banksia bulletin
issue number 032 - summer 2008/2009
Friends of Bayside 2009 contact list Friends of Balcombe Park Coordinator: Joan Couzoff 26 Balcombe Park Lane, Beaumaris 3193 Phone: (03) 9589 1060
Friends of Long Hollow Heathland/ Friends of Table Rock Coordinator: Ken Rendell 33 Clonmore Street, Beaumaris 3193 Phone: (03) 9589 4452
Friends of Bay Road Reserve Coordinator: Michael Norris (Southern Ward Councillor) 5 Deakin Street, Hampton 3188 Phone: (03) 9521 0804
Friends of Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary Coordinator: Ken Rendell
Acknowledgements Thank 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.
Friends of Merindah Park and the Urban Forest Coordinator: David Cockburn 72 Spring Street, Sandringham 3191 Phone: (03) 9598 6148
Disclaimer The views expressed in the Banksia Bulletin are not necessarily those of Bayside City Council or its representatives.
Friends of Native Wildlife Coordinator: Michael Norris (Southern Ward Councillor) 5 Deakin Street, Hampton 3188 Phone: (03) 9521 0804
Editors Amy Hough and Andrea Davies
BRASCA Coordinator: Janet Ablitt 4A Fairleigh Avenue, Beaumaris 3193 Phone: (03) 9589 6646 Friends of Brighton Dunes Coordinators: Elizabeth McQuire 34 Normanby Street, Brighton 3186 Phone: (03) 9592 6474 and Jenny Talbot 71 Champion Street, Brighton 3186 Phone: (03) 9592 2109 Friends of Cheltenham Park Coordinator: Valerie Tyers 65 The Corso, Parkdale 3194 Phone: (03) 9588 0107 Cheltenham Primary School Sanctuary PO Box 289, Cheltenham 3192 Phone: (03) 9583 1614 Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve Coordinators: Alison and Bill Johnston 4 Wellington Avenue, Beaumaris 3193 Phone: (03) 9589 5459
Friends of Ricketts Point Landside Coordinator: Sue Raverty 5 Rosemary Road, Beaumaris 3193 Phone: (03) 9589 2103 Friends of Watkins Bay Coordinator: Moira Longden 73 Dalgetty Road, Beaumaris 3195 Phone: (03) 9589 2725 Marine Care Inc. Ricketts Point Convenor Phil Stuart PO Box 7356, Beaumaris 3193 Mobile: 0419 366 513 St. Leonards College Conservation Group 163 South Road, Brighton East 3187 Phone: (03) 9592 2266
Banksia Bulletin is published quarterly by Bayside City Council to service people interested in enjoying and protecting the local environment. If you would like to be added to the Banksia Bulletin mailing list, please contact Bayside City Council on 9599 4444 or email: banksia@bayside.vic.gov.au. Please indicate whether you would prefer to receive your Banksia Bulletin by post or via email. Corporate Centre PO Box 27 Royal Avenue SANDRINGHAM VIC 3191 Telephone: 9599 4444 www.bayside.vic.gov.au enquiries@bayside.vic.gov.au Hours of business 8.30am – 5pm Monday – Friday (except public holidays)
Friends of George Street Reserve Coordinators: Val Tarrant 47 Bayview Crescent, Black Rock 3193 Phone: (03) 9598 0554 and Pauline Reynolds 9 Reno Road, Sandringham 3191 Phone: (03) 9598 6368 Cover photograph: Milkmaid (Burchardia umbellata) by Pauline Reynolds
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Copy deadlines 2009 Copy deadlines are set for the first Friday of the month of release: Autumn 2009 Friday 6 March 2009 for release end March Winter 2009 Friday 5th June for release end June
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Printed on 100% recycled paper.
In this ISSUE Friends of Brighton Dunes Jenny Talbot Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve Alison Johnston Friends of George Street Reserve Valerie Tarrant and Pauline Reynolds Stinging tails from Ricketts Point Landslide Mark Rasmussen
From the Mayor 4
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From the Coast Bushland Crew 9 Katrina Perrett and Kate Brydon Marine photography at Ricketts Point Amy Hough The bird that bit me Kim Croker A Cafe Latte and a Vanilla Slice David Gabriel-Jones Eulalie’s Bench Michelle Leber
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Do you know your invertebrates? Amy Hough
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The Indigenous Resource Garden Jim Richardson
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Playful or desperate? Dolphins at Brighton Brenn Barcan
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Summer by the sea
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Friends of Bayside Working Bee times
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Summer is here and I am delighted to welcome our readers to the first edition of Banksia Bulletin for 2009 and also to write my first welcome as Mayor. I hope you all enjoyed a good break and relaxing and enjoyable times with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Bayside City Council election results were declared in December 2008 with four restanding councillors returned to office and three new councillors elected, with one having served two earlier terms with Bayside. I was delighted to be elected Mayor with Cr Clifford Hayes as my Deputy. The 2008 Bayside City Council Election results were: Northern Ward • Clifford Hayes (returned) • Alex del Porto (returned) Central Ward • James Long (returned) • Felicity Frederico (new) • Louise Cooper-Shaw (new) Southern Ward • Simon Russell (previous Councillor) • Michael Norris (returned)
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Bayside Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Robb, paid tribute to the new and former councillors for their dedication and commitment to the community and the organisation. “Together with the staff, we look forward to working with the newly-elected representatives of our community to continue to make Bayside a desirable place to live and to retain and improve our facilities and services,” Mr Robb said. “Council continues to have challenging times ahead with renewal of assets, protection and improvement of our built and natural environment and providing quality services, such as aged care, family care, immunisation, environmental health, economic development, and recreational and leisure, to all of our community.” I am looking forward to serving my term as Mayor and hope to meet many of our Friends, members and other volunteers during my travels around Bayside over the coming year. Cr James Long Mayor
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Friends of Brighton Dunes (Dr Jim Willis Reserve)
Strangely enough, in spite of the lack of rainfall, our plants are looking quite good, apart from those that died last summer. Possibly it is because we have had a proper winter this year, which we haven’t had for many years. Although the rainfall has been so low, there has been a lot of cold weather, and this has kept what little moisture there has been in the soil. The seaberry saltbush (Rhagodia candolleana) is flourishing. It has proved extremely resilient, other species less so. Many of our coast wattles (Acacia sophorae) have died, sadly the huge prostrate one near the south end of Dendy Street beach is sick and has died back considerably. A number of mature tea trees (Leptospermum laevigatum) have died.
These open spaces provide habitat for birds and small mammals, a refuge for indigenous plants, provide valuable ‘lungs’ of clean air, are aesthetically a delight, help regulate the climate by moderating cold and heat, and give us one of the nicest places to live in Melbourne. The summer of 2007-2008 was so long and so hot and dry that it finished off many struggling plants. By October 2007 we were trying to keep the seedlings we’d put in alive by carrying water in to them. This year has been better. .
Our old black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) has survived the last few years, which is incredible in view of the fact that it is now over 70 years old. The magnificent bursaria (Bursaria spinosa var. macrophylla) hasn’t survived. It was over 100 years old. In spite of the determined push towards bigger and bigger concrete mansions, (did you know the size an average house in Melbourne has doubled over the past 20 years?), Bayside’s parks and reserves remain the jewel in the crown.
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Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve Every time we lift our heads and spot a blue wren, we know our hard work is worthwhile. We are grateful as always, to ever-supportive Jo Hurse and Mark Rasmussen from Citywide. Mark has set a new benchmark in his thoughtful appraisal of ecosystems, and capacity for hard physical work. Another year has gone, may the next one bring rain!
Jenny Talbot Co-convenor Friends of the Brighton Dunes (Dr Jim Willis Reserve).
We were saddened by the death in October of one of our members, Madeline Meehan. She had been one of our Friends since the formation of the group in 1992, and we would like to acknowledge her contribution over the years. We appreciated her friendship and ‘no nonsense’, practical support, maintaining her interest and concern even through her illness.
logs, ready for planting with indigenous species next year. We heartily commend their efforts and hope to report on the project more fully in a future edition of the Banksia Bulletin.
Alison Johnston Coordinator, Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve
Our working bees continue as usual on the first Sunday of each month. In consultation with Bayside City Council and Citywide staff, we are preparing a leaflet to promote Donald MacDonald Reserve, and our Friends Group. We hope this will be published early in 2009. In the reserve, during the past few months, a group of about 20 students from Bentleigh Secondary College have been working with Dan (of Citywide Bushland Crew), and their teacher, in the area between Fourth Street, and the sportsground. They very enthusiastically and energetically removed Coprosma repens (mirror bush) and other weeds, and edged each section with
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Friends of George Street Reserve The last weeks of spring saw the heathland grasses sending up seed heads and making a fine picture as they swayed in the wind.
The indigenous grasses of Victoria are an endangered species so we can be grateful for opportunities to propagate and care for a number of them in our reserves. Earlier we found a great spread of Kennedia prostrata (running postman) covering the ground near the east side of the burned area. The scarlet pea shaped flowers make a marvellous display and we hope they return next year.
Kennedia prostrata photograph by Pauline Reynolds 6
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Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata flower) Photograph by Pauline Reynolds
Rice Flower (Pimelia phylicoides) Photograph by Pauline Reynolds
An unusual rice flower Pimelia phylicoides, the heath rice flower has appeared in the large fenced wildfire site near the northern gate. This species was found at Long Hollow Heathland after the 2002 controlled burn but died in the intense heat of the 2005 summer. We are delighted also with the three cassinias (Cassinia arcuata) that have emerged. These drooping cassinias have been called ‘Chinese Scrub’ because they were known to have colonised disturbed ground adjoining Chinese encampments on the gold diggings. See the reference by G.R. Cochrane, B.A. Fuhrer, E.H. Rotherham and J.H. Willis, ‘Flowers and Plants of Victoria’, (H. & A.W. Reed, Sydney, 1973). Cassinias are also found at Long Hollow Heathland.
At the monthly work parties Friends are mainly occupied with weeding, some of which has involved ingenious ways of manoeuvring around blackened branches and twigs. The rewards are finding the increasing growth of the heathland species that we want to nurture. We are always grateful for the way in which Citywide and Bayside City Council staff provide enthusiastic and practical support for the Friends and for all the work that enables the reserve to flourish.
Valerie Tarrant and Pauline Reynolds Joint Coordinators
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Stinging tails from Ricketts Point Landside
Wood Scorpion - Cercophonius squama
Several months ago I was working at Ricketts Point Landside, moving fallen banksia logs. As I was rolling over a particularly large log I noticed what I thought was a strange looking spider. Definitely an Arachnid of some sort. It had created a small burrow and was curled up tightly. Suddenly it came to life and took off. I was surprised to see that it wasn’t a spider at all, it was a small scorpion. It was chocolate brown and as big as a thumbnail. Do we have indigenous scorpions in Bayside? I decided to find out. The Museum Victoria website was very helpful in identifying which species I had found. It was the ‘Southern’ or ‘wood’ scorpion, Cercophonius squama. It is commonly found throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria, as well as parts of southern New South Wales and South Australia. Feeding at night, it eats a wide range of small insects and invertebrates, and has even been known to be cannibalistic. 8
Another scorpion found locally is the Black Rock Scorpion, Urodacus manicatus. When I first saw this species listed I thought it may have been unique to the Black Rock area. However, the name only refers to the colour of this particular scorpion, not its location. Having researched the wood scorpion from several books and websites, I have been monitoring the site and have found several more have moved into the same location. I recently took some photos of the scorpions, which I have included in this article. For further information follow the link: http://museumvictoria.com.au/ DiscoveryCentre/Infosheets/ Southern-or-Wood-Scorpion/
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I enjoy working with Sue Raverty and the other volunteers at Ricketts Point Landside. We are lucky to be involved with such a unique environment. With people visiting the site less frequently than some areas on the foreshore, an opportunity exists for creating and preserving a habitat suited more for the plants and animals of this area.
Mark Rasmussen Citywide Open Space – Coast Bushland Crew (PHOTOS COURTESY of M. Rasmussen)
From the Coast Bushland Crew It all started one rainy day in August when two girls went to volunteer at the Bayside Community Nursery. A quick chat with Erika and two timely vacancies at CityWide meant new doors opened for Katrina and Kate. The girls met while working at an environmental company and are now the newest members of the Bushland Crew. Katrina comes from an equestrian background studying Horse Management and is fairly new to the environmental field. Kate studied Environmental Science at universities in Darwin and New Zealand. Over the past three months we have been excited with the experiences of coastal bushland management. Our work so far has mainly involved weed control. It has been particularly rewarding to see the results of the 2006 burn site at Jetty Road on Sandringham foreshore, which remains relatively weed free. We have also made a new friend in this area – a superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) who regularly comes to visit our vehicle and check himself out in the mirror. An important part of our role is interacting with the Friends groups. Once a month we meet with Table Rock, St Leonard’s and Watkins Bay, which is very enjoyable and we would especially like to thank Moira for her fruit loaf! BRASCA (Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association) is a rather
enthusiastic group, which meets every Sunday. Over the past few weeks BRASCA has been tackling Coprosma repens (mirror bush) on the beach with the aim of replanting the site in 2009. Another focus of the coastal bushland team is teaching school groups such as St Leonard’s about protecting our foreshore and distinguishing indigenous and non-indigenous plants. The students seem to enjoy these work groups and gain knowledge through hands-on experience. We are looking forward to an action packed 2009 and all that it brings – weed control, seed collection, preparation of new revegetation sites and replanting. With the generous help of volunteers we aim to continue the improvement of Bayside foreshore bushland and feel proud to be a part of this dedicated community.
Katrina Perrett and Kate Brydon Citywide Open Space – Coast Bushland Crew
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Photograph by Kim Croker
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Marine photography at Ricketts Point Every now and I then I get contacted by local residents who let me know that they have ‘some photographs’ they have taken in and around Bayside of our native flora and fauna.
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Sand tube
First column from top to bottom Eleven-arm starfish Nautlius Sea snail Port Jackson shark egg case Soldier crab
Second column from top to bottom Nautlius Eleven arm starfish Seaweed Sponge Of course, I’m always keen to see them and hopefully share them with our readers. I think you will all agree with me that the following selection of photographs are amazing and give a very unique view of some of the aquatic creatures you might be lucky to spot this summer around the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. They are so beautiful I thought they deserved their very own double page spread. I would like to acknowledge and thank very much, photographer Kim Croker for sharing these with us. Kim is a member of multiple friends groups in Bayside and as you can see, a keen photographer! Keep an eye out for more of Kim’s photographs in future editions of the Banksia Bulletin…
Amy Hough Editor
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The bird that bit me I stood looking out at the rocks of Ricketts Point and wondered why people were so interested in what looked like ‘a whole lot of seagulls’. I then pointed at a small brown bird that was walking, sorry wading, around on the edges of the water and asked “what’s that bird?”
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Thus I became a bird watcher! Then as if to seal the deal I was asked to help with a bird count. That can’t be hard I boldly thought. So on my first Saturday, with great trepidation and blustering confidence of having read my “Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia”, I set off with my ‘adequate’ binoculars. As expected ‘the ubiquitous seagulls’
but then amongst the well known feathered figures I encountered two birds; black and white with red legs and red beaks. But I hadn’t read up on those ones. A hasty call to a bird guru friend and I was told to “just remember them and look them up later”. I had my camera with me…that might help…I took a very long distance fuzzy photo of my first ‘unknown birds’ and hoped I would remember what size and shape they were and which way their bills tilted. With the adrenalin still pumping… ”what if I couldn’t do this?”…I started to count. How do I know what I am looking at? How do you count sea gulls (silver gulls Larus novaehollandiae) when they seem to multiply while you watch? And what is the difference between a big cormorant and a small cormorant if they aren’t sitting next to each other like in the book? The next couple of weeks proved to be interesting, educational and at times highly amusing. I never thought there was ‘bird watching rage’, as a man hurled abuse at me for ruining his Sunday morning by being a ‘policewoman’ and spying on him with my binoculars, or that there were so many ‘experts’ happy to share their ignorance as opposed to the real experts that I have learnt so much from. September is the time when many ‘flying transients’ make their way to some other place and will, if you are lucky, rest in the shallows of the bay. It became almost disappointing when there wasn’t a different bird for me to discover each day and send me nose first into my now expanded collection of bird identification books and sheets.
My first unknown black and white bird, the pied oyster catcher (Haematopus longirostris) was not seen again. The royal spoonbill (Platalea regia) in breeding plumage was certainly the most splendid but when a Australian white or sacred ibis (Threskiornis molucca) decided to share the same piece of water, and the next day I spotted a white necked or pacific heron (Ardea pacifica) I thought I had made it into ‘twitcher heaven’*. Not to be confused with the white necked heron, the white faced heron (Ardea novaehollandiae) was often seen but the sight of over 200 little black cormorants (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) taking flight one Sunday morning – fantastic! But there were also the birds that come to the area regularly, which so many people just discount as ‘birds’. The pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus), the black swans, (Cygnus atratus), the pacific gull (Larus pacificus) and its many colour variations depending on its age (and no it isn’t an albatross), the crested terns (Sterna bergii) that look just like seagulls crouched down on the rocks if you don’t spot their black cap, and the cormorants; pied, (Phalacrocorax varius) little pied, (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) and the little black (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) I can now tell the difference…from a distance! I have become a ‘bird nerd’.
I can now be seen standing looking up into trees or worse just standing in the middle of a path straining to catch the song of a wren or was it a thornbill? I have bought another pair of binoculars but I would really like the ones I can’t afford and of course, I need a new camera to be able to take better pictures and share this new found passion. The good thing about bird watching is you don’t need to be an expert and you don’t really need any special equipment. It can be done anytime of the day and just about anywhere you like, even your own back yard. And that ‘little brown bird’ - the bird that started this bug!? A sharp-tailed sandpiper (Calidris acuminata)
Kim Croker Bayside resident and member of Marine Care Ricketts Point and Friends of Donald MacDonald Reserve.
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*Twitcher is a term used for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be “ticked” off on a “list”. The usage of the term twitcher began in the 1950s originating from a phrase used to describe the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher.
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A Café Latte and a Vanilla Slice Where to find the good life? In Melbourne there’s nothing but lukewarm café latte and falling share prices. In the country there’s drought and locust plagues… but at least people in the country have community. From Toongabbie to Patchewollock the volunteer ethic is alive and well. In Natimuk (population 400) there are 55 volunteer groups. In any country town, alongside the CFA, the CWA, the SAS and the School Council, you’re likely to find half a dozen committees managing public land – from the recreation reserve to the showgrounds and the war memorial – and what’s more, managing them reasonably well. Melbournians leave public land management the local council or to Parks Victoria, and then complain about their mismanagement over lukewarm lattes (except in Brimbank, where they storm the Council chamber, as you’ll see by checking out ‘Sydenham Soccer Club’ on youtube). Melbourne – urban lethargy? Is Melbourne really so different from the rest of Victoria? As an article of faith (not as a result of any empirical research) Terra Publica believes that if put to the test, Melbourne people would prove to be as committed, resourceful and willing as their country counterparts when it comes to managing their communities’ public land. According to our thesis, Melbournians have become latte-sipping observers not through any intrinsic urban lethargy, but because of deficient administrative systems. If only sound governance mechanisms were available, they would jump up from their footpath cafés and start revegetating the local creek. More than that – actually taking responsibility for the local creek. Fanciful? Maybe, maybe not. There are several formulae currently available for community involvement in public land management – but each has its limitations.
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• ‘Local’ Committees of Management under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 were the accepted form of delegated management a hundred years ago, but their enabling legislation has failed to move with the times. They may be appointed only over Crown land, not freehold land; they answer to DSE, rather than to the local Council – even if the land they manage is of purely local significance. They have no structured relationship to their true constituency, namely the local community. With very few exceptions, this formula has not been employed in metropolitan Melbourne. • Section 86 Committees appointed under the Local Government Act 1989 are not incorporated entities, but mere appendages of their parent councils. They are only vicariously responsible for their own decisions, cannot enter into contracts, employ staff, or even hold insurance. They can have no structured relationship either with their community or other stakeholders except through the council. Metropolitan councils seldom use them for land management – one notable exception being the committee, which manages South Melbourne Market on behalf of the City of Port Phillip. • Clubs and societies formed under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 are certainly corporate entities (that’s the whole point of that particular Act) but they’re answerable to their own membership rather than to any landowner on whose behalf they may operate. There are plenty of incorporated associations using public land in Melbourne – but they tend to be there as tenants or ‘friends’ groups, rather than as actual
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land managers. They could enter into some form of tenure or management agreement with a land owner, but it would essentially be a contract rather than a principal agent agreement, with corresponding problems of dual accountability • Friends Groups are a well-established component of public land management. Some are incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981; some have the protection afforded ‘conservation volunteers’ under the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987. They often provide unpaid labour for an official land manager, such as Parks Victoria, but seldom recognise or utilise the full range of skills, resources and goodwill available from the wider community. These structural deficiencies apply statewide – so why associate them specifically with the Melbourne metropolitan community-engagement vacuum? Perhaps it’s something to do with distances or population densities, or council resources and economies of scale, or litigiousness and risk exposures, or demography and social cohesion… Frankly, we don’t know. Readers with insights on this question are welcome to write in! Towards a New Paradigm But even if we can’t fully explain the phenomenon, we are sticking to our thesis. Melbourne needs a new paradigm for community involvement in public land management. Here are the essential elements of our next-generation delegated managers: • They will have corporate definition. Our community groups must be able to form into legally-recognised corporate entities, capable of entering into contracts, receiving grants, holding assets and insurance, and suing and being sued • As local land managers, they will have local accountability: their primary external relationship will be with their municipality rather than with DSE, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity
• They will be entrusted to exercise authority – to make decisions, issue tenures, manage their own funds, employ staff, and even enforce regulations • They will be status-neutral – that is, capable of taking responsibility for any public land of local significance, whether it be reserved Crown land or freehold reserves vested in the council • Their objectives will be set by mutual agreement between the community and the council – and will be renewed at, say, three-year intervals.
And what about that vanilla slice? And if we ever get some decent country values into metropolitan Melbourne, we might also get a decent vanilla slice to go with this lukewarm café latte. Reproduced with kind permission from David Gabriel-Jones from The Public Land Consultancy and taken from Terra Publica; Vol. 8 No. 7 October-November 2008
Editor’s Note: David Gabriel-Jones is interested in receiving feedback or opinions regarding this article, which he has said he will publish in a future edition of Terra Publica. If you do have an opinion and would like to submit something for consideration in the next edition of Terra Publica, please send to: David Gabriel-Jones Principal The Public Land Consultancy 57 / 151-153 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda PO Box 2251, St Kilda West, Vic 3182 dgj@publicland.com.au
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Eulalie’s Bench i.m. Eulalie Bennett In this sanctuary, where the tea-trees long-bough twist and sculpt to a history of seasons and sun, two young grass-tree spikes
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gallant-bold-rise, their yellow-flower heads touch at their tips, and heat-struck seed pods open with an eerie clicking that follows one along an untamed path.
Here, native bracken fronds, in various stages of unfurling, trace the air for moisture. A solo dragon-fly dip-darts into the pond then hovers above the low canopy; one can watch it disappear then reappear, catching its buzz just left of ear.
Above, wattle birds on their Spring guard, swift-wing swoop
** Michelle Leber has a history as a spoken word poet at many venues around Melbourne. She won the Poetry Slam at the St Kilda Writers Festival in 2006. One of her poems travelled on Melbourne trains as part of the Moving Galleries Autumn series, 2008.
at minors with squawk that startles all below. And here, on your wooden seat in the epicenter of this reserve, a flash of your flora-dreaming blazons bright, opens a banskia husk, its velvet interior soft in my hand.
Photographs by Michelle Leber From left to right: 1. Teatree flower (Leptospermum laevigatum) 2. Grass tree flower spikes (Xanthorrhoea minor) 3. Slice of teatree stump (Leptospermum laevigatum) 4. Grass tree flower spike (Xanthorrhoea minor)
Š Michelle Leber
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Do you know your invertebrates? Pauline Reynolds, Co-Coordinator of Friends of George Street Reserve and avid photographer, recently took these shots of a mysterious moth and a baffling bug‌
Can any of our readers tell us what these critters are? Email us at banksia@bayside.vic.gov.au and we’ll publish a selection of responses in the next edition.
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The Indigenous Resource Garden The indigenous resource garden covers much of the quadrant of parkland at the corner of Royal Avenue and Bluff Road, Sandringham.
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The idea for such a garden was conceived by some local conservationists, notably Don and Nancy Neal. It was opened on 30 October 1988, by the then Mayor of Sandringham, as a Bicentenary Project with funding from the Federal Government, State Government and some from Local Government also. The garden itself was designed by Rosemary Manion, a landscape architect from Bayside. Advice on suitable native plants was contributed by Beth Gott, a botanist from Monash University. The plants in the garden were placed around and within semi-circular bluestone walls, forming an ‘S’ shaped structure. A small pond and bog garden containing several basalt boulders is located within a larger semi-circle. Immediately in front of the semi-circle is a sculpture, ‘The Swimmer’ by local artist Guy Boyd, with a plaque at its base depicting a beach scene, which was completed by his daughter Lenore. Altogether there were originally 64 varieties of native plants under eight separate categories, from grasses and creepers to shrubs and trees, all identified by a nearby sign. However, with the passage of time, many of these plant identification signs disappeared and weed infestation took place. The original name of the garden was the ‘Native Resource Garden’. There were also three vertical interpretative panels towards the rear of the garden. On these was a brief history of the garden, mention of the Bunurong Tribe, which inhabited
the Bayside region, details of their food, and a map of Aboriginal Victoria showing tribal boundaries. Regrettably these panels were damaged over the years and were somewhat remote from the garden. In 1993, which was designated as the Year of Indigenous People, the garden was re-worked and partially upgraded under a special grant. Improvements included new plants, updated labels and a new display board. In 2003, further restoration and replanting was undertaken by students from Sandringham Secondary College. Nevertheless in more recent times, it had become clear that a more significant attempt was needed to properly restore the garden. On 13 July 2007, after a considerable effort by the Council in replanting and improvement in signage, the garden was re-opened by the then Mayor of Bayside. On this occasion, there was a special guest, Mark Olive, an indigenous chef who hosts a television cooking show using traditional bush foods. He is also a filmmaker and a resident of Bayside.
herbal medications, plant foods and plant artefacts. Articles of each of these topics appeared in earlier issues of the Banksia Bulletin, (Spring 2004, Autumn 2005 and Summer 2006). It is hoped that the restored garden will become a useful teaching aid for local students both primary and secondary, a focus for visitors to Bayside and a source of pride to its residents. The prominent location of the garden on Bluff Road near to the Bayside City Council Corporate Centre and Sandringham Hospital should continue to ensure its rightful function. The Black Rock and Sandringham Conservation Association (BRASCA) congratulate Bayside City Council for its efforts in the restoration of the Indigenous Resource Garden. All photographs courtesy of Jim Richardson Jim Richardson Committee member BRASCA
The new signage, installed as part of the restoration in 2007, renames the garden the ‘Indigenous Resource Garden’ and has a new sculpture at the front of the garden depicting a woven carry basket. New interpretative signage has been installed in the garden, and has been designed for ease of reading whilst being sympathetic to the surrounds. Each one details a particular usage of plants; “The Swimmer” banksia bulletin - summer 2008/2009
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Playful or desperate? Dolphins at Brighton As a daily walker for many years along Brighton pier and breakwater, dolphins have been one of the most exciting things to see. Until this (2008) globally warmed and climate changed year of drought, dolphins could be seen until they broke the surface in pods of eight as they pursued food (fish). After all, fish don’t feed on dolphins, it is dolphins that feed on fish. Often it was hundreds of scavenging birds flying overhead which attracted my attention. The dolphins headed north in the general direction of Point Ormond, Elwood Beach and the life saving and angling clubs. Until this year I had seen them about seven or eight times a year. But this year, I’ve only seen them twice, and only a couple of dolphins could be seen. There were not many scavenging birds either. Other people have said they have seen dolphins close to shore in front of Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Our Editor of the Banksia Bulletin said that she had seen them close to Dendy Beach in front of the Brighton Life Saving Club and bathing boxes. Others have seen them close to Sandringham Yacht Club. About the same time I saw them close to the Park Street groyne (Middle Brighton Beach) and Dendy Beach. One of the most frequent pier fishermen said that the Park Street groyne and drain provide good fishing for garfish and mullet in February, March and
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April each year. This is especially important for this discussion as garfish and mullet are favourite foods for dolphins. About six years ago, I first heard of a dolphin interacting locally with human beings. One of the Brighton Icebergers told me he had been swimming on his own (just outside the breakwater) when something large brushed against him as it surfaced. At first he thought it was shark about to feed on him… well you can imagine what nearly happened! But it turned out to ‘only’ be a dolphin and not about to feed on him at all. Phew! Had the dolphin made a mistake or do dolphins have a sense of humour? But in early October 2008, icebergers and fisherpeople have told me of interactions with we human beings that might have been ‘jokes’ or indications of desperate dolphins in search for food (after all, dolphins do have children to feed). To credit dolphins with a sense of humour is probably just anthropomorphism. The first such interaction was on Thursday 2 October 2008, when one of my fisherman friends told me that at about 5am some dolphins had swum under the pier where he and his companions were fishing. This was sensational! The second time was on Tuesday 14 October
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when other fishermen told me about the dolphins again swimming underneath the pier. Did the dolphins do this by accident, or because they were desperate for food and hoping to feed on the fishermen’s bait, or for some other reason? Then on Monday 20 October, two of the icebergers told me that a couple of days earlier, dolphins had swum under another group of icebergers. This was followed on 22 October when other fishermen told me that dolphins had again swum underneath the pier. Later in October, one of the icebergers (who also walks on the pier and breakwater) tried to photograph a couple of dolphins as they surfaced about 200 metres off the breakwater. He promised me copies of the photographs but they unfortunately did not turn out. In November, one of the most regular and successful fishermen told me that a couple of weeks earlier he had seen a seal hunting for fish inside the breakwater near the yacht clubs starting tower. Then on 2 December, he told me he had seen a seal (the same one?) swimming (and hoping to feed?) amongst the pens. My theory of fish shortage is further indicated by the lack of birds at Brighton in late
November and early December. On some days there have been only three or four seagulls and nothing else. No cormorants, grebes, Pacific gulls, gannets or terns. As for pelicans, penguins or swans – you can forget it! However, a solitary musk duck has been a frequent attendee. In the middle of November, I started taking my camera with me hoping to be able to get some photographs, but no luck! This discussion wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the relationship between indigenous Australians and dolphins. The Australian Encyclopaedia (1996) says: ‘The 3-3.5 metre bottle nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncates)…is reported to respond to some sort of splashing by Aborigines (Murris) at Morton Bay, Queensland, to round up and drive fish into shore’. (Page 1087) Fortunately The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia goes into more detail than this in its entry on whales. It says: There are over 60 rock carving sites in the Sydney area that feature whales and whale-like creatures varying in size from small dolphins two metres in length, to a whale measuring over 27 metres. Aboriginal (Dharug and Dharawal) people did not actively hunt whales, but depended on their being
washed ashore or stranded in shallow waters. Such a discovery led to a feast, and both men and women would be involved in building huge fires which would give notice of their find to others in the areas. The feast would go on through the following nights and days… Certain groups (of Dharug and Dharawal people) knew all the dolphins about their area, and even had names for them. Morton Island people (Murris) used them for catching shoals of mullet. They would wait on the beach with their nets, watching for shoals. Upon seeing one, several of the men would run down and make a splashing in the water with their spears. The result of this was that the dolphins would come in towards the shore, driving the mullet before them. With the dolphins being outside the shoal, numbers of fish could be caught before they could break away. During the whole procedure, the (indigenous) people could offer fish to the dolphins from the end of a spear.
Editors Note:
On Fraser Island, the arrival of dolphins was always greeted with cries of joy, and they were treated with the familiarity of old friends. (The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia Vol. 2 p.1176.)
For more information about this program, please contact:
Brenn Barcan Bayside resident
banksia bulletin - summer 2008/2009
Our readers might also be interested to know that the Dolphin Research Institute ran its ‘i sea, i care Challenge’ over summer. ‘i sea, i care’ is an innovative communication program developed by the Dolphin Research Institute to convince Victorians that “what lives around our coast is too precious to lose”. The ‘i sea, i care’ Challenge is a unique concept that will capture community interest and imagination about our region’s most precious assets – our wonderful Port Phillip and Western Port Bays. It is called it the “Challenge” because the Dolphin Research Institute wants to challenge people to change their thinking and also to become involved. The ‘i sea, i care’ Challenge has many layers; • a scientific survey of dolphins and the environment, • education programs and community engagement, • a solid not-for-profit cause in the Dolphin Research Institute and, • substantial media opportunities.
Jeff Weir, Executive Director, Dolphin Research Institute director@dolphinresearch.org.au www.dolphinresearch.org.au 1300 130 949
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Summer
by the Sea
It’s back! Coast Action/Coastcare’s annual coastal activity program, Summer by the Sea, is coming to a coastal town near you. This year’s theme is ‘Life on the Edge’. Our coastal plants and animals are amazing survivors - life on the edge can be difficult for our precious biodiversity. Summer by the Sea is the opportunity to learn more about our coast, and the challenges we all face in keeping it beautiful. Summer by the Sea appeals to all ages. Activities are at locations from Nelson in the west right around to Malacoota in the east, including lots of activities in the metropolitan area. Visit www.dse.vic.gov.au/coasts for a list of activities and locations or call the Summer by The Sea Hotline on 136 186 during office hours. This is also the central phone number for activities that require bookings.
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banksia bulletin - summer 2008/2009
Friends of Bayside Working Bee times for January to April 2009 Time/Day
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Balcombe Park
Last Sunday 10am - noon
22nd
29th
26th
31st
Bay Rd
2nd Saturday 10am - noon
14th
14th
11th
9th
BRASCA
Every Sunday 10am - 12pm
1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
3rd,10th, 17th, 24th, 31st
Brighton Dunes
Tuesdays 8am - 10am
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st
7th, 14th, 21st, 28th
5th, 12th, 19th, 26th.
Cheltenham Park
1st Sunday 10am - noon
1st
1st
5th
3rd
Cheltenham Primary
Contact school 9583 1614
21st
22nd
26th
3rd
Donald MacDonald
1st Sunday 10am - noon
1st
1st
5th
3rd
George St
3rd Sunday 10am - noon
15th
15th
19th
17th
Gramatan
1st Sunday 1 - 3pm
1st
1st
5th
3rd
Long Hollow
Last Sunday 1pm - 3pm
22nd
29th
26th
31st
Friends of Native Wildlife - Contact M. Norris
1st Saturday 9.30am
Ricketts Point Landside
3rd Tuesday 1pm - 3pm
17th
17th
21st
19th
Table Rock
Last Tuesday 12.30pm - 2.30pm
24th
31st
28th
26th
Urban Forest & Merindah Park
2nd Sunday 10am - 12pm
8th
8th
12th
10th
Watkins Bay
Last Wednesday 1pm - 3pm
25th
25th
29th
27th
Gardenvale Primary School
Contact Brigitta Suendermann ph. 9530 0328
Sandringham East Primary School
Contact Katrine Lee ph. 9555 5250
banksia bulletin - summer 2008/2009
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www.bayside.vic.gov.au