banksia bulletin summer 2008

banksiaissue number 029 - summer 2008

bulletin

Friends of Bayside 2008 contact list

Friends of Balcombe Park Coordinator: Mrs Joan Couzoff26 Balcombe Park Lane, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 1060

Friends of Bay Road ReserveCoordinator: Michael Norris (Abbott Ward Councillor)5 Deakin Street, Hampton 3188Phone: (03) 9521 0804

BRASCACoordinator: Mrs Janet Ablitt4A Fairleigh Avenue, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 6646

Friends of Brighton DunesCoordinators: Mrs Elizabeth McQuire34 Normanby Street, Brighton 3186Phone: (03) 9592 6474andMs Jenny Talbot71 Champion Street, Brighton 3186Phone: (03) 9592 2109

Friends of Cheltenham ParkCoordinator: Mrs Valerie Tyers65 The Corso, Parkdale 3194Phone: (03) 9588 0107

Cheltenham Primary School SanctuaryCoordinator: Mr John WaughPO Box 289, Cheltenham 3192Phone: (03) 9583 1614

Friends of Donald MacDonald ReserveCoordinators: Mrs Alison and Mr Bill Johnston4 Wellington Avenue, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 5459

Friends of George Street ReserveCoordinator: Dr Val Tarrant47 Bayview Crescent, Black Rock 3193Phone: (03) 9598 0554

Friends of Long Hollow Heathland/Friends of Table RockCoordinator: Mr Ken Rendell33 Clonmore Street, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 4452

Friends of Gramatan Avenue Heathland SanctuaryCoordinator: Mr Ken Rendell

Friends of Merindah Park and the Urban ForestCoordinator: David Cockburn72 Spring Street, Sandringham 3191Phone: (03) 9598 6148

Friends of Native WildlifeCoordinator: Michael Norris (Abbott Ward Councillor)5 Deakin Street, Hampton 3188Phone: (03) 9521 0804

Friends of Ricketts Point LandsideCoordinator: Mrs Sue Raverty5 Rosemary Road, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 2103

Friends of Watkins BayCoordinator: Mrs Moira Longden73 Dalgetty Road, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 2725

Marine Care Inc. Ricketts PointConvenor Phil Stuart104 Dalgetty Rd, Beaumaris 3193Phone: (03) 9589 3053

St. Leonards College Conservation GroupCoordinator: Ms Joanne Burke163 South Road, Brighton East 3187Phone: (03) 9592 2266

AcknowledgementsThank you to all the people who have contributed to this issue of Banksia Bulletin. The editors encourage people to submit articles, however Bayside City Council reserves the right to edit or omit articles. Artwork, illustrations and photographs can also be submitted to feature in the publication.

DisclaimerThe views expressed in the Banksia Bulletin are not necessarily those of Bayside City Council or its representatives.

EditorsAmy Weir, Andrea Davies and Cr Terry O’Brien

Copy deadlines 2008Copy deadlines are set for the first Friday of the month of release:Autumn 2008 Friday 7 March 2008 for release end MarchWinter 2008 Friday 6 June 2008 for release end June

Banksia Bulletin is published quarterly by Bayside City Council to service people interested in enjoying and protecting the local environment. Corporate CentrePO Box 27 Royal AvenueSANDRINGHAM VIC 3191Telephone: 9599 [email protected] of business 8.30am – 5pmMonday – Friday (except public holidays)

Printed on 100% recycled paper.

Cover photograph: Pterostylis nanaby Pauline Reynolds

banksia bulletin - summer 20082

I am delighted to be able to write my first welcome as Mayor for the summer edition of the Banksia Bulletin, and hope you all enjoyed the festive season.

Friends and volunteers make valuable contributions towards the conservation of indigenous plants and animals in Bayside along our foreshores and inland reserves. As someone who has worked in a not-for-profit environmental organisation that relied on volunteers, I have a particular appreciation of your valuable contribution.

During the past year, Friends of Bayside have weeded and planted, preserved and regenerated some very important open spaces in Bayside. In addition to the work you have done with your hands, there is the work you have done with your advocacy.

The natural environment needs well-reasoned and passionate advocacy to marshal resources and connect with the community. This is important as individual labours have the potential to reveal significant resources for major achievements. Your work has helped to ensure our local environment can be enjoyed, both now and into the future. I would like to thank you all for your contribution.

Council’s vision for Bayside is a City that is strong, connected, healthy and sustainable. We recognise that when people give to their local area they are helping to build strong local communities. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that voluntary activity not only benefits the community but the individuals who generously share their time and skills.

Participating in a voluntary activity has clearly been linked to improved health and wellbeing. The Mental Health Council of Australia states, “Volunteering is called the ‘win-win’ activity because it helps others and makes us feel good about ourselves. At the same time, it widens our social network, provides us with new learning experiences and can bring balance to our lives.”

Being involved in voluntary activity as a community means having the opportunity to strengthen local interests and include people in community conversations and projects.

Council’s role is to facilitate, motivate, communicate and coordinate opportunities for people to contribute to their local community. Contribute can mean someone participating in a local group, fundraising at the local school, participating in a community consultation, or simply buying groceries for a housebound neighbour.

We facilitate, motivate, communicate and coordinate in a number of ways.

Our key initiative is matching people’s skills and interests with community groups through the Invest in Our Community program. If you’re not already on it, it’s worth a visit. This is an area of our website where people can find out how to volunteer, what to volunteer for and the best ways to get the most out of volunteering in the local Bayside area.

And we like to celebrate you!

On 5 December each year, International Volunteer Day is held. It’s an initiative of the United Nations that recognises the invaluable contribution individuals make to communities worldwide.

As part of the International Volunteer Day celebrations in December 2007, Bayside City Council acknowledged all voluntary activity across Bayside by placing a picnic table and plaque on the foreshore at Ricketts Point. When people use the picnic table they will be reminded of the work you and others do to improve the area in which we live.

I wish you all the best for the coming year and look forward to meeting many of you in my travels around Bayside.

Cr Andrew McLorinanMayor

In this ISSUEEditors Note 4 - 5 Amy Weir

Friends of George Street Reserve 6 - 7 Valerie Tarrant and Pauline Reynolds

Friends of the Watkins Bay 8 Moira Longden

Street Tree Strategy 9

Carp removal at Elsternwick Park Lake 10 - 11 Geoff Smith

Our Wilderness Illusion 12 - 17 Brenn Barcan

Frogmouth Diary sequel 18 Moira Longden

Banksia Bulletin - postal copy or electronic copy? 19 Amy Weir

Banksia Bulletin mailbag 20

Banksia Bulletin mailing list form 21

Working Bee Dates 23

From the Mayor

Upcoming Event!Don’t miss the Bayside Community Nursery Gala Day on Saturday 29 March from 9am until 2pm. There will be a free BBQ lunch from 11am until 1pm.

Bayside Community Nursery at 319 Reserve Road, Cheltenham

banksia bulletin - summer 2008 3

Editors notes

Acknowledgements

Although the Editors of

the Banksia Bulletin take

every care to reproduce

material and photographs

and acknowledgements

accurately, occasionally we do

unintentionally make an error or

two – we are only human after all!

In the last edition of the Banksia

Bulletin on pages 16 and 17, we

reported on the re-opening of

the Indigenous Resource Garden

(formerly the Native Resource

Garden) on the corner of Bluff

Road and Royal Avenue, which

occurred on 13 July 2007 as part

of NAIDOC week.

This was an exciting project for

Council and one that saw this

special garden restored to its

original design and planting

structure, showcasing the great

diversity and use of indigenous

plants by the Ngaruk Willam

and Yallukit Willam Clans of the

Bunurong and Boon wurrung

people.

I would like to acknowledge an

omission in that article and that

is the contribution of BRASCA

(Black Rock and Sandringham

Conservation Association) in

advocating for the restoration of

the Indigenous Resource Garden.

During the past five years or so,

various members of BRASCA have

written articles for the Banksia

Bulletin regarding the plants found

within the Indigenous Resource

Garden and BRASCA has lobbied

Corrections and acknowledgements

Photographs courtesy of Pauline Reynolds

hardenbergia violacea

diuris sulphurea


for the restoration of this garden

for some time. I would like to

apologise for not mentioning this

contribution in the article that

appeared in the last edition of the

Banksia Bulletin. BRASCA contribute

many hours advocating and

working towards the conservation

and protection of the Bayside

environment and this is work that is

greatly appreciated by Council.

Corrections

Sometimes we make errors in the

spelling or correct identification

or caption of a plant species

– and we are very grateful that

our readers are interested enough

to provide us with the correct

information.

• In particular I would like to thank

Val Stajsic from the National

Herbarium of Victoria who has

made the following corrections

regarding the identification of

plant species.

’Just a note to point out that the

images of the fungus depicted on

pages six and seven of the Banksia

Bulletin Issue 028 (spring 2007) as

‘Clathrus cibarius’, are actually

Ileodictyon gracile smooth cage

fungus. Ileodictyon gracile is one

of two white cage-like species,

which resemble a soccer ball with

the panels punched out.

There are good illustrations of both

species and how to tell them apart in:

Grey, P. & E. (2005), Fungi Down

Under. Fungimap. Royal Botanic

Gardens Melbourne.

The cage arms in Ileodictyon

gracile are smooth (wrinkled in I.

cibarium), the arms widen where

they join (no widening of arms

where they join in I. cibarium),

the arms are thin (thick arms in I.

cibarium).

The name ‘Clathrus cibarius’ is an

earlier name for what we now call

Ileodictyon cibarium (Wrinkled

Cage).

I will pass on this record to our

Fungimap coordinator. Both

species can be found in litter,

mulch and woodchip.’

Also from Val:

• The Diuris depicted on the front

cover of Issue 027 (winter 2007)

and captioned as Diuris orientis

(on page two) is actually Diuris

sulphurea.’

I would like to thank Val for this

information and appreciate him

sharing his knowledge.

• We have also been informed

that the Gramatan Avenue

working bee time is from 1pm

– 3pm on the first Sunday of

each month, not 10am – 12pm

as listed on the back page of

working bee dates. Apologies for

any confusion this may

have caused.

• Two photographs were also

incorrectly captioned in the

last edition:

1. The photo accompanying the

article from the Bushland Crew

on page ten and eleven of

the spring edition, should have

been captioned Hardenbergia

violacea not Comesperma

volubile.

2. The fantastic photographs

of the smooth cage fungus

(as correctly identified by Val

Stajsic), which appeared on

pages six and seven, were

actually taken by another

‘Friend’ of Donald MacDonald

Reserve, Kim Croker. Kim is an

avid photographer and a new

member of the Friends of Donald

MacDonald Reserve, who kindly

passed on these photographs

to the coordinator of the Friends

of Donald MacDonald Reserve,

Alison Johnston, who passed

them onto me for publication.

My apologies also to Kim for

omitting her contribution in the

article and I look forward to

receiving more photographs

from her in the future!

Amy Weir Editor


Friends of George Street Reserve

as a great team of Friends from many Bayside reserves joined the George Street Friends in a mighty effort to deal with the non-indigenous species, particularly coastal tea tree Leptospermum laevigatum which are emerging in large numbers in the 2006 burn site. Jo Hurse and other Citywide staff went beyond the call of duty in providing back up and additional labour. We were delighted that Citywide Parkcare Manager Lisa Carty was there, once again proving her love of our precious reserve and interest in the regenerating heathland.

Rare small plants are emerging and Val Stajsic (Identifications and Research botanist of the National Herbarium Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne) reported his excitement at discovering sticky daisy heads Podotheca angustifolia last seen in Bayside in 1909 and presumed to be extinct in the Melbourne area. (See addendum).

Senecio species are flourishing and the grass tree Xanthorrhoea minor is sending up a splendid flower head.

Pardalotes have been sighted in the Tulip Street bank just inside the fence, and there are thornbills and many ravens within the reserve.

Friends, Citywide and Bayside Council have faced many challenges since the unexpected fire of late 2006 but we are fortunate in the decision to keep working to ensure the survival of the regenerating indigenous plants. The discovery of a species last seen in the district nearly 100 years ago shows the value of that policy. It also shows that fire has an important part to play in management.

Valerie Tarrant and Pauline ReynoldsJoint Coordinators

Sunday 19 November was a day to be remembered ...


An exiting addition found in the regeneration at George Street Reserve…

Further to Val Tarrant’s article, we are delighted to provide a small additional snippet from Val Stajsic from the National Herbarium from the Royal Botanic Gardens…

“During my visit to the George Street Reserve yesterday, I was thrilled to re-discover Podotheca angustifolia, last collected in Bayside in 1909, and presumed extinct in Melbourne area... Sadly, I only found one plant, which is in lovely condition and quite vigorous 30 x 30cm across.

Podotheca angustifolia (sticky long-heads) is an indigenous, annual daisy (Asteraceae), which is locally common in the mallee and shrublands in NW Victoria, but also with scattered occurrences on sandy ground near the coast such as near Portland, near the Otways, and Wilsons Prom.”

all photographs courtesy of Pauline Renolds

Working bee volunteers at George St Reserve

Senecio longicollaris


Friends of the Watkins BayOn the whole we have had a good year, except that three of our group have experienced significant health problems and we wish them all the best. Our main task throughout the

year has been watering and

mulching, however the weed

Erhata sp. still persists.

This year for the first time there

has been tube stock of coast

beard heath, Leucopogon

parviflorus. This beautiful shrub,

which grows along the southern

coast of Australia and into NSW,

is not common at Ricketts Point

or Watkins Bay. A few years back

we were given some advanced

plants in spring tins but we failed

to get them through the very

dry summer despite extra care.

So far these little ones are doing

well, but are protected in their

plastic guards, heavily mulched

with seaweed and are carefully

watered.

We were also given five

advanced specimens of coast

banksias Banksia integrifolia.

Each plant has been adopted

by a Friend, planted, mulched,

watered and named. Most have

been named after a beloved pet,

(as a lot of our trees are) but one

is called Bill. These trees receive

extra visits from their special

Friend, mainly to receive a good

drink or two between working-

bees.

Earlier in the year we had thought

that the drought was breaking.

The difficulties caused by this

ongoing drought have made us

all more aware of the struggle to

survive for the plants in our own

gardens as well as those in our

care at the beach. It may sound

fanciful but they have almost

assumed pet status.

However it is interesting to

observe how tough some frontline

beach and dune species are,

such as the cushion bushes and

the saltbushes. We wonder if they

could be planted at any time of

the year other than autumn

and winter.

As mentioned in the autumn

Banksia Bulletin we were

delighted by the return of superb

fairy-wrens (blue wrens) to Ricketts

Point in January 2007. Currently

there are two pairs both using

areas that we have re-generated.

One pair has a chick and the

other pair sounds as if though they

have two chicks. They are very

shy and stay concealed most of

the time, probably because there

has been a pied currawong in

the area. These birds are known

predators of small birds, chicks

and eggs.

A very generous thing occurred in

September. The Beaumaris Branch

of the Bendigo Community Bank

offered financial support to

community groups.

We do not need much money

as we mostly supply labour;

however carting seaweed and

cans of water is a problem for us

because we are not young. We

applied for and received $300 to

buy a stout four-wheeled wagon

for this purpose as well as some

gardening gloves and small hand

tools. We are delighted with this

support and thank the Bendigo

Beaumaris Community Bank for

their generosity to us as well as to

other groups.

As always our thanks to Jo, Clare

and all the Bushland Crew for their

excellent support.

Moira LongdenCoordinator Friends of Watkins Bay


Street Tree StrategyIn February 2007, Council resolved

to review the Street Tree Planting

Strategy (1997). Councillor

Michael Norris and Councillor

Derek Wilson were appointed to

the review committee.

The previous Strategy dealt

exclusively with the evaluation

of the current street trees, the

proposed planting species in

selected streets and species lists

for the remainder of locations.

At our initial meetings the review

committee realised there were

many more issues regarding street

tree management that were not

covered in a document relating

to planting only, or currently only

covered at a policy level within

Council. As a result we decided

to prepare a new document titled

the Street Tree Strategy that will

incorporate reviewed information

from the previous Strategy and

also other strategic issues relating

to street tree management.

The proposed Street Tree Strategy

will incorporate issues such as:

• Programmed and reactive

pruning

• Species selection

• Street tree stocking

• Tree valuation

• Inappropriate trees

• Trees and development

• Whole street replacement

• Trees and infrastructure

• Tree and open space/

bushland

• Pest and disease management

• Resident communication

The proposed Street Tree Strategy

is currently available for public

comment. Comments will be

received until the end of

February 2008.

To see a copy and for more

information on how to provide

feedback, please visit our website

at www.bayside.vic.gov.au/

streettreestrategy/

Photograph by David Williams


Carp removal at Elsternwick Park lakeOver the past few months, Bayside City Council had been receiving a number of calls from concerned residents regarding the presence of the introduced fish species, the European carp (Cyprinus carpio) at Elsternwick Park lake.

Many residents were concerned

that carp may be responsible

for the disappearance of baby

ducklings. The fish size has

also raised comment from the

community with many large fish

being reported to Council.

Since the construction of the

lake at Elsternwick Park in 1998,

carp have found their way into

the lake. This is despite native fish

being introduced into the lake and

unfortunately, the number of carp

in Elsternwick Park lake have been

growing steadily.

Carp are reported to grow to

over one metre in length, and 60

kilograms in weight. In Australia, this

species may reach ten kilograms,

but four to five kilograms is more

usual. Carp are omnivorous,

sucking and straining mud from the

bottom and sucking insects and

plants from the surface. Juvenile

carp feed mainly on microscopic

algae, rotifers and crustaceans. It is

this feeding habit that has negative

impacts on the water body, as the

lake substrate is disturbed during

this feeding process, causing

sediment to float in the water

column, effecting light penetration

and ultimately, water quality. The

suspension of material in the water

increases what is known as turbity.

Turbidity favours the undesirable

algae species known as blue

/green algae over desirable and

more favoured algal species

favouring light.

The impact these introduced fish

have on Elsternwick Park lake could

be seen, as much of the lake was

often cloudy and brown coloured

due to carp feeding behaviour.

On 20 December 2007, K & C

Fisheries were contracted to

undertake carp removal. K & C

Fisheries are highly experienced

and one of the recommended

companies utilised by Department

of Primary Industries (DPI) for both

carp removal and the capture of

native fish for relocation.

Carp removal was conducted

using an 18-foot aluminum boat.

Citywide Parkcare staff were also

present to ensure safety during

the launching and retrieval of the

boat and to answer questions

from the public. This activity drew

considerable interest from people

of all ages and the most frequent

question was “what is going to

happen to the fish – will they be

processed for food or fertilizer”?

Many of the removed carp were

in the three kilograms to five

kilograms range. It was explained

that unfortunately the quantity of


fish in this lake did not allow for

food processing but that the fish

would probably end up as fertilizer.

Discussions with DPI staff and the

contractors confirmed that there

are no documented cases of carp

taking small water birds as was

suggested by many park visitors to

Elsternwick Park.

Section by section the lake was

cleared of fish, herding the bulk of

fish to the shallow end of the lake

where a large drag net was used

to remove the remaining fish from

the water. In total one hundred

and twenty fish and two tortoise

(which were returned to the lake)

were collected.

The release of carp into water

bodies is illegal. Anyone observing

such behaviour can report this

activity to DPI on 136 186.

Although it is unlikely that carp can

ever be totally eradicated from

Elsternwick Park lake, for now at

least – the lake vegetation has a

chance to re-establish.

References: http://www.amonline.

net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/

ccarpio.htm

Geoff SmithInfrastructure Team LeaderCitywide Parkcare

Photographs courtesy of Geoff Smith


This belief is common among

those non-indigenous Australians

who regards ourselves as

‘environmentalists’ (or ‘greenies).

I’ve been involved in discussions

with other ‘environmentalists’ in

Bayside (the suburbs of Brighton,

Hampton, Sandringham,

Beaumaris, Black Rock and parts

of Highett and Cheltenham) who

point to certain plants and animals

(including Australian ones) and

object to their presence because

they are not indigenous to this part

of Australia. My reply to this is ‘But

we are not indigenous’. One of

them acknowledged ‘Oh! I can’t

answer that’.

This hasn’t altered their passion,

nor has it led to them recognising

that when our ancestors (under

the command of Governor Phillip)

started occupying Australia in

1788 it was inhabited by the

fully developed human beings

whom we now call ‘Aborigines’,

or Indigenes). We celebrate our

occupation every year on 26

January and have a holiday

called ‘Australia Day’. Aboriginal

people call it ‘Invasion Day’.

Our dictionaries express our lack

of recognition in their definitions

of ‘wilderness’. For example, the

1981 ‘Macquarie Dictionary’ says

that a ‘wilderness’ is ‘a wild region

as of forest or desert; a waste; a

tract of land inhabited only by wild

animals; any desolate tracts, as of

water; a part of a garden set apart

for plants growing with unchecked

luxuriance…’.

And so when most of we ‘environmentalists’ talk of ‘wilderness’ areas in Aboriginal Australia, including Aboriginal Tasmania, we exclude Aboriginal people from our thoughts – and actions.One example of our ‘exclusion

habits’ was given about fifteen

years ago when Wurundjeri/

Woiwurrung Elder, Norman Hunter

(Wonga) complained to me

that his people were unable to

provide themselves with Kangaroo

meat (‘bush-tucker’) because

‘greenies’ had got the Victorian

Government to make it unlawful.

As for possums…well, you can

imagine! And so Wurundjeri/

Woiwurrung people had to import

‘lawful’ kangaroo meat from New

South Wales. (It was in New South

Wales that I had my first taste of

kangaroo meat). This was about

the time that ‘bush-tucker’ was

becoming fashionable among

some gourmands. (In May each

year Bayside City Council provides

bush-tucker at the annual flag-

raising ceremony at which

Council repeats its ‘Statement

of Commitment to Indigenous

Australians’.

Another example of our ‘exclusion

habits’ was provided by Mark

Dymiotis in his article ‘Global

Environmental Sustainability’

printed in the 2007 winter edition

of Banksia Bulletin. Mark wrote

‘Policies and actions must be

scrutinised for effectiveness in:

reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions, protection, enlargement

and restoration of wilderness (my

emphasis) areas where natural

(my emphasis) and evolving

biodiversity takes place, reduction

in the overall use of water – not just

in gardens and showers’.

Compare what Mark says with

what Clement Hodgkinson

said at the Vegetable Products

Royal Commission in 1887 ‘I

especially noticed that in the

Dandenong State Forest Reserve

(Boonerwurrung/Wurundjeri

country), the southern portion of

the land, which was included by

me in the forest, has been taken

off, and that in the southern

portion the finest trees (water

providers) in the forest existed. The

largest trees in the forest…were in

the portion cut off’.

The implication is that this

magnificent water producing

and conserving forest in the

Dandenong Ranges was the result

of thousands of years of skilled

Our Wilderness IllusionThe idea that wilderness is natural implies that human beings are separate from what we call ‘nature’ and therefore that we are ‘unnatural’.


management by Boonerwurrung

and Woiwurrung/Wurundjeri

people. The trees would have been

home to possums and koalas - an

important source of food and furs

for the people who home it was

– at the right time of year.

Mark did not mention that our Earth

(Mother Earth) is overpopulated,

that our population is increasing

– just like cancer cells – and we

are searching for ways to make

our endless growth and forest

destruction safe or ‘sustainable’.

When I read Mark’s article, I was

busy with my own article “Climate

change was predicted 120 years

ago”. I expected comments

about Mark’s sustainability goals

from others in the next issue of the

Banksia Bulletin and assumed that

further discussion was unnecessary.

One way to explore our wilderness/natural mistake is to examine the situation in Aboriginal Victoria.One example comes from

Lieutenant JH Tuckey, the First

Lieutenant of “His Majesty’s Ship

Calcutta”, which brought the

expedition commanded by Lt

Colonel David Collins, to “Port

Phillip Bay” (Nerm), in 1803. A

convict settlement was established

in Boonerwrung country near

Sorrento and Arthur’s Seat (Wonga)

in October 1803, but it was not

sustainable. Collins had already

experienced the desperate

struggle for survival of Governor

Phillip and the First Fleet in Sydney

1788 – 1791 and so he shifted from

Nerm/Port Phillip to Aboriginal Van

Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in April/

May 1804.

Lt Tuckey wrote a book about the

expedition. It is called “An account

of a voyage to establish a colony

at Port Phillip in Bass’s Strait, on the

south coast of New South Wales, in

His Majesty’s ship Calcutta, in the

years 1802-3-4”. He wrote of the

head of the Bay (Nerm) near the

Yarra and Saltwater/Maribyrnong

rivers (Woiwurrung/Wurundjeri

and Boonerwrung Country) ‘The

face of the country bordering on

the port is beautifully picturesque,

swelling into gentle elevations of

the brightest verdure and dotted

with trees as if planted by the hand

of taste (guess whose hands they

were) while the ground is covered

with a profusion of flowers of every

colour...’ (p. 73).

Tuckey said of the soil ‘Its blackness

proceeds from the ashes of the

burnt grass which everywhere has

been set fire to by the natives’. This

was a foretaste of the: - ‘controlled

burns’ conducted by the ‘Bushland

Teams’ employed by Bayside City

Council, and reported in Banksia

Bulletin.

Rhys Jones discussed the Australia-

wide use of fire by Indigenous

people to cultivate their country

and maintain sustainability in 1969

in the journal ‘Australian Natural

History’. Rhys Jones coined the

phrase ‘Fire Stick Farming’ to

describe Aboriginal methods.

Aboriginal use of fire as a tool to

make their home safe and fruitful

was also discussed by Sylvia Hallam

in her book: ‘Fire And Hearth – A

Study of Aboriginal usage and

European Usurpation in South

Western Australia’. Hallam wrote

‘The land the English settled (on the

Swan River, Perth) was not as “God

made it”, it was as Aborigines had

made it’.

An eyewitness account of the

use of fire by Indigenous people is

given by Mary Gilmore in her book

‘Old Days Old Ways’. The relevant

chapter is ‘Fire and The Planted

Seed’. All Bayside libraries have a

copy of Mary Gilmore’s book.

In 2004 the Federal Government established a national enquiry on bushfire mitigation and management.The enquiry report said ‘There is

widespread acknowledgement

that Indigenous Australian’s burning

over more than 40,000 years has

played a central role in shaping the

biodiversity of Australia.

In recent decades there have

been major advances in

understanding the ways Indigenous

Australians use fire.


For example: to hunt, to promote

new grass which attracts game, to

make the country easier to travel

through, to clear the country of

spiritual pollution after death, to

create fire breaks for late in the

dry season, and for a variety of

other reasons’. By 2004, the total

of Australia’s Indigenous and non-

Indigenous population was more

than 20 million. Pity help our fabled

wilderness areas!

Lt. Tuckey’s description of Port Phillip

Bay (Nerm) shows that it was not a

wilderness. But what about the rest

of the ‘Port Phillip District of New

South Wales’. Was there room for a

‘wilderness’ somewhere else?

Fortunately, in 1990 the Monash

University Department of Geography

and Environmental Science

published a book written by Ian D.

Clark entitled ‘Aboriginal Languages

and Clans: An Historical Atlas of

Western and Central Victoria,

1800-1990’.

Dr Clark’s book includes 16 maps

which cover all of (Aboriginal)

Victoria. Not a ‘wilderness’ anywhere

to be seen, but plenty of forests with

big evergreen trees!

It is impractical to include all of

Clark’s 16 maps in the Banksia

Bulletin. Only the map which

includes the areas that we now

call ‘Port Phillip Bay’ (Nerm) and

‘Westernport Bay’ (Warn-mor-in) has

been included. Ian Clark shows the

‘Bun Wurrung’, ‘Woi Wurrung’ and

‘Wada Wurrung’ as the people who

prevented these areas from being

‘wilderness’s and ‘natural’.

Once you see the tables you will

understand how this map will appeal

to Bayside residents because we are

familiar with places it covers.

Brenn Barcan Local Resident

Our Wilderness Illusion (cont.)


The family group stayed together

for a few months roosting next

door in a beautiful Agonis

flexuose, Willow Myrtle, in the

Pearce garden. Eventually the

young birds dispersed however

we did not know to where.

When spring came in 2007 we

wondered if the birds would

return to my garden to nest again

the Eucalyptus nicholli.

All year the parent birds had

roosted together during the

day in their favourite tree in the

Pearce garden, then early in

September one bird was missing

and did not return. The 2006 nest

tree in my garden was deserted,

possibly because the canopy

is very thin this year. Drought or

hungry possums, or both may

cause this. The primary school

is nearby, as well as some lovely

gardens, so Ted and I hunted

around and eventually found the

other Frogmouth making a nest

in a Liquidamber a few houses

away in the beautiful Morris

garden in Beaumaris. It was very

high up in a fork, just a collection

of a few sticks.

Sitting commenced about 20

September. About one month

later the parents appeared to be

carrying food to the nest and by

19 November two well-feathered

young were observed hopping

along the bough beside the nest

preening and vigorously flapping

their small wings.

On 24 November the Pearce’s

awoke to a lovely sight. There

was the little family in their

favourite daytime roost, the

beautiful Willow Myrtle, outside

their kitchen window.

Most days they are there but

sometimes they come back to

my Eucalyptus nicholli where their

plumage blends perfectly with

the bark.

Moira Longden Local resident

Frogmouth Diary sequelIn 2006 a pair of Tawny Frogmouths nested in my back garden and raised two young.

Photograph by Frank


Banksia Bulletin – postal copy or electronic copy?This summer edition of the Banksia Bulletin completes the first full complement of seasons with our ‘new look’.

We have received some very

positive feedback regarding

the new layout, and especially

regarding the amazing array of

colour photographs.

As part of our ongoing

commitment to keeping the

Banksia Bulletin a publication you

continue to enjoy and receive,

we are currently updating our

mailing list and transferring

this into a new and improved

database.

We have attached a tear-out slip

on the following page asking you

to confirm your contact details. As

some of you may be aware, we

make each edition of the Banksia

Bulletin available on the Bayside

City Council website at www.

bayside.vic.gov.au We have also

had some requests to receive the

Banksia Bulletin electronically as a

PDF document.

We would now like to hear from

you to let us know how you would

like to receive the Banksia Bulletin

in the future.

I encourage all of our readers to

return the tear-out slip to us so

that we can confirm your contact

details, and so that we will know

if you would like to receive the

Banksia Bulletin via email instead

of receiving a hard copy posted

to you in the mail. We have

ensured that this is a separate

page in this edition so you do not

have to worry about tearing out

part of an article.

This will ensure we have your most

recent contact details and also

enable us to determine our print

numbers for hard copy and set up

an electronic email subscription

list for the Banksia Bulletin.

Thank you for your continued

support of the Banksia Bulletin and

I look forward to receiving your

feedback.

Amy Weir Editor


Banksia Bulletin mailbag.Editors Note:

Occasionally an article in the Banksia Bulletin creates some discussion amongst our readers and I received the following email from Mr Donn Pattenden in relation to an article that appeared on page four of the winter edition of the Banksia Bulletin. I have reproduced it here with Mr Pattenden’s permission as it raised some interesting points of view I thought our readers would be interested in.

‘Dear Ms Weir,

I read with interest the article by Jenny Talbot and Elizabeth McQuire. Although I agree with

almost everything they say, I have a couple of points to make about their opposition to the

growing of rice and cotton in Victoria. The authors suggest that these most water-intensive of

crops should only be grown in high-rainfall areas such as Indonesia.

I find it interesting that so many Victorian environmentalists tend to single out rice as the one

food product that should be discontinued here. Surely the production of beef and dairy takes

far more water and generates far more pollution than rice.

Could it be that these environmentalists lose sight of scientific objectivity where their stomachs

are concerned? Australians relate to beef and dairy products as necessities. Most do not feel

that way about rice. No doubt most would even suggest that beer is more important than rice.

Australians consume too much beef, dairy and beer. Many do not get enough whole grains.

Objectively speaking, which would be better for Victorians and their environment: a reduction

in the production and consumption of beef, dairy and beer, or the eradication of the rice

industry? Cotton is also a problematic crop in terms of water usage and pollution. Most of the

cotton products sold in Australia are made in China and India. These countries also suffer from

drought, the effects of which are unimaginable to those of us fortunate enough to live in a

place as comfortable as Victoria.

Ideally, most Australian clothing would be made from locally grown organic hemp. But the

abolition of the cotton industry would not bring this about. I would prefer to buy Australian

cotton products than Asian ones, because environmental standards are higher here.

I agree that it is time to seriously re-consider what we choose to grow and produce in this

state. But if we are to do this, it must be done with objectivity and rigour. In an age of climate

change and peak oil, we must truly think globally about the environmental costs of the things

we produce and consume.

Unlike most Victorians, I have a diet based on organic, locally grown brown rice. Although I

would be disappointed if I could no longer consume this product, I would be happy to do so if

an alternative could be suggested: a gluten-free grain more suitable to Australia’s dry climate.

Most Australians baulk at the notion of changing their animal-product-based diets in the

interests of sustainability.

It is not enough to outsource the production of problematic crops. If Australia was not made

for rice, then it was not made for cows either.

Best regards,

Donn Pattenden


Banksia Bulletin mailing list form

We are currently in the process of updating our Banksia Bulletin database.

We would appreciate it if you could please take a few moments to confirm your details.

Name:

Postal address:

Email:

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REPLY PAID 27

SANDRINGHAM VIC 3191


Time/Day MAR APR MAY

Balcombe Park Last Sunday 10am - noon

30th 27th 25th

Bay Rd 2nd Saturday 10am - noon

8th 12th 10th

BRASCA Contact Janet Ablitt ph 9589 6646

Brighton Dunes 2nd Sunday 9am - 11am

9th 13th 11th

Tuesdays 8am - 10am 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th

1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th

6th, 13th, 20th, 27th

Cheltenham Park 1st Sunday 10am - noon

2nd 6th 4th

Cheltenham Primary 2nd Friday 9.30am - noon

14th 11th 9th

Donald MacDonald 1st Sunday 10am - noon

2nd 6th 4th

George St 3rd Sunday 10am - noon

16th 20th 18th

Gramatan 1st Sunday 1 - 3pm

2nd 6th 4th

Long Hollow Last Sunday 1pm - 3pm

30th 27th 25th

Friends of Merindah Park and the Urban Forest

2nd Sunday 10am - 12pm

9th 13th 11th

Friends of Native Wildlife - Contact M. Norris*

1st Saturday 9.30am

Ricketts Point Landside 3rd Tuesday 1pm - 3pm

18th 15th 20th

Table Rock Last Tuesday 12.30pm - 2.30pm

25th 29th 27th

Watkins Bay Last Wednesday 1pm - 3pm

26th 30th 28th

Friends of BaysideWorking Bee times for March to May 2008

*Contact Michael Norris for site details on (03) 9521 0804


www.bayside.vic.gov.au

banksia bulletin summer 2008

Documents

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