vegetation

A 160-acre (65 ha) property near Beerwah Mountain was purchased by Robert Fullerton in 1913. In a government ballot opening more land for selection Fullerton acquired Portion 14V 4 kilometers from Glass House Mountains on the eastern side of the Old Gympie Road. The family arrived at Glass House Mountains on 3 June 1914. The older boys and their father followed a few hours later on goods train with their stock which comprised of an old horse ‘Dick’, two cows and a calf, a cat, and her kittens. Delighted at the beauty of the region Mrs. Fullerton named their selection ‘Dunnottar’ as the mountain reminded her of the country they had left behind. Hardworking Robert Fullerton cleared 2 acres of standing timber but when ready to plough poor old Dick the horse died. He set to work and dug the soil by hand with shovels and spades. Shortly after this, he planted his first pineapple crop. This crop was to sweep a new era of prosperity into the district. The industrious Fullerton family planted citrus and small crops including strawberries and Rosellas. Since those early days, the Fullerton families have produced and established large-scale pineapple and citrus farms throughout the Glass House Mountains district. They have helped shape policies on quota deliveries of pineapples and are a powerful force in the overall enterprise including connectivity to the Golden Circle cannery. Source: heritage.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Stories/Agriculture/Bil...

Each bottle tree reflects its own individual character, and can be used in many landscape designs. The unique swollen ‘bottle-shaped’ trunk develops in 5–7 years, giving it a comical look, like something you would expect to see in a Dr Seuss book! Valuable beyond its aesthetics, its seeds, root, stems and bark has all been traditionally used by both people and animals. Aboriginals have historically carved holes in the soft bark to access the water quite literally 'bottled' between the inner bark and the trunk, as well as used the fibrous inner bark to make twine and netting. The Bottle Tree can tolerate robust transplantation, surviving long periods before being replanted. Source: www.diggers.com.au/products/queensland-bottle-tree

Blenheim is a rural locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. Originally the district was known as Sandy Creek, but later it was named Blenheim after Blenheim Park in Oxfordshire, England, which was in turn named after the Battle of Blenheim. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blenheim,_Queensland

The Whitsundays are internationally famous for their rugged, green-clad islands, blue waters and white sands. But behind that beauty lies much more: a tumultuous geological history, a long tradition of Indigenous use, and a complex ecosystem with thousands of animal and plants, including rare and endangered species. The Whitsundays lay in a geologically active zone, where volcanic activity continued for 37 million years. Explosive eruptions threw rock and ash into the air to rain down on the surrounding land. Layers of volcanic debris built up and gradually formed a solid bedrock. Today, this bedrock, composed of ash and rock fragments 'welded' together, can still be seen (e.g. on Whitsunday and Hook islands). This hardened rock appears as a smooth greenish grey to brown, and is worn away by saltwater wave action. The Whitsundays are generally ideal for coral growth: warm, clear, relatively shallow water, with an average temperature of around 20–30 degrees Celsius. In addition, the Whitsundays’ large tidal range causes fast currents to stream south with the incoming tide. These currents transport food and nutrients that nourish a rich and colourful diversity of corals on the edges of the fringing reefs. Vivid and beautiful, these corals also provide food and habitat for many sea-dwellers. Different plants grow on different parts of the islands, influenced by variations in soils, exposure to the elements, and availability of fresh water. At the top of the beaches grow tough pioneer plants like goat’s foot convolvulus, sea bean and spiky spinifex, which can tolerate wind, salt spray and shifting sands. On the foredunes behind these stabilising creepers and grasses, grow salt-tolerant shrubs and trees such as octopus bush and coastal she-oak. Further inland, vine forests and lush vegetation grow in moist, sheltered gullies and on steep, rocky hillsides, with tall hoop pines scattered through them. Hillsides with drier, deeper soils support open eucalypt forests and, on many islands, undulating native grasslands. Below all of these, along the shorelines, patches of mangroves flourish. Source: parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/parks-whitsundays/about/culture