Bush tucker gardens have been created at a hinterland attraction in partnership with local Indigenous representatives and cultivators.
Two separate areas at Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World have been planted with Indigenous plants used in Jinibara traditional cooking and medicine, and which one day be offered in foods at the attraction.
Plants include Davidson’s plum, emu foot, aniseed myrtle, lemon myrtle, a variety of native mints, quandong, native raspberry and the lemon sherbet coleus, named as such because of the lemon sherbet aroma emitted by the plant when touched.
Jinibara People Aboriginal Corporation rangers prepared the gardens and planted the shrubs and bushes, which were grown by Maleny’s Brush Turkey Enterprises, experts in native plants, revegetation and bush regeneration.
The Jinibara were the “mountain people” who lived in the areas on either side of the Glass House Mountains and shared what is now known as the Sunshine Coast region with the Kabi Kabi, the “saltwater people”.
The bush tucker gardens are the latest evolution in the 9.3 hectares of exotic gardens created out of a former 44.5-hectare cattle farm.
Much of the property was denuded or overgrown when owner Frank Shipp bought the land in 2005, convinced it could be regenerated as a botanical wonderland.
Mr Shipp and his team appreciated the importance of native plants from the earliest days of the botanic gardens, incorporating wattle seed, lemon myrtle and Davidson’s plum in the scones offered in the property’s Devonshire teas.
Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World general manager Verena Olesch said the bush tucker gardens paid homage to the region’s original inhabitants.
“The backdrop of the Glass House Mountains is a powerful reminder of the area’s millions of years of heritage and the tens of thousands of years that the Jinibara people have lived here and made use of the abundant native ingredients,” Ms Olesch said.
“The property already had native trees such as the Bunya Bunya – a culturally important tree for the region’s Indigenous peoples that was highly valuable as a source for food, timber and fibre – and so the addition of the bush tucker gardens was a natural extension.
“We want to educate and inspire visitors to start growing their own Indigenous plants and appreciate the richness of the culture that comes with them.
“Adults and children are already showing how fascinated they are with the textures, aromas and tastes, and once the plants are more mature, we will incorporate them into our food offerings as well as hold special sessions with the Jinibara People to share their remarkable culture and knowledge.”
Ms Olesch said new explanatory boards would be installed outlining the dreamtime story of the Glass House Mountains to help visitors appreciate the area’s landscape and heritage.
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