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History and Culture.
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Pistol Duel at De Salis Waterhole in Tootgarook Swamp
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Surveyed by acting surveyor general C.Grime 1803
Tootgarook Swamp has high cultural significance for the Bunurong / Boonerwrung people of the Kulin nation, as well as high scientific value.
A survey by Barker (2009) found;
"Ten indigenous archaeological sites were located along the road reserve indicating that traditional Bun Wurrung owners camped along the margins of Tootgarook Swamp located 400-800m west of Boneo Road."
According to Barker (2009);
" The majority of indigenous sites were located on sandy rises. These rises would have provided dry, sheltered and well-drained camp sites from which to access the rich resources of the adjacent Tootgarook Swamp, its associated watercourses and interdunal swamps."
"The diversity of the stone technology in the assembelge suggested that the sites were general purpose campsites. They were also situated near water sources on sandy well-drained soils. The Tootgarook Swamp and the interdunal wetlands provided a valuable resource for Aboriginal people to exploit. Not only would they have presented people with fresh water and food in the form of shellfish, reptiles and waterfowl, but it also would have been an attraction for larger marsupials. The lower-lying flood plains would also have provided ample plant foods within close foraging distance."
European Arrival.
On the 22nd of January 1802 the following as written by James Flemming on behalf of Charles Grimes as they are the first Europeans to write of an encounter with the Tootgarook Swamp.
-All hands up at daylight. The captain went sounding; on his return Mr. Grimes, doctor and self, two marines and two assistants to the surveyor went on shore ; as we went on met with two huts, apparently built by Europeans ; a little farther met with fresh water in a swamp about fifty yards from the beach; farther on a small run of water. The country level; timber as the preceding day.
Saw three natives at a distance ; they made off as we approached them.
Sunday, 23rd.—Early in the morning the same party as yesterday, with the addition of the captain, went on shore; we ascended a high
hill ; the land good until we got near the top, where it is stony. On the north and south sides of the hill there are from 2,000 to 3,000
acres of good land, a specimen of which is taken. Mr. Robbins and self went to the top of a hill ; it appeared fine land at a distance, but
only stones and short brush as we approached it; saw Western Port distinctly from the top of it; we supposed it to be about five miles
from the beach. Returned through an extensive swamp. On the side of the hill met with two dingles with some fresh water in deep holes.
Mr. Grimes and the others took another way at the bottom of the first hill; we found them on board at our return. The country all newly
burnt. Caught plenty of fish; a shark took a mariner’s jacket out of the boat.
In 1906, George Gordon McCrae wrote two letters to a local schoolmaster at Dromana, Mr G.H. Rogers. His subject was his earliest recollections of an idyllic boyhood spent at Arthur's Seat Run, location of the historic McCrae Homestead on the coast of the southern shores of the Bay, part of Mornington Peninsula. In the letters he described in detail the natural history of the area in the 1840s, and the species he particularly remembered 60 years later. Recollection quotes on the swamp fauna and flora include,
In the swamps (which have since been altered) were "The Nankeen bird with one long white feather behind the ear, The rail, The bittern, The snipe and jack snipe, Several ducks- wood duck, black duck, Teal, Spoonbill, Black swan Geese, Cranes, Blue and white coots, Water hens, Kingfishers here and there and swamp or ground parrot with the barred tail feathers."
In the scrub by the waterholes were "honey eaters, warblers, red coat robins, emu wren with 2 long feathers in tail, Laughing jack ass- everywhere, butcher bird, also known as shrike or whistling jackass, Quail where coverage good in bottom of scrub, turkey at Boneo and the big swamp off the property."
Birds of prey were "eagle hawks, falcons, and owls, some white and of great size".
Once European Settlement occurred the Tootgarook Swamp was to endure a great many changes many of them negative. Even so, it wasn't long before the European's discovered some of the swamps unique values. Aside from the good hunting, excellent drinking waters from bore sinking, limestone and wood for building, the swamp had some other interesting facets.
A survey by Barker (2009) found;
"Ten indigenous archaeological sites were located along the road reserve indicating that traditional Bun Wurrung owners camped along the margins of Tootgarook Swamp located 400-800m west of Boneo Road."
According to Barker (2009);
" The majority of indigenous sites were located on sandy rises. These rises would have provided dry, sheltered and well-drained camp sites from which to access the rich resources of the adjacent Tootgarook Swamp, its associated watercourses and interdunal swamps."
"The diversity of the stone technology in the assembelge suggested that the sites were general purpose campsites. They were also situated near water sources on sandy well-drained soils. The Tootgarook Swamp and the interdunal wetlands provided a valuable resource for Aboriginal people to exploit. Not only would they have presented people with fresh water and food in the form of shellfish, reptiles and waterfowl, but it also would have been an attraction for larger marsupials. The lower-lying flood plains would also have provided ample plant foods within close foraging distance."
European Arrival.
On the 22nd of January 1802 the following as written by James Flemming on behalf of Charles Grimes as they are the first Europeans to write of an encounter with the Tootgarook Swamp.
-All hands up at daylight. The captain went sounding; on his return Mr. Grimes, doctor and self, two marines and two assistants to the surveyor went on shore ; as we went on met with two huts, apparently built by Europeans ; a little farther met with fresh water in a swamp about fifty yards from the beach; farther on a small run of water. The country level; timber as the preceding day.
Saw three natives at a distance ; they made off as we approached them.
Sunday, 23rd.—Early in the morning the same party as yesterday, with the addition of the captain, went on shore; we ascended a high
hill ; the land good until we got near the top, where it is stony. On the north and south sides of the hill there are from 2,000 to 3,000
acres of good land, a specimen of which is taken. Mr. Robbins and self went to the top of a hill ; it appeared fine land at a distance, but
only stones and short brush as we approached it; saw Western Port distinctly from the top of it; we supposed it to be about five miles
from the beach. Returned through an extensive swamp. On the side of the hill met with two dingles with some fresh water in deep holes.
Mr. Grimes and the others took another way at the bottom of the first hill; we found them on board at our return. The country all newly
burnt. Caught plenty of fish; a shark took a mariner’s jacket out of the boat.
In 1906, George Gordon McCrae wrote two letters to a local schoolmaster at Dromana, Mr G.H. Rogers. His subject was his earliest recollections of an idyllic boyhood spent at Arthur's Seat Run, location of the historic McCrae Homestead on the coast of the southern shores of the Bay, part of Mornington Peninsula. In the letters he described in detail the natural history of the area in the 1840s, and the species he particularly remembered 60 years later. Recollection quotes on the swamp fauna and flora include,
In the swamps (which have since been altered) were "The Nankeen bird with one long white feather behind the ear, The rail, The bittern, The snipe and jack snipe, Several ducks- wood duck, black duck, Teal, Spoonbill, Black swan Geese, Cranes, Blue and white coots, Water hens, Kingfishers here and there and swamp or ground parrot with the barred tail feathers."
In the scrub by the waterholes were "honey eaters, warblers, red coat robins, emu wren with 2 long feathers in tail, Laughing jack ass- everywhere, butcher bird, also known as shrike or whistling jackass, Quail where coverage good in bottom of scrub, turkey at Boneo and the big swamp off the property."
Birds of prey were "eagle hawks, falcons, and owls, some white and of great size".
Once European Settlement occurred the Tootgarook Swamp was to endure a great many changes many of them negative. Even so, it wasn't long before the European's discovered some of the swamps unique values. Aside from the good hunting, excellent drinking waters from bore sinking, limestone and wood for building, the swamp had some other interesting facets.
Image: courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia.
Sir Frederick Chapman in 1919, Australia’s first nationally appointed palaeontologist and world authority in the field of formanifiera and ostracods (a type of small crustacean) and close companion and co-worker with Sir Douglas Mawson, personally visited and studied within Tootgarook Swamp. Throughout his visit he catalogued numerous fossils and ostrocod species not seen anywhere else but in Tasmania and therefore discovered proof to further cement the theory of a land bridge which once linked Tasmania to mainland Australia.
He wrote the following comments of his finding's in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic, 01/11/1919),
"That Tasmania was once connected with the mainland not so long ago is evident from the occurrence of fossil remains of Tasmanian Marsupials in fairly recent forms in Victoria; and some of the latest information gathered from the study of microscopic crustacea has shed a further ray of light on this romantic story that we are just beginning to piece together. This new evidence derived from tiny fossil inhabitants of both the Boneo Swamp in Victoria and the Mowbray Swamp in the north-west of Tasmania tells us that a genus of minute freshwater crustaceans, called Limnicythere, unknown to Australia until there discovery in the Mowbray Swamp , is found alike in these two localities in the Pleistocene strata. Thus the theory the land to the south of Cape Schanck, connecting the north-west of Tasmania, and probably another isthmus on the north-east, were the last to go under - a theory based on marine depths by soundings - has received strong support through the discovery of these two little witnesses, which lived in the former chain of lakes and swamps, probably bridging Tasmania and Cape Schanck, by way of King Island and the Three Hummocks."
He wrote the following comments of his finding's in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic, 01/11/1919),
"That Tasmania was once connected with the mainland not so long ago is evident from the occurrence of fossil remains of Tasmanian Marsupials in fairly recent forms in Victoria; and some of the latest information gathered from the study of microscopic crustacea has shed a further ray of light on this romantic story that we are just beginning to piece together. This new evidence derived from tiny fossil inhabitants of both the Boneo Swamp in Victoria and the Mowbray Swamp in the north-west of Tasmania tells us that a genus of minute freshwater crustaceans, called Limnicythere, unknown to Australia until there discovery in the Mowbray Swamp , is found alike in these two localities in the Pleistocene strata. Thus the theory the land to the south of Cape Schanck, connecting the north-west of Tasmania, and probably another isthmus on the north-east, were the last to go under - a theory based on marine depths by soundings - has received strong support through the discovery of these two little witnesses, which lived in the former chain of lakes and swamps, probably bridging Tasmania and Cape Schanck, by way of King Island and the Three Hummocks."
In 1921 the Tootgarook Swamp again came under the radar, this time for the potential economic values to be obtained from the unique peat soil which forms the swamp structure, even to the point of possible power production.
The news of the Tootgarook Swamp commercial venture made national news with articles in multiple newspapers across every state, even Western Australia.
The West Australian, Thursday 24th March 1921, made the following report entitled Victorian Swamp Deposit, Valuable Commercial Products;
"On a health trip to Europe, Mr. W. Cochrane Robertson, the supervising analyst of the Victorian Department of Agriculture, passed through Fremantle yesterday on the mail steamer Outerley. Combining business with pleasure, Mr Robertson is taking to England for analysis a number of deposits amongst which is a unique organic substance from the Boneo Swamp on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, which, it is claimed will be of great commercial value. The treatment of a parcel of 50 tons, which is being conveyed to England by the s.s Boorara, will be supervised by Mr Robertson.
Discussing the potentialities of the deposit with a "West Australian" representative, Mr Robertson explained that it was composed of a species of sedge grass or Zantheama- a grass tree. The deposit was about five feet in depth and covered an area of 800 acres. Preliminary tests, which he had conducted in the destructive distillation of the substance, had resulted in an excellent return of sulphate of ammonia, light solvent oils and methyl alcohol, all of which are essentials in commerce particularly for the generation of power in its many forms. "My particular mission," said Mr Robertson, "is to determine the most suitable retort in which to conduct the distillations. To assist me, the department has arranged for the parcel of the deposit to be treated in several different ways and the results will guide me in my choice. If the success is as great as I anticipate these apparently useless swamp lands will become a valuable asset and will revolutionise the vicinity in which they are situated." Mr Robertson added that apart from the by-products it would be possible to provide power at an extremely small cost, as there would be a large surplus for disposal, considerable encouragement would be given to the establishment of industries. The deposit was superimposed upon a stratum of whiting which was eminently suited to the production of the high-grade cement and the surrounding country was largely made up of lime deposits.
In 1922, following the deposit testing by the Victorian Department of Agriculture, a proposal was put forth by an England based company to set up and build a fertilizer plant on the Tootgarook Swamp and begin production of a unique complete fertilizer to be termed, N.P.K.
