Merri Creek

Rocky cliff face

One of the many sites of geological interest^[4] along the Merri valley is the rocky cliff face on the eastern side of Merri Creek visible from the shared path in Clifton Hill. Its tall, cracked (or jointed) basalt columns, formed by cooling lava, are clearly visible and the weathering evident in the rocky riffles midstream where columns have collapsed and tumbled into the stream. Some of the vertical fractures at the top of the cliff appear to be leaning, forming a striking radial pattern.

Flora and fauna

As native vegetation has been regenerated, some species of native wildlife have returned to the creek. These include kookaburras, kingfishers, yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, echdidnas and frogs. There have also been reports of platypuses in the upper northern regions and further south in Coburg.^[5]

Merri Creek is also abundant in edible plants, although care should be taken when attempting to identify them. including dandelion, dock, fennel, jerusalem artichoke, numerous brassicas, blackberry nightshade, sorrel, catsear, sowthistle, nettle and many others. Caution is advisable when harvesting fennel and other members of the family Apiaceae, as poison hemlock has been found growing in some areas of the creek.

Archaeology

Many archaeological sites found contain scattered stone artefacts from old campsites, and scarred trees from which traditional people removed slabs of bark to make canoes, containers and shields. The artefact scatters are found because erosion of some sort has exposed the implements which were covered with sediment. The scarred trees are often on the creek bank, fence line or road reserve where they escaped the clearance process. Both site types exhibit traces of the hunting and gathering lifestyle of pre-contact Victoria, and are a fragile and non-renewable historical resource. Aboriginal sites are protected under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.

Pre-European

The northern suburbs of Melbourne are built on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri-willam people. During the first years of European colonisation, the Wurundjeri were represented by influential senior men such as Billibellary. His clan lived on the northern bank of the Yarra and their territory extended from Yarra Bend northwards along the Merri Creek.

The creek supplied the Wurundjeri-willam with an abundance of food such as eel, fish, and duck. Women waded through the Merri with string bags suspended around their neck, searching the bottom of the stream for shellfish. Emu and kangaroo were hunted in the surrounding grasslands. In the forests and hills, possum was also a staple source of food and clothing, The flesh of the possum was cooked and eaten, while the skin was saved to be sewn into valuable waterproof cloaks.

Post-European

In May 1835, a historic meeting took place between Batman and the Wurundjeri-willam and other clans in which a document was signed that came to be called Batman's Treaty. To date, this remains the only treaty ever struck between European settlers and the Indigenous people of Australia. Batman wrote that these negotiations took place beside a "lovely stream of water" which historians now suspect to be the Merri Creek. This treaty was declared invalid by Sir Richard Bourke, the Governor of N.S.W., who was unwilling to recognize and allow the Indigenous people the right to use and control their own land as they saw fit - thus implementing the doctrine of terra nullius.

In January 1844, the Wurundjeri-willam hosted an immense gathering of Indigenous people who came from all over central Victoria. An estimated 800 people journeyed to the district to witness important judicial proceedings carried out according to traditions of Aboriginal law.

Since European settlement, the lower reaches of the creek have been significantly degraded by human activity. In the early history of Melbourne, numerous quarries were established along the creek to extract bluestone for the construction of many of the city's buildings and paving for roads and lanes. These quarries were later used as landfill for waste. Numerous environmental weeds, such as prickly pear and weeping willows, invaded the banks. Stormwater from suburban streets also drains directly into the creek, bringing rubbish and other pollutants.

Recent years

In recent decades, much has been done to remedy the creek's condition. As recently as the 1980s, the community considered Merri Creek little more than a weed-choked industrial drain. Things have improved significantly since then, largely thanks to the efforts of local community groups. Today it is a popular destination for residents taking walks and other leisure activities, and is considered a "green oasis" in the northern suburbs.

Patches of remnant native flora still remain along the creek, and their quality has improved through weed control and ecological burning. Much native vegetation has been replanted by the Merri Creek Management Committee and the volunteer group Friends of Merri Creek.

Melbourne Water has been involved in a willow control program to improve water flows and allow for the revegetation of sites with indigenous plant species. At times of low flow, water is sustained in the creek through treated outfall from the Craigieburn sewage treatment plant, .

Water quality was thought to have been insufficient to allow repopulation by platypus, as industrial toxicants have reduced macroinvertebrate productivity to the point where there is insufficient food. However, the first platypus sighting in decades occurred between Thornbury and Coburg in September 2010.^[6] Platypus sightings have continued, albeit on a "few and far between" basis, ever since.^[7]