The land now known as the Australian Light Horse Memorial Park was used for military purposes from the time when Victoria was a British colony before the Australian federation until the army moved out in the 1960s..  During the army’s occupation of the area, almost all vegetation was removed. Only a few large trees remained on the whole site; very little of the beautiful shrubs and grasses remained. And the rich bird and native animal population had gone. 

The local Council acquired the land in 1978, but the land continued to be grazed and otherwise unused until 1998 when the new Mitchell Shire Council established the Australian Light Horse Memorial Park. While the land was unoccupied, large numbers of Grey Box trees regenerated across the bare landscape, resulting in many areas of dense regrowth of tall, thin trees that compete for the light and water needed for understory growth. Soils are hard, dry and impermeable to water, and biodiversity is very limited in these areas.  These areas do not provide a good park experience for wildlife or park visitors.

The Park’s Management Committee has commenced a project in a 4 hectare area of the park aimed at restoring the diversity of trees, understorey, wildflowers and wildlife to what we might have seen before European settlement. The planning of this project is based on good science provided by a range of experts.

We have conducted some shallow ripping of the soil along the slope of the land to encourage water to percolate into the soil, and we have deep ripped and replanted an area of hard, dry land that is subject to erosion from surface water. Many of the tall, thin trees along the slope will be felled, leaving them along the contours to trap the water and leaf litter that will improve the soils and provide an appropriate place for ground plants to re-establish as the trees break down. This will enable the remaining larger trees to spread their canopies and to use the water in the soils more effectively, and ultimately to provide a much better habitat for wildlife in our changing world. In some places we may plant appropriate understorey plants and grasses. 

We have set up monitoring points so that over the years we can measure and report on the progress of this attempt to restore the ecological health and wonderful biodiversity of this land.