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OUR
BACKYARD TURRAMURRA, KU-RING –GAI AREA,
By Angus M
Robinson – President Rotary E-Club One
The original land grant was subdivided probably
around 1910 and the current residence (then a two bedroom
double-brick cottage) was constructed in the early 1930s just after
the construction of the
Our family took possession of the property in
March 1982. The backyard became the playground for a five-year old
son and soon saw the grounds become the location of a cricket pitch,
a sand pit and the erection of a ‘cubby house’ in the southwest
corner. As our son grew up and his interests moved ‘out of the
backyard’, the area progressively evolved into a garden environment.
In 1990, a third bedroom, family room and deck was added to the
house; in 1993, the property was re-fenced; in 1998, a new garage,
driveway and pathways were added. Wood fires were discontinued in
the late 1980s and stockpiling of firewood in the backyard soon
became a relic of the past. Substantial plantings have occurred in the
property over the past 26 years; the pre-existing trees have been
joined by a norfolk island pine (stunted through the reduced
sunlight caused by the growth of a eucalypt forest on the nature
strip), macademia, chinese elm, another conifer, a rainforest
native, tea tree, a local eucalypt, a range of pittosporums, hakea,
a silky oak, loquat, a golden robinia, camelias, and various palms;
numerous garden beds contain a wide range of exotic and native
shrubs, orchids, palms, staghorns, flowering plants and ground
covers. The growth of the trees within the nature strip on
the longer side of the corner block has not only provided welcome
shade from the hot western sun, but has created a whole new ‘forest
ecosystem’. The forest strip contains a large number of eucalypt
type species to the area, acacias, pittosporums, and a silky oak.
The frontage nature strip features a gordonia, acacias, two cheese
trees and several blueberry ashes.
Bird life resident in our backyard have included a
large family of Australian mynahs and several currawongs with
frequent visitors which have included magpies, rainbow lorikeets,
top-notch pigeons, white cockatoos, butcher birds, kookaburras,
eastern rosellas, king parrots, and an infrequent mopoke (Australian
owl). Up until about 10 years ago, birds were fed daily; however
this practice was stopped and now birds rely purely on the existing
trees when in flower, notably the camelias, gordonia, banksia and
the conifers (for the cockatoos and parrots). However, the
Australian mynahs are regularly serviced with fresh water and enjoy
their daily swim in the installed bird baths. Both brush-tailed and ring-tailed possums have
frequented the property, and during the period that the persimmons
were in season, regular visitations from flying foxes were
commonplace. The occasional native rat and frogs, and possibly
bandicoots have been noted over the years. The property is home to a
blue-tongued lizard family and a myriad of skinks and a huge range
of spiders and insects. For five years, the back yard was home to
three large beehives (the subject of this hobbyist apiarist), which
ensured that the surrounding flowers and flowering gums were abuzz
with life! Insecticides and fungicides have never been used
in the garden. Nor has pests ever been a problem for the roses,
azaleas and other plants that are commonly prone to attack. It is
considered that a diversified ecosystem comprising well over 100
species of plants has been a major factor in ensuring environmental
balance and stability. From a garden design viewpoint, the natural
attributes of the environment rather than following a deliberate
design policy has driven the evolution of the garden. Our backyard has rarely been considered a site for
casual entertainment – few parties and no thought of a dreaded
swimming pool. However, our beloved back yard offers enormous value
to our family – it provides a real connection with the natural
environment. Whilst it requires much attention to maintain, its
beauty and sereneness generates much satisfaction for us both. In
our view, its outstanding environmental value well exceeds the
monetary gain of, for example, converting the backyard to a ‘dual
occupancy’ (now so common practice in the general area as a
consequence of the pressures of urban development), and risking
losing its considerable natural amenity. As to the future, as we move into retirement
years, if we had decided to stay, it is likely that more time would
have been devoted into developing further the gardens, including the
creation of a vegetable garden – reminiscent of no doubt what was in
place in the backyard during its early years. As we ‘empty nesters’
have now decided to ‘move on’, it would be our hope that the new
owners would retain and indeed improve on what we have created over
the period of a happy and fulfilling generation, in a place we
called ‘our home in Turramurra’.
Editor’s note: After 26 years of residing in a
beautiful suburban area in Sydney, Australia, current President of
Rotary eClub One of District 5450, Angus M Robinson, has been
reflecting on his family’s imminent move to a new home to
accommodate a different life-style on retirement. The backyard of
his current home was one of 18 properties, in the North Shore area, studied from a total
Australian Research Council funded survey of 265 backyards selected
in Sydney and Wollongong (in the Australian State of New South
Wales) and Alice Springs (in the Northern Territory) undertaken by
researchers Professor Lesley Head and Pat Muir from the School of
Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Wollongong.
The study was published by the |
My wife and I (of a generation known as the ageing ‘baby
boomers’) live in Turramurra, an Aboriginal word meaning ‘big hill’,
in the upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, some 20 kilometers (12.4
miles) north of the main city area. Early settlers referred to the
area as 
