Midway Plantations Pty Ltd.

Proudly certified by the Australian Forestry Standard

16 Sep 2016: Contaminated Water Discharge Leads to Fine for North Shire Company

"EPA Acting South West Manager, said it was disappointing that a prominent business within the Geelong community had allowed this to happen."

Midway Plantations near Kilmore East /Strath Creek being logged (see here).

2009 - 2015 Photo Kilmore East Summary Here

Midway Plantations being established near Beaufort.

Midway Plantations being established in Gippsland

Midway Plantations Otways further down this page!

August 23 2012: Chemical Blame On Forestry Operation

May 3 2011: New Aerial Spray Procedure (Wandong/Kilmore)

Abandoned Lease Burns Farmer (13/4/2011 Weekly Times)

A Redesdale farmer burnt out in the Black Saturday bushfires has been saddled with an abandoned bluegum lease. And he wants to warn others of the dangers of leasing to large companies that can cut and run.

Bruce Stewart leased 100ha to Midway, a Geelong based timber company, 11 years ago for 20 years. However the plantation was damaged in the 2009 fires and the company abandoned 80ha of standing trees. "The trees recovered amazingly well," Mr Stewart said.

"Despite this, Midway abandoned the lease having received an insurance payout for the damage. They've notified us the plantation is not economical to harvest and they'll not contribute in any way to the rehabilitation of the land to pasture. "We're likely to face a bill greater than the cumulative total of the 10 years of lease payments to return the land to pasture."

While the lease stated the company could abandon the trees if they were unviable, Mr Stewart was not aware fire damage was such grounds. He is considering legal action.

After losing 500 sheep, all his rams, 27km of fences and pastures in the fires, Midway's decision came as a "significant blow". "They've taken their fire insurance payments and left us to deal with the mess," Mr Stewart said.

It could cost $2000 a hectare to clear the worthless trees. Other unburnt Midway leases were also not being renewed port-harvest.

Mr Stewart's farm manager, John Stewart, said he had a difficult job ahead of him. "The trees are not worth anything and it will take alot to get them back into productive farm land," he said...

February 7 2011: New Board Posting To Help Midway Float Buy Assets

September 30 2010: Chemical Find In Creek Prompts Drinking Water Tests

September 30 2010: Friends of the Earth Continues To Pressure For Investigation Into Simazine Pollution

September 2010: Simazine at 20ug/l detected in Sunday Creek catchment, near Broadford.

Nov 07: Midways start aerial spraying bluegum plantations with alpha-cypermethrin in Otways to kill Chrysomelid beetles

Aerial Spray Begins - Kilmore East Plantations:(3 May 2010 Newspaper House)

Midways Breach Code of Forest Practices Feb 05 see here

Wandong Fires Black Saturday February 7 2009. The catastrophic fires that killed hundreds of people at King Lake and other communities started very close to this plantation at Kilmore East.

Should plantation growers be accountable for plantation fires? Here's an image from the summer 2003 fires near Wandong. Plantation likely to be owned by Midway Plantations. In the February 2009 fires, Midways lost almost 2000ha of pine plantations near Kilmore East and Kinglake.

Jan 07 "300 hectares of pine getting clearfelled (and soon to be sprayed with pesticides) in a domestic water supply/Gellibrand River that supplies 50,000 people in Victoria's south west with drinking water".

October 2007: Stevensons Falls, with campsite in foreground Otway Ranges. Planted out and sprayed by Midway.

October 2007: Main drainage line exiting the southern portion of the plantation at Stevensons Falls after heavy rain. This particular drainage line drains approximately 20ha of plantation and flows directly into the Gellibrand River.

One point where Midways plantation drains into the Gellibrand River water supply for 50,000 people. Who is monitoring this water for toxicants including pesticides, sediment and heavy metals used in fertilisers?

Drainage at this site is a disgrace. Otway Ranges near Stevensons Falls.

September 2007 - Fernbank East Gippsland - Woodchip train on the way to Geelong. For years Midways have profited from the ransacking of the native forests of Victoria, now are we supposed to clap and cheer as they embark on an aggressive plantation expansion expansion?

Plantation map of Otways Gellibrand Catchment here

The Gellibrand River is the source of drinking water for over 50,000 people in South West Victoria. Midway is the largest plantation owner within this catchment!!!

Midway in the Media

4 Corners focus on Bluegum plantations "Treechange" (April 09, 2007)

November 2007 Updates here

January 2007 Updates here

August 2006 Updates Here

April 2006 Updates Here

January 2006 Updates Here

Pesticides used by Midway include:

Herbicides: Roundup CT, Simazine, Metsulfuron Methyl, Clopyralid, Terbacil, Sulfometuron Methyl

Surfactants: Liase, Wetter TX,

Insecticides: Maldison 50, Dimethoate, Dominex, Fastac.

". . . while dimethoate is registered for use on trees including eucalypts in WA it is permissable to use it off-label for a similar purpose in Victoria. However it is not allowed to be aerial sprayed on non-food tree crops including eucalypts anywhere in Australia without a special permit from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority." Vic Gov: Sep 05.

(Please Note: that due to public outcry in Western Australia about the aerial spraying of Dimethoate in blue gum plantations, the Western Australian Government placed a moratorium on the use of Dimethoate in bluegum plantations in 2000. The moratorium is still in place, but bluegum companies can still use this dangerous insecticide in Victoria. Why?

Midway Plantations Pty Ltd are now moving into plantation establishment in Gippsland through a partnership with Macquarie Alternative Assets, a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank. 20,000 hectares of new plantations will be established by 2019 in Gippsland and will feed into the PaperlinX owned Maryvale Pulp Mill. What will the impact be of plantation pesticides, particularly insecticides, on the Gippsland Lakes and local communities?

Rumours have it that Midway Plantations were involved in a spraying incident in 2005 where overspray occurred in a neighbouring paddock near Simpson. Cows continued to graze the property for several weeks before the farmer realised that the overspray had occurred. Milk, possibly contaminated with Simazine, was sold onto the public. (Also see Warrnambool Standard July 21, 2005). According to locals a cover-up has since occurred.

Rough guide to Midways Plantation empire. The red indicates pine plantations that were purchased from SCI in the mid-1990's. These plantations are gradually being converted to bluegum. The green dots indicate bluegum plantations established post 2000 through interests associated with MAI funds including Macquarie Bank. Note the proliferation in the Otways and the Perry River catchment Gippsland, where plantations are being planted to meet the demands of the PaperlinX owned Maryvale Pulp Mill

August 05: Plantations near Stevensons Falls in the Gellibrand River catchment in the Otway Ranges now being clearfelled. Herbicides, including Simazine & Glyphosate to be aerially sprayed in May. Were campers and nearby residents properly be informed?

Aug 2005: Aerial spraying of Simazine has occurred in this Parish of Barramunga plantation in the Gellibrand River Domestic Water Supply Catchment. Certified by the Australian Forestry Standard.

May 05: Midway clearfelling Crown Land Reserve on Gellibrand River. This Reserve extends for 30 metres on each side of the river. Plantations extend for about 1.5km along this Reserve. This logging is potentially illegal. Supposedly this Crown Reserve will be replanted with indigenous species and the willows removed by the Catchment Management Authority. We will be watching. See here Parish of Barramunga

June 05: Parish of Yaugher. Appalling roading inside Crown Reserve on Gellibrand River. Note lack of drainage within 30 metres of Gellibrand River.

March 05: Midway export woodchip facility in Geelong. The lighter coloured woodchip pile is radiata pine woodchips from plantations. The darker shaded woodchip pile is sourced from native forests throughout Victoria.

Logging and Spraying Pesticides inside the Gellibrand Water Supply catchment.

Midway are a consortium of sawmillers from throughout Victoria, who own an export woodchip facility at Geelong. Midway have long been a major headache for people concerned about unsustainable logging of native forests. What hasn't come to the public eye however, is the activities of the Midways subsidiary Midway Plantations Pty Ltd. This page hopes to enlighten people about poor forestry practices on private land - particularly in the Otway Ranges in the Gellibrand River Catchment. Incidently the Gellibrand River supplies over 50,000 people in Victoria's south west with drinking water.

For more information on impacts of logging and pesticides in domestic water supplies see here.

Midways Plantations Pty were established on the 23rd of March 1996. Midway purchased the assets of S.C.I. Forests (Smorgons) who had established vast plantations concentrating in the Otway Ranges. The Company was known as S.C.I. Forests Pty Ltd from 25/6/75 to 25/3/96 and Smorgon Forests Pty Ltd from 16/12/74.

Midway Plantations directors as of November 2002; Gregory McCormack (Canterbury), Stuart Bennett (Colac), Peter Gunnersen (Kooyong), John Corrigan (Ballarat), Gary Demby (Castella), Thorald Gunnersen (Mount Eliza), Lee Murnane (Beaufort). 2 Class A shares are owned by Midway Pty Ltd and 18374 Class B shares are owned by Midway Pty Ltd.

Previous Directors of Midways and S.C.I. included David Colless (Colac), Eric Murnane (Colac), Raymond Orloff (Kew), Charles Holckner (Toorak), George Castan (Hawthorn), Eric Smorgon (Toorak), Victor Smorgon (Toorak), David Smorgon (Toorak), Samuel Smorgon (Toorak.

For information on Midway Pty Ltd see Forest Network and Otways Ranges Environment Network.

Otway Page Contents:

Parish of Barwongemoong/Chapple Creek

Parish of Barwongemoong/Lardners Creek - Gellibrand Water Supply

Parish of Barramunga/Gellibrand River

Parish of Moorbanool/Charleys Creek

Parish of Natte Murrang

Parish of Yaugher

Parish of Barramunga

Parish of Barwongemoong/Chapple Creek

Dec 04: Chapple Creek creek floodplain about 2km's upstream from the Gellibrand River offtake (Warrnambool's water supply). The floodplain has already been sprayed with herbicides and will be again.

Plantation Chemical Risk by Vanessa Burrow - Warrnambool Standard October 21, 2004.

"PLANNED blue gum plantations on the flood plains of the Gellibrand River have local residents up in arms, concerned that chemicals could leech into the south-west's water supply.

A planning application before the Colac/Otway Shire for about 200 hectares of blue gums would add to an already existing plantation of more than 300 hectares on Chapple Creek in the Lower Otways.

The plantations conform to regulations that require buffer zones between the new trees and water ways but in a major flood the areas can become inundated to depths of two or three feet.

A local resident, who would not be named, said he was concerned for the health of the river and water reticulated to Warrnambool and surrounds by South West Water from the Gellibrand River pumping stations.

In a worst-case scenario, herbicides and pesticides used by the Geelong-based plantation owner Midway could contaminate the water supply, he said. "Natural bush is fine but a plantation that gets sprayed with chemicals - then we have a worry," the man said.

According to the resident, the area intended to be planted with blue gums experienced at least one flooding each year.

Midway's resource development manager Jim Knott said the company was accredited under the Australian Forestry standards and regularly checked water quality around plantations. The company used Roundup and Eucmix preplant herbicides to destroy weeds about three months before trees were planted in winter. After the initial application of herbicides, chemicals were used only for spot weed control where necessary and had little residue because of a short active life span, Mr Knott said.

South West Water's chief executive officer Russell Worland said the company expected blue gum plantations would conform with the forestry code of practice. "That would require that they manage the development of the forest having regard to its location and the possibility that parts of the land may be subject to flooding," he said.

"We understand that the degradable nature of Roundup allows for its application in water catchment areas." During winter flooding periods, South West Water did not draw significant volumes of water from the Lower Otways, but sourced water from a catchment area high in the Otway Ranges, Mr Worland added.

"South West Water has recently upgraded its water testing regime so that we are testing far wider across a range of possible contaminants."

Corangamite Catchment Management Authority flood plain and drainage team leader Tony Jones said two planning applications for blue gum plantations were being considered. "We have received calls from concerned citizens and we will do all we can to safeguard (the waterways) and make sound recommendations to the council about the applications," he said.

Midway owns about 16,000 hectares of plantations in Victoria."

Dec 04: Chapple Creek creek floodplain about 2km's upstream from the Gellibrand River offtake (Warrnambool's water supply).

Warrnambool Standard - On the Land 11/11/04 Chemical fears

Blue gums sprayed close to waterways By Terry Sim

Herbicides have been sprayed on blue gum plantation land within metres of streams through the Otway catchment and in flood-prone areas, prompting a call by concerned farmers for improved practices, water quality, soil and fish testing.

Farmers in the area have collected evidence indicating forestry company Midway had earlier this year helicopter-sprayed a former dairy farm, once owned by the Meade family on the Tomahawk Creek, with a mix of herbicides including Eucmix, glyphosate, metsulfuron-methyl, simazine, clopyralid and terbacil.

Midway resource development manager Jim Knott confirmed yesterday the range of herbicides was used by the company. Only registered and required herbicides for specific weeds were used, he said.

Kennedy's Creek farmer Andrew Bone said pre-planting spraying has been done on a Midway plantation - formerly Mahoney's farm - alongside Chapple and Skinner creeks, which lead into the Gellibrand River above a pumping station supplying water to Warrnambool. Blue gums had also been planted by Midway on sprayed areas on another farm - Sadler's farm - close to Kennedy's Creek, which also flows into the Gellibrand River.

Mr Bone is concerned about water quality for consumers, the possibility of spray drift and the Gellibrand River status as one of the best blackfish streams in Victoria.

South West Water chief executive officer Russell Worland said the authority required Midway to have an eight-metre cultivation buffer from permanent streams under an environmental management and forest practices plan for the Mahoney farm. Machinery activity must be minimal and not occur within five metres of the edge of a permanent stream. Mr Knott said Eucmix was not used on Mahoney's farm.

The manufacturer's safety directions for Eucmix, which contains Terbacil and sulfometuron methyl, state it should not be applied within 60 metres of a recognised waterway or dam, or further if native riverbank vegetation may be damaged.

Macspred, the Ballarat manufacturer of Eucmix , said the chemical was dangerous to aquatic life and also should not be applied within 20 metres of a well, sink hole, intermittent or perennial stream, nor used on leached, waterlogged, saturated or sandy soils. It should also not be applied to bare ground on slopes with gradients exceeding 30 per cent. Simazine is a triazine chemical which has been implicated in the contamination of Tasmanian streams. Mr Bone believes some of the slopes on the former Meade dairy farm on Tomahawk Creek Road area greater than 30 degrees.

Mr Knott said the Meade farm did not require a planning permit or environmental management plan overseen by SWW. But the company applied an internal environmental checklist compliant with Australian Forestry Standards which ensured the plantation was established in an environmentally sustainable way. Varying buffer distances were required under the standards.

Friends of the Earth forest network campaigner Anthony Amis said simazine was a possible carcinogen, a groundwater contaminant, developmental and reproductive toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor. Terbacil is a potential groundwater contaminant and a developmental or reproductive toxin, he said. "It could remain in the soil for hundreds of days meaning any flood occurring where the bluegums are established months after spraying will still have terbacil residues", he said.

Mr Amis said sulfometuron methyl was a potential groundwater contaminant and could be very residual in cooler climates. Clopyralid was a potential groundwater contaminated with very high toxicity. If buffer zones were minimal, then there was a higher risk of sedimentation of creeks and water pollution from spraying. especially if it was aerial spraying, Mr Amis said. "If they mix the chemicals together you can get a synergistic effect making the concoction potentially more toxic. "Gellibrand is a major plantation hot spot with steep slopes and very lax environmental guidelines."

Some of the blue gum streamside plantings of concern are managed by Midway for Macquarie Alternative Assets, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Macquarie Bank Group.

Dec 04: Chapple Creek creek floodplain about 2km's upstream from the Gellibrand River offtake (Warrnambool's water supply). Trees have been planted in very close proximity to Skinner creek, however grasses hide many of the trees in this photo. Grasses will compete with the bluegums for nutrients and light - possibly meaning that this floodplain will have to be sprayed to kill the grasses.

April 2006: Skinner Creek - note lack of buffers

Blue Gum Plantation Chemical Fears Warrnambool Standard - On the Land 11/11/04

Midway doing own water testing By Terry Sim

Forestry company Midway is doing its own water quality testing after spraying blue gum plantation areas with chemicals in the Gellibrand valley - the catchment for Warrnambool's water, South West Water chief executive officer Russell Worland said this week.

When asked if the authority was monitoring the water quality in streams around the new blue gum plantations, he said SWW required Midway to implement a regime of water sampling after spraying on some sites and supply results to the authority. But SWW does not monitor specifically how, when or where the water testing is done.

Midway resource development manager Jim Knott said the company did not do water testing on every site, but testing done in one plantation in the area this year had indicated no chemical spillage into waterways. "We behave in an environmentally responsible way."

Friends of the Earth forestry network plantation campaigner Anthony Amis said results could be determined by when samples were taken. The best times were an hour after spraying and after rainfall when run-off occurred.

Mr Worland said SWW had upgraded its water conditions monitoring to quarterly testing and had sampled water in Gellibrand valley two weeks ago. But results from this testing and from Midway tests were not available.

Mr Worland was asked if he was confident that the planning provisions outlined in environmental management and forest practices plans were adequate to maintain water quality for SWW consumers. He said the forestry code of practice was designed to protect the health of waterways beside new forestry developments. But, given the growth of plantations in the Heytesbury area, SWW is referring the issue of chemical impact on water quality to the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority "to be more assured that the elements of the code gives our customers proper protection".

Mr Worland said the SWW was a referral authority for planning purposes in the Gellibrand valley and directly involved with formulating the environmental management plan for plantation companies. The Colac-Otway Shire was the responsible planning authority. When asked if the Environment Protection Authority had final responsibility for the quality of the catchment's water, Mr Worland said SWW would also be seeking clarification of the EPA's role.

On the Land was referred to the Department of Sustainabilty and Environment when it asked the Colac-Otway Shire if it was monitoring water quality and chemical spraying around the plantations. But Colac Otway Shire general manager, planning and environment, Ron Mildren, said he had no comment in relation to chemical use issues "indicating that the matter was beyond the jurisdiction of council".

Mr Amis said the Colac Otway Shire had told him in 2002 that plantation companies were not required to advise either council or the Department of Natural Resources and Environment when spraying would occur. State Government farm forestry officers at Colac and CCMA officials were not available for comment.

An EPA spokesman said the authority had been approached about chemical spraying in the Otways but had not had an official complaint. It needed to be informed of specific incidents but did not monitor spraying activity he said. "EPA's Pollution Watch Line number is 1800 444 004. As I said on the phone, if people have concerns with pollution related to an agricultural spraying incident, they should contact us as soon as they can."

Parish of Barramunga (allotment 77A, 78B)/Gellibrand River.

also see April 2006 here

March 05: Recent clearfelling by Midway has occurred in very close proximity to Stevensons Falls in the Gellibrand River/Barramunga Creek catchment of the Otway ranges. This is a major tourist attraction to the region. It is due to be sprayed in April/May with chemicals including Simazine and Roundup. This photo is of allotment 78B Parish of Barramunga. The unlogged plantation on the left of screen is leased by Hancock.

March 05: About 100 hectares of pine plantation will be logged by Midway at this sensitive location in the next few months. Further logging by Midway will occur in the plantations to the right of the photo. Plantations in this photo (left of screen) are owned by Hancock Victorian Plantations who own 50.63 hectares of pine near Stevensons Falls. Interestingly tourists are being told that the Falls are closed, is this one way of minimising the amount of people witnessing this unsustainable logging?

The above map is copied from the Barramunga Parish Plan. The area marked in green is the Gellibrand River Crown Land Reserve ("CROWN LAND FORMING BED OF RIVER AND 150 LINKS FROM EACH BANK PERMANENTLY RESERVED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES GAZ. 1881.1389). The land marked in Yellow is leased by Hancock Victorian Plantations. The area marked in Orange is Midway Plantations Pty Ltd land, purchased from Victree in 1999. The black mark on the Crown Land Reserve is the approximate location where Midway Plantations Pty Ltd have logged Crown Land Reserve. also see April 2006 here

Dec 04: This drainage line lies about 500 metres upstream from the Gellibrand River (south side) in the Parish of Barramunga. The plantation was initially established by the company Victree but is now owned by Midway.

Dec 04: Close up of the drainage line. Where are the buffers of native vegetation to protect water quality from the impacts of sedimentation and herbicide?

Dec 04: Creek crossing. Note dislodged soil ready to wash away in the event of heavy rainfall. The Gellibrand River is the best Blackfish River on mainland Australia. Blackfish are extremely sensitive to sedimentation of their habitat.

Dec 04: native trees lopped from drainage line.

Dec 04: New roading ready to wash away after heavy rainfall.

Parish of Moorbanool (allotments 14D, 14C and 12B)/Charleys Creek

This family was apparently sprayed from the Charleys Creek aerial spraying.

Families getting sick by Cassie Milner Echo News Paper Colac Thursday, July 14, 2005 p4

Gellibrand resident Helen Brettagh believes aerial spraying was to blame for her family suffering a bout of diarrhoea.

Mrs Brettagh, who lives adjacent to a timber plantation, is concerned spray drift from the chemical spaying is making residents sick. “My personal experience is that we all got diarrhoea after spraying including the cat who couldn’t make it to the litter box,” she said.

She also said that she was aware of four other families who had similar gastric complaints after a recent round of spraying. Ms Brettagh wants to hear from anyone in the region who believes the spray drift or contaminated water is making them ill.

“I think it is very important to identify those people who are. I want to start health mapping so we can see if people who are not sick before spraying are afterwards, ”she said. “I’m not against plantation timber, I’m just against getting sprayed with chemicals.”

Also see March 05 update here

Also see January 2006 here

Code Breaches

Dec 04: Ex pine site being logged and converted to blue gum. Where are the buffers on this creek? Also note poor roading and high potential of sedimentation of creek. This particularly nauseating operation was found to breach the Code of Forest Practice by Colac Otway Shire in February 2005. According to the Shire; "Breaches of the Code and Local prescriptions were detected and council is now working with Midway in order to appropriately rectify these issues as soon as possible" (7/2/05). Please note that this operation has been assessed as being worthy of Australian Forestry Standard accreditation.

Dec 04: Ex pine site being logged and converted to blue gum. Where are the buffers on this creek? Also note poor roading and high potential of sedimentation of creek Note also logging debris left in Charleys Creek..

Dec 04: Tributary of Charleys Creek, with piles of soil ready to wash away after rainfall. No buffers.

Dec 04: Tributary of Charleys Creek. No buffers.

Dec 04: Charleys Creek, ripe for weed infestation. Logging debris left in waterway after logging. Where is the Catchment Management Authority?

Dec 04: Charleys Creek

Dec 04: Charleys Creek. Logging debris left in creek in clear breach of the Code of Forest Practice.

Dec 04: Charleys Creek. Logging debris left in creek in clear breach of the Code of Forest Practice.

Dec 04: Charleys Creek. Dismal roading in clear breach of the Code of Forest Practice.

Dec 04: New hardwood plantations planted up to Charleys Creek. This plantation will most likely have to be aerially sprayed to ward off insect attack. Spray likely to be used will by Alpha-Cypermethrin which is highly toxic to fish.

Dec 04: New hardwood plantations planted up to Charleys Creek. This plantation will most likely have to be aerially sprayed to ward off insect attack. Spray likely to be used will by Alpha-Cypermethrin which is highly toxic to fish.

Parish of Barwongemoong/Lardners Creek - Gellibrand Water Supply

This aerial photograph taken in 1991, shows the close proximity of Midway Plantations to the town of Gellibrand's water supply. The bluelines indicate the approximate flow of Lardners Creek. The plantations are clearly visible, with several allotments of land being directly upstream from the offtake point. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that herbicides could enter Lardners Creek after plantations are logged. Midway are currently converting pine plantations to hardwoods. Hardwood plantations can be more prone to insect attack, meaning possible use of insecticides as well.

Lardners Creek Weir near the town of Gellibrand. Town Water is sourced near here.

Parish of Natte Murrang

This aerial photograph is of the Gellibrand River. The area marked in yellow is a plantation that Midways purchased off Victree in 1999. It would appear from this photograph that native forest may have been logged to establish this plantation. The line marked in blue represents the approximate flow of the Gellibrand River. Note the close proximity of the plantation to the river - which incidently provides drinking water to over 50000 people.

Parish of Yaugher

June 05: Crown Allotment 34 A Parish of Yaugher. Appalling logging track running alongside Gellibrand River, within 30 metre Crown Reserve. Note lack of drainage. Also note that bluegums have most likely been planted within the Crown Reserve at this point.

March 05: Allotment 4 E Parish of Yaugher Otway Ranges. Roadknight Creek in the Otway Ranges. In recent years Midway have converted their pine plantations to hardwood (bluegum) plantations. Midway have about 700 hectares of plantations in the headwaters of Roadknight Creek located in the Barwon River catchment. Interestingly Barwon Water have looked at sourcing drinking water for the city of Geelong from Roadknight Creek, as other water sources used by Geelong have limited growth potential.