Anyone else following this? Great potential to improve the centre of the city. 

**Bendigo Advertiser | 21st April 2026**

[Bendigo Creek](https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/8758965/parts-of-the-bendigo-creek-to-undergo-major-transformation/) will have a new look as $7 million is spent on bringing the waterway back to its original form.

Work has now started on the main revitalisation site in Golden Square between Bay Street and Maple Street where the concrete channel will be removed to re-naturalise the creek.

Additional works will also be undertaken across the city's waterways.

The project, titled Yaram Yaram Bayikina (Bendigo Creek Reawakening), is being funded by the federal government as part of a 2025 election commitment.

**Reawaken community connection**

DJAARA acting chief executive Harley Douglas said while people may be connecting with the landscape and animals around the creek, they were not connecting with the creek itself.

"So not only is it reawakening the creek itself, and turning it back into a creek and not just a channel, but it is also looking to reawaken communities' connection with the creek," he said.

Mr Douglas said the project had been a priority for DJAARA since 2017.

"We've been really trying to have investment into the Bendigo Creek to improve the flow, improve communities' connection with it," he said.

Some of the next steps will be improving the health and flow of the water and improving plant, animal and community health.

**Turning it back to what it once was**

The plan is to create a chain of ponds which is what [Bendigo Creek](https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/8996261/bendigo-creek-upgrades-to-enhance-safety-and-aesthetics-underway/) was prior to the 1850s, before gold mining transformed its appearance.

Mr Douglas said the ponds would assist with flooding but also maintain water in the landscape for longer.

City of Greater Bendigo mayor Thomas Prince said Bendigo's "cultural heritage is partly based around mining" but this project allowed for the opportunity to "resolve the bad things" the mining created.

"To be able to deal with the water health, deal with our old infrastructure issues that are crumbling away so the timing is great to be able to resolve some of those lingering issues," he said.

The revitalisation of the creek will also give the opportunity to improve the health of the creek and help with flood resiliency. 

"So to have this investment to be able to support those communities downstream is really important," Mr Prince said.

Federal member for Bendigo Lisa Chester said the project would "put local knowledge and cultural connection front and centre in water management".

"It's great to see the City, Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation and the North Central Catchment Management Authority working together to deliver this project, and our government is proud to support this important work," she said.

The City of Greater Bendigo, DJAARA and North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) will work together to complete the project. 

The project will also see citizen science programs, Landcare activities and other engagement initiatives to encourage community care of the creek.

The project will be completed by early 2028.

Why removing concrete channels at $7m is the key to Bendigo Creek's future.