Gunbower Island – Not the drive we had planned – Day 314

Yesterday I called into the tourist information office in C0huna only to find out that my planned drive for today – the Gunbower Island Forest Drive – was closed as the track was flooded in various places. Following some discussion with the very helpful lady in the tourist office we opted for a shorter drive less deep into the forest area, to the north of the regular drive and along roads which were, by this stage, officially open. In normal drier times there would be no water anywhere near the roads we took today at this time of year. As it was, we would still be driving along the edge of the wetlands which had come out to meet us as opposed to us having to drive further into the 26,400 hectare flood plain to encounter the wetlands!

Our actual drive route in the absence of being able to do the ‘official’ forest drive

Had Mother Nature been left to her own devices the early 2023 floods which impacted the majority of the Murray River system would have receded in this area by now. In my last review I referred to the Torrumbarry Irrigation Area wherein the flow of water between Gunbower in the south and Nyah, just north of Swan Hill and some 150 kilometres (much longer via the river) downstream on the Murray River was regulated for irrigation purposes and to mitigate the impact of floods on communities along the river. As there was still, in late July, a risk of flooding, most notably at Koondrook, water was being retained in the wetlands on Gunbower Island – a situation which was expected to last until October, 2023.

The positive side of our varied route was that we would actually see more flooded wetlands than had the full drive been open but the negative was that we would miss out on a number of historic sites, mainly related to River Red Gum milling closer to the Murray River. In retrospect I was more than happy with the compromise drive knowing that we can return again and see the forest area in more normal times.

Apart from a short section at the beginning of the drive and the return section to Cohuna the drive was along well formed gravel roads

Gunbower Island is host to a diversity of native flora and fauna with over 170 species of birds, 24 reptile species a variety of fish and around 200 plant species, in addition to the ever-popular kangaroos and emus.

Emus on the move

While the island may not look particularly habitable, especially during flooding, the Barababaraba Aboriginal tribe, which included eight clans, lived here for years, adapting their diet to whatever foods were available and moving in the winter months when the water levels became too high. They called the area Kanbowro, twisting and tortuous, like the necks of the black swans, which glided on its waters.

The first European settlers here were squatters who grazed sheep and cattle. It wasn’t until the early 1870’s that the value of the stands of River Red Gum and other eucalypt species was realised and the timber industry on the island started in earnest with many timber cutters setting up camps. The first major use of River Red Gum was as railway sleepers for the expanding rail network that I have mentioned in a number of earlier reviews.

As log transport was expensive and time consuming, timber cutters selected trees closest to the riverbank, so well away from where we visited today. Timber was hauled to the river by bullock or horse teams, and then loaded onto barges for transport to sawmills at Echuca, Swan Hill, and Koondrook. Until the Forests Act was passed in 1918 loggers could strip land bare as they saw fit. Nowadays, the logging industry here and elsewhere is, thankfully, on a much more sustainable footing.

In my next review, focusing on Koondrook, home to the Arbuthnot Sawmills, I will, amongst other things, write a little more about the logging industry in this area.

---

The next review from my Adelaide to Canberra road trip can be found HERE.

Should you wish to follow this road trip from the beginning please start HERE.

---