo;re also delving into a recent controversy; we&rsquo;re following up on the significant oil spill here recently and asking questions of the authorities about their response and their efforts to hold the perpetrators to account.
While this incident shows how this waterway continues to be neglected and abused, the waterway itself is resilient and despite being a so-called man-made landscape, it supports an ecosystem and contributes to the local area.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s this resilience and the way the natural qualities of water interact with and sometimes overrun the man-made features of the landscape that have also inspired artists, like Ashley Frost, to engage with these places, and to teach us something about them.
Later in the episode, you&rsquo;ll also hear how the swamp&rsquo;s persistence inspires local rapper BAYANG (tha Bushranger), and we&rsquo;ll chat about his new song Sydney Swamp (Pemulwuy Paddles Along Gulay&rsquo;yari).
And finally we share points of interest and controversy from the Cooks River Valley Association&rsquo;s Annual Report and AGM, including a chat with new millennial committee member Maja Sorensen.&nbsp;
And of course we have all your River News for August 2026.
Guests: Ron Ringer, Ashley Frost, BAYANG (tha Bushranger) and Maja Sorensen.
Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons&nbsp;&nbsp;
Music by: riverkid&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fLSKI68FIHZahWvnv6M36HU6G6eyf2Zg?usp=drive_link"></a>
Thanks to all of our guests, and also to Jason L&rsquo;Ecuyer and Zoe Ferguson.
All of the statements we received are here in full: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fLSKI68FIHZahWvnv6M36HU6G6eyf2Zg?usp=drive_link">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fLSKI68FIHZahWvnv6M36HU6G6eyf2Zg?usp=drive_link</a>
This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.

Ep 7: The Toxic Waterway

This month we’re jumping in deep and covering the new proposal to redevelop the Kogarah Golf Course into a logistics hub and possible data centre. This proposal and the community reaction to it feels like an important moment in the history of our river. It’s a moment when priorities and the way we do things are being contested.

In this episode you’ll meet a number of people who can help explain the proposal, what it means, and what the reaction to it has been. We’ll follow some rabbitholes and even receive an anonymous tip off. You’ll also hear from most of the big bureaucratic players here including Bayside Council, Sydney Water, the developer Stockland, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, the planning minister Paul Scully, and local politicians.

You’ll hear about the history of the site, what it looks like now, what the proposed development will do to it and what it will deliver, what it means to have a data centre nearby, what the community is saying about the proposal, and what input the community have actually been able to have.

This is a moment when we decide who will decide what happens on our river. After thoroughly investigating this issue in the last few weeks, it’s clear that development here will be going ahead in some form. But the question becomes, how will it be done? Who will benefit from it? What values will guide it?

And of course, in addition to our investigation, we have all your River News for July 2026.

Guests: Dr Bronwyn Cumbo, Dr Michael Vardon, Dr Jenny Kent, Jason L’Ecuyer, and Conroy Blood

Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons 

Music by: riverkid  

Thanks to all of our guests, and also to the various media staffers and comms officials who provided us with statements, to members of the River Canoe Club who facilitated the interview with Jenny, to Zoe Ferguson, Clare Britten, and to Sally, a local resident.

All of the statements we received are here in full: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hpJ-XuX4Nqm-jLBDFVhZhI58PHJYKD-O?usp=sharing

This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.

This month we&rsquo;re jumping in deep and covering the new proposal to redevelop the Kogarah Golf Course into a logistics hub and possible data centre. This proposal and the community reaction to it feels like an important moment in the history of our river. It&rsquo;s a moment when priorities and the way we do things are being contested.
In this episode you&rsquo;ll meet a number of people who can help explain the proposal, what it means, and what the reaction to it has been. We&rsquo;ll follow some rabbitholes and even receive an anonymous tip off. You&rsquo;ll also hear from most of the big bureaucratic players here including Bayside Council, Sydney Water, the developer Stockland, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, the planning minister Paul Scully, and local politicians.
You&rsquo;ll hear about the history of the site, what it looks like now, what the proposed development will do to it and what it will deliver, what it means to have a data centre nearby, what the community is saying about the proposal, and what input the community have actually been able to have.
This is a moment when we decide who will decide what happens on our river. After thoroughly investigating this issue in the last few weeks, it&rsquo;s clear that development here will be going ahead in some form. But the question becomes, how will it be done? Who will benefit from it? What values will guide it?
And of course, in addition to our investigation, we have all your River News for July 2026.
Guests: Dr Bronwyn Cumbo, Dr Michael Vardon, Dr Jenny Kent, Jason L&rsquo;Ecuyer, and Conroy Blood
Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons&nbsp;
Music by: riverkid&nbsp;&nbsp;
Thanks to all of our guests, and also to the various media staffers and comms officials who provided us with statements, to members of the River Canoe Club who facilitated the interview with Jenny, to Zoe Ferguson, Clare Britten, and to Sally, a local resident.
All of the statements we received are here in full: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hpJ-XuX4Nqm-jLBDFVhZhI58PHJYKD-O?usp=sharing" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hpJ-XuX4Nqm-jLBDFVhZhI58PHJYKD-O?usp%3Dsharing&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1785566566370000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Meox-88dVafRyP0zRCN8u">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hpJ-XuX4Nqm-jLBDFVhZhI58PHJYKD-O?usp=sharing</a>
This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.

Ep 6: The Cooks River Data Centre?

On this episode it’s all about the Marrickville Golf Course. But we’re not talking to any golfers! Instead, the focus is on the place the golf course is in, the landscape itself, the local environment, its history and its ecology, especially its flora.

 

Come along on a walk around the course with Gabby Richards, local amateur historian of Marrickville and keeper of all the suburb’s stories, as she takes us through the history of this land from before colonisation, through early settlement and into the 20th century. You’ll hear about when it was a productively managed natural landscape, a swampy deer-hunting park, a dairy, a cricket pitch and sheep farm (at the same time), a pleasurable picnicking paradise and, finally, a golf course. You’ll meet characters like the irascible lawyer, landowner and deer (and convict) hunter Robert Wardell, and the one-man golfer’s nightmare councillor Bede Mahoney.

 

This land has incredible value as a big chunk of the green space by the river, and the existence of the golf course occupying it has always been contentious. Through the last 200 years it has undergone such significant changes, and while today it is utterly transformed from 1788, it is resilient, and its underlying nature has, with a little help, been reasserting itself in recent decades.

 

Later in the episode there’s a report from the June meeting of the CRVA, featuring Doug Benson and Chris Rapp presenting their recently-published PDF pamphlet on the trees of the Marrickville Golf Course, along with regular association business.

 

And of course we have all your River News for June 2026.

Guest: Gabby Richards

Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons  

Music by: riverkid   

With thanks to Gabby, to Peter Munro for introducing us, to Doug Benson, Chris Rapp and the rest of the CRVA.

This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.

 

On this episode it&rsquo;s all about the Marrickville Golf Course. But we&rsquo;re not talking to any golfers! Instead, the focus is on the place the golf course is in, the landscape itself, the local environment, its history and its ecology, especially its flora.
&nbsp;
Come along on a walk around the course with Gabby Richards, local amateur historian of Marrickville and keeper of all the suburb&rsquo;s stories, as she takes us through the history of this land from before colonisation, through early settlement and into the 20th century. You&rsquo;ll hear about when it was a productively managed natural landscape, a swampy deer-hunting park, a dairy, a cricket pitch and sheep farm (at the same time), a pleasurable picnicking paradise and, finally, a golf course. You&rsquo;ll meet characters like the irascible lawyer, landowner and deer (and convict) hunter Robert Wardell, and the one-man golfer&rsquo;s nightmare councillor Bede Mahoney.
&nbsp;
This land has incredible value as a big chunk of the green space by the river, and the existence of the golf course occupying it has always been contentious. Through the last 200 years it has undergone such significant changes, and while today it is utterly transformed from 1788, it is resilient, and its underlying nature has, with a little help, been reasserting itself in recent decades.
&nbsp;
Later in the episode there&rsquo;s a report from the June meeting of the CRVA, featuring Doug Benson and Chris Rapp presenting their recently-published PDF pamphlet on the trees of the Marrickville Golf Course, along with regular association business.
&nbsp;
And of course we have all your River News for June 2026.
Guest: Gabby Richards
Host/producer: Niall Edwards-FitzSimons&nbsp;&nbsp;
Music by: riverkid&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
With thanks to Gabby, to Peter Munro for introducing us, to Doug Benson, Chris Rapp and the rest of the CRVA.
This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Bidjigal and we pay respect to elders past and present.
&nbsp;

Coming Soon - Goolay'yari Cooks River Radio

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