By Michael Doran
Healesville’s Wandoon Estate Aboriginal Corporation has won the Australian Government Partnerships for Landcare Award for 2018.
Two Wurundjeri women, Jacqui Wandin and sister Brooke, have spent the last three years focussed on restoring Coranderrk as a working farm, a habitat for native fauna and a place to bring Wurundjeri people together on country.
Jacqui, a Director of Wandoon Estate, she was surprised to receive the award as “we believe it’s just our inherent responsibility to look after our property.”
“We are really proud to receive this award because we’ve spent years and years trying to improve the property and it’s really nice to be acknowledged,” she said.
Brooke, also a director, said “We were up against some really stiff competition but we won. It’s great that all the hard work of a lot of people has been recognised in such a big way.”
The Landcare Australia award recognises ‘an innovative partnership of individuals, groups or organisations that have demonstrated leadership and achievement in Landcare related activities because of the partnership’.
Wandoon Estate represents the Wurundjeri people, the Indigenous owners of the historical property, Coranderrk, in the Yarra Valley.
In the mid-late 1800s traditional owners farmed the 2,000 hectare property as an Aboriginal settlement until its forced closure in 1924.
In 1999 the Indigenous Land Corporation purchased 80 hectares of the property and passed it on to the Wandoon Estate.
After a period of inactivity, the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Authority partnered with the estate to restore environmental health and productivity to the farm. This was supported by the involvement of the community volunteer group, Friends of Coranderrk.
“We have done a lot in a very short time,” said Brooke. “We are very open to people who want to walk beside us to nurture the land and make this work.”
“It’s an exciting time, even apart from winning the award. We have also got the funding to set up a visitor centre, which is great because people want to come and see the place.”
“This is a working farm right now so we are not able to have visitors wandering around but we want more people to make connections to the land here.”
Sustainable practices on the farm include productive beef cattle grazing, habitat restoration and waterway management and protection. More than 10 hectares have been revegetated with close to 20,000 plants planted.
Melbourne Water has funded dam improvements, protection for stock water quality and off-stream watering for livestock.
The ‘Yarra4Life’ project is supporting habitat restoration for the helmeted honeyeater and funding for plants, fencing and weed control.
Coranderrk is the only property in the region managed by its traditional owners that is both a working farm and a valuable habitat for threatened species
“We are at a really interesting intersection between doing something really good for the wider community and at the same time lifting our own spirits,” said Brooke Wandin.
