FOCUS ON ELLURA SANCTUARY

This post focuses on one of our neighbours, Ellura Sanctuary, which sits on a parcel of land adjacent to the 16:6 Heritage Agreement. Ellura's owners, Brett and Marie, have been integral in helping us better understand what it takes to be a habitat carer. 

  

Image of the Ellura landscape at a micro level

Ellura at the Macro level

The Ellura team  - Brett and Marie

Brett and Marie of Ellura Sanctuary were the first active local heritage owners that we contacted when we purchased 16:6 in 2021, so it stands to reason that we should look at Ellura first if we wish to showcase some other local properties under private land conservation.   

 

 

Ellura - Beautiful country,

After our land purchase in early 2021, we spoke with Alex Emmins of the Mid-Murray Landscape Board and Aimee Linke of Mid-Murray Landcare. Both suggested we contact Brett and Marie of Ellura Sanctuary, as their land was only about 5 km away from 16:6. They were known as 'habitat carers' who were open to speaking with others newer to the area. We were told these folks were generous with their information, experience, and local knowledge.

We googled their website. This shared that Ellura Sanctuary is a private Sanctuary in the Murray Mallee, South Australia, near Swan Reach Conservation Park, that Brett and Marie bought in June 2012.

Their website describes it as "a truly beautiful expanse of about 190 acres, with old-growth Mallee and native pine forests, an average rainfall of 275mm, and 14 active wombat warrens." The website also shows many images, including birds, reptiles, mammals, all forms of vegetation, and many invertebrates.

Insofar as a website that can aid in understanding and identification goes, this one is exceptional.

 

Image of the Ellura website found at Ellura Sanctuary

The name, Ellura, sounds like "Alluring” and means "Paradise" in some First Peoples' languages.

After initial contact and some fun and informative conversations, we planned a time to visit Ellura and see what Brett and Marie had been doing on their Sanctuary.

Our first understanding was that these two had been married for a considerable time (over 40 years) and were a formidable team, who bounced ideas and identifications off each other. Both were equally enthusiastic about the land and were stewards of it. Still, both had different skills that allowed them to develop an excellent baseline for mapping their species, record keeping, photographing, and managing priorities across Ellura.  

Brett shared that he tends to see things that move, and Marie tends to see things with a different shape/pattern. So, Brett tends to find new animals in the field, while Marie is inclined to find new plants.

And yes, Aimee and Alex were correct. Brett and Marie are willing and approachable to mentor newer landholders, share their experience, and offer guidance and advice.

 

 

 Image of Brett showing us (16;6 reps) some micro plants

A discussion on the biofidic crust and microorganisms

To better understand how Brett and Marie—Ellura Sanctuary's stewards and landowners — got to where they are, I asked where their journey began. 

 This is their story.

Towards the later part of our work careers, we both wished to engage in activities aligned with our values and attitudes and our appreciation of nature, outdoors and Australia’s unique flora and fauna.

 Through connections, they started by volunteering in the Mid-Murray Region. This was in 1996, basically they were weeding the Moorunde Wildlife Reserve (and associated Lake Short & Nardoo reserves) and discovering wildlife.

 

 Image of Moorunde location (orange) and Ellura (yellow) - Credit Google Maps

Brett shared that for well over ten years, he and Marie spent much time out at Moorunde, and they became deeply involved on their days off work, volunteering within the reserve.

This led Brett to use his skills in IT program development to build Moorunde’s first website. He also fine-tuned the reserve's constitution, and he and Marie passionately immersed themselves in Moorunde’s management, becoming committee members and Fellows of the Natural History Society.

In about 2010, the founders of Moorunde became frail, and the family's change in direction was not as aligned with Brett and Marie's principles. As such, at the end of 2011, they resigned from the committee but continued to care for the reserves.

 

Image of Onion weed infestation and Marie with onion weed management in Moorunde

The first thing they set about was weeding out onion weed on Ellura.  We knew it, hated it, wanted it gone, and knew how to remove our # "1 enemy.” For interest, it took them 8 years of vigilant attention every fortnightly weekend before they considered it eradicated! Although he says that from time to time, seedlings pop up, they firmly believe this is because animals transfer the seed from neighbouring properties. 

While the government has taken Onion weed off the declared weeds list  (Basically, while it poses a risk to the landscape, it is simply too challenging to manage), Brett shared that "from an environmental point of view, it's a disaster as it destroys everything in its wake". During this time of weekend visits and weed control, they felt they needed to learn a lot more about the properties of other weeds and native plants, so they undertook to identify everything they could.

When weeds are managed and controlled, the native species can thrive- Image credit Brett Smith - Olearia magniflora - the splendid Daisy Bush - Ellura.

 

It was early on in this process when our friends asked,

"Why did you buy Ellura?"  

Our answer: "So we can weed it and look after it."

They were gobsmacked. Why get a mortgage to weed?

"We said that because we are Habitat Carers. We believe that man has decimated our wildlife, and the least we can do is try to give a little habitat back to nature."

 

The beauty of this peaceful place, from the crisp winter mornings through the seasons to the simply stunning evening light, is worth investing in. It gives back tenfold. 

Within months of buying the property, they set up a photographic website of what they had found. Once they identified most of their plants, their attention turned to animals: birds, mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates (starting with moths).

This site originally had about 80 species. While trying to identify our finds, Brett said they struggled with the less common species. No Australian website showed thumbnails in taxon sequence to speed up the search.
They were either text lists (which didn't help when looking for images) or random photos with no sequence to narrow our search.

 

An image of an Orange Potter wasp - Credit i Naturalist post Brett Smith

So, this challenge became the primary design element of their website - thumbnails in taxon sequence. Hopefully, it allows people to follow traits in related species down to something close to what they find, and they can then go elsewhere to hone it to species (books, other websites)

Example – ie plant Thumbnail screenshot of  submissions - Credit Brett Smith

In 2025, we have iNaturalist, which has terrific searching abilities that allow this with photos from many sources. But in 2012, nothing equivalent was available. Besides, iNaturalist (iNat) photos are generally of much lower quality than what we have provided, as iNat has most images provided by citizen scientists who take a quick snap with a smartphone. The Ellura website focuses on giving pictures of each species' diagnostic features.

 iNat is a fabulous and very popular tool. However, it was designed mainly to connect people and nature on a social networking platform. This means that a fantastic conversation with an expert on iNat regarding the diagnostics of species today may be impossible to find a week later, when lost in the cacophony of newer uploads with thousands of observations going up every day.  

Brett says that they now focus on adding as many expert comments as they can to their website. Being species-based, it's much easier to find these comments when desired.

As someone new to iNat and to managing/stewarding land under private conservation, I can attest that Brett's comments on a range of our findings loaded onto citizen science sites have been appreciated, from species identification to a better understanding of how we can take photos to best display the aspects of plants and animals to aid in identification.

Image of an iNat posts page where Brett has guided the member to the appropriate species information.

Brett says they focus on opportunistic finds, things seen while carrying on their everyday activities. "Our primary goal with Ellura is to look after it and keep it pristine by removing as many weeds as possible.  The website is our community volunteer program, but it must always take a back seat to the native wildlife. So, we avoid disturbing Ellura as much as we can and don't actively chase species down to photograph them."  As an aside, he says, "it does make new finds more exciting as they are always a surprise.”

 

 An evening over the Ellura sanctuary

We don't kill any natives except in rare situations where universities or museums have a shortage of specimens of specific organisms and ask us to obtain some for them.

Their joint dedication to conservation has resulted in their efforts being acknowledged officially. As neighbours working in the same area, we can attest to how much work they have done, as we are beginning the weed control journey, and it looks almost impossible. Brett said, "This is a very normal response. Just put one foot in front of the other; keep weeding projects small enough to be manageable, and suddenly, in time, the results will be remarkable."

For more information, see this link, which includes the dot points below https://www.ellura.info/Help.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The above image is of Fred O'Malley, the South Australian Tree of the Year 2022. It is Ellura's biggest Mallee tree.

Most of Ellura's mallees are so similar that it's hard to tell them apart. But these Giants are more easily distinguished by their size and shape. However, you still need the caps and nuts to be sure. Fred is home to many animals. 
 Brett says, "We are very proud to announce that Fred was voted South Australian Tree of the Year, 2022. Here's the official website: 20 Metre Trees

 

Weed control

Their primary weed targets these days are Wild Sage, smooth Mustard, and wild turnip. Like all neighbouring lands, Ellura has major issues with Threaded Iris and Ward's weed, which are notoriously difficult to control.

Marie has done exceptionally well to keep them away from around the house; the natives that pop up due to this are astounding, e.g. a field of native wireworts in 2020:

Use image found  - https://www.ellura.info/Plant/Sunflower/DSC06345E-Wirewort-Asteridea-athrixioides-Big.html

They have pretty much eradicated.

Above Images: Salvation Jane ( AKA Paterson's Curse) and sowthistle

Brett shared that these were relatively easy as they were in much lower numbers than onion weed, etc., but it still took a concrete effort.

A change in pace

The following are Brett’s words – We loved Ellura so much, in 2019, we sold our family home of 35 years in Lobethal and moved closer into the region. Marie retired from nursing 2 years ago to help prepare for the sale, and I started putting a lot of time into building our new house. I built the building myself to save money, with us living off-grid for the first six years in a caravan with a big roof surrounded by walls. It's made us realise the important things in life! These include our family.

Brett and Marie wake to this view each morning: an environmentally designed home nestled below the Mallee tree level—simply stunning.

Marie and I have been married for 43 years. We have two healthy, successful lads, one grandson, and a granddaughter. We have faced all our ups and downs as a team and a family.

For the first 10 years of Ellura, our website grew in popularity from about 4,000 visitors per year in 2014 (there were no statistics before that) to 25,000 visitors in 2022. By the end of 2023, it started going viral, with 137,000 visitors in 2024 and over 270,000 by May 2025.

These statistics help motivate us to continue our website work, even with the benefits iNaturalist provides.

Part of our life focus is to reduce our carbon footprint and live in a sustainable way that we believe in. In this vein, we recently upgraded and installed 69 used solar panels (18 kw), upgraded our car to fully electric, and installed a slow combustion heater. In 2020 (our first full year living off-grid in the region), we consumed 24 x 8.5-litre LPG gas bottles for heating and cooking.

We bought four last year and hope not to buy any this year. Since we don't have a generator, we don't use fossil fuels there.

 March 2025 - recently upgraded and installed 69 used solar panels (18 kw),

Additionally, five years ago, we chose to eat a plant-based diet; this was both a health and environmental decision. While we don't believe it's possible to grow all of our food out here, Marie has been very successful with zucchini, capsicum, broccoli, and tomatoes.

 

 Image of the home garden vegetables

 Our daughter-in-law in Adelaide also has a home garden, and we swap produce to expand the home-grown varieties we consume. However, we will always be reliant on the supermarkets to supply the bulk of our groceries; there is an unspecified carbon toll with this due to transport from interstate, etc. Barring this, our carbon footprint is getting close to zero.

 Our only direct fossil fuel purchase is diesel for the 4x4 when we caravan and pick up ample building supplies. The slow combustion heater also adds to this, but we use solar-powered electric heating where we can. But with the nights getting down to -6 degrees and getting older, we must maintain our health.

The average Australian's carbon footprint was 18 tonnes per year, but has recently reduced to 15 tonnes per year, a massive improvement!

We end this spotlight with a couple of stunning nighttime photographs Brett took—a fitting closure, especially when you remember that this beautiful place is situated right in the heart of the Dark Night sky reserve area of South Australia.

However, if, after reading this, you have any questions about the terrific work that Brett and Marie are doing on/for Ellura, please don't hesitate to reach out and engage with them. You will walk away better informed.