by Bill Gammage
Edges
The richest associations were at edges, where ‘three or more plant communities occur in close proximity’.59 In southeast South Australia, Angas crossed at least two edges:
The country for some distance was now a vile scrub, full of dangerous holes half hid by the brushwood . . . This scrub terminated as suddenly as it commenced, and we next entered upon an extensive and beautiful country, covered with luxuriant grass, and studded with . . . trees like a nobleman’s park . . . Here was a country fresh from the hand of Nature and complete in its native loveliness, with green pastures, shady trees, and wells of pure and limpid water.60
Edges made good camps, and many plants and animals prefer them, finding there the right balance of sun, shade and nutrient. For animals which feed in the open but shelter in cover, an edge is a centre, so edges were made and varied to suit and locate each animal. Kangaroos, crows and magpies prefer grass–open forest edges; scrub wallabies and potoroos prefer to tunnel to grass through dense cover; forest wombats like slopes of rock, scrub and debris above grassy creeks; galahs prefer mature open forest with nest hollows and short seed-grass nearby. Variously shaping edges created other opportunities. Scrub turkeys and small animals use scrub wallaby tunnels, open forest suits possums, denser forest suits koalas and lyrebirds, echidnas like wombat or possum country. Prey is channelled, country is diversified.61
Belts
People increased the number and convenience of edges by making belts—grass lanes in timber or timber lanes in grass, width varying from a few metres to several kilometres (pictures 31–2, 43, 49–50). Northwest of Fowler’s Bay,
The scrub between Wanganyah and Eyre’s Flat, though not of great extent, was most perplexing . . . on account of the numerous openings which tempted the travellers to enter, but which after a while were closed in by impenetrable masses of thicket, proving to be perfect culs de sac. Frequently the travellers entered these delusive avenues only to find themselves compelled at last to turn back and try another, which often proved as bad.62
‘Scrub is one of the characteristic features of the Australian scene’, Angas wrote, ‘belts of it frequently intersect the good country, and many miles are covered with it.’63 Most evident in flat or undulating country, but also occurring on slopes (pictures 13, 21), belts were habitats, wildlife corridors, sanctuaries and nurseries. Big plains reduced edges and let game see people; belts split plains up. East of Perth,
several parallel veins or belts of land . . . extend for a considerable distance, nearly in a north and south direction. These veins are much superior in fertility to the adjacent lands, and composed of rich, dark vegetable mould. Being generally clear of trees, and covered with rich grass alone, they are locally called ‘clear streaks’. No probable cause has yet been assigned for this appearance.64
North of Fowler’s Bay Eyre battled for ten miles ‘through a dense heavy scrub . . . [to] an open pretty looking country, consisting of grassy plains of great extent, divided by belts of shrubs and bush’.65 Northwest of Mt Kintore (NT) Herbert Basedow saw how useful belts were:
triodia [Spinifex], with belts of casuarina, kurrajong, few quandong, thick mallee, and patches of mulga. The triodia has recently been burnt by natives hunting . . . game that live under the tussocks. The leaves of the mallee are covered with lerp manna . . . The taste is sweet and honey-like. Rats are very plentiful in the mallee scrub; they build large dome shaped nests with twigs and leaves.66
A good belt site was a rise or low hill between plains, giving prey and predator the view they preferred. In South Australia John Bulmer described
a tract of country which with very little variations in its features extends to the Great Bight . . . a succession of grassy downs, divided from each other by belts of timber growing upon either very sandy or very rocky soil but principally the former. These vary in extent from a few yards to that of the Wallanippie scrub with a breadth of about 60 miles . . . The ground on which the belts of scrub grow usually takes the form of ridges of no great elevation, these running in irregular directions surround the grassy flats in serpentine sweeps and divide them from each other.67
In Tasmania Macquarie entered
Maclaine Plains and travel through them for 2 miles to a rising ground covered with wood, which separate them from the next plains . . . which are beautifully interspersed with trees . . . travelled for 7 miles across Macquarie Plains . . . very extensive and beautifully interspersed with trees and . . . in most places a good soil.68
Further west Hellyer thought the Surrey Hills ‘resemble English enclosures in many respects, being bounded by brooks between each, with belts of beautiful shrubs in every vale . . . the Hampshire Hills . . . appear even more park like . . . and are handsomely clumped with trees’.69
In New South Wales the country from Bathurst to the head of the Hunter was ‘clear pastoral downs and open forest land extending in stripes nearly all the way’.70 West of Forbes were ‘extensive plains divided by lines of small trees’,71 and off the lower Castlereagh ‘rich and extensive plains, divided by plantations’ of trees.72 South of Manilla ‘the whole territory bore a remarkable resemblance to an enclosed and cultivated country . . . Trees grew in rows, as if connected with field enclosures, and parts, where bushes or grass had been recently burnt, looked red or black, thus contributing to the appearance of cultivation.’ On the Gwydir,
open forest . . . growing gradually thinner, at length left intervals of open-plain . . . next through a narrow strip of casuarinae scrub . . . we crossed a beautiful plain; covered with shining verdure, and ornamented with trees, which, although ‘dropt in nature’s careless haste’, gave the country the appearance of an extensive park,
while country near Lake Waljeers ‘was wooded in long stripes of trees’.73
In Victoria ‘forest land’ near Natimuk ‘opened into grassy and level plains, variegated with belts and clumps of lofty trees, giving to the whole the appearance of a park’.74 Near Echuca Hawdon crossed ‘a succession of plains, here and there intersected with a narrow belt of pine trees’,75 further northwest BL Beilby looked from a burnt mallee ridge over a grassy plain ‘fringed with lofty pines and small grassed ridges, interspersed with narrow belts of mallay [mallee]’, and near Lake Hindmarsh a ‘black . . . gave me a clear account of all the belts of mallay to be passed through, and the wells to be found . . . westward and northwest’.76 On the Loddon Eyre ‘found a most beautiful country, open undulating forest and extensive and rich plains intersected with narrow belts of trees in every direction . . . The plains were full of native yams indicating the richness of its soil.’77 South of Wallan Hovell crossed ‘a very extensive plain, extending from west to S.E. for several miles with patches of forest which appear to separate one plain from another . . . all the soil of the best quality’.78 Near Mt Alexander Robinson described a beautiful valley, ‘undulating with grassy hills and open forest trees . . . A belt of forest bounds each side of the road . . . When leaving this forest belt, and opening out upon the plain, the change of scene was delightfully pleasant.’79 North of Maffra McMillan ‘travelled over a beautiful country, consisting of fine, open plains, intersected by occasional narrow belts of open forest’,80 and north of the La Trobe William Brodribb crossed ‘beautiful plains of fine rich land . . . intersected with belts of forest, not thickly timbered, and we saw numerous emus from day to day, on the plains’.81
Beside Lake Clarendon in southeast Queensland, Allan Cunningham found
a fine patch of plain . . . the soil . . . remarkably rich . . .Onward, the forest ground bounded the view for about a mile and a half, when we reached the margin of a second plain, about a mile in length, by half a mile in breadth . . . Passing this, and on penetrating the wooded lands, we immediately came to a third plain . . . of circular form and about a mile in diameter.82
On the Darling Downs Leichhardt met plains ‘covered with the most luxuriant grass and herbage . . . Belts of open forest land . . . separate the different plains; and pat
ches of scrub.’ Further north a ‘belt of scrub at the foot of the slopes runs out in narrow strips towards the river, and these are separated by box-tree thickets, and open box-tree flats’, then ‘fine plains . . . well grassed, separated from each other by belts of forest’, later ‘a succession of plains separated by belts of forest’, and on the Staaten in the far north,
After passing several miles of tea-tree forest, intermixed with box, and alternating with belts of grassy forest land, with bloodwood and Nonda, we entered upon a series of plains increasing in size, and extending to the westward as far as the eye could reach, and separated from each other by narrow strips of forest; they were well-grassed, but the grasses were stiff.83
Turnbull thought country east of Clermont ‘as fine as any we had hitherto travelled over, only there were occasionally belts of thick scrub running through it and through which it was difficult to force our way. But in all these scrubs we invariably found plenty of water’,84 and near Blackall William Landsborough ‘passed through several narrow belts of land, thickly wooded with westernwood acacia [Gidgee]. The country we saw between these belts was [rich and well-grassed].’8586
Clumps
Clumps or copses of trees or scrub stood in grass, heath or open forest. They made edges, gave shade and shelter, and protected springs, nests, plants and special places. Near rocks or water they were easily maintained by cool burning, but they also occurred with no change of soil or elevation, where people backburnt to make and maintain them. This needed fire controlled in intensity, direction and extent, decade after decade.
Clumps were in every climate and terrain, but may have been a Tasmanian specialty. Bruny Islanders showed Robinson that they were deliberate:
Traversed a vast extent of clear country interspersed with clumps or copses intended as a cover for the kangaroo, the whole range for miles forming a beautiful picturesque scenery. This has been done by the natives: when burning the underwood they have beat out the fire in order to form these clumps.87
About ten miles west of Mt William he crossed ‘very picturesque, grassy plains interspersed with Copse . . . Kangaroo is very plentiful. Passed over a large tract of ground where the bush had been burnt by the natives’, and west of Derby he
came to a large plain of tolerable good feed; it was of great extent and abounded with kangaroo. I had seen no place like it on this side of the island, and the clumps of trees of various sorts gave it a delightful park-like appearance. I named it kangaroo park. This country had been well burnt off.88
East of Launceston Matthew Flinders saw coastal hills ‘well covered with wood . . . There are also some grassy tracts of open ground, that are prettily varied by clumps of wood and large single trees.’89 On plains below Frenchman’s Cap were ‘two emerald banks, the headlands, if I may so term them, of a land bay of transcendant loveliness, being magnificently studded, by the hand of nature, with small clumps of elegant trees and coppice, displayed in the most park-like style’.90 In the midlands,
The contrast is very striking when, after riding through the ‘bush’, the traveller comes unexpectedly upon a plain, sprinkled only here and there with small clusters of trees, and on crossing it again finds himself in an extensive forest . . . the transition is not at all gradual, as a person may ride many miles without meeting a single open spot, while on the plains it often occurs that scarcely a tree is visible,91
and a ‘recently arrived emigrant’ wrote,
There are some extensive and very fertile plains, with scarcely a tree on them, in their natural state; generally, however, you find a thinly wooded country, adorned here and there with clumps of trees like a gentleman’s park, seldom so close but you may ride at a canter with the utmost safety. In other districts the underwood is so dense as to be quite impenetrable.92
In Victoria Hume and Hovell crossed ‘a beautiful plain’ near Tallarook, ‘Ornamented with clumps of that beautiful tree, the native Willow’.93 Near Beaufort Robinson camped on a ‘plain interspersed with clumps of honey suckle trees, gum and stringy bark. Saw plenty of quail. The grass was immensely thick and rich, good soil. It had the appearance of a park . . . A beautiful place.’94 In New South Wales the Gwydir country ‘was chiefly open, being beautifully variegated with clumps of picturesque trees’,95 and the lower Darling was flanked by ‘flat after flat of the most vivid green, ornamented by clumps of trees, sufficiently apart to give a most picturesque finish to the landscape . . . the banks of the river, grassed to the water, had the appearance of having been made so by art’.96
Climbing a ridge to Cunningham’s Gap (Qld), Allan Cunningham saw ‘Patches of brush’ on its slopes and in ‘the gullies falling from it, leaving its back clear of wood, open and grassy’.97 Leichhardt praised country as ‘most beautiful, presenting detached Bricklow groves, with the Myal, and with the Vitex in full bloom, surrounded by lawns of the richest grass and herbage’,98 and in the Dawson Valley John Gilbert wrote,
One of the most beautifully picturesque and extensive scenes met our anxious gaze. The immediate vicinity of the hills was like park scenery—clear undulating grassy hills, with here and there small clumps of Brigalo, while the sides of many of the hills were dotted with single scrubs, as if picked out by hand.99
North of Mt Bryan (SA), James Henderson camped by ‘a small wood of [fire sensitive] pines in a grassy plain . . . The country had a very pretty appearance, studded with numerous clumps of pines and sheoaks.’100 Northeast of Northam (WA) Robert Austin’s eyes ‘ranged over a broad expanse of undulating sand plains, studded with clumps of gum forest and thicket’,101 and Robert Sholl found on the McRae ‘kangaroo grass up to the horses’ bellies . . . on a small flat containing about 100 acres of this feed . . . our camp is fixed in a clump of young trees about 60 or 70 yards from the river’s bank’. Across the river sandstone hills rose steeply, so the feed was rich but confined.102 Stokes saw this on the Fitzroy: ‘the country was open; the trees were small, and in clumps, with green grassy patches between; but in other directions it was densely wooded, and on the eastern bank the trees were large’.103 On the Barnett Frank Hann wrote, ‘Right opposite my camp was a magnificent clump of immense pine trees, and behind the pines a beautiful little plain—an ideal place for a homestead . . . Above us all the country was on fire.’104105
Clearings
Grass clearings (patches, pockets, corners, grasses or balds) lay in forest, scrub, heath or Spinifex (pictures 32, 38–50). When a clearing becomes a plain is a matter of opinion, but each varied habitats and multiplied edges. Many can still be ‘seen’, notably where eucalypts are recapturing grassland. Sometimes newcomers learnt a clearing’s purpose. On Bellenden Ker (Qld),
a small level zone was reached. These zones, Merrewah explained, were . . . used as camping grounds by the natives when making their flying hunting trips to these mountains, and were swept clean for spaces of ten to twenty feet. They were known as ‘plarriah’ and denoted by numbers. Each plarriah had certain tribal responsibilities and laws attached to it.106
East of Herberton (Qld) Palmerston found ‘a pocket—that is a piece of open country about a quarter of an acre in size, circular-shaped, used by the aborigines for war dances and fighting. They take particular care to keep the place free from jungle, which would creep over it in a few seasons if allowed.’107 Further south Dalrymple saw the ‘whole of the open ground of this portion of the floor of the valley . . . dotted with old and recent “bora” [dance] grounds . . . the soil was beaten down hard and bare over a space of a quarter of an acre’.108 On a creek off the Macquarie (NSW), Robert Mathews surveyed a dance ground, a ‘dry level’ patch 150 x 20 metres surrounded by open forest enclosing a ‘thick scrub of belah, [False] sandalwood and other brush timber’. Alfred Howitt told Mathews of a similarly secluded ground in southeast Victoria.109
South of Tasmania’s Great Lake, Wedge found ‘Rocky rises, with patches of good land free from timber varying in size from 10 to 100 acres, and a long Valley . . . free from Timber’, and i
n the Ouse forest ‘many spots of land free from timber and of considerable extent . . . to the Southward—I found an open space on the top of the Hill which continued for about two Miles to the edge of the tier; from this I beheld an extensive Valley . . . there appeared to be open spaces in it’.110 Curr remarked of twelve ‘patches of grass’ in dense eucalypt-topped rainforest inland from Burnie,
These plains are of varying sizes six of them I saw wh I judged to be of the following dimensions viz 5, 30, 80, 120, 120, and 600 although Mr Hellyer estimates this last wh he measured at 1000 ac[res]. They are all of one character, sound, light and dry soil . . . well watered with springs and Creeks, and surrounded by the best timber; the grass coarse but plentiful.111
In 1829 Robinson was on Bruny Island, not yet imagining such a thing as 1788 land management. He walked ‘through an extensive swamp covered with lofty shrubs. Passages about two feet wide are formed in a serpentine direction and at short distances are open clear spaces, supposed to have been burnt out by the natives so that they might be better able to pursue the kangaroo with the dogs.’ In central Tasmania in 1834, more knowing, he described
low hills and open forest and small grassy plains of from ten, fifteen, twenty and thirty acres each. Passed through a forest overgrown with underwood, the indigo was very thick. All this country had been burnt and the fallen timber was very thick. After travelling a few miles came to . . . wombat [edge] country . . . The natives had been here recently and burnt the grass.112
In 1838 John McArthur similarly recounted walking from burnt ground
through a thick scrub which the fire had not destroyed, I suddenly emerged from this, and found myself unexpectedly in a beautiful meadow, to all appearances very extensive . . . a line of trees running through the middle . . . passed the remainder of the flat when I entered thickly wooded land.113
