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MERRI CREEK

Finding the Murnong

Isabel Stewart and Lea Stevens

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I first encountered the Murnong, or Plains Yam Daisy, on a frigid Melbourne day on the banks of the Merri Creek. I had driven there for a weeding session with some volunteers, but I got out of the car reluctantly.

The wind was howling, and I worried that the branches in the trees above might fall on my head. Standing at the assigned meeting place, I couldn’t see a soul, until my eyes finally rested upon a small woman crouching among the shrubbery. Her name was Pascale.

Pascale Pitot is a creek volunteer with an incredible amount of knowledge on the history of Merri Creek—knowledge of its plants and of its original inhabitants. I was given a tool for weeding and put to work immediately.

To the untrained eye, the Murnong looks like any other patch of grass. Its long, thin green leaves fade into their surroundings, making this extraordinary plant easy to miss.

 
 

For those who know what they are looking for, the Murnong can be identified by its protruding spine and the toothed edges on its leaves. The body of the Murnong grows underground; deep under the surface lie tuberous roots which were once an important part of the diet of Aboriginal people living on the land.

​When spring arrives the Murnong will flower, signalling the arrival of harvest time. In full bloom, its distinctive yellow flower makes it easier to spot, and it is this flower that many Australians will be familiar with. 

When spring arrives the Murnong will flower, signalling the arrival of harvest time.
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​While we weeded, Pascale told me about the various plants and their uses; knowledge that had been passed on to her by other volunteers. She spoke of the Merri Creek community and the people who are involved in maintaining the health of the surrounding area.

It is a common misconception that Aboriginal people acted only as hunter-gatherers, moving from place to place with little management of their environment. Pascale informed me that, contrary to this, strong evidence suggests Aboriginal people were much more sophisticated in their farming and agricultural practices than Australians have long thought. 

 Our conversation shifted to the Murnong, or Yam Daisy. Sadly, only small patches of the plant exist today and many of these areas are carefully cultivated and protected by dedicated volunteers; the Murnong is not as abundant as it once was.


A Long History

 

Early reports of the Murnong come from colonial times, when the plant flourished. Upon arrival to Australia, settlers were met with fields of Murnong, so prevalent that it was said to be in its millions.

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A settler’s diary from 1835 includes one of the first recorded mentions of the plant, described as ‘murning—a root eaten by the native’. Seventeen years later another settler claimed that ‘a man may live on the root for weeks together.' This plant had been feeding communities for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Settler reports are the only resources on the Murnong existing from that period—Aboriginal perspectives were simply not recorded. However, modern research shows there were many names for the plant used by the different tribes: in the Wotjobaluk tribe it was known as moonya and it was called muurang in the Gunditjmara tribe.

The plant is mostly referred to as Murnong, a name used by the Wurundjeri tribe who belong to the area encompassing the inner city of Melbourne and surrounding suburbs. It was here, in southern Victoria, that the Murnong thrived.

Collecting the plant was done using a ‘digging-stick’ or ‘yam-stick’ to dig up the tuberous roots. This task was primarily performed by women, though even children could easily dig out the plant because of  its shallow depth underground. By only taking the fleshy tuber of the plant, the remaining root could be re-buried and later re-harvested.

A settler’s diary from 1835 includes one of the first recorded mentions of the plant

Unlike Western practices of farming which leave crops and soil devastated, the farming of plants such as the Murnong by Aboriginal people encouraged healthy land. The constant act of digging and turning over earth loosened and aerated the soil, leaving it in a better condition than before.

However, the colonisation of Australia brought more than just settlers—cattle were transported too, and the grazing of these introduced animals diminished the abundance of the Murnong. Fields of the plant turned to trodden land and eventually cities and roads took over the natural environment, making it almost impossible for the Murnong to survive.

Several hundred years ago, where our city and homes now reside, Aboriginal women were digging in fields of Murnong. Lifting each plant from the ground, collecting its roots and returning it to the soil to regrow. Remembering the tiny patch of Murnong I weeded with Pascale, it is difficult to imagine the plant once covered acres of land.


Sustaining the Community

To find out more about the Murnong’s history and significance for Aboriginal people, I reached out to Dr Beth Gott, a prominent Australian botanist. Beth has been studying the Murnong—Microseris lanceolata—for decades.

Murnong was one of the important food plants being used when the Europeans arrived here in Victoria

‘Murnong was one of the important food plants being used when the Europeans arrived here in Victoria and people took notice of them. On the grasslands you had a very large number of Murnong growing and they all came out in daisy-like flowers at the same time’, she said.

I learned so much more from my meeting with Beth than I could have imagined. I went to the interview with a set of questions about the Murnong which I hoped would increase my knowledge of this plant and its history. What I actually gained was a deeper understanding of the Aboriginal people who harvested the plant.

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Like Pascale, Beth agreed that the predominant stereotype of Aboriginal people before colonisation is that they were hunter-gatherers. Beth stressed just how unfair and inaccurate the stereotype is—these were people who had lived on the land for thousands of years and knew how to manage it sustainably.

​‘Early reports of the Aboriginal people in Melbourne describe them as very healthy; men, six feet tall, well-muscled. These were obviously not people who had been on the edge of starvation and yet, many Europeans would say that because they weren’t eating what Europeans were eating, they must be suffering from lack of food’, she said.

The first Australians were so much more than hunter-gatherers and, despite European concern, were actually thriving on the land. Their harvesting of the Murnong proves that the stereotype isn't accurate—they didn't just consume it, but re-planted it to be used again.

 

 

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Beyond The Merri

As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, the word ‘Murnong’ suddenly caught my attention. A story had been written about the Murnong Mammas—a Koori catering service based in Castlemaine, 120 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

The group are working to renew interest in Australian Indigenous food. As I read their story, I was excited to see the Murnong being used as a food source again and to see people showing others how important this small plant has been, and continues to be.

I was excited to see the Murnong being used again as a food source
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Murnong Mammas was founded in 2014 by Sarah Frost, a Worimi woman from Newcastle, NSW, and Melinda Harper, an artist and mother of two Aboriginal children.

Their idea was to develop a menu of healthy food that uses Australian native ingredients. The name ‘Murnong Mammas’ was a natural fit; it made sense for the group to pay tribute to a plant which they used regularly and which was also commonly eaten by Aboriginals before colonisation. Since then, the group have been on a journey of discovery through experimentation, research and the sharing of ideas.

Melinda explained that the Murnong Mammas help introduce the local people of Castlemaine to Aboriginal culture by creating delicious food with traditional ingredients, including the Murnong root.

‘I think Murnong Mammas is great way of teaching people about Koori Culture; it enables conversations to happen, knowledge is shared, and we have found the general public is very interested.’

The project has also allowed the group to work with Aunty Julie McHale, a cultural education coordinator with experience working with Australian native plants and food. For many of the women, learning about their traditional food is eye-opening.

 
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There is so much about Australian Indigenous plants we don’t know yet

‘There is so much about Australian indigenous plants we don’t know yet, so we are also constantly learning and discovering’, Melinda said. ‘We get very excited and are really happy to talk and share what we know to groups. We don’t really do bush tucker; we use the ingredients to enhance flavours and explore new ways of combining them.’

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To the average Australian the Murnong holds little significance. However, it is a plant rich in history and meaning. I began a journey to find the Murnong and along the way I realised that to truly find it, I had to be willing to delve into the history of  Australia’s first peoples.

For the Aboriginals of pre-colonisation Australia, the Murnong was an essential food source which sustained their communities for thousands of years; for the people of Merri Creek, it represents a chance to return a piece of history to its former home through careful cultivation; and for the Murnong Mamas of Castlemaine, it is a way to teach others about Aboriginal culture through food. I discovered that, connected to this one tiny plant, there exists a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Some of the photos in this piece were donated by MECCARG, a volunteer group which works to rejuvenate the indigenous cultural landscape, including dwindling stocks of Murnong. You can find out more on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/meccarg/