24 August 2026
In the aftermath of the 2024 Pomonal bushfires, Project Platypus's Lachlan McIntyre made an exciting discovery: dozens of critically endangered Grevillea microstegia (commonly known as the Mt Cassell Grevillea), a plant found nowhere else in the world but Gariwerd, had begun popping up along a nearby roadside.
The excitement quickly turned to alarm. Ararat Shire crews were due to carry out roadside repairs following damaging rains, and the newly emerged plants were directly in the path of the works. Acting fast, Lachlan worked with DEECA and Ararat Shire to secure a permit to translocate the plants.
The rescued Grevillea were distributed to a number of carers, who nurtured them over the following two years. Not all survived the process, but those that did were finally planted out in July 2026 on a property owned by members of the Jallukar Landcare group, suitable habitat bordering Gariwerd/the Grampians National Park. The planting extends the known range of this critically endangered species by several kilometres.
The chosen site was no random pick. It's a property where Project Platypus has already been conducting post-bushfire recovery monitoring, a sandy patch of Messmate heathy woodland scattered with small sandstone boulders, closely mirroring the rocky terrain of the plant's native Mt Cassell habitat. A small, experienced crew cleared the immediate area around each planting spot to reduce competition from surrounding vegetation, before getting 18 plants into the ground.
The results so far are encouraging: all 18 plants are looking healthy, helped along by good follow-up rain since planting.
This translocation doesn't stand alone; it builds on research into the species going back several years. In late 2023, field studies conducted with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) and La Trobe University surveyed the wild population of Mt Cassell Grevillea, recording 284 mature plants and 74 seedlings and roughly doubling the known population to around 600 plants.
That survey work was followed by pollination studies led by ecologist and La Trobe PhD student Linda Riquelme, which identified the Eastern Pygmy Possum as one of the species' likely pollinators; an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how this rare Grampians endemic reproduces and spreads in the wild.
Together, the research and this latest translocation mark real progress for a species clinging on in a very small corner of the world, and a great example of what's possible when landholders, government agencies and community groups work together.
Bronte Heron
Communications and Events Officer