Visitors to Mallacoota don’t often get the chance to visit Gabo Island, a windswept island to the east of Mallacoota. But they can sample its unique flora closer to home.
The Mallacoota Endemic Garden (MEG), located on the corner of Allan Drive and Buckland Drive, at the Parks Victoria Office, arose after the devastating 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires.
The fires devastated the natural environment on a scale never before seen. Far East Gippsland is considered a biodiversity hotspot with many rare and endangered endemic flora species found nowhere else. Fearing some species may not survive another catastrophe, a small, dedicated group of Friends volunteers created this landscaped native garden on Parks Victoria land in the heart of the Mallacoota township. The Friends of Mallacoota are a well-resourced environmental volunteer group working on various projects around town and number close to 10% of the town’s population.
The Mallacoota Endemic Garden features seven garden beds which showcase the seven major vegetation communities found here in Far East Gippsland: Lowland Forests, Warm Temperate Rainforests, Coastal Scrub, Rocky Outcrop Shrubland, Granite Rivers, Heathlands and Gabo Island.
The Garden contains representative samples of endemic plants within each garden bed. Public interest is high, with many visitors commenting on the way our flora is well represented in such a small area. Currently, the garden has over 160 species, 60 of which are either endangered, rare, vulnerable or endemic to the area. Our aim is to concentrate as many rare plants as possible on the site and to give visitors the opportunity to view unusual species without the expense and difficulties associated with finding these plants in the wild. Gabo island, particularly, is renowned for wild seas making boat trips difficult and many of the rainforest are inaccessible to your average visitor.
GABO ISLAND
Gabo Island is a windswept granite island of 154 hectares located 20 km to the East of Mallacoota, on the corner of the continent where Bass Strait meets the Tasman Sea. The island has a long human history, including the first indigenous population who lived on Gabo when the island was joined to the mainland. The magnificent pink granite lighthouse was built in 1864.
Geologically, the granite mass of Gabo is continuous under Bass Strait and pops up again on Flinders Island in Tasmania. Mallacoota is closer to Flinders Island than it is to Melbourne.
The Friends of Mallacoota have been visiting Gabo Island regularly since 2018. Our weeding program has concentrated on the removal of Mirror Bush (Coprosma repens) and after 7 years we find ourselves close to elimination. Many other weeds are present on the island, providing challenging work into the future.
The Gabo Island garden bed features low growing, salt and wind tolerant plants commonly found around the rocky windswept coast. We have tried to replicate the soil conditions by including granitic sand as a base and granite rocks and boulders for added aesthetics.
The garden has several critically endangered Zieria littoralis – a low growing form of Zieria only found on Gabo Island and nearby Howe Hill on the mainland in Victoria. This plant is being tested in cultivation around Mallacoota township and is showing promise as a popular garden plant. Its low growing form combined with glaucous, soft foliage has been well received.
The Trigger plant Stylidium armeria has proven easy to grow from seed and has been noted in Gabo Island past records. We have a plan to re-introduce this plant to a weed free area of the island in the future to help promote biodiversity and help return the islands flora to a more pre-European form.
Stylidium armeria (foreground) and the Asplenium decurrens amongst the granite rocks.
The rare Shore Spleenwort Asplenium decurrens is also featured in the garden. This tough little fern species, whilst not endemic to the area, is restricted in Victoria to offshore islands and some coastal cliffs. This fern is naturally found in granite crevices very close to the high tide mark and is extremely salt tolerant. We have provided at least half-day shade for our specimens using tall granite rocks and the plants are doing very well.
The Mallacoota Endemic Garden is becoming a useful tool for education. The Mallacoota P-12 College students are now engaging with us on trips to Gabo Island and using the garden for referencing our endangered flora.
Complete Flora list for the Gabo Island Garden bed:
| Zieria littoralis | Downy Zieria |
| Alixia buxifolia | Sea Box |
| Correa alba alba | White Correa |
| Carpobrotus rossii | Pig Face |
| Disphyma crassifolium | Baby Pig Face |
| Austrostipa stipoides | Coastal Spear grass |
| Stylidium armeria subsp. armeria | Thrift-leaved Triggerplant |
| Lobelia anceps | Angled Lobelia |
| Senecio pinnatifolius var. maritimus | Coast Groundsel |
| Dianella tasmanica | Tasmanian Flax-Lily |
If you find yourself in this beautiful out-of-the-way part of Victoria, come and see our garden and enjoy observing some of the rare plants our region has to offer.
For more information contact:
Max Elliott and Bryce Watts-Parker
Friends of Mallacoota
www.friendsofmallacoota.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/FOMNursery/