Bendigo set to lose ‘oasis’

“As the decades rolled on development crept ever closer to her little oasis,” Mr Pairman said. “She wanted that oasis to be preserved long after she’d left.” 

But now it appears that 2.7-hectare backyard of towering gums and waterholes will make way for new houses. 

The City of Greater Bendigo will vote on approving the construction of 34 houses on the patch of remnant bushland on 316-318 High Street at tomorrow night’s meeting. 

Councillor Peter Cox said he and his colleagues would face a difficult decision, given council’s push for a compact city. 

"It is a very difficult decision as there are two important issues to consider,” Cr Cox said. “One being the ecological value of the land and its precinct and in contrast developing a compact city rather than a sprawling city."

But 65 houses were recently approved in a nearby block and Mr Pairman said wildlife was being squeezed out. He said the previous owners of the block, Joan and Felicity Kingsley, had wanted to create a nature reserve but mother and daughter both died suddenly within months of one another. 

“I know Felicity was very concerned about where the animals were going to go, where the birds were going to nest, where the long neck turtles in the wetlands were going to go,” he said.

“We’ve had echidnas leave their pups in hollows here, we’ve mobs of roos, not to mention the frogs, the lizards of so many varieties, from frill necks to geckos.

“There’s so much food here for them and places to nest and make homes and I know both mother and daughter wanted to keep it that way.

“In the lead up to her death Felicity was in the process of leaving these six acres as a legacy – she was getting very upset about the encroaching mass density housing.

“But it appears that the council don’t wish that.

“Even if what they have done is to the letter of the law, it’s reprehensible.”