Trees & Large Shrubs Shrubs Shrubs Cultural Sites Sand Ridge Woodlands Trees & Large Shrubs Shrubs Shrubs Cultural Sites Scar Trees Yorta Yorta Country Traditional Owners created scars on trees This brochure has been prepared to aid in the identification of a Sand Ridge by removing bark for various purposes (e.g. canoes; shields; coolamons and for shelter). selection of flora, fauna and aboriginal cultural heritage sites found in The scars, which vary in size, expose the sandhill ecological communities across Yorta Yorta Country. Both sap wood on the trunk or branch of a tree. common and scientific names have been provided, but please note Woodlands Trees exhibiting scars are most likely over 150 years old. that common names can vary from region to region. Photos are not to scale. Where known, traditional uses are shown for each species. Yorta Yorta Country Oven Mounds Aboriginal mounds are places where Traditional Owners lived over long periods of Buloke White Cypress-pine Gold-dust Wattle Grey Wattle Sweet Bursaria Common Fringe-myrtle time. These are circular or oval shape. Allocasuarina luehmannii Callitris glaucophylla Acacia acinacea Acacia brachybotrya Bursaria spinosa Calytrix tetragona Lumps of burnt clay or stone and small Sand Ridge Woodlands fragments of charcoal are often present. NL NL NL NL NL CD ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Shells, animal bones, stone tools and human burials are sometimes also present. Middens Freshwater shell midden sites are a build-up of discarded shells resulting from the gathering, cooking and eating of freshwater mussels by Traditional Owners. Shell midden sites may also contain evidence of cooking such as charcoal fire stones, and burnt earth or clay. Scattered Cultural Heritage Sites Murray Pine Yellow Box Honeysuckle (or Silver Banksia) Yarran Wedge-leaf Hop-bush Emu-bush Surface artefact scatters are the material Callitris gracilis Eucalyptus melliodora Banksia marginata Acacia homalophylla Dodonaea viscosa ssp. cuneata Eremophila longifolia remains of Traditional Owner’s past activities. ■ ■ ■ DF ■ ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ JB ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ NL Scatter sites usually contain stone cultural heritage sites, but other material such as – charcoal, animal bone, shell and ochre may also Yorta Country be present. No two surface scatters are exactly Aboriginal use of ora and fauna - Colour guide the same. Surface scatters may be found wherever Aboriginal occupation occurred. Make tools Shelter Ceremonial Stone Tools Medicinal Fish poison Dye/ paint Most stone tools are visually distinctive and stand out from the local soil and other natural Food source Fire stones around them. Stone tools are usually made from fine grained materials and range from small flakes for cutting and scraping to For more information larger more purpose made tools such as grinding stones, axes and hammer stones. Murray Local Land Services www.murray.lls.gov.nsw.au Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority www.gbcma.vic.gov.au Grey Box Lightwood Streaked Wattle Mallee Wattle Cherry Ballart Hooked Needlewood Eucalyptus microcarpa Acacia implexa Acacia lineata Acacia montana Exocarpos cupressiformis Hakea tephrosperma Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation www.yynac.com.au Burial Sites NL NL NL NL NL NL NSW Aboriginal Land Council www.alc.org.au ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Aboriginal burial sites normally contain the Threatened Species www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspecies/index.htm remains of one or two people, although cemeteries that contain the remains of Acknowledgments hundreds of people buried over thousands Thank you to Yorta Yorta Traditional Owners and Doug Frood from Pathways Bushland of years have been found. Please note: and Environment for providing information on traditional plant uses and to Natasha The discovery of any human remains must be Lappin for compiling the content. immediately reported to the police by law. Front cover image by Alison Skinner. Published by MLLS © Copyright of content owned by MLLS, 2015. This project is supported through funding from the Australian Government. Hearth Graphic design ©Colourfield Design Heat-retainer ‘hearths’ were used in the past by Traditional Owner’s to cook food. They are Photographs donated by: usually found along creek banks, on lake NL - Natasha Lappin, CD - Cassie Douglas, margins, in sand dunes, and exposed on JB - Jim Begley, DF - Doug Frood, AS - Alison Skinner, scalds and clay pans. DP - David Parker, RS - Rosie Smith, DW - D. Webb, Quandong Kurrajong Miljee (or Umbrella Wattle) Golden Wattle Silver Cassia Weeping Pittosporum (or Butterbush) JP - Jake Pollard, CT - Chris Tzaros, KH - Katie Howard, Santalum acuminatum Brachychiton populneus Acacia oswaldii Acacia pycnantha Senna artemisioides Pittosporum angustifolium GS - Gaye Sutherland, SL - Sue Logie. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ ■ NL Grasses Groundcovers Groundcovers Sand Ridge Ecological Communities Common Fauna Caring for Sand Ridge Woodlands Yorta Yorta Nation Sand Ridge Woodland, or Sand Hill Vegetation communities are an ecological community that can be identified through their unique Yorta Yorta Nation is comprised of peoples with undeniable characteristics of flora species. Other characteristics include their bloodlines to the Original Ancestors of the Land of Yorta Yorta position in the landscape (formed by winds over thousands of years Nation. These bloodlines link along old and existing waterway systems), their climate, water Yorta Yorta peoples’ past, availability and soil type. This guide illustrates the range of plants and present and future to one animals that can commonly be found within a sand hill community, another, with traditional laws, some of which are unique and have a strong association to sand hill customs, beliefs and areas. The dominant tree species can be Cypress Pine (Callitris sovereignty intact. Indicative glaucophylla or Calitris gracilis) or Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) Bottlewashers Wheat Grass Pink Bindweed Bluebells Native Geranium Mat Rush species boundaries for Yorta Yorta Echidna Bush stone-curlew and the soils are predominantly sand or sandy loams. Sand hill areas Enneapogon avenaceus Anthosachne scabra Convolvulus species Wahlenbergia species Geranium solanderi Lomandra species people are shown on the map. Tachyglossus aculeatus Burchinus grallarius NL NL ■ ■ NL ■ NL ■ ■ NL ■ ■ ■ NL ■ NL ■ RS have been subject to extensive clearing and sand extraction practices over many years and most are in very poor condition. Indigenous Australians utilised these sites for burials, hunting Deniliquin grounds and refuge during flood events. Finley Tocumwal Yarrawonga Echuca Shepparton Wangaratta Benalla Wallaby Grass Rough Spear Grass Climbing Saltbush Creeping Saltbush Mallee Bush Pea Common Everlasting Daisy Myrtleford Broad Shell Turtle Sand Goanna Rytidosperma sp. Austrostipa scabra Einadia nutans ssp. nutans Atriplex semibacatta Eutaxia microphylla Chrysocephalum apiculatum Chelodina expansa Varanus gouldii spp. gouldii Bendigo ■ CD NL ■ ■ NL ■ ■ NL NL ■ ■ SL ■ KH ■ DW Aboriginal Cultural Significance of Sand Ridge Communities Aboriginal cultural heritage and knowledge is a very important part To help ensure these valuable and diverse communities are of Australia’s history. Aboriginal cultural heritage consists of places maintained in the landscape they require planning and active and items that are of significance to Traditional Owner’s because of management. Strategic fencing to restrict vehicle access and their traditions, observances, lore, customs, beliefs and history. manage stock grazing and the control of pest plants and animals These places and items provide evidence of the lives and existence such as rabbits can help preserve sand hill structure and vegetation of Traditional Owner’s. cover. Revegetation such as tree planting and machine direct seeding Sandhill communities, with their diverse plant and animal life can also improve the biodiversity condition and long term Kangaroo Grass Windmill Grass Ruby Saltbush Corrugated sida Stinking pennywort Twining Glycine provided a range of resources for Traditional Owner’s, including Eastern Banjo Frog Rainbow Bee-eater conservation of these areas. As areas of significant cultural and Themeda australis Chloris truncata Enchylaena tomentosa Sida corrugata Hydrocotyle laxiflora Glycine clandestina Limnodynastes dumerilii Merops ornatus food, medicines, tools, material for shelters and items for ecological value it is important when working in or visiting these NL NL NL NL NL NL NL CT ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ceremonial use. These areas were often important burial sites. ■ ■ areas that we consider any potential impacts our activities may have. Red Grass Curly Windmill Grass Tar Vine Native Flax-lily Yam Daisy Bulbine Lily Emu Eastern Grey Kangaroo Bothriochloa macra Enteropogon acicularis Boerhavia dominii Dianella species Microseris lanceolata Bulbine bulbosa Dromaius novaehollandiae Macropus giganteus NL NL ■ NL ■ ■ NL ■ CD ■ NL ■ CT ■ JP.