Cordeaux Heights - Environment

The land of Cordeaux Heights forms part of the Sydney Basin.  The area in general is located on a sloping topography overlying horizontal sedimentary strata on a volcanic base, known as the Illawarra Coal Measures, with residual soil and rock debris which is essentially clayey.  Cordeaux Heights varies from gently to steeply sloping and is now mainly residential, but before this the area was extensively cleared by white man for farming purposes.  Originally, the area was covered with rainforest, with abundant native flora and fauna, and there were two types of vegetation; sclerophyll forests and rainforest, which can still be found in protected gullies between foothills, along the slopes.  In more open areas which have more exposure to sun and wind, Eucalypts dominate, especially Eucalyptus quadrangulata.  Warm temperate and sub-tropical rainforest once grew along the banks of Charcoal Creek and rainforest merged into tall eucalypt open forest which replaced it along the ridges.  (Environment Illawarra – Initiatives, 1995; Golder Moss Associates, 1974; Kembla Green Corridor, 1991)

Black Wattles predominated in the creek areas at the time of proposed feasibility studies for the establishment of the suburb, with small stands of Melaleucas, Eucalypts, and Myrtles.  Almost all of the land has views of the escarpment with Mount Kembla predominating.  The ridge along Staff Road protects much of the area from the colder southerly winds which prevail in winter.