Georges River

The Georges River floodplain has a history of severe inundation with tragic human consequences. With increasing urbanization, governments and councils have recognized the need to respond, introducing planning controls and mitigation strategies such as levees, flood gates and detention basins, subsidies for house raising and buy-back programs all yet to be tested by a huge flood event.

Shark attacks were recorded in Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River from 1791 onwards. Early diarists remarked on the ' voracious fury' of these 'terrible fish' and the 'horror' that Aboriginal people, so accustomed to river life, experienced on encountering sharks. Yet river swimming has a long history in Sydney's recreational culture, with estuaries like the lower Georges River and Botany Bay much more likely to be the scene of horrendous events than ocean beaches.

Not much can be said about the land Georges Frere selected on the Georges River for a vineyard. Named after his father Leonce and uncle Gustave, it was extremely rough sandstone country with very poor soil and totally unsuitable for growing grapes. Nevertheless, Frere left his mark on the district when the Department of Public Works named a bridge over his river crossing after him, hugely improving transport and communication for settlers with Campbelltown, Leumeah railway and Sydney

The Dharug and Dharawal Aboriginal people along the Georges River had a range of strategies for keeping in touch with their country once Europeans arrived, such as moving around country to avoid danger and travelling to visit important places. Some held onto their country through purchase, providing areas of refuge for their people. Under the pressure of loss of land, removal to hostels and separation within new suburbs, Aboriginal people remained outspoken and strong, maintaining connections to the river and to each other.

The Sans Souci tidal baths were a popular swimming site in Sydney's south for over sixty years. The baths provided welcome access to the waters of the Georges River and a venue for important sporting events.

Two watermills existed on the Georges River in the 1820s. In 2013 a research team sought to discover how the maritime landscape of the Georges River and its tributaries sustained the transport of wheat, flour and manpower between the two mills in order to better understand the trials and tribulations of the early colonial settlers and their reliance on the waterways and landscapes of the Georges River.

The Oatley Amateur Swimming Club began in 1927 on the sandy beach of Jew Fish Bay in a small area protected from sharks with iron mesh netting. Over the decades the club held swimming competitions and social events, drawing people from all over Sydney. It continues to flourish, with over 100 members who meet regularly during the summer for swimming competitions and social events.

Named by European settlers for its plentiful springs and ponds, Neverfail Bay in Oatley was the cultivation ground for a thriving oysters industry until increasing pollution and viral contamination took their toll in the 1990s

Maps of the Georges River were made from the time of Cook's visit onwards, but it was not until the maps of Dixon and of Mitchell in the 1830s that the river was accurately charted.

There are three main geological layers in the Georges River catchment that can be seen along the river's route through south western Sydney.