Our first meeting with Murray Irrigation Limited Revegetation Officer – Josh Ellis

Pat and I met up with  Josh Ellis (Murray Catchment Management Authority) in Barham and then travelled to the block. 

We walked all across the block and :

• We found what we believe to be an aboriginal midden about 400 m from the river. It is the highest country; if you stand on it you can see all around and hence it is ideal for seeing prey and enemies, we guessed

• We found Rhagodia spinescens (thorny saltbush) volunteering; and plenty of Yanga bush (Maireana   brevifolia) where none had been before.  It is a small saltbush…also called shortleafed saltbush.  This is the stuff coming up right across the block and which is now commonly showing its head above the grass on the adjacent blocks.

• We also found Cotton bush on the south side; and some Ruby Saltbush, which is slightly different to the Yanga bush and carries an edible berry which can be made into a drink.  Its leaves are a bit longer and slightly larger than Yanga bush.  It is also succulent, and has a different growth habit.  It is over near the black box on the south side of the levy.  The kangaroos are spending a lot of time under the black box; digging it up and stopping those Ruby Saltbush taking hold

• I would think there were 70-100 kangaroos in and around the block this weekend, with a lot of kanga poo around the trees near the river.  Also saw 3-4 hares this trip.

• We saw a lot of Creeping Saltbush (Atriplex semibaccata), which is good stock feed and seems to be getting a move on all over the property.  This was the bush I thought previously was Ruby Saltbush.  Also commonly saw Climbing Saltbush ( Rhagodia  nutans), which is a spindly, multicoloured style of bush – purplish, red or orange berries.  Also called Nodding Saltbush; as you could imagine because of the weak stems.

• We saw emerging Acacia oswaldii (Umbrella wattle or Miljee) in the black box stands, particularly south of the road where it seems to be coming away strongly.  This was, in the more mature trees, really setting a lot of seed; something they had not done for several years.  I confirmed with Josh that he and his father could come and collect the seed from it.  Most had fallen already this year.   Interestingly the Miljee was growing right against the bottom of the box tree in many occasions, so is not hampered by the tree.  They live about 20 years.

• The recommendation was that we sow a lot of wattles into the black box stands.  Those secondary plants seemed strong enough; we needed the understorey.  In discussion Josh said he believed that lignum had only achieved the status it now has since the 1930’s when it spread quickly following flooding.  Ideally we would get some good native regrowth into the black box which should stop the lignum becoming too dominant.  Indeed, it three to four years time we need to consider putting some sheep onto the property to give it a short pruning and maintain the health of the overall stand.

• The native pasture was very good.  Curly Windmill Grass which is a C4 plant (hot weather plant) that grows from a dense underground root system and so can survive without rain and when it does rain in summer – greens up.  This has a Windmill seedhead, which looks like a ball if you were to join all the ends of the seedheads.  On the other hand, the plain Windmill Grass has a similar seedhead except they are all on a similar plane.  That is, don’t form a round shape.

• Was also a bit of Canegrass (Eragrostis australasica), which looks a bit like couch with the long, tough runner and has a panic styled seed head.  It grows in the lower, wetter areas and used to be used for some thatching.  It is a native

• A lot of Wallaby Grass (White Top, or Austrodanthonia spp).  I sowed some around camp; down near the large redgum, and between the shack and the two trees directly east.  It is another native; and although it is not common around camp it is very dense in the other parts of the block

• Some Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) throughout the place….the same stuff Burke and Wills ate on Coopers Creek after they saw the aboriginals grinding its spores into flour.  They missed the fact the aboriginals watered the flour down to remove arsenic – and were on their way to poisoning themselves.  Usually growing near the water and the stuff Bill wanted to see.

• We discussed direct seeding strategies and Josh said that if the autumn break was strong he would come in with his father and sod seed some trees, mainly wattles (gold-dust) and some saltbushes.  Spray before in the drill lines with roundup, and use some monocot spray (selective) after the trees have established.  He would not sow if the subsoil moisture was too low -  so we would need a good break. (Note: ultimately this didn’t happen until July 23^rd 2007 when a little moisture existed and La Nina was in flow.  It has stayed dry since this date!)

• Josh left early to mid afternoon after finding our property on his computer map and noting which parts had already been delegated remnant vegetation or not.

• Also discussed development of the floodrunners into a billabong.  Could we get funding for this?  There is a Wetlands Working Group that is privately operating and Josh is going to have a member have a look at the potential.  It would involve getting in graders and scooping maybe a further metre of dirt from the bottoms of those areas that the flood follows naturally through.  The water would then stay considerably longer following a flood.