Grange Planning Brain

Wallan Wallan Regional Park Cultural Values Study

Mitchell Shire Council | Wallan | Beveridge | Wallan Wallan Regional Park | Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung | Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation | Merri Creek | Kalkallo Creek | Hanna Swamp | Herne Swamp | Mount Fraser | Spring Hill | Northern Growth Corridor | Precinct Structure Plan | Infrastructure Contributions Plan

Orientation

  • This page records the planning intelligence around the proposed Cultural Values Study for the Wallan Wallan Regional Park.
  • The source corpus does not contain a standalone Cultural Values Study file.
  • The key evidence is the 2022 feasibility report for the future wallan wallan Regional Park.
  • The feasibility report states that cultural heritage information used in the report is incomplete. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report states that further assessment of cultural values within the study area is required. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report identifies a detailed Cultural Values Study by WWCHAC as an important input to the next stage of park refinement. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The initiative is therefore not just a heritage survey.
  • It is a boundary-setting, governance, access, land-acquisition, and development-risk control for the future regional park.
  • The planning question is whether the park can be defined around cultural landscape values before PSP layouts, ICP schedules, land values, quarry rehabilitation choices, and public-access assumptions become fixed.

Source Basis

  • Source read: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt.
  • A near-duplicate extract also exists as feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park_report-2022-compressed.txt.
  • No separate extracted file with Cultural Values Study in the filename was found in the Mitchell extracted folder.
  • No separate extracted file with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation in the filename was found in the Mitchell extracted folder.
  • The feasibility report was prepared by Land Design Partnership and DEECA. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The supporting Background Review was prepared by Ethos Urban. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The Biodiversity Overview Assessment was prepared by Nature Advisory. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report relies, in the absence of a completed CVS, on the Cultural Heritage layer and a 2020 Biosis desktop analysis for the Wallan Beveridge Waterway Assessment. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report says those resources are limited because they do not accurately reflect cultural ecology values, archaeological extents, or the breadth of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung engagement on Country. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • This makes the Cultural Values Study a known evidence gap rather than an optional refinement.

Cultural Authority

  • The study area is located on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report says the entire study area is considered culturally significant. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people are the traditional owners of the area being investigated for the regional park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • WWCHAC is a Registered Aboriginal Party under the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • WWCHAC represents the interests of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung name for the Wallan region is wallan wallan. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report uses the traditional name when referring to the park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The future park name is to be determined by the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • This naming issue is a material planning issue because it signals that the project is to be framed through Traditional Owner authority rather than only through municipal open-space branding.
  • The feasibility report says regional parks are places where Traditional Owners can connect with heritage and continue cultural practices. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • That statement changes the function of the proposed park from passive recreation alone to continuing cultural practice on Country.

Why The CVS Matters

  • The feasibility report says the current Cultural Heritage Sensitivity Overlay does not accurately represent Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung cultural values. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says further investigation is required. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says a detailed Cultural Values Study by WWCHAC will identify significant Aboriginal cultural places and objects. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says those places and objects must be considered in further refinement of the park extent. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS therefore has a direct boundary function.
  • The CVS also has a design function because it will inform the attributes of the park, not only the mapped edge. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS has a staging function because land transfer under PSPs and ICPs will occur gradually as precincts subdivide. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • If the CVS is late, land may be structured, valued, or encumbered before the cultural landscape is properly understood.
  • The report states that a final park boundary cannot be identified before further cultural-landscape work. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • This makes the CVS one of the critical-path items for park feasibility.

Known Cultural Evidence

  • The Biosis assessment found 61 Aboriginal places within the study area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Those 61 Aboriginal places contain 97 components. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The geomorphologic and ecological units suggest abundant and accessible water was present in the study area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The same assessment suggests diverse vegetation and fauna were present. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report says those conditions supported Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung occupation. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report says volcanic rock formations would have provided material suitable for stone tool manufacture. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report records a strong Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung connection to Wallan. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says evidence of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung presence before and after European settlement is identified across the study area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Waterways and swamps within the study area are highly sensitive for Aboriginal cultural heritage material. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Numerous landforms and elevated areas also have high potential to yield Aboriginal material culture. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The eastern slopes of Mount Fraser are represented in registered Aboriginal places. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Waterways, particularly Kalkallo Creek, are represented in registered Aboriginal places. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Scarred trees have been shown to occur in the study area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Scarred trees are more likely where land clearing has not occurred, although the report says they are not common in the area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Stony rises are known to be of high significance to Aboriginal people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Slopes and crests of elevated landforms are of high sensitivity. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Confluences of two or more waterways have a high likelihood of yielding Aboriginal material culture. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Confluences are also described as having a high level of sensitivity. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • These findings imply that cultural risk is distributed across landform systems rather than confined to isolated dots on a heritage map.

Regulatory Sensitivity

  • The Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018 require a Cultural Heritage Management Plan where all or part of an activity area is an area of cultural heritage sensitivity and all or part of the activity is high impact. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report identifies registered cultural heritage places and land within 50 metres as relevant sensitivity triggers. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies waterways and land within 200 metres as relevant sensitivity triggers. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report notes that waterways include lakes, lagoons, swamps, and marshes where water passes through, whether or not flow is continuous. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It also identifies volcanic cones of western Victoria as relevant sensitivity triggers. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Figure 9 uses a 200 metre buffer along named waterways as the high-sensitivity zone designed in the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report warns that Herne Swamp is not accurately represented in Figure 9. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The same limitation is important for Hanna Swamp, because the report states historic waterways and the true extent of Herne Swamp are not accurately reflected in the Cultural Heritage layer. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The regulatory issue is not merely whether a CHMP is triggered.
  • The deeper issue is whether the mapped trigger area is incomplete because the hydrological and cultural landscape is incompletely represented.

Landscape Systems

  • The study area includes three volcanic cones: Mount Fraser, Spring Hill, and Green Hill. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes Herne Swamp. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes Meade Swamp. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes burrung buluk, formerly Hanna Swamp. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes the northern reaches of Merri Creek. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The headwaters of Merri Creek are further north at Heathcote Junction. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes the buffer around the Wallan Sewage Treatment facility. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes an area for flood mitigation as part of the upper Merri Catchment. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The study area includes wooded slopes west of Wallan. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The park experience is expected to include wetlands, volcanic cones, ridges, waterways, pasture areas, community facilities, and municipal open space. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The cultural-values logic is therefore landscape-based.
  • Water, wetland, stony-rise, cone, slope, and confluence systems are the planning units that matter.
  • A CVS limited to point-based archaeological records would be insufficient for the planning task described in the feasibility report.

Park Boundary Implications

  • One selection criterion says the park should be informed by an understanding of the cultural landscape. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The same criterion says the park should reflect the presence and location of sites and areas of high cultural heritage significance. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says representative landscape forms can enhance visitor understanding of the local landscape. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says representative landscape forms can enable protection of cultural heritage places. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says representative landscape forms can enable explanation of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung stories. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Cultural values are to be embedded in all future planning for the park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The park is intended to link Merri Creek, Herne Swamp, burrung buluk, Kalkallo Creek, Mount Fraser, and Spring Hill. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • These connections are to protect culturally significant waterways. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • These connections are also to maintain Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung access. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS should therefore test continuity, not only individual sites.
  • A fragmented park boundary could protect mapped places while still severing cultural movement, waterway relationships, or access to Country.

Growth-Area Context

  • The Victorian Government committed in 2018 to undertake a feasibility study for a regional park in Wallan within the Northern Growth Corridor. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The park is being investigated in a rapidly urbanising setting. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Mitchell Shire had an estimated resident population of 47,837 in 2020. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Mitchell Shire was expected to increase by a further 53,400 people by 2036. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Wallan was forecast to grow from 12,924 people in 2019 to 43,712 in 2041. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • That Wallan forecast is a 238 percent increase. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Beveridge was forecast to grow from 4,006 people in 2019 to 46,092 in 2041. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • That Beveridge forecast is a 1,050 percent increase. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The future park has an anticipated 15 kilometre catchment from the park boundaries. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The catchment population was approximately 231,030 people in 2021. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The catchment population was forecast at approximately 429,680 people by 2036. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The increase from 2021 to 2036 is 198,650 people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The average annual growth over that catchment period is 13,240 people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The average annual growth rate is 4.2 percent. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • These figures explain why a cultural-values study has development feasibility weight.
  • It must operate before urban growth converts rural land into subdivided residential, employment, utility, transport, quarry, drainage, and open-space parcels.

Open Space Scale

  • The feasibility report says new regional parks generally take 10 to 15 years to establish. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The regional-open-space benchmark cited is at least 40 hectares of passive open space for every 150,000 people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The future wallan wallan Regional Park is anticipated to be as large as 1,000 hectares. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Because the park may exceed 50 hectares, the report says it would be considered Metropolitan Open Space in the regional network. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The scale means the CVS is not a small reserve assessment.
  • It must inform a metropolitan-scale open-space asset across multiple landscape systems and multiple PSP areas.
  • The study should therefore influence land assembly, management model, interpretation, access hierarchy, and exclusion zones.

Land Assembly

  • The report says the land network will need further refinement through future engagement with WWCHAC, agencies, environment groups, private landowners, the local community, and other stakeholders. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The purpose of engagement is to guide the definition of land areas and sites suitable for the regional park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Land transfer under PSP and ICP processes is expected to occur gradually as land subdivides across precincts. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says large continuous batches of land should be transferred to avoid connectivity and access problems for land managers. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Land should be acquired through ICPs or as encumbered open space where possible to minimise purchase costs. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The ICP system is specific about the type of land that can be identified as public purpose land. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report expects a large portion of the regional park to be encumbered land for environmental reasons. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Land that cannot be transferred through PSP or ICP should receive a Public Acquisition Overlay as soon as practicable. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • A Public Acquisition Overlay would reserve land for purchase by the designated authority. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • A Public Acquisition Overlay would also protect land from inappropriate use and development. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says this would help avoid further value uplift. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • GAIC works-in-kind should be explored as a land-transfer mechanism. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • GAIC works-in-kind will not fund works outside the Urban Growth Boundary. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS affects which land is encumbered by cultural obligations, which land needs public acquisition, and which land should not be traded away as ordinary developable land.

Development Feasibility

  • For landowners, the CVS could shift a parcel from potential yield land into park, conservation, buffer, access, or restricted-use land.
  • For developers, the CVS could affect PSP layout, road alignment, drainage design, subdivision staging, open-space credits, and developable area.
  • For the state, the CVS could reduce acquisition risk by identifying priority cultural land before land values increase.
  • For council, the CVS could clarify which cultural landscapes should be reinforced through local open-space networks and interfaces.
  • For WWCHAC, the CVS is the instrument that translates cultural authority into spatial planning consequences.
  • For agencies, the CVS can identify where management responsibilities must be shared rather than assigned solely through asset function.
  • For the community, the CVS can protect cultural continuity while still enabling appropriate public access.
  • For park visitors, the CVS should shape interpretation and access so cultural values are not reduced to signage.
  • For transport planners, the CVS may identify crossings or corridors that need to maintain cultural and ecological connectivity.
  • For water authorities, the CVS may affect how wetland, floodplain, and treatment-plant buffer land is managed.
  • For quarry operators or post-quarry land managers, the CVS may affect rehabilitation objectives and the timing of public access.
  • These implications are not speculative policy preferences.
  • They follow from the feasibility report’s conclusion that cultural values must guide park extent and attributes. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)

Hydrology And Cultural Risk

  • The report identifies the presence of ephemeral wetlands as central to the park experience. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says ephemeral wetlands provide nature-based recreation opportunities such as nature observation, walking, cycling, and community education. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It links those opportunities to environmental and cultural heritage values in the headwaters of Kalkallo Creek and Merri Creek. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The visitor experience is expected to vary seasonally and annually. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says wetlands provide an opportunity for withdrawal from the urban environment. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The feasibility report uses 100 ARI flood levels to identify potential park extent. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says 100 ARI flood levels constrain urban development. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says flood-prone land can diversify visitor experience, manage downstream flood impacts, and encourage restoration of local ecosystems and biodiversity. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS should align floodplain, wetland, and cultural heritage analysis.
  • If hydrological layers are wrong or incomplete, cultural sensitivity mapping may also be wrong.
  • This matters because the report specifically says Herne Swamp is not accurately represented in the Aboriginal sensitivity figure. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)

Biodiversity Interface

  • The Northern Growth Corridor includes significant biodiversity values. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Those values include stands of old River Red Gums scattered across the landscape. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Those values include Natural Temperate Grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Those values include Grassy Eucalypt Woodland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Merri Creek and its environs are identified as important breeding habitat for Growling Grass Frog. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Merri Creek and its environs also support Latham’s Snipe. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says waterways and tributaries include significant cultural heritage and habitat for native flora, native frog and fish species, and other flora. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Cultural values and biodiversity values therefore overlap spatially.
  • A CVS should not be sequenced after biodiversity land has already been fixed.
  • The feasibility report’s own logic requires cultural and ecological assessment to shape the same open-space network.

Quarry Interface

  • The feasibility report identifies three existing or proposed quarry sites in the study area. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The first is the existing Mount Fraser scoria quarry. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The second is a proposed clay quarry at 2330 Epping-Kilmore Road. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The third is a proposed stone quarry at 175 Northern Highway. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Operational quarry sites cannot form part of the public regional park while extraction is active. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Quarry sites would likely require rehabilitation before they could be incorporated into the park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says quarry rehabilitation plans must consult Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people and consider their requirements. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says quarry management should consider returning the area to healthy Country, consistent with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung values. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung must be included in security calculation and rehabilitation plan assessments for the quarry. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS should therefore inform not only parkland acquisition but extractive-industry rehabilitation.
  • If the CVS identifies cultural landscape significance around volcanic cones or stony rises, quarry rehabilitation cannot be treated as a purely geotechnical or visual-amenity exercise.

Management Model

  • The feasibility report says the future park would likely be owned by the State Government. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says the park would likely be managed by Parks Victoria in partnership with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people and Melbourne Water. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Parks Victoria is identified as the most appropriate manager for most land in the regional park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says the majority of the future park will likely be managed by Parks Victoria in partnership with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Melbourne Water will likely manage Growling Grass Frog conservation areas within the Urban Growth Boundary. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Melbourne Water will also likely manage other waterway and stormwater treatment assets. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Encumbered land around treatment plants and water and sewer assets will be managed by Yarra Valley Water. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The report says future planning may consider renaming the park to parklands because of multiple land managers and different land uses. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS should inform this governance model because cultural obligations may cut across land manager boundaries.
  • A management map that follows agency assets alone may not correspond to cultural landscape relationships.

Access And Interpretation

  • The report says park land should create an immersive experience for users. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says the park should link different features. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says the park should connect with other regional open space. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It says the park should respond to the accessibility needs of a diverse community. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies potential direct connection with the proposed marram baba Upper Merri Creek Parklands. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies potential connection with the Kalkallo Retarding Basin, historically known as Inverlochy Swamp. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies potential connection with the future Wallan-Heathcote Rail Trail. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies possible pathway connections along drainage lines or utility corridors. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It identifies the Hume Freeway, Northern Highway, Melbourne-Sydney Railway, future Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal, and OMR/E6 corridor as connectivity barriers. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • The CVS should identify where access is appropriate, where access should be limited, and where cultural connection should be privileged over visitor convenience.
  • Cultural interpretation should follow WWCHAC direction rather than being inferred from desktop archaeology.

Risk Register

  • Risk: the current heritage layer may omit cultural ecology and archaeological extent. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Risk: the true extent of Herne Swamp is not accurately reflected. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Risk: historic waterways may not be accurately reflected. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Risk: relying on existing mapped sensitivity may send investigations to the wrong areas. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Risk: PSPs may proceed before cultural landscape values are fully understood.
  • Risk: ICP mechanisms may secure environmentally encumbered land but fail to secure culturally important unencumbered land.
  • Risk: PAO timing may lag behind land value uplift.
  • Risk: quarry rehabilitation may proceed without sufficient cultural-landscape objectives.
  • Risk: public trail planning may expose sensitive areas if cultural access constraints are not resolved early.
  • Risk: multiple land managers may create fragmented cultural governance.
  • Risk: biodiversity conservation areas may be inaccessible to the public, requiring enough alternative public land outside critical habitat areas. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • Risk: a park boundary based on flood, biodiversity, and existing open-space layers alone may underperform the cultural-values objective.

Monitoring Signals

  • Watch for release or extraction of a standalone WWCHAC Cultural Values Study.
  • Watch for PSP updates in Wallan South PSP, Wallan East Part 1 PSP, Wallan East Part 2 PSP, Beveridge North West PSP, Beveridge North East PSP, and Northern Freight PSP.
  • Watch for ICP schedules that identify open-space transfer parcels.
  • Watch for any PAO application over candidate park land.
  • Watch for quarry rehabilitation plans for Mount Fraser, 2330 Epping-Kilmore Road, and 175 Northern Highway.
  • Watch for DEECA decisions on final park boundary and land transfer process.
  • Watch for Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, and WWCHAC management agreements.
  • Watch for updated hydrology mapping of Herne Swamp, burrung buluk, Merri Creek, and Kalkallo Creek.
  • Watch for any CHMP triggers attached to road, drainage, utility, or recreation works.
  • Watch for public-access designs at Hume Freeway, Northern Highway, railway, and OMR/E6 barriers.

Interpretation

  • The Cultural Values Study is the missing evidence bridge between Traditional Owner authority and statutory growth-area implementation.
  • The 2022 feasibility report already establishes that the whole study area is culturally significant. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • It also establishes that current mapped heritage tools are incomplete. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • That combination means the default planning position should be caution.
  • The highest-risk decision would be to define the park by residual land after urban development, drainage, quarrying, and conservation deductions.
  • The feasibility report points to the opposite sequence.
  • Cultural landscape understanding should inform the future location, attributes, and extent of the park. (Source: feasibility-for-wallan-wallan-regional-park-report-2022-compressed.txt)
  • In practical terms, the CVS should precede final boundary selection, access design, quarry rehabilitation objectives, and management allocation.
  • The initiative is minor in document volume but major in consequence.
  • It determines whether the wallan wallan Regional Park becomes a culturally led parkland or a conventional growth-area open-space aggregation with later interpretation added.

Gaps

  • The standalone Cultural Values Study is not present in the extracted Mitchell corpus.
  • No extracted WWCHAC-authored study file was found for this initiative.
  • The feasibility report does not provide the final park boundary.
  • The feasibility report does not provide the agreed park vision.
  • The feasibility report does not provide final park design, costs, remediation costs, land-transfer costs, or infrastructure costs.
  • The feasibility report does not provide a completed cultural-values map endorsed by WWCHAC.
  • The feasibility report does not resolve how sensitive cultural places will be protected from public access impacts.
  • The feasibility report does not resolve how cultural governance will operate across Parks Victoria, WWCHAC, Melbourne Water, Yarra Valley Water, and council interfaces.
  • These gaps are recorded in data/gaps-wallan-wallan-cultural-values-study.txt.

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