The Stanwell Avenue Reserve

The Banksia Bush Care group looks after the central headland of Stanwell Park along which Stanwell Avenue runs. At the end of Stanwell Avenue there is a park of 4.5 hectares, which was denuded of practically all trees in the 1920s, but regenerated from the 1940s onwards with some human assistance. At the present time, there are 107 species of trees within the Reserve. The purpose of this column is to provide a brief description of each of those species.

Three species of Acacias (Wattles) are in the Reserve: Acacia longifolia (Coastal Wattle), Acacia binervata (Two-veined Hickory) and Acacia maidenii (Maiden’s Wattle).

Acacia longifolia (Coastal Wattle)

Coastal wattle is local to the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria. It often grows in sand dunes and is salt resistant. It is also used to stabilise sand dunes and other coastal areas. 

At Stanwell Park it mainly grows in the sand dune area off the northern lagoon where most of them were planted to stabilise the dune area. 

It is normally a small shrub, but it can grow to as high as five metres. They also grow on higher ground within the Reserve right on the point of the headland. Banksia integrifolia (Coast Banksia), Allocasuarina littoralis (Black Oak) and Acacia longifolia (Coastal Wattle) are the three main native trees that can withstand direct frontal salt attack. 

Wattles flower from late winter to early spring. It is common to see them in August before all the other flowers come out in Spring.