The Nadgee Nature Reserve is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

that is located in the far south coast region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in eastern Australia. The reserve is situated to the immediate south of

Beowa National Park Beowa National Park, formerly Ben Boyd National Park, is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney. History The park was established in 1971 covering 8,900 hectares (35 sq. mi.) and was originally named after Benjamin Boyd ...

. Its southern border is bounded by the Black-Allan Line that marks the straightline border between New South Wales and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, where it abuts

Croajingolong National Park The Croajingolong National Park is a coastal national park located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne and south of Sydney. The name ''Croajingolo ...

. Some of the reserve is declared a wilderness area; and additional parts of the reserve accommodate a diverse range of activities including bushwalking, cycling, swimming, fishing and

sea kayaking A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the ma ...

History

The area was inhabited by the Bidawal

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

people, and many shell middens have been found along the coastline. Art and burial sites are located at Wonboyn Beach within the reserve. The first Europeans to visit the area were survivors of '' Sydney Cove'', who encountered members of the Bidawal tribe on 29 March 1797 while en route to Sydney. Since then, the region was impacted little by European settlement, with only two farms and surrounding acreage cultivated. In 1954, Allen Strom, Allan Fox and Charles Witheford proposed the gazetting of a reserve, to which the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

responded by naming it the Nadgee Faunal Reserve in 1957. The reserve was enlarged with the addition of the (recently logged) upper catchment of the Nadgee River in the 1970s.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation types within the park include dry

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

forest,

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and saltwater wetlands. Much of the vegetation was burnt in

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

in 1972 (from a lightning strike) and 1980 (from a logging burn-off). A variety of mammal species inhabit the reserve including

swamp wallaby The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Q ...

, eastern grey kangaroo, common wombat, agile and

dusky antechinus The dusky antechinus (''Antechinus swainsonii''), also known as Swainson's antechinus or the dusky marsupial mouse, is a species of small marsupial carnivore, a member of the family Dasyuridae. It is found in Australia. Taxonomy The dusky ante ...

and

sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its abili ...

Birds

The varied habitats support a wide variety of bird species, 34 of which occur in the heathland areas alone. Species of note include the

sooty owl The greater sooty owl (''Tyto tenebricosa'') is a medium to large owl found in south-eastern Australia, Montane rainforests of New Guinea and have been seen on Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. The lesser sooty owl (''T. multipunctata'') ...

eastern ground parrot The eastern ground parrot (''Pezoporus wallicus'') of Australia is one of only five ground-dwelling parrots in the world, the others being its closest relatives, the western ground parrot (''Pezoporus flaviventris''), the extremely rare night pa ...

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of '' Sterna'', "tern". The specific ' ...

and

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

eastern bristlebird The eastern bristlebird (''Dasyornis brachypterus'') is a species of bird in the bristlebird family, Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland. It is thr ...

. The reserve lies within the

Nadgee to Mallacoota Inlet Important Bird Area The Nadgee to Mallacoota Inlet Important Bird Area comprises some 385 km2 of coastal and subcoastal land at the south-eastern corner of the Australian continent, where Cape Howe marks the junction between the Tasman Sea and Bass Strait, as ...

, so identified by BirdLife International because it supports populations of eastern bristlebirds and pilotbirds as well as other significant fauna.

References

External links

NSW Government park map
* {{Nature reserves of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Nature reserves in New South Wales South Coast (New South Wales) Important Bird Areas of New South Wales 1957 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 1957 Bega Valley Shire