Mullinger Swamp

A friend of mine and I went for a drive to some of the local spots in November 2011. One of those places was Mullinger Swamp a few kilometres north of Kybybolite, South Australia. Although Kyby (as the locals often call it) is in South Australia, the swamp itself is mostly in Victoria and actually straddles the border.

Mullinger Swamp 02

In 2011 when we visited Mullinger the water level had been pretty high but some drop in levels was evident. Just to the left of this second photo is an area banked off to keep water out of a runaway hole and retain it for irrigation and summer swimming. This levee bank is said to have been built in the 1940’s.

Mullinger Swamp 03

Over the years quite a number of the trees in the swamp itself have died, probably due to being drowned since the levee bank mentioned was built. The extent of these dead trees is evident in this third photo. Also evident on these trees is the high water mark.

Largest known River Red Gum

Over in the paddock to the north west of the swamp is a River Red Gum, thought to be the largest of its type in the region. It is said to be about 40 metres high, with a circumference of 11.6 metres measured 1.3 metres above the ground. It is estimated to be over 800 years old. The base is hollowed out, presumably by fire. This is thought to have occurred before European settlement. In the past this has been known to have been used as a change room by swimmers.

David