Sunshine Coast Wildflower Festival
I hope you were all able to take part in some of the wildflower walks this month.
Keron and I went on the Noosa North Shore walk, guided by Dave Burrows, Sarah Lawson and Joan Heavey. The inclement weather didn’t put off most of the people who had registered. We gathered at the Moorindal Street car park before car pooling over the river on the ferry. The walk followed the first part of the Cooloola Great walk in the Arthur Harrold Nature Reserve.
Dave was a wealth of knowledge. He spoke about the fire management practices in the reserve and explained that some of the areas we were passing through were an ‘ecotone’. This is a transition zone between different plant communities which have characteristics of both. They are often biodiversity hotspots and can be a habitat for unique species. We were intrigued by his explanation of the name Cooloola which is derived from an indigenous word (‘kululu’ or ‘kululoi’) referring to the coastal cypress pine (Callitris columellaris), which is known for the sound the wind makes as it whispers through its branches. And we were both horrified and thankful when he told us why we were fortunate to have the experience of walking through this beautiful place.
Dave explained that the area was very nearly extensively developed in the 1980’s. A proposal, by developer Leisuremark for a massive tourist development on Noosa’s North Shore, included a 600 room international hotel, apartments, shops, restaurants, a 27-hole golf course, a large artificial lake with boating facilities and a bridge across the Noosa River! Thankfully, after many protests and petitions against the development, the land was purchased in 1999 by Noosa Shire Council. It was declared a Nature Reserve in 2007 and named after Dr Arthur Harrold, who had set up the Noosa Parks Association in 1962 and had been, along with Bill Huxley, instrumental in lobbying the government to stop sand mining and declare Cooloola a National Park in 1975.
The walk led us through diverse habitats including scribbly gum and melaleuca forest, banksia woodland and wet and open heathland. Sarah, Dave and Joan helped us to spot and identify many of the trees, wildflowers, sedges and orchids. The wildflowers were yet to reach their full flowering potential and Sarah thought this might be due to the recent unseasonal heavy rain. We were all captivated by the variety and beauty of the many species we saw. (See photos below.)
Unfortunately the increasing rain and the soggy track forced us to retreat to the car park a little early, but I will definitely be returning to explore more of this wonderful area.
Thanks Dave, Sarah and Joan for sharing your passion for and knowledge of Noosa’s beautiful native heath and wallum plants.
Vanessa Presling
