Grasslands in Victoria

Kangaroo Grass, <i>Themeda australis</i>

Featherheads Ptilotus macrocephalus
Image: Benjamin Heally
Source: Museum Victoria

Kangaroo Grass, Themeda australis
Image: Benjamin Healley
Source: Museum Victoria

Typical grassland, Mulla Mulla, Shire of Melton.
Image: Benjamin Healley
Source: Museum Victoria

Plains Flax Lily, Dianella longifolia
Image: Benjamin Healley
Source: Museum Victoria

The wind blows through a sea of grass
Wildflowers bloom bright between the clumps
Where lizards, butterflies and beetles thrive
Not an empty place but full of life

When the first Europeans arrived in Victoria there were grasslands on the vast, undulating western plains, on the northern plains and in Gippsland. Aboriginal people used fire to maintain the open nature of the grasslands, stimulate the growth of useful plants and attract animals for hunting.

European settlers found that the expansive grasslands provided good grazing and were easy to convert to cropping and improved pasture. Today less than 1% of these magnificent grasslands remain. Grasslands in the Melbourne area are still under pressure as land values increase and the demand for new housing continues.