Interpretive signs

The attractive weeping foliage and yellow flowers of the native Sticky Wattle make it a sought-after garden shrub. It is classified as rare, due to its narrow geographic distribution, although it is locally abundant in several catchments in this area. Sticky Wattle is a colonising species that requires fire or other site disturbances to regenerate in large numbers. As with all acacia species, Sticky Wattle fixes nitrogen from the air and its hard-coated seeds remain viable in the soil for many years. In common with many acacias and other short-lived species with hard seeds, including several threatened species, Sticky Wattle flourishes in plantations following tree harvesting. These plants quickly set seeds before newly planted trees shade them out. The seeds then lay dormant in the soil, waiting for the next harvesting activity to trigger a new cycle of regeneration. In many ways this mimics fire cycles in a natural environment.

The graceful Slender Tree-fern survives only in moist, shaded gullies that receive high rainfall in regions of southeastern Australia. The Slender Tree-fern is listed as vulnerable in Victoria because its remaining habitat and occurrence is limited and fragmented. Our warming and drying climate poses a huge threat to this species and many others that occur in such environments. The Slender Tree-fern occasionally hybridises with the more common and hardy Rough Tree-fern (Cyathea australis) to form a sterile hybrid, the Skirted Tree-fern (Cyathea x marcescens), which is also classified as vulnerable.

The Powerful Owl is a large, majestic bird of prey that is classified as vulnerable in Victoria. It has been recorded in several catchments of the Eastern Strzelecki Ranges in recent years, including around Tarra-Bulga. Each breeding pair requires thousands of hectares of forest for hunting, as well as large old trees with hollows for nesting. The Powerful Owl eats mainly arboreal mammals including possums and gliders, but will also consume other birds and large insects. Its call is a deep ‘wooo’ or ‘wu whooo’ sound. Breeding occurs in winter, at which time the nest may be abandoned if the birds are disturbed by human activity.

The endangered South Gippsland Spiny Cray is confined to a few streams on the south side of the Strzelecki Ranges, Merrimans Creek north of Tarra-Bulga and Wilsons Promontory. The Spiny Cray prefers shallow tributaries where it hides under rock ledges or in shallow burrows under the stream banks. Females carry eggs and juvenile hatchlings under their tail for several months before they eventually disperse. Other endangered crustacea of the Strzelecki Ranges, including the Strzelecki Burrowing Cray (Engaeus rostrogaleatus) and the Narracan Burrowing Cray (Engaeus phyllocercus), live in vertical burrows descending to the water table within the flood zone of streams or seepage areas. There are also several common cray species living in or around streams and others which make burrows anywhere the soil is wet, often far away from streams. You may see the ‘chimneys’ surrounding their burrows along your walk. Please avoid stepping on them.

Often mistaken for rainforest because of the proliferation of tree-ferns, Wet Forest originally cloaked most of the Strzelecki Ranges, where deep, fertile soils receive over 1,000 millimetres of rain annually. This Wet Forest consists mainly of giant Mountain Ash trees, up to 100 metres tall. With a prolific understorey of ferns, vines, mosses, lichens, fungi and moisture-loving woody plants, it was known as ‘The Great Forest of South Gippsland’ before most of it was cleared for settlement or timber, or burnt by bushfires during the early 20th century. Like all eucalypt-dominated ecosystems, Wet Forest depends on fire to regenerate however the natural fire interval is much longer than in drier forest types. Now classified as ‘depleted’, many thousands of hectares of Wet Forest that regenerated following the 1939 and 1944 bushfires are now protected. Due to the prolific growth rate (one of the most productive ecosystems on earth) these Wet Forests are rapidly regaining their majestic status.

Now classified as endangered, less than 10% of the original Damp Forest of the Strzelecki Ranges remains. Damp Forest is intermediate between the wetter forests and drier foothill or lowland forests and contains features of both habitats. Damp Forest occurs from the more exposed, north-facing slopes at high elevations down to the moist, sheltered gullies in foothills and lowlands. The canopy usually consists of mixed eucalypt species, including Yellow Stringybark (Eucalyptus muelleriana), Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus ssp.) or Mountain Grey-gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa), all of which are preferred by koalas. Tree-ferns in the understorey are the hardier Rough Tree-fern (Cyathea australis). The diversity of acacias and other flowering shrubs supports a variety of possums and gliders, including the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) and the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans).

The Cool Temperate Rainforests of Victoria and Tasmania contain relics of Antarctic flora that evolved on the southern continent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous period, more than 65 million years ago. One such relic is the dominant canopy tree, Myrtle Beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii), which has living and fossil relatives in South America, New Zealand and Antarctica. Individual specimens of Myrtle Beech may live up to 1,000 years. Unlike eucalypt-dominated forests that have evolved in a fire-prone environment, rainforests are at great risk from bushfire. The rainforest only exists here in constantly moist, sheltered environments where fire rarely penetrates. Many of the hundreds of moss, liverwort, lichen, fungi and fern species here cannot survive elsewhere. The remaining rainforest in the Strzelecki Ranges has been highly disturbed since white settlement and is in a recovery phase. Recovery will take many centuries and because climate changes are anticipated, this rainforest is even more vulnerable.

The giant Mountain Ash of Victoria and Tasmania is the tallest flowering plant and the tallest hardwood tree on earth. Great forests of these trees cloaked the Strzelecki Ranges when white settlers arrived and were felled or burnt to provide building timbers and land for farming. They may live for 400 years and many specimens in this area exceeded 100 metres in height, seven metres in diameter and 22 metres in circumference. The Thorpdale Tree, originally 35 km from here, was measured by government surveyor, George Cornthwaite, in 1884 at 113 metres tall. It was re-measured when it was felled a year later at 114.4 metres, making it the world’s tallest tree. Usually killed by fire, this species depends on seed to regenerate. A seed containing the genetic blueprint to create this giant is about half the size of the dot finishing this sentence and weighs about four thousandths of a gram.

The South Gippland Koala population is believed to be unique in Victoria because it is a genetically intact and diverse. By 1924, land clearing, bushfires and hunting drove the original Koala population almost to extinction in Victoria. Island colonies, established to prevent the Koala’s extinction, were used to repopulate the Victorian mainland aside from South Gippsland. Unfortunately this resulted in low genetic diversity elsewhere in Victoria and now reduces the Koala’s ability to survive future impacts from disease or climate change. This makes South Gippsland’s Koalas potentially important for the species’ long-term survival. Koalas are now regularly seen here and their natural habitat is protected. They feed on eucalypt leaves, preferring Mountain Grey-gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa), Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus), Yellow Stringybark (Eucalyptus muelleriana) and Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis). Koalas are marsupials, carrying small young in a pouch and larger young on their backs. You may hear the snorts of male Koalas proclaiming their territories. For your own safety, do not approach wild animals.

A major bushfire burnt this area on Black Saturday (7 February 2009). Four hundred individual fires burned across the State of Victoria that day, resulting in the tragic deaths of 173 people and injuring 414 people. Fire is a natural part of the Australian environment and many ecosystems require bushfire to some degree. Notice the diversity of plant species that have since proliferated from seeds and root suckers. Many of these plants were scarce or absent before the fire and may have lain dormant in the soil for up to a century. Some smooth-bark eucalypts were killed outright, while other species, including stringybarks, have readily regenerated. The first green shoots to appear in this blackened landscape were the new fronds of tree-ferns: plants not as delicate as they seem. Watch how the forest evolves through this new cycle of regeneration and how the plants interact to establish their place and reproduce before the cycle starts over.

European settlement of the Strzelecki Ranges brought an invasion of introduced plants and animals, many of which have become a serious threat to native species and ecosystems. The Blackberry (centre) is categorised as a Weed of National Significance and can ‘choke out’ large tracts of land. Many attractive garden plants, such as English Holly (left) and Sycamore Maple, have spread into native forest where they outcompete native species. This rest area and surrounding forests within several kilometres radius were invaded by Holly. It originated from one tree planted here in a private garden that was abandoned many decades ago. Small native birds and animals are defenceless against the introduced Red Fox (right) and wild domestic dogs and cats. Feral herbivores such as deer, goats and rabbits can have devastating effects on native habitats. If you see things that don’t belong, please report them to contacts provided on the website: www.grandstrzeleckitrack.org.au

Cool Temperate Rainforest mostly occurs in narrow linear strips along creeks and relies on shelter from wind and sun provided by surrounding forests of tall eucalypts. Much of the Cool Temperate Rainforest of the Strzelecki Ranges was lost during land clearing and bushfire following European settlement. From 1950 to 1980, extensive replanting of Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) was undertaken on abandoned farmland by state and private forestry enterprises, while remnant eucalypt forests naturally regenerated following the 1939 and 1944 fires. As the eucalypts grow and reestablish, protection for the gullies is gradually being restored. Even though rainforest canopy trees such as Myrtle Beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) and Southern Sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum) may have been lost, Soft Tree-ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) proliferate; in turn providing shade and shelter for delicate rainforest ferns, mosses, liverworts and fungi. Recovery of a full rainforest canopy may take centuries or may never happen however in this valley Southern Sassafras is slowly returning.

The tall forests of the Strzelecki Ranges were mostly cleared for farming or timber production during early settlement in the 1880s to the 1950s. In 1901, the 100-acre (40-hectare) Bulga Park was the only protected reserve in this area. The government at the time enforced the ‘improvement’ (clearing) of land for settlement and the Balook region boasted dozens of sawmills. The Great Depression, rabbit plagues, prolific growth of weeds and scrub, steep slopes and the harsh winter of the Eastern Strzelecki Ranges led many farms to be abandoned and the area became known as ‘The Heartbreak Hills’. The last sawmill, Duff’s, closed in 1959 when nearby timber ran out. From 1950 onwards, most of this land was purchased by the Victorian Forests Commission and a private company, APM Forests, and replanted with native and introduced timber species. Most of the natural forest stands regenerated from seed following the 1939 and 1944 bushfires.

The Echidna is a very special Australian animal. It shares with the Platypus the rare property among mammals of laying eggs instead of bearing live young. It has a dense covering of long spines on its back, with dense fur between the spines. It has a long slender snout and can extend its long sticky tongue to collect its food which consists entirely of ants and termites. When disturbed it curls itself up and grips very firmly to the ground with its powerfully clawed feet. Echidnas are quite common and widespread and are often seen in Morwell National Park and may be found anywhere along the track. The Echidna was also the inspired choice for the Grand Strzelecki Track logo.

The Platypus is an extraordinary animal found only in Australia. When the first specimen was examined in Europe it was believed to be a hoax creature made up from bits of other animals sewn together. The Platypus mouth extends into a beak, like a duck, and it has a flat tail, like a beaver. Its otter-like webbed feet are adapted for swimming and the male Platypus has a poison claw. Like the Echidna, the Platypus has the rare ability among mammals of laying eggs instead of bearing live young. Platypuses live in still water and slow creeks, building a burrow in the bank with the entrance usually just below water. They are shy and furtive animals but are often seen in streams in the area including Billys Creek, Traralgon Creek, Macks Creek and the Tarra River near the Tarra Valley Caravan Park.

Once a popular picnic destination depicted on commemorative plates, all that remains of Billys Creek Weir today is the concrete wall and supports. The £10,000 ($20,000) project commenced in 1912 to supply water to Morwell. A bullock dray team carted six-inch cast iron pipes from Morwell Railway Station to construct the pipeline. At the opening ceremony in December 1913 the water was turned on and pressure from a hydrant in Morwell shot water 40 feet (13 meters) into the air!

As demand increased, the pipe was enlarged to a nine-inch pipe of tar-coated timber slats bound with wire. In dry seasons, farmers below the weir opposed the diversions and drilled a still-visible hole in the wall to release more water into the creek. In 1954 Moondarra Reservoir, built north of Morwell, replaced the Billys Creek Weir water supply. Today, although filled with sediment and overgrown, the weir remains an historic feature of Morwell National Park.

The Balm Mint-bush is a hardwood shrub that normally grows a couple of metres tall but can grow as high as five metres. It has attractive sprays of purple bell-shaped flowers in the late spring. A member of the same family as garden mint, Balm Mint-bush has aromatic leaves that emit a very spicy fragrance when rubbed. This lovely plant is native to Victoria where it grows in tall mountain forests, including the Otways, the Dandenongs and the Strzelecki Ranges. It is quite common in Tarra-Bulga National Park. The name, Balm Mint-bush, and the Latin name, melissifolia, relate to another plant of the mint family, with similar leaves, called Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis). Not to be confused with Balm Mint-bush, Lemon Balm is an introduced species occasionally found as a weed in Victoria and often cultivated as a garden herb with culinary and medicinal uses.