River Restoration
Our waterways
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Coranderrk has about 2.5 km of waterway frontage, along the lower Coranderrk (Badger) Creek and Birrarung (Yarra River). The waterways and their adjoining riparian land (land flanking and interacting with the waterways) are culturally, historically and environmentally significant.
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The site of Coranderrk’s original Aboriginal Station village is situated at the east end of our Coranderrk Creek frontage
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The confluence of Coranderrk Creek and Birrarung is respected as a woman’s place, and is now the site of Coranderrk's Untitled (seven monuments) art installation
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A gathering area is located at the north end of our Birrarung frontage
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CLICK MAP TO ENLARGE: Coranderrk River Restoration Plan 2019.
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The waterways are significant wildlife corridors, helping to link a remnant woodland - Coranderrk Bushland at Healesville Sanctuary - with Birrarung. A narrow strip of Crown (public) land extends along both waterway frontages. This Crown land is part of the recently declared Yellingbo Conservation Area (YCA). It will eventually be managed by Parks Victoria for the protection and conservation of the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and Lowland Leadbeater's Possum. We have already started a significant tree-planting and weed eradication program at Coranderrk and we are participating in ongoing discussions with various parties about the creation of habitat for these species.
Our waterways are culturally significant regardless of specific physical features.
Ongoing use of the waterways and adjoining land continues our
cultural practice and connection to country.
The River Restoration Project
In 2019 WEAC commenced a five-year River Restoration Project in partnership with Melbourne Water and the Department of Environment, Water, Land & Planning (DELWP).
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DELWP is the current manager of the YCA, and kicked the project off in spring 2019 by supplying several days of labour brush-cutting weeds along Birrarung. This work has subsequently been continued by Friends of Coranderrk volunteers.
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Melbourne Water has offered generous funding support over the proposed five-year project period, with Stream Frontage Management Program (SFMP) grants. Annual SFMP grants will allow WEAC to organise the large-scale weed control required across the fenced conservation areas and Birrarung's Crown land frontage.
The grants will also support the purchase of indigenous plants for revegetation, if natural regeneration does not occur as the weeds are removed.
Our farm manager David Stewart commenced weed spraying in Project Areas 1 and 2 in 2019.
David is a retired agricultural chemicals handling trainer and we are confident the work is being done to the highest standard.
Friends of Coranderrk volunteers are valiantly brush-cutting blackberry along Birrarung.
Our objective over time is to limit, or preferably end herbicide use, however given the scale of the task we have decided that well-applied herbicide is appropriate in more disturbed areas away from the waterways.
Along Birrarung we are trying to avoid using chemicals, which means tackling about a kilometre of decades-old blackberry by hand.
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Future activities will include indigenous burning,
blending a traditional cultural practice into the
modern management of Coranderrk.
Why is river restoration needed at Coranderrk?
The decades of neglect that saw weeds proliferate across the farmland, also extended to the waterways and riparian land.
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Blackberries formed extensive, impenetrable thickets along Birrarung and areas of the floodplain, and other environmental and agricultural weeds also flourished.
Inadequate fencing and no off-stream stock watering system resulted in cattle accessing Birrarung to drink and laze, causing erosion, vegetation damage and water pollution. Coranderrk Creek was somewhat better treated, having received revegetation and weed control by Melbourne Water (MW) and others from as early as the 1990's.
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Ironically, while the blackberry infestation is now lamentable and must be controlled, over the years it helped to protect
the remaining, beautiful old Wurun (Manna Gum) and Swamp Gum from cattle damage, and reduced cattle access to the river. It is currently protecting areas of native seedlings from browsing by the Yarra Valley's increasing Samba deer population, so its removal will need to be strategic in order to protect these plants.
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Restoration of Coranderrk’s waterway frontages was identified as a goal in Coranderrk's Property Management Plan 2016.
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A vital first step was taken with the fencing out of wide (up to 150 m) areas of privately owned floodplain adjoining the Crown land frontages, to permanently exclude cattle. At that time, however, there was no funding available to commence the weed control and revegetation required to restore these areas to their original forest and woodland habitats.
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