Weeding around old Pinkerton homestead Wednesday 11th March


On Wednesday 11th March Irene, Rosemary and Daryl returned to Pinkerton Flat beside the Werribee River where we spent several hours weeding around the ruins of the old Pinkerton homestead.

Irene and Daryl tackled the thistles and Paterson’s Curse with whipper snippers while Rosemary attacked he weeds with a mattock.

Fortunately the thistles were green and soft so they were fairly easy to cut. We resolved that we should return at a later date to finish off the weeding with spraying, to prevent weed regeneration.

We noticed that rabbits were prolific along the Flat. We also noticed Prickly Pear and Spitting Cucumber.

After the weeding and morning tea we walked along Pinkerton Flat where we discussed possible strategies for revegetation along the flat. Melicytis bushes are regenerating naturally inside the rabbit-proof area and are growing in dense thickets.

We have several Blue Box trees that we can plant beside the homestead. The Blue Box trees we planted a few years ago have not survived so we will try planting more. We have about ten trees grown from seed collected from here.

We need to plant native grasses also near the access track as the grasses have not survived here either. Pinkerton Flat has proved a challenging site with several attempts to restore the natural vegetation here. We may move the goat trap from beside the homestead and place it near the access track, so that we may plant inside it. We also discussed placing rocks around the grasses and other plants to protect them from the harsh north winds that sweep down the gorge, drying out the soil. Perhaps beginning watering earlier in the year may help them survive. Also, concentrating on planting first close to bottom of the access track may create a wind barrier to protect plants downwind.