SSiitteess ooff BBiioollooggiiccaall SSiiggnniiffiiccaannccee

iinn KKnnooxx 22nndd EEddiittiioonn

Volume 2

Graeme S. Lorimer, PhD

Sites of Biological

Significance in Knox

2nd Edition

Volume 2

A Report to Knox City Council

by

Graeme S. Lorimer, PhD of

Biosphere Pty Ltd ABN 28 097 295 504

www.biosphere.net.au 13 Kyamba Ct, Bayswater North, Vic. 3153

Version 2.0, 26 May, 2010

ii Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010

First published 2004 Second edition 2010 ‘Sites of Biological Significance in Knox’, Vol.2 of two volumes by Graeme S. Lorimer. Published by Knox City Council, Wantirna South, Victoria.

Some of the aerial photography was supplied by Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), 2003.

Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010 iii

CONTENTS Introduction to Volume 2 1

Key Map of Sites of Biological Significance in Knox 2

Sites Recommended for ESO2 3 Site 1. Glenfern Road Woodland, Upper Ferntree Gully 4 Site 2. Gilmour Park, Upper Ferntree Gully 9 Site 3. End of The Avenue, Ferntree Gully 13 Site 4. Former CSR Ferntree Gully Quarry 18 Site 5. Koolunga Native Reserve, Ferntree Gully 23 Site 6. Vaughan Road Bushland, Ferntree Gully 32 Site 7. Wirrianda Reserve, Boronia 36 Site 8. Boronia Primary School 40 Site 9. Boronia Heights College 45 Site 10. Corner Philippa Rd & Hansen Rd, Boronia 50 Site 11. Bayview Crescent Reserve, The Basin 54 Site 12. Bayview Crescent Water Tank, The Basin 59 Site 12a. Mortiboy Reserve, The Basin 63 Site 13. The Basin Scout Hall Reserve 67 Site 14. West of Wicks Reserve, The Basin 70 Site 15. Wicks Reserve & Wicks East Nature Reserve, The Basin 75 Site 16. Inverness Avenue Reserve, The Basin 85 Site 17. ‘The Ravine’, The Basin 90 Site 18. The Basin - Sassafras Forest Precinct 95 Site 19. Hillside above Sheffield Road, The Basin 103 Site 20. Lower Dobson Creek, The Basin 108 Site 21. Dobson’s Treed Paddock, The Basin 116 Site 22. Liverpool Road Retarding Basin, Boronia 120 Site 23. Sugarloaf Hill, Boronia 127 Site 24. St Bernadette’s Primary School, The Basin 135 Site 25. George Grumont Reserve, The Basin 138 Site 26. Dandenong Creek Corridor 142 Site 27. Colchester Reserve Wetland, Boronia 147 Site 28. Blamey Court Reserve, Boronia 151 Site 29. Old Joes Creek Bushland, Boronia 156 Site 30. Sundew Reserve, Boronia 164 Site 31. Knox Jaycees Reserve & Haering Rd Child Centre, Boronia 167 Site 32. St Joseph’s School, Boronia 170 Site 33. Blind Creek Corridor 174 Site 34. Blind Creek Billabong & Quarry, Ferntree Gully 180 Site 35. Norvel Rd Reserves, Ferntree Gully 187 Site 36. Burke Road Reserve and Knox Reservoir, Ferntree Gully 190 Site 37. Pickett Reserve, Ferntree Gully 194 Site 38. Clyde Reserve, Ferntree Gully 197 Site 39. Kent Park, Ferntree Gully 200 Site 40. Ferntree Gully Rd Verge, Ferntree Gully 204 Site 41. 52 Kathryn Rd, Knoxfield 207 Site 42. R.D. Egan-Lee Reserve, Knoxfield 211 Site 43. Lakewood Nature Reserve, Knoxfield 216 Site 44. Wadhurst Drive Park, Boronia 226 Site 45. Roselyn Crescent Reserve, Boronia 231 Site 46. Bayswater Park 236 Site 47. J.W. Manson Reserve, Wantirna 242 Site 48. Healesville Freeway Reservation, Wantirna 247 Site 49. Bateman Street Bush, Wantirna 252 Site 50. Yarrabing Wetlands Reserve, Wantirna 260

iv Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010

Site 51. Winton Wetlands, Wantirna 263 Site 53. Ardnehue Rd Land, Wantirna 267 Site 54. Stringybark Reserve, Wantirna 272 Site 55. W.G. Morris Reserve, Wantirna 276 Site 56. Flamingo Reserve, Wantirna 281 Site 57. Wakley Reserve, Wantirna South 287 Site 58. Dandenong Valley Parklands 290 Site 59. Timmothy Drive Bushland, Wantirna South 299 Site 60. Cathies Lane Bushland & Llewellyn Reserve, Wantirna South 306 Site 61. Coppelia Street Bushland, Wantirna South 313 Site 62. Cathies Lane Reservation, Scoresby 318 Site 63. Redcourt Reserve, Scoresby 322 Site 65. Stamford Park, Rowville and Caribbean Lake 326 Site 66. Corhanwarrabul Creek and its Tributaries 332 Site 67. Henderson Road Wetlands, Knoxfield 340 Site 68. Hillside Park, Rowville 344 Site 69. Cogley, Sutton and Hill Lakes, Rowville 348 Site 70. Rowville Primary & Secondary Schools 352 Site 71. Delta Court Reserve, Rowville 356 Site 72. Rowville Electricity Terminal Station 359 Site 73. Starlight Reserve, Rowville 365 Site 74. Police Road Retarding Basin and Tirhatuan Wetlands 371 Site 75. Tirhatuan Lakes Golf Course, Rowville 379 Site 76. Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve, Rowville 385 Site 77. Waverley Golf Club, Rowville 390 Site 78. Bergins Rd Extension, Rowville 396 Site 79. Whitecliffe Reserve, Rowville 401 Site 80. Heany Park, Rowville 404 Site 81. Lysterfield Hills 412 Site 82. Lysterfield Park 421 Site 83. Lysterfield Valley 426 Site 84. Fruitful Vine Melbourne Church, Lysterfield 432 Site 85. Provence Rise Reserve, Rowville 437 Site 86. Pine Hill Reserve, Rowville 441 Site 87. Napoleon Rd Bushland, Ferntree Gully 444 Site 98. Treed Paddock, High Street Rd, Wantirna Sth 448 Road and Rail Corridors Recommended for ESO2 452 Site 88. Belgrave Railway Line Corridor 453 Site 90. Boronia Rd Roadside, Boronia 460 Site 91. Mountain Hwy Roadside, Wantirna 465 Site 92. Mountain Hwy Roadside, Boronia to The Basin 470 Site 93. Burwood Hwy Roadside, Wantirna 476 Site 94. Napoleon Rd Roadside, Rowville 480 Site 95. Kelletts Rd Roadside east of Napoleon Rd 485 Site 96. Wellington Rd Roadside, Rowville & Lysterfield 489 Site 97. Lysterfield Rd Roadside, Lysterfield 495 Area Recommended for ESO3 499 Site 99. Dandenong Ranges Buffer 500 Areas Recommended for VPO 508 Site 52. Winton Farm, Boronia Rd, Wantirna 508 Site 100. Forest Lodge, Boronia Rd, Wantirna 510 Site 101. Stud Rd Roadside, Wantirna 513 Site 102. Ash Grove Precinct, Bayswater 516 Site 103. Blind Creek Valley, Boronia 519 Site 104. Ferntree Gully Ridge 522 Site 105. Dobson Street Treed Precinct, Ferntree Gully 524 Site 106. Scoresby Rd Verge, South of Burwood Hwy 527 Site 107. Knoxfield Treed Precinct 529

Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010 v

Site 108. Knox Park Primary School 532 Site 109. Fairhills High School, Knoxfield 535 Site 110. Knox Gardens Primary School, Wantirna South 538 Site 112. Starlight Treed Precinct, Rowville 540 Site 113. Major Crescent Precinct, Rowville 544 Site 114. Clarence Rd Treed Paddock, Wantirna 547 Sites Not Recommended for Overlays 549 Site 111. Brusco Close, Rowville 550 Site 115. Lysterfield Rural Properties 553 Site 116. Road Verges 555

Site 116a. Colchester Rd Roadside, Boronia 555 Site 116b. Taylors Lane Roadside, Rowville 555 Site 116c. Forest Rd Roadside, Ferntree Gully 555

Site 117. Schools 556 Site 118. Parks and Reserves 557

Site 118a. Birchfield Reserve, Wantirna 557 Site 118b. Michelle Drive Reserve, Scoresby 557 Site 118c. Peregrine Reserve, Rowville 557 Site 118d. Teofilo Drive Reserve, Lysterfield 558

Sites of Biological Significance in Knox, Vol.2 Page 1

Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010

Introduction to Volume 2 This volume provides descriptions and significance assessments of the sites of biological significance identified in this study. The sites are mapped in broad scale on the next page, colour-coded according to their levels of significance and the level of planning scheme protection recommended for them.

The principal method recommended for protecting the sites’ significant attributes is by using overlays in the Knox Planning Scheme. The existing Schedules 1 and 3 of the Vegetation Protection Overlay (VPO), and the associated planning scheme maps, are recommended to be replaced by new overlays and maps.

There are also sites whose vegetation is not recommended to be covered by any overlay (at least, not for reasons of biological significance). Their native vegetation is regarded as adequately protected by the statewide ‘native vegetation retention’ provisions of Clause 52.17 of the Victoria Planning Provisions. These sites do not appear on the key map but are described in the text from p. 547 onward.

Sites 52, 64 and 89 have been destroyed or seriously marred by road construction projects since the sites were described in 2004 for the first edition of this report. The other sites in the range 1-98 retain high levels of biological significance and are recommended for the proposed Environmental Significance Overlay ESO2. Sites 1-87 are numbered in a generally anti-clockwise manner around the key map on the next page, starting in Upper Ferntree Gully near the centre of the map’s right-hand edge. Sites 88-97 are road and rail corridors.

Site 99 (p. 500) is the only site recommended for ESO3, covering ten square kilometres at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges. This is followed by Sites 52, 100-110 and 112-114 (pp. 508-546), which are sites recommended for VPO.

Brief descriptions of the two sites that were completely destroyed during the six years since the first edition of this report follow. Another eighteen sites (mostly of State significance) have been reduced in extent due to clearing, mostly as a result of the EastLink project or other road work. Extensive tree removal at Site 111 (Brusco Close, Rowville) in early 2010 caused a major fall in bioligical significance, leading to the withdrawal of the recommendation in the first edition of this report that the site be covered by a Vegetation Protection Overlay.

Site 64. Yarra Gums, Ferntree Gully Rd, Scoresby (formerly of Regional significance)

In 1998, the southern verge of Ferntree Gully Rd in the path of the EastLink road corridor was reported by Williams et al.* to include nine of the nationally rare Yarra Gums. In 2004, the present author found six small but mature eucalypts growing amid mown grass, and lodged specimens at the National Herbarium. As a stand of a nationally rare tree species, the site was of Regional significance under the criteria of Amos (2004). All vegetation in this area was cleared as part of roadwork for the EastLink road by 2007.

Site 89. Boronia Rd roadside, Wantirna (formerly of Regional significance)

In 2004, a 240-metre stretch of the southern verge of Boronia Rd just west of Wantirna Rd supported remnants and regrowth of the Endangered EVC, Valley Heathy Forest, with three locally rare or threatened plant species. The whole site was destroyed in 2006 or 2007 for road widening.

* Williams L.M., Yugovic J.V., McGuckin J., Humphrey P. and Larwill S. (1998) ‘Scoresby Transport Corridor Environment Effects

Statement, Supplement Volume H: Flora and Fauna’.

Page 2 Sites of Biological Significance in Knox, Vol.2

Document Revision 2.0, 26 May 2010

Key Map of Sites of Biological Significance in Knox recommended for Planning Scheme Overlays

89

210 3 4 5 km

State Significance

Regional Significance

Local Significance

Dandenong Ranges Buffer

Areas of Remnant Trees

National Significance

LEGEND

ESO2

ESO3

VPO

Overlay Description

Bungalook

Creek

Dandenong

Dan

den

ong

Creek

Dobsons

Cre

ek

Dan

den

ong

Fern

y C

k

Monbulk

Ferny

Monbulk C

reek

Cor

han

Cre

ekD

and

enon

g

Lyst

erfi

eld

La

ke

Cre

ek

Creek

Ferny

Creek

Ck

rabul

Blind

Blind

Blind

Lake

STU

D

RD

HWY

BURWOOD

MOUNTAIN

HWY

FERNTREE

GULLY

RD

WELLINGTON RD

BORONIA

RD

DO

RSE

TR

D

RD

RD

STU

D

Creek

EA

STLI

NK

EA

STLI

NK

EA

STLI

NK

Creek

war

SCO

RESB

Y

Creek

Dandenong

Creek

Ck

Cre

ek

Car

ibbean

ESO1 State Significance

114

81

98

33

12a

66

66

66

66

66

66

66

78

34

29

68

26

2626

73

32

1 2

4

56

77 79

7

89

10

28 2223

97

97

81

84

82

83

83

9696

96

1413

15

19

18

35

36

3738

39

40

42

43

31

30

44

45

4849

47

46

75

76

74

86

87

41

11

1216

17

2425

27

26

2626

26

33

50

5152

53100

54

55

56

57

58

58

58

58

58

59 59

60

6160

62

63

65

67

69

70

71

72

80

93

90

92

92

92

101

95

21

3333 33

33

33

33

33

88

88

88

88

88

88

88

102

110

103

104

106

109

111 94

11396

3107

105108

74

112

11274

85

91

90

20