Blackburn Lake Sanctuary is an example of regenerated and remnant bushland in suburban
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia. It is located in the suburb of
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
. It is the most significant of the many parks in the
City of Whitehorse
The City of Whitehorse is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in June 2018, Whitehorse had a population of 176,196.
Whitehorse was formed in December 1994 by the amalgamat ...
, featuring areas of regenerated
bushland
In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure.
Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...
and various walking tracks.
In 1889 the
Kooyongkoot Creek was dammed forming Blackburn Lake, at the centre of the sanctuary. The park has a diverse history revolving around the human usage of the lake and surrounding bushland, which by the 1960s left the lake in particular, very polluted. Although still polluted today, the late 20th century saw much regenerative planting and protection measures by local residents and community groups which has halted and in some places reduced pollution. Today, the park is home to a variety of local wildlife, including
Pacific black duck
The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...
s and
heron
The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s. The sanctuary also features a variety of other birds, as well as
possums
Possum may refer to:
Animals
* Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi
** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
and
sugar glider
The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its abili ...
s.
History
In 1889 the lake itself was formed when
Gardiners Creek
Gardiners Creek, originally known as Kooyongkoot Creek, is a waterway in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and part of the Yarra River catchment.
In a few sparse locations remnant riparian bushland survives, however the majority of its length has ...
was dammed to provide water for local fruit growers. The lake grew in popularity as a
tourist destination
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of ...
, with visitors from Melbourne travelling two hours by
steam train
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
to reach it. During the 1890s, artist
Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...
of the famed
Heidelberg School
The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism.
Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...
lived briefly near the lake, where he painted works including "
Down on His Luck", "The Bush Burial" and "
Bush Idyll".
In 1909 the Adult Deaf Society purchased the land surrounding the lake, where they established a hospice and a flower farm. In 1964 the Society sold the lake and the land around it to the Melbourne Water board, and in 1965 the area was declared a sanctuary. Later public purchases increased the size of the sanctuary until it reached its current size in 1992. The Visitor Centre was refurbished in 1991 to accommodate an expanded education programme.
Much of the history of the park revolves around the damming of Kooyongkoot Creek and its use over time. See below for history of Blackburn Lake.
Geography
The park sits on around of land in the middle of Blackburn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria to which it is located about east of the
central business district of Melbourne.
Blackburn Lake
In the early days before the lake was formed,
Kooyongkoot Creek wound its way down the valley from Mitcham to Blackburn on its way to the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower s ...
. It would have been joined along the way, particularly in winter, by many little rivulets and streams; some of these gullies can still be seen as you walk around the lake today. In summer, the creek is suspected to have dried up at times.
The lake was dammed in 1889 initially to provide water for local fruit growers, but was later used and misused for various reasons and activities until the late 1970s. Today, activities on the lake are limited to protect the surrounding environment. The lake is fed by a number of small creeks to its east and many small surrounding gullies. The dam wall is located in lake's west reaches, Lake Road runs along the top of this wall.
Kooyongkoot Creek heads west from the wall, through the beginnings of its course to the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower s ...
.
It was initially about deep where the creek had been mined for antimony, but recent studies show that it is not that deep today, having silted up over the intervening years. In the 1920s, diving towers were erected and swimming lessons were held at the lake, the water quality was as yet unaffected by surrounding land clearing, agriculture and development. The Blackburn Swimming Club was forced to close in 1931 due to vandalism of the facilities.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the lake became a dumping ground for rubbish, and there are supposed to be old car bodies and other rubbish at the bottom. These would have leached acids, lead and hydrocarbons into the water over the years. Pollution in the lake renders it unusable as a source of water for the surrounding human population or agriculture. In 1962 the dam wall in Lake Rd was built by the MMBW to form a retarding basin to prevent flooding further down Kooyongkoot Creek, and the Lake Rd Bridge was demolished in 1965.
The bridges that cross the lake and its creeks and gullies include:
*Friends Bridge (early 1900s, rebuilt 1981)
*Billabong Bridge (built 1980s)
*Lake Road Bridge (built 1888, demolished 1965, rebuilt 2002)
Recreation
Throughout the park's history, much of the recreation in the park revolved around the lake, however today recreation revolves around the appreciation of the
Australian native flora, much of which has been regenerated over time. The park is popular with bushwalkers. Cycling is also popular but is usually only partaken locally as the park does not host a cycling through-route trail.
Access information
*Central Road
:Gwenda Avenue (Main entrance and carpark)
:Fulview Court
:Cromwell Court
*Lake Road
:Jeffery Street
:Naughton Grove (dam wall)
:Halley Street (dam wall)
:Ottawa Avenue
*Clifton Street
:Via Playground
References
External links
Blackburn Lake Sanctuary Advisory Committee siteArchive of previous Blackburn Lake Sanctuary Advisory Committee site
{{Lakes of Victoria , state=autocollapse
Parks in Melbourne
Wildlife sanctuaries of Australia
Lakes of Melbourne
City of Whitehorse