“The Battle of Epping Forest”
Note
There was a song by the band Genesis about a pitch battle between gangs for protection rights over the East-End of London, which just happened to be the title I chose for another battle – to save the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, the Mascot of The One Million Poetry. It is one of those all too rare but thankfully increasing Conservation success stories from Australia. By the 1980s there were only around 35 NHN Wombats left, all in the Epping Forest National Park, gazetted after the Queensland Government purchased the site in 1971. In 2001, 10% of the population was killed by wild dogs, leading to the Park being fenced, allowing the numbers to increase again. By 2022 the numbers were up to 315 across two sites, and now up to 400 with the addition of a third site. This has only been possible through conservation partnerships between the Queensland Government, The Wombat Foundation and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy over decades of determined action, assisted by the people of Clermont, hosts of the annual Wombat Festival, a local Indigenous organisation, and people like you who support such initiatives.
This is a clear example of choosing your battles wisely.
Find out more here:
Find the Wombat Foundation here: https://www.wombatfoundation.com.au
Find AWC here:
Find out about the translocation to the third site, Powrunna, here: https://www.detsi.qld.gov.au/our-department/news-media/down-to-earth/powrunna-translocation-project-saving-northern-hairy-nosed-wombat
FULL POEM
The Battle of Epping Forest
A Genesis story
Better than the song
However Progressive...
The Battle of Epping Forest
Not the original one, nevertheless
Nonetheless - hard won
Quite a ballad really
About turning the tide
Facing impending extinction
In battle on the wrong side
Facing off against each other
One could only see their demise
The Warru tribe being routed
Their very survival doubted
Little more than thirty survivors
Driven from their elaborate trenches
Pushed out of their historic range
By the invader's wholesale clearing
For their animals, competing for food
Tree roots that held the just right sandy soil
Their underground homes, structurally sound
Largely gone, new pastures supplanted
Brought the floodtide of ferals
To eat them out of house and home
Annihilation imminent, saviours stepped in
The powers that be on a sure Foundation
Gave them a sanctuary and oversight
For the 35 or so survivors, dangerously low
Fell back to just one stronghold
Epping Forest in the Land of the Queen
Dug in, held that foothold, lived on
All seemed on track, population grew
Until a massacre, under cover of dark
A tenth of the tribe slaughtered
Telltale tracks told of the perpetrators
Canis tribes of different kinds, can't cohabitate
On the remains of the tribe to predate
Once again needing saving, the cry went out
To survive they needed fortifications
Not so much to keep them in
As to keep the marauders out
To shield them, to hold them safe
Fenced in, the tribe could grow again
And indeed, they did, and did outgrow
Their beloved Epping Forrest
'Forest of Dreams' had turned to nightmares
And back to pleasant dreams once again
The heroes prevailed, the villains shut out
Lessons learned, second home sought
Relocations began to another forest home
Underwood, under the protection of St George
Far away but still in their ancestral homeland
The spartan tribe grew to 300
Enough to hold off extinction's empire?
In this game of thrones strategy rules
Split the Tribe once again to multiply
Open up another former homeland
Sent a small force to Powrunna
To establish another beach head
Far from any beach out there
But FOB in new old territory
They had returned after 100 years
The Top Brass has not failed them
Has given them a fighting chance
Moved the pieces on the battle board
Oversaw the battle gains, and won
Yet still in a sense they are captives
The Tribe still fenced inside
Lest the enemies lie in wait
Or find a breach to get in
Vigilance is still required, eyes on the prize
The numbers climbing to 400, reprise
Three sites now for better security
Better too for genetic diversity
Against old foes and new iterations
Of natural disasters, intensifying fires
And 'unprecedented' flooding rains
Call it a battle or call it a struggle
Or call it a miracle, maybe a magic formula
All the ingredients had to be there
Including the chef de mission
More than one, you'll see
The battle of Epping Forest
Held the line, laid the foundation
For a slow but steady resurgence
Overcoming threats - backed by friends
A couple of Foundations, the Law of the land
And the people of the French-in-name town
Aussie country hard work and hospitality
(where you can get a coffee at 4.30am!)
Who supported the success, celebrated the mission
The hard-fought battle for the inexorable come back
Made a Festival in the Tribe's honour
In Clermont in May each year from '22
So that we can know, if not readily see
There are still Hairy-Noses around
One day - on the current trajectory
- plenty!