My suburb is like an island – one storm and you’re trapped. Luckily, the locals are friendly

Living in Botany is a bit like living on an island: it’s quiet, bypassed by traffic and, depending on the weather, you might get stranded. Surrounded by golf courses, industry, a port and an airport, you need to keep one eye on the radar if you come on a late-summer day because if a storm rolls over you may have to stay put. Botany has only a handful of ways in and out and, because it sits on an aquifer, each way is prone to flood. But if you do get stuck you’ll be in safe hands – the people are friendly, the mix of food is plenty and the pubs are lively.

To get here from the city, head to the south through Redfern and down Botany Road, a main artery into the heartland of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Continue through the traffic of Alexandria, Mascot and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport until the pace slows down and the world becomes quieter. You’ll cross a bridge over wetlands where you might be greeted by a pelican or black swan. Next, beyond the shade of Moreton Bay figs, is the gothic-inspired Botany Public School, Sydney’s first and one of the oldest in NSW. Now you’ve arrived in downtown Botany, which you could easily confuse with the main street of a country town.

Take a left into the residential side where rows of Victorian-era workers’ cottages lead to apartment blocks, vibrant townhouse complexes and a few sleek semis. At the end of some driveways you’ll spot proudly painted white rabbits from 2014, the year the Rabbitohs beat the Bulldogs in the NRL grand final. Turn right from the main street to discover gyms and breweries sprinkled among sheds, showrooms and remnants of Botany’s industrial past.

Continue this way to find Sir Joseph Banks Park, 27 green hectares buffering the suburb from the airport and container port. Today it’s abundant with wildlife, bike tracks, a dog park and play equipment. It’s a haven cherished by locals, particularly during the COVID lockdowns when we were forbidden to travel outside a two-kilometre radius. The reserve was home to the Botany Bay Gift – once the richest running race in the country – and a zoo, which many claim was the colony’s first. Today you’ll see life-size statues depicting the zoo’s animals, including an elephant, tigers, gorillas and bears.

Before the airport and park, this area was submerged by the waters of Gamay, Botany Bay. It’s best to obey the “no swimming” signs at nearby airport beaches but calm, clear water – and even a car park on a balmy day – awaits around the corner at Yarra Bay. If you go early enough, before the crowds and whirs of jet skis, as you submerge into the water you’ll be reminded that you’re entering a habitat of natural marine beauty.

I’ve peered into the blue to see ripples of silvery fish and been surprised by a group of fairy penguins. We’ve dived into the shallows to marvel at pearly shells as big as our hands. Yes, sharks live here, too; so do turtles, dolphins and seahorses, and only recently a southern right whale and her calf visited. Whether it’s a morning swim or an afternoon dip while the sunset sparkles over the bay, locals enter the water grateful (and a little perplexed) that such beauty can co-exist with an international port and airport, and thankful for the continuous care of this sanctuary from its traditional owners, whose connections still run deep.

If you’d prefer to keep your feet dry, Halloween is a highlight in household calendars; it’s when Botany’s creativity, generosity and streets come to life with ghoulish children and sugary treats. It attracts families and onlookers from all over Sydney, and the occasional TV camera, too. You can grab a selfie with a frightful US president or pass the mysterious invisible child. If sitting back to enjoy the show is more your thing, wander into the side streets where you could stumble across a pet cemetery complete with real-life pig heads. Here you can pull up a chair to savour a hot sausage sanga and a cold beer while a DJ plays nearby.

Some brag about their “five-minute suburbs”, where you’re always a five-minute ride or walk away from the essentials like groceries, schools and transport but, as a mum barely recovered from sleep deprivation, I’ll take my “three-minute suburb”. Here all the essentials a weary mum needs are a three-minute pram push away – think excellent coffee served by baristas who know your name, parks and green space to soak up serotonin and wear out active children, and always a friendly face to say hello to.

If you’ve ever been to a Rabbitohs home game your attention was likely captured by The Burrow, where vocal, diehard fans sit on the eastern side of Accor Stadium, putting modern spins on old tunes. John Denver’s classic Take Me Home, Country Roads becomes a catchy “Take me home, Botany Roooaaad/To the place/I belooooong ...”

Like so many families who left Sydney in recent years, we considered taking Botany Road the other way – up the coast, tempted by affordable real estate. But at the decisive moment, that sense of belonging kept us here. No one tells you that kids ground you down into an area; that their friends, activities and endless need to be moving and social will root you down deeper into a place with every interaction until one day you realise you’re stuck, in the best possible way, with all you need. So come, get stuck for a little while – you may never want to leave.