Soft washing and pressure washing in Shortland

What do Shortland's homes beside the wetlands need?

Lieutenant John Shortland, master's mate of the Sirius, which escorted the First Fleet, gave the suburb its name. The Hunter Wetlands Centre, set up in 1984 on 45 hectares of rehabilitated wetland, is part of the Ramsar-recognised Hunter Estuary Wetlands, and the surrounding wetlands limit how far the suburb can grow.

Housing here is more attached than in many suburbs: in 2021, 69.7% of occupied homes were separate houses and 28.2% townhouses or semi-detached, with 36.0% rented. Walls get a soft wash; paving gets a pressure wash, and the NSW EPA requires its runoff to stay out of drains that empty into creeks and wetlands untreated.

Key figures

1984

the Hunter Wetlands Centre is established

28.2%

of occupied dwellings were townhouses or semi-detached in 2021

Sources

• Wikipedia, Shortland, New South Wales
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Shortland
• NSW EPA, The drain is just for rain
• NSW Spatial Services, Administrative Boundaries (postcode, council, distance, neighbours)