3.1.

3
NON-INDIGENOUS
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE
BUNURONG COAST
FROM PHILLIP ISLAND TO
WILSONS PROMONTORY

BUNURONG
COAST
FIRST NON-INDIGENOUS
SETTLERS
Wilsons Promontory, Sealing @ Sealers Cove

• Perceptions: Even though settlers feared the Australian land, they

saw it for the opportunity that it provided them with to create a life,
as no one owned the land (Terra Nullius).

• Interactions: Sealers sold thousands seal skins and tons of seal oil
for over 40 years.

• Land was cleared to create settlements and for grazing around

Sealers Cove in the thick coastal vegetation.
• Impacts: Seal numbers at Wilsons Promontory declined so much so
that the industry collapsed. The decimation of seals would've lead to
an altered food web, reducing biodiversity.

• The impact of land clearing was a loss of habitat for native species
such as the wombat.

Remnants of the Jetty at

Sealers Cove
INCREASING POPULATION
Gold and quartz mining

• Perceptions: Upon the discovery of gold in Victoria, outdoor

environments were perceived as a place to begin a new life
through making a fortune.

• Interactions: The gold rush had spread to Stockyard Creek (now

known as Foster) upon it’s discovery there. Miners excavated the
earth where they would pan and sluice for gold.

• At Wilsons Promontory, gold and quartz was mined at Mt

Singapore.
• Impacts: Through erosion and the practices of panning and sluicing,
waterways such as the Stockyard Creek lost water quality as soil
particles blocked sunlight.

Gold digging equipment can be seen today in Foster.

INDUSTRIALISATION
Rising conservation - Lobby for National Park

• Perceptions: With the change in work conditions, groups such as

the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria began to offer experiences to
Wilsons Promontory. Field trips lead to the perception that outdoor
environments such as these were in need of protection for they
beauty and wonder.

• Interactions: In the 1880’s the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria

(FNCV) campaigned for Wilsons Promontory to be protected after
a number of humans experienced it through field trips.

• Impact: In 1898, majority of the Wilsons Promontory area was

reserved as a site for a National Park, eventually to settle in 1908.
INDUSTRIALISATION

Lime Industry @ Walkerville

• Perceptions: The limestone found in the cliffs at Walkerville was
seen as a resource to assist in expending human settlement.

• Interactions: Lime kilns built in 1878 following the discovery of lime

at Walkerville, 350 yard long jetty built to deliver bagged lime to
ships which would take lime to the city to be used in building
operations.

• Impacts: The impact of extracting lime from the earth and the kiln
operations was severe topsoil erosion, causing a loss in
vegetation cover and therefore biodiversity.
NATION BUILDING
Draining of the Kooweerup Swamp

• Perceptions: The Australian environment is seen a resource, the

low-lying Kooweerup swamp land could be better used for
agriculture.

• Interactions: Channels were hand dug to allow water to drain into

Western Port Bay. Vegetation was burnt and land was ploughed.
Cattle were now grazing and potato farming was prominent.
• Impacts: Biodiversity was decreased due to native species such
as the Southern Brown Bandicoot being unable to cope in new
conditions. Soil became compacted due to cattle grazing.

• At the end of World War 1, the Government purchased large

properties in a number of regions of Victoria and divided them into
smaller holdings, which were allocated to returned soldiers.
• http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/High-
Country/Things-to-do/History-and-heritage/Gold-rush-
history

• http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/
315551/Heritage-story-Wilsons-Promontory-National-
Park.pdf

• http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/
315542/Heritage-story-Taking-out-the-limestone-
Walkerville.pdf