Stockyard Swamp - out on the Illawarra Plateau

Stockyard Swamp and
Molly Morgan's Crossing
Here is a photo of Stockyard Swamp, out on the Illawarra Plateau. The photo was taken recently from Jim Foran's plane. Thanks, Jim for the flight.

There is more to be told about this flight and the things we saw, but now is not the time.


North Pole Swamp
I have been told by Jeff Jeanes, a botanist in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and the National Herbarium of Victoria, that the Kangaloon Sun Orchid (Thelymitra kangaloonica) (which he has recently described) was first collected from "Molly Morgan's Swamp" in 1969 by B Whitehead. "Molly Morgan's Crossing" is the point beside Stockyard Swamp where there is a small creek crossing. It is visible in the top photo, on the left of the picture.

The second photo is of North Pole Swamp, which is adjacent to Stockyard Swamp. The third photo is of Butler's Swamp. All are classed as "Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone", and meet the definitions of that class of Endangered Ecological Communities - as listed on the Federal EPBC Act.
Butler's Swamp
(click to enlarge to view notes)
This species of Orchid, was subsequently collected at Butler's Swamp by David Jones of the Australian National Herbarium, in CSIRO, Canberra. Butler's Swamp is the "type locality" for this species. It has only been recorded from Stockyard Swamp, Butler's Swamp and from Fitzroy Falls (probably the now flooded Wildes Meadow Swamp at the top of the Fitzroy Falls Reservoir).

Hopefully we can get this plant listed on the Federal EPBC Act, as an endangered species, in view of the threat to its habitat posed by the SCA's Kangaloon Borefield proposal.