The Junction of Maragle Back Creek and Reedy Creek, Maragle, NSW: European Context and Land Use History

This study found its origins in the need to provide the European Context and Land Use History for a cultural heritage survey of ‘Eudlo,’ at Maragle (Snowy Valleys Shire, NSW). The research objectives of this study are circumscribed by the fact that the property is largely cleared, is bordered by patches of remnant bushland, and that Reedy Creek, near its junction with Maragle Back Creek exhibits a notably steep and high erosion bank.3 A systematic review of the published and archival sources has been carried out to examine the historic record with regard to the trajectories of European land use and land modification in the wider study area. This history of land use modification can be characterised by three thematically different spheres: i) pastoral exploitation and concomitant changes to the vegetation pattern and vegetation structure of remnant bushlands; ii) gold mining and the associated changes to water courses and stream banks; and iii) timber getting, saw milling and forestry operations. These three areas of research are discussed in turn. The document concludes with a discussion of the implications of the European land use on the nature and extent of land modification