Bunyip

History

The Koo-Wee-Rup and Bunyip areas, among others, are considered to be places of importance to many Aboriginal people in Victoria, particularly the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation, the traditional owners of the area, from whom the word Bunyeep is derived. They believe the Bunyip is a spiritual being which lives near water and preys on humans who come too near. The Kooweerup Swamp comprised a region of some stretching from Sawtells Inlet on Westernport Bay to the township of Bunyip in the north-east. The marsh like area was formed by the waters of the many rivers which flow down from the surrounding high country and which often created impenetrable swamplands. The first settlers had great difficulty in cultivating the land because of the dense stands of giant Melaleuca, or tea-tree, large Eucalyptus and Acacia melanoxylon, or blackwood trees, which lay under the surface. In 1827 William Hovell attempted to cross the swamp but found the scrub to be an impenetrable wilderness. He was impressed by the country, and those areas which were workable held some promise for future development. Europeans with a view to settlement first arrived in the area around 1840 and established the Buneep Run. A report in 1847 by the surveyor and Commissioner of Crown Lands, Charles Tyers, confirmed the earlier findings but no major drainage works were attempted until decades later. In 1847, a road was surveyed through virgin forest to "Buneep", as the area was known by its indigenous inhabitants, which enabled travellers to follow a track that led further east into Gippsland. The survey showed a building, 'Andersons', at the future site of Bunyip. In December 1857 the Buneep Run was surveyed with a view to establishing a village on the Melbourne to Sale Road and Messrs. Connor, Vale…

Most-observed species

• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  1,917
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,818
• Brown Thornbill

  Acanthiza pusilla (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  1,403
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  1,387
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  1,287
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  1,258
• Gray Shrikethrush

  Colluricincla harmonica (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,234
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,191

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-05-09
  4 km ESE of Mirboo North, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2024-08-06
  34 km SSW of Mount Buller, Australia
• M 4.3 — 2024-02-08
  3 km E of Leongatha, Australia
• M 4.4 — 2023-06-29
  34 km SSW of Mount Buller, Australia
• M 3.8 — 2023-05-28
  5 km W of Mickleham, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2021-11-05
  4 km S of Rosebud, Australia