The Catchment

The catchment of Oxley Creek, one of the major tributaries of the Brisbane river, is about 260 square kilometres in area. Water from the catchment runs into Oxley Creek as it flows from the hills associated with Mount Perry, through parts of local government areas of Logan and Ipswich City and into Brisbane.

Tributaries of Oxley Creek include:

  • Blunder Creek and its tributary Hanleys Creek
  • Crewes Creek
  • Sheep Station Gully
  • Stable Swamp Creek
  • Moolabin Creek and its tributary Rocky Water Holes
  • Little Doris Creek
  • Pennywort Creek

The headwaters of Oxley Creek begin on the northern slopes of Mount Perry, south of Ipswich, in Beaudesert Shire. From here, the creek flows northwards about 70 kilometres, eventually discharging into the Brisbane River at Tennyson.

Oxley Creek’s upper catchment is sparsely populated and largely natural, with forested hills and grazing land. However, in other parts of the catchment, urban development has had great impact. In the middle and lower catchment, Oxley Creek flows through 28 Brisbane suburbs including Algester, Corinda, Darra, Durack, Forest Lake, Moorooka, Salisbury, Sunnybank Hills, Graceville Oxley and Sherwood and there are old and active extractive industry sites plus Archerfield Airport . Major industrial areas of Acacia Ridge, Coopers Plains and Rocklea are located in the catchment, as well as a large waste water treatment plant at Oxley.

Residential and industrial development, land clearing and sand mining in the catchment have greatly affected the water quality of Oxley Creek, particularly in its lower reaches.

Further reading:

  1. Everyone Lives in a Catchment
  2. About Oxley
  3. Urban Impacts
  4. Key environmental issues