Avondale Platypuses
Avondale is bordered on the western side by a ‘give-and-take’ along two to three kilometres of Acacia Creek (near Liston). The creek is one of the northern tributaries of the Clarence River. There are permanent water holes, but they were much tested in 2002 and even more so in 2019. The eastern side the creek is heavily vegetated being protected by fencing and restricted grazing.
In most seasons platypuses are evident along the creek. The densest sighting was eight to ten platypuses in a long hole in the July-August mating season.
The Avondale house is on a gently sloping rise about three hundred metres east of Acacia Creek. Just one hundred metres to the north of the house is Lambing Gully which runs east-west into Acacia Creek. In the late 1990s we had a large dam with a centre island constructed in Lambing Gully. It is part of the Avondale Garden and hence protected from livestock. Platypuses have colonised the dam presumably having migrated from Acacia Creek.
The Acacia Creek population of platypuses was much reduced through the 2019 dry. Only the odd one has been seen since. The ‘house’ dam did not refill until early in 2024. But this week, for the first time since 2019, an adult and a baby platypus have been seen in the dam. It is very exciting and a testimony to the resilience of the platypus so long as they are given a go.
I can strongly recommend the informative and entertaining book ‘Platypus Matters-The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals’ by Jack Ashby (2022) available from the Book Grocer at a very reasonable price.
- Tony Gleeson, Avondale, Legume NSW
Photos by Ben and Alyona.