D.H. Lawrence wrote: All at once, in spring, the most delicate feathery yellow of plumes and plumes and plumes and trees and bushes of wattle, as if angels had flown right down out of the softest gold regions of heaven to settle here, in the Australian bush’
Lawrence, D. H. Kangaroo, Martin Secker, 1923.
Muyan (Silver Wattle)
Dedrie, Lil B and I often walk along the Bushland Circuit Trail starting from the Abbotsford Convent—a ‘stone’s throw’ away from the Melbourne CBD. Our favourite track follows the Birrarung or ‘river-of-mists’, as named by the Wurundjeri people. Our walk normally takes us along the Dights Fall Loop Trail, over Kanes Bridge, and along the Bushland Circuit Trail.
Dedrie and Lil B along Birrarung near the Abbotsford Convent
During a walk on a misty, windy, late July day, we veered off the trail and turned a corner along the muddy path. Then it hit us—an early flowering wattle, blooming so abundantly that the feathery, purplish-grey foliage was almost concealed beneath a layer of yellow-gold. This whilst all else was still slumbering along the river bank.
Muyan
Among the dull and grey, this spurt of brilliant yellow heralded warmer times. We identified it as a Silver Wattle or Acacia dealbata—the Wurundjeri call this Muyan; this wattle grows prolifically along the banks of Birrarung around Melbourne.
The Muyan like living near Birrarung – in spring, they will be everywhere, transforming the banks of Birrarung into a sea of golden yellow, green and light grey.
The Muyan is highly symbolic for the Wurundjeri. The Wurundjeri people know that Muyan heralds the coming of spring. This is also the time when their greatest Elders ‘passed over’.
…according to Wurundjeri tradition, it is believed that their greatest Elders “passed over” during the spring season. This period is often associated with renewal and the natural cycle of life and death in many Indigenous cultures, including the Wurundjeri. Spring is seen as a time of rebirth and renewal, which aligns with the belief in the Elders’ passing over to the spiritual world.
The seasonal changes in a plant’s development are read as indicators. When the wattle flowers fall, it’s time to fish for eels, as eels feed on a particular grub that lives in the wattle flowers. The Muyan is synonymous with the Elders, and every part of it is utilized – blossoms, gum, seed, bark, and wood, keeping the community strong, alive
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/c/30f4bd82-1eb0-4b10-9f35-1ce7f5061b52 and WorldWideWattle ver. 2. Published on the Internet at: www.worldwidewattle.com [accessed 5/08/2024].
We also know that the eel season comes when the Muyan bloom. We have not seen anyone fishing for eels, though! When Muyan blossoms, the slow-moving Birrarung is coated with blossoms. The eels still feed on a grub that lives in the wattle flowers. so the eco-scientists tell us.
I wondered if such well-fed eels are still plentiful in Birrarung.
I decided to investigate and Googled ‘Eels in the Yarra near Yarra Bend’. What came up was depressing.
‘The Environment Protection Authority is investigating the deaths of dozens of eels found floating in the Yarra River, prompting concerns about pollution in the river’s urban stretch. Up to 60 eels were found floating from the Richmond Rail Bridge to Dights Falls in Clifton Hill. Several eels washed up around a boat ramp outside the Xavier and Hawthorn rowing clubs. Others were found upstream near Barkers Road’.
a 2005 report in ‘The Age
Jennifer Stackhouse tells us that up to a third of Australia’s 960 species of wattle will flower in winter!
While a third of Australia’s 960 wattle species flower throughout winter…
Wattle trees: a guide to growing acacias in Australia; GARDENING; JENNIFER STACKHOUSE; JULY 11, 2023
Garrong
I delved into the history of wattles in South Africa, for it was there that I first saw Black Wattles bloom. Flowering wattles, such as Muyan and Garrong, invoke wonderful memories of Blouboskraal (the ‘Blue Bush Paddock’) – where Dedrie grew up and where we spent a large part of our family life in South Africa. The ‘Blue Bush Paddock’ was fittingly named that way due to the proliferation of Garrong. I guess that is where I learned to love the wattles that many hate!
In spring, the Garrong would put on magnificent displays on our arrival at the farm. My in-laws, Dirk and Dina, would always agree tactfully that the wattles put on a lovely display but added that they were a great nuisance, could not easily be eradicated and only useful for being turned into charcoal. Not ordinary charcoal, but of the highest grade!
The Garrong found Blouboskraal to be a most hospitable environment – a veritable arboretum; Garrong nirvana! Remove them roots and all – they will furtively re-appear in some unsuspecting location. Their Australian ancestors grew in the harshest, most inhospitable conditions.
The enclosed lounge of the farmhouse gave a panoramic view of gently rising undulating countryside, traversed by the silvery line of the highway. The veld would be yellowy-brown in winter and delicately green in spring and summer. During spring, clumps of Garrong would gently break the veld – with bright patches of yellow-gold.
These troublemakers cause chaos for the native plants and trees. Interestingly, in 1864, they were actually utilized to create leather, glue, and high-quality charcoal in many places. It’s amazing how even the most troublesome things can have a beneficial side.
The Wurundjeri People call this wattle Garrong.
Garrong forms impenetrable thickets and replaces native plants and trees; they spread, limit water flows in rivers and take over vast tracts of land. They love fires, while the native plants are destroyed. Fires help their seeds germinate, and they produce their own fertiliser – they are survivors par excellence – anywhere!
Mirnu Wirra—Golden Wattles
‘National Wattle Day’, the first day of spring, has been proposed as a replacement for Australia Day – or ‘invasion day’ as Indigenous people call it.
Could this unite Australia?
The sprig of Mirnu Wirra has come to symbolize many things in Australia. In the past, wattle sprigs were sold to raise money for the war effort. During World War I, diggers were buried with a sprig of wattle, and the insignia of the Order of Australia contains the wattle flower. The wattle has signified new life to Australians, from the first Indigenous people who used the tree for numerous purposes over thousands of years to those who have adopted the green and gold – the foliage and the bloom – as national colours.
This Mirnu Wirra appeared along the Birrarung. It’s the national floral emblem of Australia and is celebrated on Wattle Day, which occurs on September 1st each year. A plaque in the ‘Australian Garden” in Cranbourne, Victoria, near such wattles, said the delightful thing about the Australian landscape, with the magnificent colours and forms of the flowers, grasses, and trees, were the scents. Australian plants are said to be the most aromatic in the world. Diggers returning home after the 1st WW could smell the mainland whilst at sea!