AUSTRALIAN PLANTS SOCIETY (SGAP) Warrnambool & District
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‘Plants of the Great South West’, book on plants of South West Victoria AUSTRALIAN PLANTS SOCIETY (SGAP) $20, available from Kevin Sparrow at Warrnambool & District Group Inc. Newsletter [email protected] May 2016 No 415 Ph: 55626217 Correa reflexa ‘Grannys Grave’ www.facebook.com/warrnamboolsgap Like us on Facebook Incorporation No: AOO1312OX ABN: 51672752196 Web: apswarrnambool.org.au Hi members, EDITORIAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING As usual, this month is our Annual General Meeting where all positions will be declared vacant and a new committee elected. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come along, it won’t take long and then we can get on with the interesting stuff! And if you would like to be more involved, there is always a spot for someone else on our committee, so please consider it. Our group needs a viable committee to continue into the future. We meet the Tuesday following our Members night at 8.00pm at committee members homes. Our speaker this month is native plant guru and Hakea expert, Paul Kennedy who will be speaking on something entirely different, this time featuring the genus Dodonaea, or common name Hop Bush. Please come along and support our guest speaker and bring along something from your garden to display. We will be meeting Paul and Barbara at the RSL for dinner at 6.30pm. All welcome to join us. On Sunday 29th July, Hamilton SGAP group will be visiting us, we meet at Swan Reserve for a guided tour of the garden and then its on to Michael & Dorothy Mattner’s at Cudgee for lunch and a look around their magnificent garden. Warrnambool APS members are particularly invited to come along and join in. Meet at Swan Reserve at 11.00am or at Mattners at 12.00 noon BYO lunch. Thank you to Bev Bell for representing our group last month, doing a floral display at the Port Fairy “Festival of Flowers”. Flowers were supplied by Friends of Swan Reserve and Kevin & Joyce Sparrow. Hope to catch up with you next Friday at the Mozart Hall or earlier at the RSL at 6.30pm.. Cheers, Kevin The APS Warrnambool & District holds meetings on the 4th Friday of each month at the Mozart Hall Warrnambool at 8pm. What’s On Next Members Night: Friday 27th May 8.00pm - OR 6.30pm at RSL for Dinner Speaker is PaulAustralian Kennedy Plants SpeakingSociety - Warrnambool on Dodonaea’s & District Group common May 2016 Newsletter name - Hop Bushes Group Diary Of Activities 27th May - Annual General Meeting, speaker is Paul Kennedy speaking on Dodonaea’s or Hop Bushes. 31st May - Committee Meeting at Artis’ at Allansford. 29th May - Visit by Hamilton Group. Meet at Swan Reserve at 11.00am and then on to Matters garden at 12.00 noon. 24th June - Members Night - Lachlan Farrington from Nature Glenelg Trust, speaking on NGT wetland restoration work. 28th June - Committee Meeting at Halls 23rd July - Members visit to Hamilton gardens. 26th August - Members Night, speaker is Lynsey Poore talking about Guilfoyle Gardens. 23rd September - Members Night - speaker John Sherwood will talk on his trip to the Galapagos Islands. 8/9th Oct - Fred Rogers Seminar to be held in Hamilton hosted by SGAP Hamilton & APS Warrnambool. 25th November - Maree Goodes speaking on Eremophilas Please submit your articles for the newsletter by the end of the second week of the month President: Kevin Sparrow Phone: 55626217 Vice President: Bob Artis, Brown St, Allansford. Phone: 0417 321225 Secretary: John Sherwood. 26 McConnell St, Warrnambool Phone: 55628064 Email: [email protected] Treasurer: Mike Halls, 127 Rooneys Rd, Warrnambool 3280 Phone: 55626519 Email: [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Kevin Sparrow 35 Swan Street, Warrnambool. Phone: 55626217 Email: [email protected] Publicity Officer and Librarian: Vacant Public Officer: John Sherwood. Phone: 55628064 APS Reps: vacant, History Book Coordinator: Joyce Sparrow. Other Committee Members: Kerry Artis, Laura Prentice, Louise Sheba APS Warrnambool & District is a District Group of the Australian Plants Society (Vic) All members are required to also be a member of APS Vic. 2 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group May 2016 Newsletter Report From Last Month - Jodie Honan Speaking on the Powling Street Wetlands in Port Fairy Last month Jodie Honan spoke to us on her involvement in helping to save In 2014, backed by the Environmental Defenders Office, they launched the Powling Street Wetlands in Port Fairy from development. Jodie is part another challenge through VCAT arguing that 32 blocks was still too many of a small determined group called the SOUTH BEACH WETLANDS AND and this time the number was reduced to 23, with a number of conditions LANDCARE GROUP, who fought to protect the habitat of the migratory including that a protective fence be built around the habitat and a large area bird, Latham's Snipe which arrives in Australia around August from their returned to Moyne Shire. This was a significant win for the Landcare group. breeding sites in Japan. These birds rest up in the relatively small Powling Street Wetlands after their long flight from Japan. The Powling Street site is Interest created from the legal challenge has lead to the establishment of the one of the few sites in Australia where Snipes congregate in large numbers. Latham’s Snipe Project which was begun by a group of passionate ornitholo- gists to better understand the ecology of Latham’s snipe and their use of the The problem arose in 1999 when Moyne Shire decided to sell off a large wetlands. A part of the project involves the setting up of nets so that birds can part of the council owned land adjacent to the wetlands. The new owner had be safely netted and geolocators and tags attached to better understand their hopes of converting the 3.5ha space into 43 building sites but this would be migratory habits. Bird counts are also carried out and on one single day, more to the detriment of the snipe who rely on the tall grass and nutriments of the than 200 birds were found to be on the wetlands. wetlands. There is only about 36000 Latham’s Snipe left in the world and In 2015, the group was successful in gaining funding through the Glenelg Port fairy has one of the largest habitats within these wetlands. The group Hopkins CMA for wetland restoration works, enhance snipe habitat and to using their first hand raise public awareness. knowledge and The grant includes fund- backed by experts on ing to purchase radio bird habitat launched transponders for tracking not one but two the movements of snipe challenges to VCAT around Port Fairy. against the proposals. The first in 2008 Eighty bird species have resulted in the devel- been recorded at the wet- oper having to reduce lands including threatened the subdivision to 32 species, Australian blocks including one Bittern, Sharp-tailed allotment to be given Sand-piper, King Quail, back to the council Eastern Great Egret, and added to the wet- Baillons Crake, lands. This was subse- Australasian Shoveler quently approved by and Royal Spoonbill. the council. 3 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group May 2016 Newsletter Display Table April 2016 by Kerry Artis Mike Halls Acacia podalyriifolia Mt Morgan Kevin showed a number of plants from Swan Reserve Wattle is a spreading tree which Mike cuts including Banksia spinulosa ‘Canarvan Gold that was cut back hard and is quite spectacular when in back to ground level and is now growing beautifully, flower. It can grow to 8m high by 5m across Grevillea magnifica, a Correa with a red flower with a and has silver-grey foliage and golden ball shaped flowers. It is hardy in most well- yellow tip, Hakea clavata, Correa reflexa, Banksia baueri drained, sunny situations. Banksia baueri and the lovely Hakea laurina. Other plants shown by Possum Banksia has a pink tinge to its flower Kevin were Eremophila maculata var maculata, spike, is about 10’ wide and likes a well- Eremophila brevifolia, Banksia tricuspis, Correa mannii, drained, sunny position. Correa reflexa Adenanthos sericea, Correa reflexa, Correa ‘Candy Pink’, ‘John Amor’ (photo right) is doing well and Correa reflexa, Correa ‘Marions Marvel’, Hakea scoparia has a very pretty flower, Banksia ericifolia and Correa ‘Ivory Bells’. ‘Honey Bird Yellow’ has 30 to 40 flower spikes on it at the moment and the colour is lovely. Eremophila Nivea Silky Desert Eremophila is growing well, it doesn’t get watered at all and gets pruned back regularly. Kevin Sparrow brought along a number of Eremophilas that are flowering nicely, Eremophila splendens (photo bottom cen- tre), Eremophila drummondii and Eremo- phila ‘Yana Road’, which starts off white and turns pink. Prostanthera calycina was growing in a pot and looking beautiful and Chorizema varia is a pretty plant. The majority of these Kevin has grown by cutting. 4 Australian Plants Society - Warrnambool & District Group May 2016 Newsletter From The History Book of SGAP Warrnambool & District With this year being the 40th Anniversary of the foundation of our group, I thought it would be a good idea to include in this newsletter some of the important moments that lead to its establishment and some of the people that played a part in making it such a success. Taken from ‘Growing, Knowing, Showing - History of Warrnambool & District Group of the Society For Growing Australian Plants Compiled and Written by Bruce Clark in 1997 Two Early Letterheads - 1978 & 1990 In the beginning meetings were to be advertised in the Warrnambool Standard and by placing posters in shop windows. But by the start of 1979, newspaper advertising was reduced to "the smallest possible" due to the cost and was discontinued completely except for special events in May 1984.