Tim Entwhistle from the Royal Botanical Gardens suggests we add two seasons to the European standards: starting out with the clunkingly named Sprinter, to describe late winter and early spring when most things seem to burst into flower. He reckons non-Indigenous Australians can’t handle the complexity of the diverse seasons observed by Kooris, Murris, Nunga, Noongar and all the first people of this place.
He’s probably right. The D’harawal calendar – from people south of Port Jackson – says roundabout now is the time of Wiritjiribin – cold and windy. I think I saw Acacia floribunda blooming today, so that fits. But maybe, since its getting warmer, it’s closer to the time of Ngoonungi, the time of the gathering of the flying foxes? “They come in from the north-east, the north, the north-west and the west, and swirl over the Sydney area in a wonderful, sky-dancing display just after sunset”, says the D’harawal calendar on the BOM. No signs here at least, in Dharug and Guringai country, of flying foxes yet.
Let’s face it: I’m clueless. I’ve got no idea about the local wildlife, know nothing of how you might live off the land, can’t even figure out half the Latin names of the flowers in our neck of the woods – Muogamarra, Berowra National Park, Lane Cove.
Ok, I’m cheating. Lane Cove is miles away, but I took some nice pictures there yesterday. And it is (mostly) on Hawkesbury sandstone. And they have a great website for the local flora. Which is important because this is what our plant identification book looks like:
All in all, I think I’m only up to Sprinter.