WE are surrounded by ever-changing environments.
The Kilmore Creek has changed in recent years with a lot of trees cut down. A shopping trolley lies half under the water and parts are newly overgrown with blackberry. A walk from near the hospital on Rutledge Street down to Union Street also reveals birds and ponds, sculptures and history.
The Kilmore Creek has not been as it once was for nearly 200 years.
In the earliest sketches and photos of Kilmore, there is hardly a tree in sight. You can see savage erosion of the creek and piles of firewood side by side. Removal of the forest increased the volume and speed of water running into the creek, and consequently, caused the deep erosion. Nowadays, modern drainage on both sides of the creek’s valley keep the creek better protected, but it is still affected by the occasional flood.
In 1947, the councillors of the Shire of Kilmore were debating on what to do about the raw sewage and industrial waste which flowed into the creek. It was a problem which had attracted the attention of the Victorian Government, but the councillors were worried about the cost of putting in sewer pipes. One councillor suggested that since there had been no outbreak of disease, there was no hurry to fix the problem.
Upstream of the polluted part of the creek—the Kilmore Goldfields Reservoir—was the home of the Kilmore Swimming Club from around 1895. The club came and went over the years until the 1950s. If you are teeing off at the 18th hole at the Kilmore Golf Club, the waters where the members learned to swim and competed are to your left. The old clubhouse is gone and now the reservoir hosts a pleasant variety of birds and animals. The corellas are not very popular, though.
The Kilmore Creek area can never be what it was 200 and more years ago. It has been denuded, eroded, polluted, and managed. There are old and new works of man alongside the plants and animals. I once saw a native rat, the ones with the white tip on their tails, near the leisure centre. There are also the birds, the snakes, and the wombats and kangaroos.
Keep your eyes open, pick up rubbish, and enjoy the new environment.
This is Kilmore Creek. One of the environments.
