Merri Creek Management Committee

Galada Tamboore is part of Kulin land for which the Wurundjeri, the traditional owners, are custodians. It is about 15km north of Melbourne’s CBD. The Wurundjeri named the area Galada Tamboore meaning ‘creek waterhole’.

Merri Creek runs through Galada Tamboore with the suburb of Campbellfield to the west and Thomastown to the east. A large part of Galada’s nearly 100 hectares is managed by Melbourne Water. Hume Council and Whittlesea Council own adjacent land. Merri Creek Management Committee (MCMC) helps with management. An important area of grassland will soon be managed by Parks Victoria.

Landscape

The landscape was formed by volcanic eruptions over millions of years. The resulting lava flows shaped the course of Merri Creek and formed the impressive basalt escarpments that are found along the creek valley. Merri Merri means ‘very rocky’ in the language of the Wurundjeri.
The dark boulders are formed of basalt rock from volcanic eruptions nearly one million years ago. The lighter coloured rock, lying below the basalt, is Silurian sandstone - approximately 400 million years old from a time when Australia was covered by seawater!

Find out more about the geology of Galada Tamboore

Environmental impacts

There is a stormwater drain outlet in Galada Tamboore that
is full of litter and weeds. How does it get there?
Rubbish gets to Galada Tamboore from schools, parks and
the streets when it rains and the water washes the litter
into Merri Creek via stormwater drains.
How many types of litter can you find in this picture?

Weeds

Exotic weeds such as Boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Soursob (Oxalis pes-caprae) invade Galada Tamboore and threaten indigenous plants.

A Rich Land

Wurundjeri-willam people

Galada Tamboore has been a significant site for many thousands of years. The locals created tools near Merri Creek whilst looking out across the grasslands. Tool fragment scatterings from this work make up twelve sites considered to be archaeologically significant. These important sites also include scar trees, from which bowls and sometimes canoes were cut.
Find out more about the Wurundjeri-willam: Aboriginal Heritage of Merri Creek.

Current land use

Galada Tamboore is surrounded by urban and industrial development. Lack of knowledge about the environmental significance of Galada Tamboore has led to its use as a dumping ground for garden and building waste.

Merri Creek Management Committee and Friends of the Merri Creek have been working towards regenerating Galada Tamboore. This includes planting indigenous species, weeding and ecological burns.
Some of the plants being restored include: Tree violet, Sweet bursaria, Hopbush, Yellowbox eucalypts, Red gum, Black wattle and Manna gum.

Life at Galada Tamboore

Habitat for significant fauna

Escarpment cliffs are valuable habitat to many reptiles as well as birds of prey such as kites, kestrels, falcons and eagles which enjoy the soaring updrafts.

The north-facing slopes of the grasslands are warm and full of insects and therefore a great hunting ground for insect eating birds.

In-stream life

Within the creek there is an ever changing waterbug life including dragonfly nymphs, caddisfly larvae, freshwater shrimp and needle bugs (pictured). The needle-bug has a stick-like body and a tail that acts like a snorkel.