As we enjoyed morning tea among the trees, Bryan Campbell, a descendent of the original Pinkerton pioneering family gave a presentation about his ancestors who were the original European settlers here. He also spoke at length about his famous grandfather A J Campbell.

A J Campbell was a member of the Pinkerton family. He was an early ornithologist and one of the earliest members of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. His interest in birds and natural history was no doubt fuelled by many visits to Pinkerton Forest and the nearby Werribee River. He advocated the creation of ‘Wattle Day’ to commemorate these most well-known of Australian flowers; and as a celebration of Australia.

After viewing the commemorative plaque depicting the Pinkerton family and photos of the various family members, the visitors were struck by the resemblance of Bryan Campbell to his famous ornithologist grandfather A J Campbell!

Our Restoration Co-ordinator, Frances Overmars helped to identify plants for the visitors, as some were ticking off a checklist of plants they had brought, taken from the Flora and Fauna Survey undertaken by Ecology Australia in 2007. A special find was Heath Speargrass (Austrostipa exilis). This species grows beneath Grey Box trees and is rare in Victoria. Thirty-five percent of Austrostipa species in Victoria can be found in both Pinkerton Forest and Bush’s Paddock! As the visitors mention, this is remarkable!

The visitors were also impressed with the bird sculptures, cut from corrugated iron, by Brian Steadman. These had been placed on the gate leading into Pinkerton Forest.