The Central Highlands Study Area
3.1 Boundaries of Study Area
The study area lies to the north-east of Melbourne and extends over more than one million hectares. It covers an area known locally as the Central Highlands and, because it includes Australia's major stands of Mountain Ash, is also known as the Ash Range (Griffiths 1992).
Its boundary (outlined on Map 1 found in back cover pocket) is that delineated for the assessment of National Estate values in the Central Highlands (AHC/CNR 1994) and encompasses the natural forests of the region, particularly the ash-type forests. It follows:
- in the west: the Hume Highway from Melbourne to Seymour
- in the north: the Goulburn Valley Highway to the Goulburn River then Maroondah Highway to Mansfield
- in the east: the eastern boundary of the Land Conservation Council's Melbourne Area District 2
- in the south: the Princes Highway from Moe to Dandenong.
Area statements for the study area are summarised as follows:
- Study area - public and freehold land 1 282 700 ha
- Public land - total 709 500 ha
- Public land - native forest 668 700 ha
assessed for old-growth values 652 200 ha
- Freehold land - total 573 200 ha
- Freehold land - native forest 21 800 ha
3.2 Aboriginal History
There is no direct archaeological evidence to indicate the duration of occupation by Aboriginal people, but evidence from comparable forests elsewhere in south-eastern Australia suggests a minimum of 5000 years (AHC and CNR 1994). The ash forests of the Central Highlands were part of the traditional country of two Aboriginal tribal groups, the Woiworung and the Taunurong (Clark 1990), both of which were divided into a number of distinct clans. Historical accounts suggest that the forests were occupied seasonally; small family groups visited them in summer to exploit a range of plant and animal foods.
The influx of Europeans into the region had rapid and disruptive effects on Aboriginal society. The 19th Century saw Aboriginal populations diminish greatly through dispossession, conflict, disease, and the dispersal of families. Key features of the period were the signing of a treaty relating to the Port Phillip Bay region, and the setting up of protectorate stations and missions. In 1917 the government decreed that all the Aborigines left on stations in the Port Phillip region were to be moved to Lake Tyers in Gippsland.
3.3 European History
The forests of the Central Highlands have an intense and fascinating history. Human interaction with these forests has created a wealth of sites and remains that make up their cultural heritage. Any assessment of the region's environmental values must recognise the historic and cultural values - values that Griffiths (1992) called the 'secrets of the forests'. The forests have been characterised particularly by their use for timber harvesting, mining and agriculture, their importance as the major water supply catchment for Melbourne and their scenery and recreation opportunities. They also form a large part of one of the world's most fire-prone areas, marked by a history of frequent and severe bushfires. In the devastating bushfires of the 1939 summer, whole settlements were incinerated, many lives were lost, and most of the mountain forests were severely burnt.
As Griffiths points out, the awe that the forests inspired did not deter the European settlers from attempting to destroy them. Settlers cleared and 'improved' the land for agriculture and grazing, and exploited mineral and timber resources, leaving behind, in some parts of the study area, a radically altered landscape. The region shared in the major discoveries that inspired the Victorian gold rushes and Walhalla was the centre of a goldfield comparable to Bendigo and Ballarat in gold production. The isolated mountainous terrain and plentiful water shaped the distinctive mining features and has left behind a legacy of shafts and tunnels, water races, chutes and tramways, batteries and waterwheels.
3.4 Land Use
Under the Land Conservation Act 1970, the Land Conservation Council (LCC) has the responsibility to make recommendations on the balanced use of public land in Victoria. In making its recommendations, the Council must have regard to both the present and future needs of the people of Victoria in relation to several criteria that emphasise the need to protect significant conservation and recreation values. At the same time, it must also ensure that other public land is available for legitimate uses such as the harvesting of forest products and mineral production.
In its review of the Melbourne Area District 2, the LCC took the view that it must also achieve a balance between these needs from a local, regional, State and even national perspective.
In its Final Recommendations in 1994, the LCC recommended an extension to the State-wide system of parks and reserves. Melbourne's main water supply catchments contain the best representation of wet sclerophyll forests and cool temperate rainforests in the State and include a range of other vegetation communities, high quality fauna habitat and other nature conservation and cultural values, as well as require continued protection to ensure the provision of high quality water. In recognition of these values the LCC recommended the establishment of a new park - subsequently named the Yarra Ranges National Park -and proclaimed during 1995 - and a substantial addition to the Kinglake National Park incorporating these catchments. The park system is complemented by the proposed establishment of several new nature conservation reserves for the representation and protection of specific floral and faunal values. Combined, the existing and proposed new parks, reference areas and nature conservation reserves total about 180 000 ha, and provide for a good representation of each of the principal vegetation classes in the study area (LCC 1994).
State forest covers about 470 000 ha of the remainder of the public land in the study area. Timber makes an important contribution to the local and State economy and the LCC recommended that timber production should continue from parts of this State forest, subject to protection of environmental values as laid down in the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production.
Public land in the Central Highlands region has special significance for the conservation of Leadbeater's Possum, Spotted Tree Frog, Brown Galaxias, Tall Astelia and Cool Temperate Rainforest. These and other conservation values in State forest will be protected through the forest management planning process, which will incorporate the provisions of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and other relevant legislation.
Other land-use classifications include historical and cultural features reserves and natural features reserves to protect specific elements of the cultural and natural landscape, and the designation of areas for community uses such as recreation reserves.