Editing Georges River National Park (section)

== Park History ==

*'''Modern History''' — Following [[World War II|WW2]], the Georges River area and Bankstown City industrial industries accounted for 20% of all the factories located in Sydney. With the increase of industrialisation, pollution became a problem, as of 1971 the Georges river became the second most toxic body of water in all of Sydney.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Goodall, Cadzow|first=Heather, Allison|title=The People's National Park: Working Class Environmental Campaigns on Sydney Georges River, 1950.67|url=https://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3828/labourhistory.99.1.0017|journal=Labour History|volume=99|pages=17–36|doi=10.3828/labourhistory.99.1.0017|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024}}</ref> The continual increase in industrial pollution encouraged locals to take action, advocating for the protection and conservation of threatened ecological niches along the river. As a result, between 1961 and 1967 the Georges River National Park was established,<ref name=":4" /> and a trust group was founded, in order to manage and protect the park lands. During this period most of the funding for the park came from sand mine leases. However, after the introduction of the 1967 National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Georges River National Park was downgraded and listed as a state park, also known as a 'nature reserve'. Reasons for this was that the park did not meet certain qualities of having spacious land areas.<ref name=":4" /> Finally, in 1992 the park was re-declared a National Park and increased in size from 173 hectares in 1961, to 514 in 2020.[[File:2007 0810klklk0042.JPG|thumb|Looking down from Alfords Point Bridge]]
*'''Indigenous History''' – The Georges River is known to the Indigenous people as the Tucoerah River,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Geographical Names Board|url=https://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/placename_search/extract?id=MajLWytLIt}}</ref> evidence of past indigenous activity is present in the national park, including aboriginal shelters, rock engravings, and axe grinding sites. Upon European settlement of Sydney, the [[Dharug]] and [[Dharawal]] people of the Georges River were forced up stream by colonist to the now located Georges River National Park. However, fast industrial growth in this area between 1900 and 1930, lead to many native families being forcefully evicted off their land. It wasn't until 1930 where an indigenous activist, Joe Anderson, appealed for [[Salt Pan Creek]] to become a place of refuge for indigenous people. Salt Pan Creek located near Padstow in the Georges River National Park, became a place of shelter for many indigenous political fighters, such as [[Jack Patten]], Bert Grovers, Ted Thomas, [[Bill Onus]], and Jacko Campbel.<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, Salt Pan Creek was the site for many aboriginal families to seek refuge from the Australian Government between 1910 and 1970, during [[Stolen Generations|the stolen generations]]. The park and water ways allowed aboriginal people to hunt and gather food, practice indigenous associated rituals, and stay connected to the dreaming thus the land.<ref name=":4" />