FLORA OF CHRISTMAS HILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL
-An introduction.

LOCATION Christmas Hills Primary School is located in bushland adjacent to Watsons Creek, N-E of Melbourne. The site is largely undisturbed and ranges from damp and sheltered along the Creek, to dry, open and rocky, thus providing a good overview of flora found across Nillumbik. Watson Creek has been cited in the NEROC Report as "the most intact foothills streamway landscape in north-east Melbourne", and supports many rare and endangered animals, birds and insects. The habitat links here are part of a continuous corridor between the Kinglake Ranges and the Yarra River, and must be maintained to ensure long term viability and genetic diversity of plant and animal populations .

This is intended as an introduction to observing the Flora of Christmas Hills, as observed in the bush around the local Primary School.

The plant descriptions are simple and non-botanical. There are only fifty out of the hundreds of species that thrive around the school, but one has to stop somewhere.

I have included notes on seed collection and propagation for the plants described, and encourage all members of the community to try and grow a few, and become involved in some hands-on bush revegetation.

The bush around the School is fragile and precious.

Please care for it.

Sue Fisken2002

(Email suetom@optusnet.com.au)

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHRISTMAS HILLS SCHOOL SITE The landscape has evolved from ancient marine sands deposited 350 million years ago, through major geological changes, to the relatively recent faulting that created the Christmas Hills Escarpment The flora, fauna and people witnessed many great changes of climate, the resultant bush type developing in conjunction with the Wurundjeri People’s sensitive land management. Their sophisticated, non-invasive system of agriculture kept the land healthy and fruitful until they were forced away, or massacred. The first colonial description of Christmas Hills came from Robert Hoddle as he travelled along the old aboriginal ridge top route on his way to Healesville. Hoddle obviously had some vision problems, for he described the area as “a barren scrub”. This was on February 15th., 1838. Four days later on his return, Hoddle noted that a fire had passed through the district. This was probably the last fire lit by the Wurundjeri People to keep the route open and productive. Gold was found in the 1850’s at One Tree Hill and Happy Valley, but the School site on Watsons Creek was little affected by the fray, with the main road still keeping to the old ridge top route. [ Now Muir Road/Ridge Road - perimeter of Sugarloaf Dam.] The site was part of the selection taken up by Thomas Young in 1865. The “New” Road, [now the “Old” Road] was built in 1871, much closer to Watsons Creek, and it became the main route between Melbourne and Healesville for horse and coach travel. Thomas donated the Scrubby Point corner of his land to the Department of Education, and the School House/Residence was built there in 1880. By the 1930’s, most of Christmas Hills had been cleared- trees for building materials, firewood for local charcoal burning operations and for the homes of Melbourne, acacia bark for tanning, with open land desirable to run sheep and cattle. The new sealed road was built in the mid-sixties, bisecting the school property with a road cutting, with the old road becoming the school access. Traces of the old road can be seen beside the Main Road for several kilometres. It appears that the fires of 1851 and 1914 missed the Scrubby Point site. The fire of 1962 burnt some of the bush to the north, with the school proper reporting only a singed tank stand. Lack of gold and Department of Education ownership has helped protect the bush around the school from major disturbance. This has resulted in notable bio-diversity, with some highly significant flora and fauna populations.

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