Ballast Point Park Added to NSW State Heritage Register

A Milestone for Regenerative Landscape Design. McGregor Coxall is proud to acknowledge the recent announcement that Ballast Point Park has been formally added to the NSW State Heritage Register.

This recognition cements the park’s significance not just as a public open space, but as a pioneering example of regenerative design—a transformation from a heavily contaminated former oil refinery into an ecologically rich, culturally resonant landscape.

Originally completed in 2009 and known by its cultural name Walama, meaning to return in Dharug language, Ballast Point Park was led and delivered by McGregor Coxall, with collaborative partners  WT Partnership, HydroPlan, Deuce Design, CHROFI, and Northrop Engineers.

Walama was envisioned as a landscape that could return industrial land to Country, clean water before it enters the Harbour, and layer cultural memory into the everyday experience of the site. The park’s use of recycled materials, water-sensitive design, interpretive heritage, and its distinctive wind turbines were not only innovative for their time—they were designed to challenge how public landscapes could perform and what they could represent.

With the formal heritage listing, we are pleased to see the significance of this place officially recognised, not only for its deep Aboriginal and European histories or its community-led conservation legacy, but also for its bold, future-facing landscape architecture.

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