PLANTS IN THE GRAMATAN AVENUE - Beaumaris Conservation Society

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This quarter hectare
Heathland Sanctuary on the north side of
Gramatan Avenue, Beaumaris, (Melway
86C6), about 50 metres east of Haydens
Road (1-3 Gramatan Avenue), is a Bayside
City Council reserve that protects over
50 species of indigenous heathland plant
(Silky Heath community). It was
established at the instigation of the
Beaumaris Conservation Society (then
named Beaumaris Tree Preservation
Society), which leased it and managed it
for its first 30 years as a Sanctuary.
See the History

of the Sanctuary below.

It is representative of the extensive
areas of such heathland that existed
around the reserve shortly before it was
established in the 1950s. A list and
descriptions of the plants, both
indigenous and exotic, are available at
the nearby Beaumaris Municipal Library
(Corner of Gramatan Avenue
and Reserve Road
– Melway 86D6).
Many of the plants can be bought at the Bayside
Community Plant Nursery.

Examples from Appendix 1 of “The
Vegetation and Management of Gramatan
Avenue Heathland Sanctuary, City of
Sandringham, Victoria” by Mr Geoffrey
W.Carr et al. for the former City of
Sandringham, March 1991, are:

INDIGENOUS PLANTS IN THE GRAMATAN AVENUE HEATHLAND SANCTUARY, BEAUMARIS, 1990
COMMON NAME	BOTANICAL FAMILY	GENUS & SPECIES	COMMENTS
	DICOTYLEDONS
Karkalla	Aizoaceæ	Carpobrotus rossii
Twiggy Daisy-bush	Asteraceæ	Olearia ramulosa
Rough Fire-weed	Asteraceæ	Senecio hispidulus
Green Sheoke	Casuarinaceæ	Allocasuarina paradoxa	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Bundled Guinea-flower	Dilleniaceæ	Hibbertia prostrata	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Silky Guinea-flower	Dilleniaceæ	Hibbertia sericea	Bright yellow flowers
Common Heath	Epacridaceæ	Epacris impressa	Victoria‘s Floral Emblem, but with white rather than pink bell-shaped flowers. Flowers in June and July.
Coast Beard-heath	Epacridaceæ	Leucopogon parviflorus	White flowers and sweet edible berries
Common Beard-heath	Epacridaceæ	Leucopogon virgatus	White flowers
Prickly Broom-heath	Epacridaceæ	Monotoca scoparia
Wedding Bush	Euphorbiaceæ	Ricinocarpus pinifolius	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Broom Spurge	Euphorbiaceæ	Amperea xiphoclada
Common Aotus	Fabaceæ	Aotus ericoides	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Showy Bossiaea	Fabaceæ	Bossiaea cinerea	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Smooth Parrot-pea	Fabaceæ	Dillwynia glaberrima	Red and yellow flowers
Common Wedge-pea	Fabaceæ	Gompholobium huegelii	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area
Common Flat-pea	Fabaceæ	Platylobium obtusangulum	Red and yellow flowers
Slender Dodder-laurel	Lauraceæ	Cassytha glabella
Downy Dodder-laurel	Lauraceæ	Cassytha pubescens
Coast Wattle	Mimosaceæ	Acacia sophorae	Yellow flowers
Prickly Tea-tree	Myrtaceæ	Leptospermum continentale	White flowers
Coast Tea-tree	Myrtaceæ	Leptospermum laevigatum	White flowers
Heath Tea-tree	Myrtaceæ	Leptospermum myrsinoides	White flowers
Love Creeper	Polygalaceæ	Comesperma volubile
Silver Banksia	Proteaceæ	Banksia marginata	Flowers form in large yellow cones
Common Correa	Rutaceæ	Correa reflexa
	MONOCOTYLEDONS
Little Club-sedge	Cyperaceæ	Isolepsis marginata
Sand-hill Sword-sedge	Cyperaceæ	Lepidosperma concavum
Variable Sword-sedge	Cyperaceæ	Lepidosperma laterale
Wire Rapier-sedge	Cyperaceæ	Lepidosperma semiteres
Short Purple-flag	Iridaceæ	Patersonia fragilis
Toad Rush	Juncaceæ	Juncus bufonius
Milkmaids	Liliaceæ	Burchardia umbrellata
Pale Grass-lily	Liliaceæ	Caesia parviflora
Black-anther Flax-lily	Liliaceæ	Dianella revoluta
Twining Fringe-lily	Liliaceæ	Thysanotus patersonii
Wallflower Orchid	Orchidaceae	Diuris corymbosa
Slender Onion-orchid	Orchidaceæ	Microtis parviflora
Common Onion-orchid	Orchidaceæ	Microtis unifolia
Slender Sun-orchid	Orchidaceæ	Thelymitra pauciflora
Coast Blown-grass	Poaceæ	Agrostis billardieri
Bristly Wallaby-grass	Poaceæ	Danthonia setacea
Reed Bent-grass	Poaceaæ	Deyeuxia quadriseta
Long-hair Plume-grass	Poaceæ	Dichelachne crinita
Weeping Grass	Poaceæ	Microlaena stipoides
Supple Spear-grass	Poaceæ	Stipa mollis
Tassel Rope-rush	Restionaceæ	Hypolaena fastigiata
Small Grass-tree	Xanthorrhoeaceæ	Xanthorrhoea minor	Significant species in that it is seriously depleted in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area

EXOTIC PLANTS IN THE GRAMATAN AVENUE HEATHLAND SANCTUARY, BEAUMARIS, 1990
	DICOTYLEDONS
Ivy	Araiaceæ	Hedera helix
Cat’s Ear	Asteraceæ	Hypochoeris radicata
Rough Sow-thistle	Asteraceæ	Sonchus asper
Milk Thistle	Asteraceæ	Sonchus oleraceus
Garden Dandelion	Asteraceæ	Taraxacum Sect. Vulgaria
Japanese Honeysuckle	Caprifoliaceæ	Lonicera japonica
Common Mouse-ear Chickweed	Caryophyllaceæ	Cerastium glomeratum
Four-leaved Allseed	Caryophyllaceæ	Polycarpon tetraphyllum
Chickweed	Caryophyllaceæ	Stellaria media
Wandering Jew	Commelinaceæ	Tradescantia fluminensis
Cluster Clover	Fabaceæ	Trifolium glomeratum
Creeping Wood-sorrell	Oxilidaceæ	Oxalis corniculata sensu stricto
Pink Shamrock	Oxilidaceæ	Oxalis corymbosa
Sweet Pittosporum	Pittosporaceæ	Pittosporum undulatum
Buck’s-horn Plantain	Plantageniceæ	Plantago coronopus
New Zealand Creeper	Polygalaceæ	Muehlenbeckia complexa
Sheep Sorrel	Polygonaceæ	Rumex acetosella spp. agg.
Fiddle Dock	Polygonaceæ	Rumex pulcher
Cotoneaster	Roseaceæ	Cotoneaster glaucophyllus
Cotoneaster	Roseaceæ	Cotoneaster pannosus
Apple	Roseaceæ	Malus domestica (hybrid)
Cherry Plum	Roseaceæ	Prunus cerasifera
Plum	Roseaceæ	Prunus sp.
Blackberry	Roseaceæ	Rubus procerus
Mirror Bush	Rubiaceæ	Coprosma repens
Wall Speedwell	Scrophulariaceæ	Veronica arvensis
Pampas Lily-of-the-Valley	Solanaceæ	Salpichroa origanifolia
Black Nightshade	Solanaceæ	Solanum nigrum
Fragrant Violet	Violaceæ	Viola odorata
	MONOCOTYLEDONS
New Zealand Cabbage Tree	Agavaceæ	Cordyline australis
Drain Flat-sedge	Cyperaceæ	Cyperus eragrostis
Freesia	Iridaceæ	Freesia leichtlinii
Smilax Asparagus (Bridal Creeper)	Liliaceæ	Myrsiphyllum asparagoides
Asparagus	Liliaceæ	Myrsiphyllum scandens
Brown top Bent	Poaceæ	Agrostis capillarus
Silvery Hair-grass	Poaceæ	Aira caryophyllea
Large Quaking-grass	Poaceæ	Briza maxima
Lesser Quaking-grass	Poaceæ	Briza minor
Prairie Grass	Poaceæ	Bromus catharticus
Great Brome	Poaceæ	Bromus diandrus
Couch (Quitch, Twitch)	Poaceæ	Cynodon dactylon
Summer Grass	Poaceæ	Digitaria sanguinalis
Panic Veldt Grass	Poaceæ	Ehrata erecta
Annual Veldt Grass	Poaceæ	Ehata longiflora
Yorkshire Fog	Poaceæ	Holcus lanatus
Hare’s TAil	Poaceæ	Lagurus ovatus
Wimmera Rye-grass	Poaceæ	Lolium rigidum

HISTORY

1939 The
Dunlop Rubber Company had acquired a large
area of undeveloped land in Beaumaris,
which included the land that now forms the
Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary. In
August 1939 it announced a plan to use
that land as a site for the relocation
of its large factory at
Port Melbourne factory to Beaumaris. The
start of World War II a month later
resulted in that plan being abandoned, and
the land later offered for sale as
suburban building allotments, although
very few sold until some time after the
end of World War II in 1945.

1944
The site of the Heathland Sanctuary was
burnt in the large Beaumaris bushfire of
January 1944 as shown in the map at
the end of the CSIRO Report
on that fire. Australian heathland areas
generally suffer no long-term harm from
such fires as the heath soon regrows, and
it usually benefits from the loss of
non-heath competing species that can occur
in such fires.

1951
A 1951 Victorian Government Lands
Department aerial photograph
of Beaumaris shows the
large extent of undisturbed bushland still
around the land that now forms the
Sanctuary. Town planning then did not
provide for a reserve in Beaumaris to
protect the local heathland flora, which
was fast disappearing with housing
development.

1953 The
Beaumaris Conservation Society (BCS),
which was formed as the Beaumaris
Tree Preservation Society in 1953,
and the Native Plants Preservation
Society, whose Secretary, Miss Winifred
Waddell, had earlier succeeded in having a
smaller area of heathland further east
opposite 32 Gramatan Avenue, now known as
the Winifred Waddell Wildflower
Sanctuary, reserved for
flora protection, chose this site. They
also mobilized public interest over
several years to encourage the City of Sandringham
to purchase it, for the purpose of
establishing a Heathland Sanctuary,
from the Dunlop Rubber Company, which
still owned large numbers of undeveloped
house blocks as a legacy of the abandoned
1939 plan referred to above. The Society
was assisted by support from Professor John Turner
(Professor of Botany at the University of
Melbourne), Mr (later Dr) Jim Willis
(Assistant Government Botanist), and Mr
(later Sir) Robert Blackwood
(then General Manager of the Dunlop Rubber
Company and later the inaugural Chancellor
of Monash University).

1957 The
City of Sandringham
purchased this site and proposed to leased
it to BCS, which undertook the
responsibility for its management and fencing.
BCS paid for the original mesh wire
fencing, which is similar to the present
fence around the Sanctuary.

1960
A 30-year period (1960-90) began when
Sandringham City Council leased the
site, at £5 per year, to BCS.
The lease period was ten years, and the
original 10-year lease was thus renewed
twice. BCS Inc. records include a copy of
the lease. The
Sanctuary is shown at the left side of a
1963 Lands Department aerial
photograph some two-thirds
of the way down.

1988
BCS asked the City of Sandringham
to change the Sanctuary land from its
“Residential” zoning under the Planning
Scheme to a “Conservation” zoning.

1989
BCS
asked the Minister for Planning and
Environment to approve the proposal by the
City of Sandringham for a “Conservation”
zoning.

1990
At the conclusion of the third ten-year
period for which BCS had maintained its
original 1960 lease of the land from
Sandringham City Council, the Council
resumed management of the Sanctuary,
commissioned the Carr Report
(above) on the vegetation in the
Sanctuary, and later voted unanimously to
support a “Conservation” zoning to retain
the reserve as a Sanctuary for the
indigenous heathland flora of Beaumaris,
and to manage it with help from the local
community and BCS. A “Gramatan
Avenue
Heathland Sanctuary Management Plan”,
November 1993, was produced by that
Council’s Gramatan Avenue Sanctuary
Working Party and edited by its then
Conservation Officer, Ms Lisa Milley.

That 1990 intention has been realized now
that Bayside City Council, which succeeded
the former Sandringham City Council as
owner of the land in 1994, adopted a Management Plan
for the Sanctuary, which it is
implementing. Bayside City Council has
ensured that the Sanctuary is now Zoned “Public
Conservation and Resource Zone”
under the Bayside Planning Scheme and has
a Vegetation Protection
Overlay Schedule 2 applying
to it under that Scheme.

TIMES OF
OPENING

First Sunday each month in Spring, 2-4
p.m., or by appointment: Bayside Council
Parks and Conservation.

Telephone (03) 9584 5255, Fax (03) 9598
4474.

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