Dookie’s soil is highly-productive for cropping, formed over 500 million years. It may soon be classified as part of a renewable energy zone.
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The rolling hills around Dookie are more than just a farming landscape, they are the surface of a geological story more than 500 million years in the making.
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After half a billion years, Dookie’s rich red soils may now be entering a new era, as renewable energy zones are proposed in the region.
According to local archaeologist Gaye Sutherland, the region sits on some of the oldest rock outcrops in Victoria, dating back to the Cambrian period.
These rocks were originally formed deep beneath an ancient ocean in a volcanic island arc, long before Australia took its current shape.
Over millions of years, these rocks were transformed by heat and pressure into extremely hard material called greenstone.
Because of its durability, the greenstone resisted erosion while surrounding materials wore away, leaving the distinctive hills that define the Dookie landscape today.
That same geology is also responsible for the region’s highly productive soils.
As the greenstone slowly broke down over geological time, it formed deep, nutrient-rich red soils that are prized by farmers.
“Because they’re so old … they have weathered over such a long period of time that the soils on that material are incredibly rich,” Ms Sutherland said.
These soils are known for their depth, up to 20 metres of topsoil, and strong water-holding capacity, making them particularly reliable for cropping and grazing in a variable climate.
Ms Sutherland said the area lies within the Mt Wellington Greenstone Belt, a geological formation that extends from Dookie through to Victoria’s north-east.
Similar belts elsewhere in the state are already recognised for their fertile soils and environmental sensitivity, excluding them from Renewable Energy Zones.
The region’s geology also carries cultural significance.
Alongside greenstone, the hills contain chert, a fine-grained rock that holds a sharp edge, both of which were highly valued by Aboriginal people for tool-making.
Dookie’s Mt Major contains rock types that are highly valued by the Indigenous Yorta Yorta people.
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Despite its importance, Ms Sutherland believes the Dookie region’s geological significance has not been fully recognised, partly due to broad-scale mapping that has overlooked local details.
“It wouldn’t have taken much to discover how significant this region is,” Ms Sutherland said, pointing to both its agricultural value and its deep geological history.
From ancient ocean floors to modern farmland, Dookie’s story is written in the ground beneath our feet.
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