All images copyrightt© inherit earth
All images copyrightt© inherit earth
European Occupation
Europeans first settled the plains as the grass was good pasture for sheep. With the sheep came cattle, horses and a few vegetables. In the decades that followed, more varied and intense farming practices were applied. The Irish brought potatoes and pigs to the southern part of the plains around Colac. Early crops were mainly wheat, oats and barley. Crops came and went with changing economic conditions and in the mid twentieth century peas were a significant crop. In more recent times farmers have experimented with and established linseed, sunflowers and canola (formerly called rapeseed).
As land ownership became more defined and consolidated, graziers brought in pastures seen to be more beneficial to stock such as White Clover, Subterranean Clover, Perennial Ryegrass, Lucerne and Phalaris. The introduction of these exotic grasses went hand in hand with the introduction and extensive use of phosphates, which was required for these grasses to flourish, especially after the Second World War and development of modern chemistry methods.
Almost invariably these additions were harmful to native indigenous plants and the animals that depended on them. More land was cleared for farming and to supply the growing need for timber. Red gum blocks from the Western district paved Swanston Street in the 1920s. Continual clearing led to changes in the water table and increased salinity, making some of the land infertile.
It took a while for the newcomers to learn to work with the rich but complicated land. This was compounded by the dramatic and erratic forms of settlement which included an inrush of new farmers from the goldfields in the late 1800s, and the soldier settlements after the first and second world wars. At one stage it was government policy for trees to be removed from land that was to be sold. Through all of this the Volcanic Plains have provided agricultural wealth and that is where the focus has been since settlement.
Rabbits
A few pairs of rabbits released near Geelong in 1857 bred into millions in a few short years and devastated the local environment as well as the livelihood of the settlers who brought them. Despite the introduction of myxomatosis and other controls, rabbits continue to be one of the biggest threats to conservation and restoration of native grasslands and other ecological systems.
Feral rabbits alter the structure and composition of native vegetation and make the rejuvenation of many plants, like banksias and wattles, almost impossible by constantly eating the young seedlings. They contribute to erosion by removing vegetation above and below the soil surface and digging so that topsoil is lost, making it harder for indigenous plants to establish themselves and incidentally for indigenous animals to hide themselves from predators in grass tufts and other vegetation stands.
Rabbits also compete with indigenous animals for food and habitat and are thought to be a significant influence in the population decline of the Plains Wanderer, bandicoots, wallabies and other animals. Their presence has also encouraged the spread of foxes and other predators that then also prey on native animals.
