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Prior to white settlement, the Jervis Bay region was covered by many different vegetation types, such as: coastal heaths; rainforest; tall open forests of eucalypts, banksias and casuarinas; wetlands of salt marsh and mangroves; and the grasses and sedges comprising sand dune vegetation.
These terrestrial environments together with the riches from the oceans and lagoons would have provided plentiful resources for Aboriginal people in traditional times. Unlike many other places on the south coast, most of the original vegetation is still intact today, due mainly to the existence of national parks and the Department of Defence estate in New South Wales and the Jervis Bay Territory, which have placed limitations on the clearing of vegetation for development.
The intactness of the original ecosystems has helped to protect the spiritual values of the landscape, as well as a range of plant and animal species that appear nowhere else in the world. The relatively unspoiled nature of the landscape is one of the reasons why both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people treasure the Jervis Bay region.
Several parcels of NSW land adjacent to the Territory are included in NSW Jervis Bay National Park, managed by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.
All the waters of Jervis Bay are subject to the Control of Naval waters Act 1918 which allows for use of the bay for naval exercises. There are protocols in place for the communication and consultation arrangements between Booderee management and Creswell command and other related matters. Importantly the Commanding Officer for HMAS Creswell is a member of the Park Board of Management.
The geology of the Jervis Bay region, including Bherwerre Peninsula can be described as undulating sandstone mass overlain by varying depths of windblown and water deposited sands.
The base rock is made of geological units belonging mainly to the Permian Shoalhaven group of sedimentary rocks which form the southern edge of the extensive Sydney Basin system. These ancient sandstones (c. 280-225 million years) are overlain by Tertiary aged alluvial sediments in low lying areas (Cho et al 1995).
Water and wind deposited sediments of Quaternary age capped the older landscape with fine alluvial and formed sandy beaches. On Bherwerre Peninsula, the end of the Quaternary era is represented by small inlets comprising mudflats with mangroves and salt marshes, across which tidal channels meander.
The perched sand dune lakes and swamps of Lakes Windermere and McKenzie, Blacks Waterhole and Ryan’s Swamp were formed during the Quaternary era (Cho et al 1995). Formation of the bay in its present appearance occurred around 6000 years ago when the sea level finished rising. Before this time, during the ice age (20 – 15,000 years ago), the sea level was about 120 metres lower than today and the land extended 25 kilometres further eastward.
The headlands would have been low mountain ranges and Bowen Island a hill. ‘Jervis Bay’ was an open vegetated valley, with a creek flowing outwards between what are now Bowen Island and Beecroft Peninsula (Booderee National Park Board of Management and Director of National Parks 2002).
Rising sea levels carried sand landward, forming two major sand barriers, cutting off St Georges Basin and Beecroft Peninsula and depositing sand in the extensive dune sheets along Bherwerre Peninsula. The geology of the region is very relevant to Aboriginal occupation as weathering of the sandstone cliffs has created the rock shelters where people lived and left their artwork on the walls.
The eroded marine rock platforms are the habitat for many shellfish species and under the sea ‘bombies’ and other submarine features support a diverse range of fish and crustacean species.
Knowledge of these species – their ecology and lifecycles – and how to hunt and gather them is a significant component of the traditional and local knowledge of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community.
The majority of the Bherwerre Peninsula comprises Booderee National Park which is owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council. Since title to the Park was granted to the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council in 1995, the Park has been jointly managed by the WBACC and the Australian Government’s Director of National Parks, under a lease arrangement.
The Park is a Commonwealth reserve under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). It replaced the Australian Government managed Jervis Bay National Park which was declared in 1992. Prior to 1992, the area was known as Jervis Bay Nature Reserve, managed by the ACT Parks and Conservation service since 1971.
The Park is managed in accordance with the Booderee National Park Management Plan, which is prepared by the Booderee National Park Board of management and the Director of National Parks under the EPBC Act.
The Wreck Bay Community settlement consists of 403 hectares on the southern shores of Bherwerre Peninsula. The settlement is made up of a village and surrounding bushland and beaches. The village consists of several streets with 48 houses, a Council Administration office, an early education learning centre, a medical centre, a community hall, multi functional centre, playing fields, a fire shed and cemetery. The village area is regarded as a private area that is for Community members and their invited guests.
The 403 hectares encompass a very popular public recreation destination, known as Summercloud Bay. This area contains one of the region’s boat ramps, a picnic area and toilets. Summercloud Bay is best known as one of the south coast’s, and arguably one of the nation’s best surfing spots. Generations of Community members have surfed at Summercloud and continue to do so today. Wreck Bay Community members consider that learning to surf at Summercloud goes beyond surfing to making connections with land and seascape. The area also serves as a trail head to a number of popular walks and beaches in Booderee National Park.
Despite being a rather small Community in population numbers, the administration and legal arrangements which govern and influence the management of the Community are complex. This complexity is primarily due to its location within the Jervis Bay Territory and its relationship with other agencies and organisations within the Territory and in adjacent NSW.
The Community is unique as it is the only Aboriginal Community located in a non-self governing Territory. The Community itself is on freehold land granted to the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council (WBACC) under the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986, the land grant Act. The Community is managed by the WBACC, established under the Land Grant Act, with the functions and powers of the Council determined by the Land Grant Act. The Council provides a range of municipal services to the Wreck Bay village and has an executive which is made up of nine elected members.
Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community village has a population between 250 – 300 (January 2011). There are 315 registered members of the WBACC (January 2011), with a number of members living outside the Community, with some residing in nearby villages and towns and others residing elsewhere in Australia. Community members generally belong to one of several main family groups that have lived in the village for generations.
The WBACC has 35 permanent staff working in management, community development, early childhood, land management and administration. Many Community members are also employed by the Australian Government at Booderee National park working in areas such as a Booderee Visitors Centre, compliance and education fields, in administration, in natural resource management and in the botanic gardens.