Field Notes by Terri Allen

In memoriam

12/11/2024

Scattered in our bushland are tributes to our hard working naturalists and volunteers, such as Harry Kiekebosch.

By Terri Allen

SOUTH and west Wonthaggi – what a wonderland of natural bush, revegetated sites, roadside bush and wildlife corridors – all praise to those hard working naturalists and volunteers who monitor, map, weed, plant …

As a child I tramped through and explored these areas, following in the footsteps of my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. That's how we learnt to identify and appreciate. I remember a letter from my mother, who was thrilled at last to identify a particular flower – she had watched the rounded leaves for years and at last found one in flower, a Redbeak. Some of her ashes are now in this patch, as will be mine one day.

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Paperbark town

20/10/2022

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By Terri Allen

IT IS said that when the swamp paperbark is in bloom, the snapper are on the bite. They must be biting now because it has been magnificent this spring.

It flowered early this year, and we don’t yet know whether its pollinators were around to set the seed. My seed collectors group will be keeping an eye to see if the seed is viable. Swamp paperbark is so prolific that we don’t usually sow the seed, though we do include it in some direct seeding mixtures. We used it on the Rifle Range Reserve, of course.

I have long thought it should be Wonthaggi’s floral emblem. Wonthaggi was once a vast paperbark swamp interspersed with sheets of water and sand hills vegetated with heaths and eucalypts.

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How to stay sane

24/9/2021

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Tank Hill working bee in maskless (pre-Covid) times. Terri Allen is in the centre of the front row.

By Terri Allen

I ONCE read that to improve our well-being we needed four things: meeting with like minds, continued learning, outdoor exercise and volunteering. All of these are met by my Monday morning seed collecting group.

But what about during lockdown? We are lucky in South Gippsland to have so many areas of beach and bushland. Our limited walks can provide “continued learning” and “outdoor exercise”. I birdwatch, search for insects, name plants, note changes (for example, so many plants are flowering early this year).

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The missing link

14/8/2020

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Two fences now block a wonderful walk from Wonthaggi
to the coast. Terri Allen fills in the missing pieces from childhood memories.

By Terri Allen

ONE of the best ways to spend a day in our childhood was to go out to the Back Beach. Unimpeded by adults, we would set off from the end of Broome Crescent, across the paddocks to the Rifle Range gate. We crossed the undulations in these paddocks made for market gardening during the war.

Any other time we would be re-enacting things seen at the Saturday arvo flicks (These would involve inching along the furrows, whooping, shooting from cover, playing cowboys and Indians.) but now we had a different agenda – the beach. We cut across more paddocks, skirted tannin-stained swamps, hunted for Wonthaggi Monster tracks, passed the Southern Tunnel airshafts, skirted Lake Lister, breasted the dunes – Bass Strait, here we come!

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Friends honour the 'two Bills'

5/3/2020

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Bill Slade’s daughter Steph at the “Two Bills” seat at the Rifle Range Wetlands.

By Terri Allen

TWO friends of the Wonthaggi Rifle Range Wetlands, recently departed, will be remembered by us all.

Bill Berry, adjoining farmer, was part of the team which revegetated the Rifle Range in 2005. Bill Slade, park ranger, helped with the project and monitored the area over the years.

Together they moved out cattle which had escaped into the area through kangaroo-damaged fences. Their last meeting was on such a venture.

Today they have plaques on a seat overlooking the site.

Vale the Bills.

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A force of nature

6/2/2020

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Eulalie Brewster photographed at Wilsons Promontory soon after the disastrous fires of 2005. Eulie was part of a volunteer team that monitored the recovery of the vegetation.

By Terri Allen

AT LAST the achievements of Inverloch’s living treasure Eulalie (Eulie) Brewster have been recognised, with the award of a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day honours.

EuIalie turns 94 in August, but her inquiring mind, ability to connect with all age groups, extensive reading, quick grasp of situations, willingness to tackle any job, outward-looking nature and encyclopaedic memory make her a living treasure.

She is an asset to the conservation movement, an example to all who meet her.

I knew Eulie’s friend Ellen Linden first. They used to go bush walking together. Ellen said to me, “When I’m gone, you’ll have to go to Eulie at Inverloch.” So I always say Eulie was bequeathed to me. She’s been a great source of knowledge and a wonderful friend.

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‘A gentle man who earned respect’

24/1/2020

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Wonthaggi Parks Victoria ranger Bill Slade died while fighting fires in East Gippsland.

By Terri Allen

BILL Slade, who died tragically while fighting fires in the Omeo region on January 11, was a kind personable man, extremely proud of his family, considerate of the public and a hard working Parks Victoria ranger in the Wonthaggi depot.

He had worked for Parks Victoria for 40 years, so knew our area intimately, from fox baiting on Phillip Island, manning controlled burns in our parks and reserves, monitoring our coastline and working on the George Bass Walk from Punchbowl to Kilcunda.

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The lake that vanished

14/11/2019

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Allen family barbecue, Lake Lister, c. 1956. From left, Glenda (a family friend), Leonie, Peter and Graeme.

Lake Lister was a magical place - until the day two miners decided to deepen it with a few sticks of gelignite.

By Terri Allen

LAKE Lister has always been a magnet, drawing foragers, adventurers and naturalists. A large freshwater lagoon, spring-fed, it nestles between the coastal dunes and cleared farmland (once paperbark flats and heathy undulations) west of Wonthaggi on private land.

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The allure of the back lane

1/8/2018

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Photo: Leonie Smith

By Terri Allen

THE older settled areas of Wonthaggi have a veritable treasure trove, a maze of back lanes. These narrow lanes flanking our back yards hold a wealth of stories, beckon us to explore.

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A purler of a day

14/6/2018

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Terri Allen gives thanks for a perfect winter’s day at the Mouth of the Powlett.

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Backyard critters

2/2/2018

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Black-headed Bull-Ant (Myrmecia nigriceps) Photo: patrickkavanagh

Terri Allen finds the hood can be a dangerous place.

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The Hovell tree

2/2/2018