The Garawarra State Conservation Area 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 ...

conservation area that is located on the southern suburban fringe of

Greater Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

, in the state 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 abuts the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the loca ...

and is situated south of the Sydney central business district, near . Garawarra was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

as a park in 1987, and added, together with the Royal National Park, to the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

on 15 September 2006. Garawarra features

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 ...

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, rainforest and wildflowers in late winter and early spring. Commonly seen wildlife include the

Lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...

and

Echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

. The soils are based on

Hawkesbury Sandstone Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, one variety of which is historically known as Yellowblock, and also as "yellow gold" a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this ...

and the

Narrabeen group The Narrabeen group of sedimentary rocks occurs in the Sydney Basin in eastern Australia. This series of rocks was formed in the Triassic Period. Geology It includes various rock types including lithic sandstone, quartz sandstone, siltstones, ...

of sedimentary rocks. The climate is humid and temperate, with warm summers and mild winters. Rainfall is spread throughout the year, being in excess of .

Features

Flora

Dry

on the ridges is dominated by typical Sydney sandstone plants, such as

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range ...

Boronia ''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Austral ...

, Leptospermum, Epacris, Acacia, Flannel Flowers, Christmas Bells, and many plants in the pea family. The drier

woodland features trees species such as Sydney Red Gum, dwarf apple, Red Bloodwood, Yellow Bloodwood, and Sydney Peppermint. The wet sclerophyll forests have many large trees over tall. Significant species include Blackbutt, Sydney Blue Gum,

Turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a spec ...

and

Grey Ironbark ''Eucalyptus paniculata'', commonly known as grey ironbark, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has dark-coloured, deeply furrowed ironbark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in gro ...

. At first appearance, the warm temperate rainforests seem typical of the northern

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

. Warm temperate species such as

Sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...

and Jackwood are common. However, the rainforests are quite diverse with many interesting sub-tropical species. Such as Small-leaved Fig,

Bollygum Bollygum may refer to a number of tree species: *'' Beilschmiedia obtusifolia'', hard bollygum *'' Blepharocarya depauperata'', North Queensland bollygum, northern bollygum *'' Blepharocarya involucrigera'', North Queensland bollygum, northern boll ...

, White Hazelwood, Brush Bloodwood, Citronella, Native Tamarind and Myrtle Ebony.

Fauna

The area has a rich assembly of rainforest birds, as well as a variety of frogs and reptiles.

References

External links

* * {{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse State conservation areas in New South Wales Forests of New South Wales Parks in Sydney Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Australia

Features

Flora

Fauna

See also

References

External links