ECOGIPPS RANGELANDS
In 1982, the Phillipson family acquired a 92-acre property that became the cornerstone of a pioneering conservation venture.
Located on the northern margins of Lake Glenmaggie and bordered by an active irrigation channel and the Macalister River, the property had been impacted by a history of land clearing, grazing, weed infestation and feral animals.
Despite being degraded, the family was inspired by the landscape, which features swathes of native plains grassland and the prospect of restoring the riparian woodlands along the river.
With Trust for Nature, local volunteers, the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and conservation experts, the family began implementing a conservation plan to create a wildlife corridor between the Macalister plain and the Avon Wilderness.
A few years into the project, a 320-acre property across the road came onto the market, allowing the EcoGipps team to expand the venture and strengthen the corridor. The consolidated landholding now totals 410 acres.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Brayakaulung clan of the Gunaikurnai hunted on the Gippsland plains and lagoons along the Avon and Macalister rivers for thousands of years until squatters established pastoral runs here in the early 1840s. The squatters fattened up the cattle on the rich grasslands in winter and moved them up to the Alpine and Avon Wilderness areas for summer grazing.
When the original runs were broken up into small farms, land clearing accelerated. A series of fires in 1939 destroyed almost all of the remaining ash forests, with the local town of Heyfield becoming a centre for milling the burnt timber. Native forest logging continues to this day. However, the Victorian Government has committed to phase out native timber harvesting by 2030.
Habitats on the properties sit within an extensive core habitat area that includes sections of Coongalla Bushland Reserve extending to the Avon-Mt Hedrick Natural Features and Scenic Reserve and the Victorian Alps.
Historic plans suggest that the area was defined by ‘stringybark ranges, thickly timbered scrub and poor sandy loam soil’ which is subject to sheet and gully erosion. Lowland Herb-rich Forest still occupy sheltered areas, with a canopy that includes White and Red Stringybark and Blue/Red Box eucalypts. Swamp scrub occurs in the lower sections of the original 92-acre property. The North Paddock includes a rare sub-humid forest and Tea-Tree soak, part of a remnant swampy habitat.
The Phillipsons have worked tirelessly to replant trees and restore the native grasslands. These efforts are attracting birds, such as the Golden Whistler, Sacred Kingfisher, Grey Shrike-thrush, White-throated Treecreeper, Kookaburra, White-browed Scrubwren, Currawong, Butcherbird, Eastern Yellow Robin, Magpie and several species of Thornbill.
FLORA
Lifeforms range from trees and shrubs to perennial and annual forbs and grasses, with some ferns, lianes, scramblers and orchids.
Surveys identified six rare or threatened plants on the property and another 19 within five kms. Many of these are rare shrubs.
The most common native plants include: Burgan Kunzea, Shiny Cassinia Saloop, Black Wattle, Daphne Heath, Weeping Grass, Wattle Mat–rush, Hedge Wattle, Narrow Rock–fern, Sieber Crassula, Nodding Blue, Heath and Pomax Slender Sword–sedge.
Animal species occurring in and around the properties include Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Sugar Gilders, Wombats – even Emus. However, foxes, cats, deer and rabbits continue to pose a threat to many native species. With greater control, the properties could provide habitat for platypus, native bats, Gippsland Water Dragon, dingoes and more!