Time travel

This set of images provides a window to the past and the largely forgotten woodland landscapes of central Victoria.

The Silver Banksia Banksia marginata, also known as the Honeysuckle, was once common throughout the district – the Moolort Plains and floodplains of the Loddon River and its tributaries were a stronghold for this wonderful plant.

Now on the brink of regional extinction, it has encouragingly been included in restoration plantings over recent decades – only time will tell if these efforts inspire a natural comeback.

A Spotted Pardalote in a Honeysuckle would have once been a common sight, searching for insects along with other daytime visitors – various honeyeaters and lorikeets chasing nectar. Feathertail gliders, sugar gliders and pygmy-possums would have feasted on the rich flow of nectar during the hours of darkness.

Spotted Pardalote (male) in a planted Silver Banksia, Providence Gully Sandon, 18th July 2020

II

III

IV

V

VI

To learn more about the magnificent Silver Banksia …

• Friends of the Forgotten Woodlands – a volunteer group working to rebuild woodland communities that were once a keystone in the ecology of the Victorian Volcanic Plains.
• Forgotten Woodland, Future Landscapes – Ian Lunt’s wonderful historical perspective on Silver Banksia and its woodland companions, including notes from Gerry Gill on a surviving veteran on Mount Alexander.
• The Mysterious Honeysuckle – from the Strathbogie Ranges – Nature View blog.