The loss of an Indigenous‐maintained She‐Oak woodland in southeast Australia

Human–fire–vegetation interactions have shaped ecosystems for millennia, but contemporary challenges of degradation, wetland loss, and biodiversity decline demand long‐term perspectives to guide restoration. In Australia, Indigenous peoples have long applied cultural fire as part of caring for Country, creating resilient and productive landscapes. A 2600‐year multi‐proxy palaeoecological record (pollen, charcoal, and sediment) from Balfour Swamp, GunaiKurnai Country (east Gippsland), reveals the persistence of an open, grassy She‐Oak ( Allocasuarina spp.) woodland most likely maintained under GunaiKurnai stewardship until the 19th century. This community, resilient to climatic variability and fire, was lost following the disruption of GunaiKurnai care for Country, the introduction of colonial burning, clearing, and logging, and hydrological changes, which drove its replacement by flammable eucalypt forest. The disappearance of this GunaiKurnai‐maintained woodland accentuates the consequences of excluding Aboriginal stewardship from ecological restoration baselines. Integrating palaeoecological evidence with Indigenous knowledge offers more accurate, culturally informed models for conservation and restoration in southeast Australia and beyond.