Did you know there is habitat for endangered frogs in Rosebery? Did you know there was once a violent cauliflower gang roaming the streets of Waterloo? Did you know dugong bones were found during excavation for the Alexandra Canal?

These little-told histories are surfacing this week with the launch of Water Stories, a collaborative research project led by the Mapping Edges research studio in collaboration with other researchers from the University of Technology Sydney

Developed during the 2021 and 2022 La Niña event, this interactive project maps, materialises and activates the social and environmental histories and practices of water in Green Square, Australia’s largest urban renewal project.

“The Country that is now known as Green Square is nadunga gurad, sand dune Country, known for millennia for its nattai bamalmarray, freshwater wetlands and ephemeral ponds,” says project collaborator D’harawal eora Knowledge Keeper & registered Sydney Traditional Owner Shannon Foster.

A cauliflower, camellia, frog and stormwater drain are each a portal to these stories. Users can explore maps, archival text, expert voices, photos and video, as well as watery words from the Dharawal Dictionary, to reveal an interactive history of this inner-city precinct in Sydney. They’re also invited to contribute their own stories to this living archive of Green Square.

Explore the project at waterstories.info