Merri Creeek Management Committee

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land of the Merri Merri.

On Thursday 16 September 2010, MCMC Administration Officer, Ray Radford was lucky enough to see a Platypus about 30cm long in the Thornbury/Coburg area of Merri Creek. Ray went to look after receiving a couple of other reports at the same site, and he was able to watch it for about 20 minutes while it hunted, swam, went in and out of its refuge and even had a scratch while on a rock.

Geoff Williams, from the Australian Platypus Conservancy, said: “As far as we are concerned, this is the first really confirmed record for Merri Creek itself since the Australian Platypus Conservancy conducted trapping surveys (with negative results) in 1995."
Based on known movement patterns at this time of the year, Geoff thinks that this platypus is either an adult male travelling around, very widely in search of potential mates, or it is a young animal from last summer's breeding season which is still dispersing from farther upstream in the Yarra system and is checking out vacant territories. Because of the relatively high flow in the main river over the last couple of weeks there would also be the incentive of making use of the tributaries. As it has been described as a fairly small animal, he's leaning to the likelihood that it is a disperser - although size can sometimes be a bit deceptive.

If you site a platypus or a water rat, please report it to the Australian Platypus Conservancy through the link on their website: www.platypus.asn.au 


Merri Events Calendar

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17 Oct 2025
09:30AM - 11:30AM
FoMC: Friends of Coburg Lake & Surrounds Subgroup Friday Working Bee

17 Oct 2025
07:00PM - 09:00PM
On Country Interculturally: Thinking about places as cultural as well as physical landscapes

18 Oct 2025
02:00PM - 04:00PM
Friends of Bracken Creek – Weed workshop

19 Oct 2025
10:00AM - 12:00PM
FoMC: Friends of Edgars Creek - Maintenance Event

20 Oct 2025
09:00AM - 10:30AM
Beveridge Bird Walk & Count

22 Oct 2025
09:30AM - 11:30AM
FoMC: Friends of Coburg Lake & Surrounds Subgroup Wednesday Working Bee

22 Oct 2025
09:50AM - 12:00PM
Merri Creek Wednesday Volunteers

24 Oct 2025
09:30AM - 11:30AM
FoMC: Friends of Coburg Lake & Surrounds Subgroup Friday Working Bee

24 Oct 2025
01:00PM - 03:00PM
Out and about on Wurundjeri Country: Birds in Hume's significant grasslands.

24 Oct 2025
07:30PM - 10:00PM
Out and about on Wurundjeri Country: Eastern Barred Bandicoot habitat - Woodlands Sanctuary

Wurundjeri panel - featureSee a web version of these fabulous panels which celebrate the outstanding community achievement since 1975 in transforming Merri Creek from a weed-smothered drain to a much-loved waterway running through a bushland corridor: fronts of panels (17MB file); backs of panels (9MB file).

The two metre size panels were originally displayed at libraries and other public places throughout the Merri Creek catchment over 16 months until late 2016, in celebration of MCMC's 25th Anniversary. 

kingfisher