We've reconstructed Melbourne's 200-year-old forests
Have you ever wondered what your Melbourne suburb looked like before all the streets and houses?
Melbourne's 200-year-old forests have been reconstructed using colonial survey maps from the late 1830s and mid-1850s. These maps, created by surveyors like Robert Hoddle and William Wedge Darke, mark the original tree species composition of Melbourne's urban forest. The most common tree listed in the inner suburbs was the River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), particularly abundant along waterways and in parks.
The next most common tree was the Box, which includes species like Yellow Box, Grey Box, and Red Box. The early forests of eastern Melbourne were denser and more diverse, featuring species such as Stringybark, Wattle, Drooping Sheoak, and Acacia trees. While some original trees, like witness trees and remnant trees, still exist, most of the original forests have been cleared for firewood, timber, and other developments.
However, remnant trees can be found in areas like Kevin Bartlett Reserve, Queens Park, Gresswell Forest, and Valley Conservation Reserve. The western and northern areas of Melbourne were plains of Kangaroo Grass, not forests, which drove European colonization from Tasmania and New South Wales into Victoria. Silver Banksias, commonly referred to as Honeysuckle, grew in less dense areas but have since disappeared.
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