Malvern Urban Forest (Malvern East)

Malvern's Urban Forest occupies part of the Outer Circle Railway line which ran through Kew and Camberwell to Oakleigh late last century.

Set within natural bushland, the urban forest features a grassy picnic area, ponds, bridges, pedestrian and cycle paths and extensive tree plantings. The ponds support a diverse range of aquatic plants and are maintained as a natural body of water rather than ornamental ponds.

The area has bicycle paths, picnic tables, shade areas and unpaved walking trails.

The Urban Forest was opened in 1985 and forms part of a linear park network along the old railway course. It embraces the natural bushland philosophy of the Gardiners Creek revegetation. The area is not a manicured or ornamental park, but an attempt to recreate an ecosystem that existed before European settlement and urbanisation.

History - Outer-Circle Railway and the Urban Forest

The Urban Forest, situated on the Outer-Circle railway reserve, was opened on 25 April 1985. The Forest forms part of the linear park network, along the old railway course, which runs through the Cities of Boroondara and Glen Eira.

The Outer-Circle Railway ran through Kew and Camberwell, over Gardiners Creek at East Malvern, then to Oakleigh. Opening in 1891, the state-owned railway was originally designed to link the Gippsland railway line with Spencer Street Station, avoiding the privately owned line from Caulfield to Flinders Street Station. When the State Government purchased the Caulfield to Melbourne line the Outer-Circle's primary justification disappeared. As urban development had not quite reached the area through which the outer-circle ran the line was closed to passenger traffic in 1898. An irregular goods service utilised the line, but this too was closed by 1920. The tracks remained until 1940, when they were removed to provide raw materials for the manufacture of armaments.

The only remains of Waverley Station are the platform embankments in the Urban Forest. The site remained vacant for many years, with the exception of some vegetable plots planted by adjoining residents.

In 1980, a suggestion from Malvern Council's Beautification Committee led to the development of a concept proposal for an Urban Forest. The forest, which embraces the natural bushland philosophy of the Gardiners Creek valley revegetation, was designed as native woodland along an artificial watercourse connected with two ponds constructed to filter and clean stormwater.

Pond

A large pond was constructed to improve habitat and encourage wildlife like frogs and water birds into the Urban Forest. This pond is also part of a treatment system which treats runoff from the surrounding streets. This is one of many Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) projects the City of Stonnington has implemented to improve the quality of urban stormwater before it enters the drainage system and ultimately Gardiners Creek.

Please Don't Feed the Ducks Excess bread promotes the growth of the botulism bacterium, commonly found in the soil. When ducks forage in toxic water or soil they become incredibly ill with botulism, which leads to paralysis and eventually death. Feeding ducks bread not only promotes botulism, it promotes poor nutrition. Ducks can't receive all their nutritional needs from bread alone and it can cause abnormalities and shorter lifespans. Ducklings being fed with bread won't learn to forage for food naturally, and their growth and development can suffer dramatically.

Access for Dogs:

Dogs must be on-leash.

Review:

A lovely area to walk through and explore which is very peaceful and undisturbed. There is parking along Bruce Street near Waverley Road. There are a number of tracks which run through the long (550m) and thin (70m) remnant bushland. Along the route you'll find picnic tables, seats, water taps, a pond and lots of information boards. Keep you eyes open for a Gnome Village immediately south west of the pond.

Some of the flora and fauna you might come across includes:

Pobble Bonk Frog - A large brown to grey brown frog with fine mottling and small warts on its back. Listen for a musical 'bonk' which sounds like the plucking of a banjo string. You can find it in the pond areas of the park around the shallows or hiding in the reeds. It eats arthropods (e.g. spiders and dragonflies).

Striped Marsh Frog - A medium pale brown frog with dark brown spots and three black stripes on its back. Listen for a short single note 'poc' sound. You can find it inn the pond areas of the park around the shallows or hiding in the reeds. It eats arthropods (e.g. spiders and dragonflies) and even small frogs.

Australian Wood Duck - A goose like duck, approximately 48cm long and its main body is grey with dark brown blotches with a black tail. Listen for a duck call which sounds like a drawn out mewing cry. Find them swimming on the pond or hiding in tree hollows away from the water. They eat soft plant materials, seeds, algae, and small aquatic invertebrates.

White-browed Scrubwren - A small brown bird that has a black and white patch on its shoulders and a white breast and throat. Listen for a high pitched twittering and harsh chattering. Find them on the ground under trees and shrubs scratching around in the leaves and bark or hiding in a nest (dome) built on the ground.

Spotted Pardalote - A very small multicoloured bird that has black with white spots on its crown and back, an orange throat and upper breast, and a pale yellow lower breast and belly. Listen for a series of bell-like tones. Find them in trees and larger shrubs however they are quite hard to spot. It eats insects (particularly scale insects).

Willie Wagtail - A small black and white long tailed bird, it has glossy black on the head, throat, back and upper wings and a white breast and belly. Listen for a high pitched whistling twitter. Find them on the ground under shrubs or on the open lawn areas and grasslands. It eats insects.

Rainbow Lorikeet - A small multi-coloured parrot that has green wings and upper back, an orange and red breast, and a blue head and belly. Listen for a very noisy screeching, chattering
and occasional squealing. Find it in the large eucalyptus trees especially when they are in flower. It eats mainly nectar and pollen, and some fleshy fruits and insects.

Crested Pigeon - A medium sized grey-dusty pink bird with grey wings covered in black and white barring. Eyes are red with red eye rings. Listen for a throaty "ku-ooo". Found around the open areas of the forest on the lawns or in the grassland areas. Eats a variety of seeds.

Eastern Rosella - A multicoloured medium sized parrot that has a red head and breast, yellow belly, yellow with black scalloped back and wings and a white 'bib' on cheeks and chin (females are duller). Listen for loud chirrups and occasional harsh screeching. Find them around the open areas of the forest on the lawns or in the grassland areas or in blossoming trees. They eat a variety of seeds, nectar, fleshy fruits and insects.

Kookaburra - A large bird with a dark brown band through the eyes and a white head, breast, and belly, and dark - grey to brown body. Listen for a loud laughing 'koo oo oo aah ahh'. Find them in the tall, large trees on the branches or in the tree hollows. They eat a range of vertebrates (lizards, frogs and snakes).

Swift Parrot - A small long-tailed parrot that has a green body, red and blue shoulders, blue cheeks, yellow face and red on the forehead and chin. Usually travels in large packs that fly very fast. Listen for high pitched chirrups. Find them in the blossoming eucalypts or the open lawn and grassland areas. Eats pollen, nectar, fleshy fruits and insects.

Silver Wattle - A spreading tree up to 20m tall with feathery grey-green foliage and bright yellow flowers. It is a fast growing tree that likes well drained soils and is drought tolerant. It needs a lot of space to grow. In your garden it is a hardy tree with bright fragrant flowers that will encourage bees and butterflies to your garden.

River Red-Gum - A large impressive tree up to 40m tall with pale grey to white shredded bark. It is a slow growing tree that likes well drained soils. In your garden this tree needs a lot of space and takes a long time to develop however it will provide much shade and encourage a large variety of birds into the garden.

The southern end of the Urban Forest is the Princes Highway. Across the highway is another lovely place, Boyd Park.

Photos:

Location

47 Bruce Street, Malvern East 3145 Map