Merri Creek

Merri Creek in Fairfield and Clifton Hill with the Melbourne skyline in the background

The Merri Creek is a creek in the southern Australian state of Victoria. It rises in Wallan north of Melbourne, flows approximately 70 km through the northern suburbs of the city and ends at Dight 's Falls in the Yarra River. At the mouth of the Merri Creek in the Yarra River earlier found the large gatherings of the Wurundjeri, the local Aboriginesstammes instead. There also one of the first contracts for the lease of land in Australia to have been concluded between the Aborigines and European settlers.

The creek was heavily used industrial in the 20th century; there were quarries and landfill sites, and the stream had to take the sewage from the neighboring factories. This destroyed the floodplain of the creek and let pollutants such as heavy metals and greases back. In recent decades, attempts have been made to renature the shore, and there were several environmental groups that have the protection and regeneration of the stream ecology prescribed.

• 3.1 Archaeology
• 3.2 Before the arrival of the Europeans
• 3.3 After the arrival of the Europeans

Origin of the name

The creek was by the Wurundjeri expression ' Merri Merri ' (German: very rocky ) named. Later, European settlers shortened the name to ' Merri Creek '.

Geography

Before about 400 million years, the sea covered the present territory of the Yarra River and its tributaries. It left a position yellowish Schluffsteins and sandstone. For about 65 million years ago a film came sand from non-marine sources to do so. Over time, the ancestral valley of the Merri Creek created by erosion in these sediment layers. Above about 0.8 to 4.6 million years ago broke volcanoes, such as the Hayes Hill about 5 km east of Donnybrook and Mount Fraser near Beveridge and sent lava flows the valleys of the Merri Creek and Darebin Creek down to the valley of the Yarra River, up to the today's Melbourne city center area.

Today's Merri Creek was developed in the past millennia by burial in the lava surface. Today, the creek rises in Wallan north of Melbourne and flows about 70 km south to its confluence with the Yarra River at Dight 's Falls. Then his water landing in Port Phillip Bay. Its tributaries are the Wallan Creek, the Mittagong Creek, the Taylors Creek, Malcolm Creek, the Aitken Creek, Curly Sedge Creek, the Merlynston Creek and Edgars Creek. The Merri Creek flows through the following suburbs of Melbourne: Wallan, Kalkallo, Donnybrook, Craigieburn, Wollert, Epping, Somerton, Campbellfield, Lalor, Thomastown, Fawkner, Reservoir, Coburg North, Coburg, Preston, Thornbury, Brunswick East, Northcote, Westgarth, Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill and Fairfield. Above Dights If it flows into the Yarra River.

Rocky cliffs

One of the many places of geological interest in the valley of the Merri Creek are the rocky cliffs on the eastern shore, which can be seen from the combined foot and bicycle path in Clifton Hill from. Your high, fractured basalt columns were formed by lava auskühlender, you can just see so clearly how the weathering on the rocky ridges in the creek, where columns have collapsed and fell into the creek. Some of vertical fractures at the top of the cliffs seem to tilt and form an interesting radial pattern.

Flora and Fauna

Since the original vegetation could regenerate, returned also some wild animal species back to the stream, such as Kookaburra, kingfishers, the Yellow -tailed Black Cockatoo, the echidna, various anurans and the upper reaches of the north and the platypus. The Merri Creek offers the connoisseur a wealth of edible plants, such as dandelion, sorrel, fennel, Jerusalem artichokes, cabbage species, nightshade, sorrel, Catsear, Milchlattich, geese thistles and nettle. One should be great caution when harvesting fennel and other umbelliferous exercise, because you have already found the spotted hemlock, an easily be confused with these edible plants Giftpfllanze in some places the stream.

History

A variety of archaeological sites proves the extensive colonization of the area by Aboriginal people. At the creek and the surrounding valley many large gatherings of Native took place and it is assumed that here one of the first contracts for the transfer of land between natives and settlers was closed.

Archeology

Many archaeological sites contain scattered stone artefacts from old storage places and peeled trees, of which the Aborigines away pieces of bark to make canoes, vessels and shields. The artifacts were found, because the erosion had freed them from the surrounding sediment. The peeled trees are often the brook, along fences or on the roadside, where they were not eliminated. All sites show traces of life of hunter-gatherers in Victoria prior to the arrival of the first European settlers and provide sensitive, irreplaceable historical sources represents the sites of Aboriginal culture are protected under the ' Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protection Act ''.

Before the arrival of the Europeans

The Wurundjeri - Willam were the original inhabitants of the area of today's northern suburbs of Melbourne. Her name is from the aboriginal word Wurrun ' (English: White eucalyptus ) are derived. The Wurundjeri - Willam were a clan that consisted of a series of large families. In the first years of contact with the settlers from Europe, they were represented by influential elders, as Billibellary. Billibellarys family lived on the north bank of the Yarra River and their territory extended from Yarra Bend to north along the Merri Creek.

The creek provided the Wurundjeri - Willam with a variety of edible animals such as eel, fish and duck. The women waded pockets with cord around the neck by the Merri Creek and sought the stream bed for shellfish from. Emus and kangaroos were hunted in the surrounding grasslands. In the woods and on the hills to possums found as a secure source of food and clothing. The meat of possums was cooked and eaten, and from the fur originated valuable, waterproof coats.

After the arrival of the Europeans

In May 1835 was a historic meeting between John Batman and prominent representatives of the Wurundjeri - Willam and other clans. Billibellary and other tribal elders signed a contract that was later called Batman's Treaty. This was the only treaty that was ever concluded between European settlers and natives in Australia. This one-time negotiations were loud Batman on the banks " a wonderful watercourse " instead of which the historian of the 20th century assumed that it was the Merri Creek. The contract was declared by Sir Richard Burke, the then Governor of New South Wales, for invalid because he did not want to acknowledge that Aboriginal people should have the right to control their own country.

The largest ever documented meeting of Aborigines in Victoria took place on Merri Creek in January 1844. The Wurundjeri - Willam lined up a huge gathering of tribes from throughout the middle of Victoria. Probably about 800 people traveled there to take part in an important judgment according to the law of the Aborigines.

Since the Europeans have settled in the Bach, his underflow was abused bad. In the early years of Melbourne several quarries were established along the creek, where basalt and olivine was mined for the construction of many buildings in the city and for paving the streets. These quarries were later used as landfill. Lots of weeds such as Opuntia and weeping willows, populated the shore and rain water from the streets of the city flooded rubbish and other debris directly into the creek.

Pollution

In recent decades, you have a lot done to improve the condition of the stream. There are patches of native vegetation at the brook and through controlled burning of weeds, their quality has improved. In many cases, native vegetation from the Merri Creek Management Committee and the volunteer group Friends of Merri Creek was planted. In recent years, Melbourne Water has launched a program for the control of wild pasture, to improve the water level and the recultivation with original plant species. At times of low water level of the creek is loaded with purified water from the sewage treatment plant in Cragieburn. Water quality has proved to be insufficient for the resettlement of platypuses. It is thought that this is due to toxins in the deposits in the creek, the population of invertebrates has so severely that it is no longer sufficient as a food source for the platypus. The toxins are mainly heavy metals and greases that come from industrial areas in the catchment area of the stream.

Parks and Recreation

Parks Victoria is responsible for most of the parks on the banks of streams; there are sports facilities, such as Football and cricket pitches, tennis courts and children's playgrounds. The combined Bicycle and Pedestrian Merri Creek Trail was built on the shore and offers insight into the increasingly improved environment. Each year the festival Return of the King Fisher and harvest festivals are celebrated on the bank of the stream in the CERES Community Environment Park.

Management and protection

The management of the watercourses in the catchment area of the Merri Creek is led by the Merri Creek and Einvirons Strategy 2009-2014. It set up a 2,500 -acre park along the bank of the stream has been proposed which will help to establish the ecosystem of the floodplain forest again and protect.

External links and sources

• Merri Creek Management Committee
• Friends of Merri Creek
• Pre -European History of Merri Creek. Merri Creek Management Committee