CARAVAN parks near Ballarat in Victoria were being turned into scenes more reminiscent with the wild west, it has been claimed.

The culprit is fairy grass which is tumbling through parks, covering gardens and clogging entrances.

The 110-site, three-star Lake Learmonth Caravan Park is one park which fell victim to the tufted perennial dropseed.

Co-owner Rosemary Davies said her park, 110km north-west of Melbourne, had been swamped by fairy grass. Access to the amenities block and laundry had been difficult and husband Kevin had filled 28 garbage bags with the pest on Christmas Eve.

The local council's vacuum truck had also removed fairy grass from the park.

One local resident reportedly commented: "It's like the wild west."

Ballarat City Council chief executive officer Anthony Schinck agreed the problem had worsened over the festive period. He said the fairy grass had been controlled before the holidays by mowing and this would now resume.

The council was reluctant to poison the grass because of other native vegetation, he said.

Council workers together with Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment later burned the dry bed of Lake Learmonth and Mr Schinck said it was expected this would help control the current infestation of the grass for Learmonth residents.

He said fairy grass was a native grass, which thrived in drought conditions and is a natural occurrence, but had caused understandable concern and inconvenience to Learmonth and Burrumbeet residents.

"The infestation is not unique to Lake Learmonth or Lake Burrumbeet and the council is working closely with DSE, other local government agencies and the University of Ballarat to find a long term solution to this issue," he said.
 

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