Ross McDougall, Dunoon and District Gazette
Last year the Dorrobbee Grass Reserve Trust approached the Dunoon Men’s Shed to assist them with making a sign to be placed on the roadside of Dunoon Road to highlight the location of the significant ecological grassland site. Long time resident John Pirlo generously donated a two metre long slab of red ash timber for the project.
Shed members designed the layout and sizing of the letters, which were then printed out on paper and glued onto some thin plywood sheets. Using a bandsaw these letters were cut out to make templates which were secured to the slab and the profiles were etched into the timber using a router. A stained resin was used to fill the etched lettering and the slab was then applied with several coats of a good quality timer oil. This helped to enrich the colour of the timber and preserve it.
Our members were proud of the finished product. It was an honour to be included in this project involving two community volunteer groups. The sign was officially handed over to members of the trust who erected the sign on the bottom edge of the grassland in April.
The Dorrobbee Grass Reserve is a small portion of land at the junction of Dunoon Road and Fraser Road just north of Dunoon village. It is the last remaining intact native grassland ecosystem within the Big Scrub bioregion and is one of the best-preserved stands of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda Australis) in the Northern Rivers.
Originally it was maintained by the Widjabul Wia-bal people as it was a traditional aboriginal gathering area along their traveling route on country. It is now a crown land reserve, which was gazetted in 1878 as a reserve for recreation and camping and was utilised as a grazing rest stop for the bullock teams. (Please note camping is no longer permitted on the site.)
It is currently managed largely through bush regeneration and weed control by the Dorrobbee Grass Reserve Trust in partnership with the Ngulingah Aboriginal Land Council. Support is also generously provided by the Widjabul Wia-bal people, Firesticks Alliance; Northern Rivers Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, Southern Cross University, NSW Rural Fire Service and Local Brigade Volunteers, Landcare members and community members that turn up to support the project.
It is an extra special place is treasured by many in the local and wider community for its ecological and cultural values. Please take the time to visit the site, which has walking tracks with great views of the surrounding landscape with information of landmarks and flora on the site.
This article appeared in Dunoon and District Gazette, June-July 2025.
