The original reserve of 400 acres for camping and recreation was declared in December 1878 before the parish of Dunoon even had a name. We can still trace that area on a map or aerial photo, but far less than a quarter of that area survives as public land. The main road and Fraser Road both cut through the original reserve and now form boundaries to the reserve in its current form. For many years the land was enclosed and used to agist cattle. It was Ralph Woodford who agitated for the return of the remaining land to the people of our locality. It was Ralph also who was instrumental in restoring the original spelling of the name. His main concern was the conservation of a unique area of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda australis). Some of us who were selected to form the board of trustees had a great deal to learn. I suspect that I was not alone in failing to identify any of the various grasses on the reserve. As for the phorbs, I had to rush to a dictionary to cope with this new word. I think it refers to all the other small native plants growing there which are not actually grasses.
Ralph has impressed on us that we are all still learning how to manage the grass. Kangaroo Grass is not unique to this area. I was amazed to find myself on a grassland course in Canberra. It came as a shock to realise that the stunted grasses I found there were mainly the same species but they did not have the same lush growth that we see on our reserve. The prolific growth here presents a management problem. It seems that we have the options of grazing, slashing or burning. The indigenous people who valued these grasslands as hunting grounds used a system of mosaic burning. The fresh green shoots that followed a fire would attract the prey animals. Despite the name of the grass I suspect that the main grazers in this area would have been wallabies rather than kangaroos. And I doubt that the grazing by native animals would have had a serious impact on the growth of the grass. It was repeated burning which kept the sward vigorous. Slashing is another option for managing the grass but the cut grass forms a mat that has to be removed to allow good growth.
We all know the excellent work that Ralph did in creating a park round Rocky Creek Dam. More recently he has been working for Rous Water to prepare the catchment area of the proposed new dam. But the opportunity came for him to spend eighteen months in Vietnam. His partner Jude was to go as a teacher of English and Ralph is doing what he is especially good at, bush regeneration, working with local Vietnamese. Meanwhile we have to cope without him. Rous Water generously sponsored us by allowing Ralph to use their equipment to maintain our reserve, but understandably they stipulated that Ralph alone should be the operator of their equipment. It is taking us some time to have an alternate operator appointed. The problem is that Ralph used do the work on our reserve in his own time.
Andy Reynolds, a close neighbour, and a relative newcomer to our district, has stepped in. Visitors to the park will have seen the excellent job Andy did on the paths, using his Torro zero turn mower. (Andy is the Lismore agent for Torro.) But the rank growth was a challenge for this mower so Andy returned with a conventional tractor and slasher. He spent several hours slashing a huge area on the south west of our grass reserve. Thank you Andy. Your work is much appreciated.
We are hoping that our local volunteer fire brigade will return in August and burn another patch in the mosaic. It is obvious that burning has the advantage of removing the excess bio-mass. But there is apparently an additional benefit with the smoke helping in the germination of the lovely phorbs. We have ground orchids and violas among them, but they struggle to compete with the grass.
The reserve is there for the enjoyment of all. There is a growing number of people who walk our paths and enjoy the views. So if you do bring your dogs please ensure that they are under control. We do not often see wallabies on the reserve, but we know they visit. We have even had reports that there are koalas in the area. I dare say there are other smaller native animals present so we do not want them being disturbed unduly.
We have a work bee on the reserve on the first Sunday of every month, unless it is raining. All are welcome and there are many different tasks. Bring your tools and your gloves. And don’t forget your flask. The morning cuppa is a valuable time for discussion on the future of our reserve.
Denis Matthews