By Raia Flinos, Sylvia Erson and Sarah Toomey
134 hectares of preserved grasslands sit behind this fence at the Derrimut Grassland Nature
Conservation Reserve (Image: Raia Flinos).
In the heart of industrial West Melbourne lies a remnant of the vast grasslands that once stretched
across nearly a third of the state. Unique plants and animals with a deep human history, now confined
by a barbed wire fence with litter scattered around the borders, fluttering in the occasional breeze.
A nearby environment like this revealed a hidden secret: the Victorian grassland earless dragon. It
was rediscovered in 2023 after scientists had thought it extinct for 54 years. This little dragon
stretches just 15cm from head to tail; it was once abundant in the grasslands. Habitat loss and
degradation, as well as the introduction of predators such as foxes and feral cats, led to a catastrophic
decline in their numbers.
Zoos Victoria began actively searching for the Victorian grassland earless dragon in 2014; it had not
been sighted since 1969 (Image: Zoos Victoria).
Until its rediscovery, the Victorian grassland earless dragon was another casualty on the long list of
victims of environmental colonialism—a process of systematically altering the landscape in the
European style.
“Plants and animals are a part of settler colonialism, not just people and the dispossession of
Indigenous peoples. There are all these other factors. Colonisation wasn’t an event; it is a structure,”
Jack Norris, historian, lecturer, author and western suburbs local, said.
In the early days of colonisation, settlers asserted ownership and transformed the landscape, which
was a powerful tool in acclimatising to their new environment.
“The idea of settler colonialism is based on supplanting what was here,” Norris said.
“Initially, when the British invaded and colonised Victoria, they were interested mostly in exploiting
the landscape.”
Ancient native grasslands were cleared for European agricultural practices, which was the beginning
of the decline of local plants and animals. Foreign trees, such as the London plane, which are still
incredibly common around the state, were planted in their hundreds.
The London Plane tree is a key part of the blinding visual legacy of colonialism in Melbourne’s west
(Image: Raia Flinos).
The vast majority of Australian ecosystems were disrupted through the process of environmental
colonialism, and unique environments like the grasslands are still under huge duress.
Australia’s ecosystems are complex, so changes such as the introduction of foreign plants have
countless flow-on effects.
“In an ecosystem, there’s so many connections, and connections, which, to this day, we don’t
understand. Where a bit of fungi is related to an orchid that’s related to a pollinator that’s related to a
bird. And when you break that chain, it changes the ecosystem,” said Ben Cullen, a conservation
ecologist at Trust for Nature, a conservation not-for-profit organisation.
“We’ve got ecological disasters, collapse, ecocide if you will. The Australian landscape is not healthy.
And it’s going to take centuries to mend,” Norris said.
Not only do the grasslands offer vast ecological value, but they are of indescribable cultural value to
the Indigenous groups who lived on and cared for the land for millennia.
“It’s where the orchids grow, where the yam daisy grows, where the lily grows, that’s where the
kangaroos are, where the echidna is. The grasslands were incredibly important. In fact, those people,
the Bunurong, the Wadawurrung, they all saw themselves as being grass people,” author Bruce
Pascoe, a Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man, said.
The Yam Daisy, or Murnong, was once widespread across the grasslands and grassy woodlands of
southern Australia (Image: Aaron Clausen via Atlas of Living Australia).
As a result of colonisation, Traditional Owners are no longer the primary carers for the land, but they
share their deep cultural knowledge with community and friendship groups, and councils.
“It’s three per cent of the population trying to educate the other 97 per cent,” Pascoe said.
Today, these groups help to conserve what is left of the grasslands through planting, habitat
restoration, and community education.
They also work closely with councils, which determine funding, policy, and future use of public land.
Councils benefit from the local knowledge and hands-on efforts the groups provide, while community
groups gain funding and support needed to continue their work.
Boundless Plains
The grasslands within the Greater Melbourne area sit on vast volcanic plains, Wurundjeri and
Bunurong land.
The plains have some of the most fertile soil and consistent rainfall in Victoria. This combination is
the perfect recipe for some of the state’s richest and most diverse wildlife to prosper, with the
grasslands home to plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.
Derrimut Grassland Nature Conservation Reserve was one of the first grasslands to receive official
protection in Victoria in 1987 (Image: Raia Flinos).
Before colonisation, the grasslands were full of native orchids, daisies, lilies, peas and grasses, which
provided habitat to small animals, including the striped legless lizard, Victorian grassland earless
dragon, fat-tailed dunnart, golden sun moths, growling grass frogs and many more.
“It’s a very old landscape. Just like the steppes of North Asia and the prairies of America, Victoria’s
got the Victorian volcanic plains,” Jordan Crooks of the Victorian National Parks Association said.
Aboriginal people used fire to maintain the grasslands by burning off some plants, stimulating the
growth of others and attracting animals for hunting.
The grasslands offered an abundance of food for Aboriginal people. Tubers were central to this. The
Murnong, or Yam Daisy, was a staple food for the Wurundjeri People, once plentiful in the grasslands
but now critically endangered due to sheep grazing.
Native Grasslands (orange) now make up less than one per cent of land cover in Victoria, and those
remaining are severely degraded (Image: Glenelg Hopkins CMA).
Settlers saw the grasslands as ideal for agriculture; they offered grazing for imported domestic
animals and, due to their lightly wooded nature, were easy to convert to crops for European farming
practices.
“Europeans had no idea how to care for this country, so they brought hard hoofed animals over, they
ignored the Aboriginal grains and tubers and planted wheat and potatoes in their stead, all of them
annuals, which were suited to the Northern Hemisphere, not necessarily to the Southern Hemisphere,”
Bruce Pascoe said.
When colonisation occurred, the British Crown assumed ownership of the land. It then gave or sold it
to individual settlers. These processes saw the removal of Aboriginal peoples from their country,
often by force.
“We were locked off the land… you can’t care for it if you’re not allowed to stand on it,” Pascoe
said.
Knowledge of the country and Indigenous farming practices was disrupted, and knowledge of caring
for the land and the native plants and animals was ignored.
European farming practices led to severe degradation of the soil and devoured more and more
country.
Crooks said these days the biggest threats to remaining grasslands are “urban development,
particularly in Melbourne, which threatens a lot of high-quality native grasslands and wildlife habitat.
And then further out, unsustainable farming practices and also land clearing.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Species previously thought to be extinct have been
rediscovered, including the Sunshine Diuris (Diuris fragrantissima) and the Victorian earless
grassland dragon.
While there are fewer than 30 plants of the Sunshine Diuris left in the wild, they are now managed by
a recovery team that works to maintain and advance wild populations, as well as reintroduce
cultivated plants into new locations.
There are thought to be fewer than 200 Victorian grassland earless dragons left in the wild, but the
exact number is unknown (Image: Zoos Victoria).
The earless dragon has been identified as the most at-risk lizard or snake species in Australia. The
dragon is now part of a breeding program at Zoos Victoria.
Alongside these efforts, private land owners, community groups, and councils are working to restore
native ecosystems and counteract the ongoing effects of introduced plants and animals.
Grassroots
Volunteer community friendship groups like Friends of Kororoit Creek are leading these efforts.
They have spent decades planting vegetation, removing invasive species, and helping protect their
local environment. They consult with Traditional Owners and encourage locals to help heal and
restore the land.
One of the Bug Rugs regenerated native gardens (Image: Raia Flinos).
We only plant indigenous plants local to the area, and they have to have the right provenance,”
Jessica Gerger, president of Friends of Kororoit Creek, said.
The group hosts regular planting days, clean-up events, and educational sessions.
At their home base, the Bug Rug in Sunshine West, they collaborated with Aboriginal artist Fiona Clark and her husband,
Kenneth McKean, to create Walan-walan, a circular meeting place featuring sculptures based on animal totems from the
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung seasonal calendar.
A mural for the Bug Rug headquarters on Kororoit Creek in Sunshine West (Image: Raia Flinos).
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Seasons (Image: Raia Flinos).
They use this space to engage the community with Indigenous cultural practices; hosting smoking
ceremonies, educational workshops, and storytelling sessions.
“We encourage people to say thank you to the land whenever they’re on it,” Gerger said. “It feels like
the very bare minimum for living on this stolen land is to restore it and protect it.”
Gerger said restoration isn’t just about planting; it’s about preserving what remains. She urges people
to find friendship groups in their area and volunteer.
“Get involved in your local group and help improve the land that you live on,” she said.
Friends of Kororoit Creek was formed in 2001, thanks to a grant from Brimbank City Council, and
was at first led by council staff. Now, they are their own registered charity with a committee, but they
do receive yearly conservation support from the council and continue to have a strong working
relationship.
Policy to Planting
Brimbank City Council, which oversees much of the western suburbs, recognised the vital role of
these groups. Mayor Thuy Dang said the council’s goal of 30% canopy cover in their Local
Government Area by 2046 requires community cooperation.
Brimbank City Council building in Sunshine (Image: Sarah Toomey).
“To achieve this target, we need all landowners, including residents, private developers, and State
Agencies, to be retaining and planting trees,” Dang said.
He highlighted the critical role trees play in enhancing biodiversity, providing shade, and improving
air quality. Brimbank aims to plant mainly native species, but species selection is site-specific, taking
into account the environmental needs of each location.
They have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committee, which they consult with on Indigenous
matters, but Brimbank did not confirm whether these groups are consulted when it comes to tree-
planting and other environmental decisions.
Moonee Valley City Council also has a goal of increasing its tree canopy to 30% over the next two
decades. The council manages a selection of native and exotic trees and integrates expert input in
species selection, including consulting Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Traditional Owners.
Mayor Ava Adams said, “landscaping projects use a combination of native and non-native species,
with species selection based on site suitability and climate resilience.”
Maribyrnong City Council works actively with the Bunurong Land Council to integrate Indigenous
perspectives into its environmental practices. Mayor Pradeep Tiwari said while they do use both
invasive and native species when planting, they prioritise native trees in natural areas and in locations
with ample ground space for roots.
“Exotic tree species are commonly selected for highly modified urban environments. This is due to
their tolerance for pruning around services, ability to perform in limited spaces both above and below
ground, and provide quality shade over hard surfaces in summer,” Tiwari said.
Recently, Maribyrnong worked with the Bunurong Land Council to convert the Lae Street nursery
into a public space, a demonstration of how Indigenous knowledge and perspectives can help guide
land management and blend cultural and ecological restoration.
When contacted by this masthead, Brimbank, Moonee Valley, and Maribyrnong Councils provided
media statements but were unavailable for interviews.
The state of Victoria’s grassland and urban environments reflect the ongoing effects of colonisation
right across the country due to exploitation since British arrival. Ordinary citizens, councils, and state
and federal governments, in collaboration with Traditional Owners, are hopeful that unique
environments can be conserved and restored.
