Bev Phillips shows a piece of Golden Wattle left on the ground while Barry Murfett holds what’s left of the wattle trunk. The cleared land is behind them.
Maldon residents Bev Phillips and Barry Murfett looked stunned when the TT caught up with them last Wednesday afternoon.
The couple were standing in front of what was once a revegetated site full of wattles, eucalypts and hakeas in Phoenix Street, Maldon. Now it’s almost completely cleared.
Bev said Maldon Urban Landcare Group (MULGA) members Barry Murfett and the late Wendy French were at the helm of this project when the group held its first planting day on the site back in 2004.
Barry recalls there were about 20 people there that day.
“It was the largest revegetation site that MULGA did,” he said.
“We used to call it ‘The Phoenix Beer Garden’ because the Phoenix Hotel once stood in this street.”
Asked how he was feeling about the clearing, Barry summed it up with three words, “I’m pi..ed off.”
Bev, who is the current secretary of MULGA, estimates about 7000 sq m have been cleared.
She understands the grooming was done this week by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) under the instruction of Parks Victoria.
“They’ve been grooming areas of Maldon where there are woody weeds but this wasn’t one of those areas,” Bev said.
“There were some weeds amongst the shrubs and trees but it was primarily native vegetation.
“In recent years we’ve been maintaining this area so it wasn’t like we just planted it and left it.”
The sad irony is that the clearing happened during Landcare Week.
Looking at the cleared site, Bev said she was feeling totally distraught.
“It’s absolutely devastating to see what was a great revegetation site just obliterated. I just feel for all the people who have worked on this site. Look here on the ground – there’s living wattle and hakea and they’ve just mowed it down.”
This story happened as the TT was going to print and Parks Victoria tried valiantly to get us a response before deadline. It was a very short time frame but Parks Victoria was able to provide a brief response.
“Parks Victoria is currently investigating reports of vegetation clearing in the Maldon Historic Area,” a spokesperson said.
Parks Victoria’s full response will be published in next week’s edition.
