The Ukerabagh Island is a
river island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isl ...
in the Ukerabagh Island Nature Reserve, 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 ...
. It is located in the
mouth of the
Tweed River, in the
Northern Rivers
Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...
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 near and south of a section that defines the border between the states of New South Wales and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
.
The island and reserve is an important site for coastal birds.
Indigenous Australians
Ukerebagh was declared an
Aboriginal reserve
An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
in 1927. It was gazetted as "reserved from sale for future public requirements" in 1951. Many Indigenous families were sent to Ukerebagh in the 1920s and 1930s with the intent of segregating them from the general population. They were "reliant on government rations, but supplemented their diet with fish, oysters, mud-crab, pippies, wallabies, lizards and birds".
The island remains a significant area to the local
indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
. The Minjungbal people were the first people to live in the district, they spoke the Minjungbal language, a dialect of the
Bundjalung.
Senator Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO (28 March 19225 February 1999) was an Australian politician, and the first Aboriginal Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia. He was appointed by the Queensland Parliament to fill a casual vacancy ...
, the first indigenous Australian member of parliament was born under a palm tree on the island in 1922. Though the settlement was abandoned in the 1960s, Aboriginal people still visit the island regularly.
Vegetation
The island is surrounded by
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
s. There are four mangrove species in the far north east of New South Wales. Other common plants on the island include
David's Heart
''Macaranga tanarius'' is a plant found in South East Asia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, South China, Taiwan, and eastern Australia. It is commonly seen as a pioneer species in disturbed rainforest areas. Easily recognised for the round veiny le ...
and the
Coast Hibiscus
''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zea ...
. A small patch of littoral
rainforest occurs on the island.
See also
*
List of islands of New South Wales
*
Protected areas of New South Wales
The Protected areas of New South Wales include both terrestrial and marine protected areas. there are 225 national parks in New South Wales.
Based on the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD) 2020 data there are 2136 separat ...
References
External links
*
Nature reserves in New South Wales
Northern Rivers
Islands of New South Wales
1983 establishments in Australia
Protected areas established in 1983
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