Champions of the Catchment ~ Bombo Headland Landcare (Long Term Landcare Award)

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• published: 22 Sep 2011
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Champions of the Catchment 2011 ~ Landcare Illawarra Every even year, at a prestigious gathering in Canberra, the National Landcare Awards are judged from all the state and territory Landcare winners. This means that every odd year, the State/Territory Landcare Awards need to be judged as the lead up to the National awards. While there are 12 state Landcare award categories, there are always some Landcare people, who despite the work they do, do not meet the strict criteria of the awards. For this reason South East Landcare, partnering with Southern Rivers CMA, decided to promote separate awards in each of the 7 District Landcare Associations (DLAs) that make up South East Landcare in the Southern Rivers catchment. The purpose of these awards is to recognise the many Landcare enthusiasts we have, who, because what they do does not meet the strict criteria of the 12 state awards, will not receive recognition for the contributions they make, and without which, their local environment and their local community would be much poorer. For this reason, Landcare Illawarra nominated a number of community groups and individuals as a local "Champions". Bombo Headland Landcare -- Long Term Landcare Award The Bombo Headland group was formed in Australia's Bicentennial year, 1988, by a few dedicated local conservationists who were determined to regenerate a site that had become seriously degraded since the earliest days of European settlement and the establishment of extensive quarrying in the Kiama area. Bombo headland, known to locals as The Boneyard, had been used as a recreational site for many thousands of years and was a gathering place for the Dharawal people to catch and collect marine life. While a few middens remain to attest to the original use of the site, decades of quarrying and neglect destroyed most of the remnants of aboriginal culture and history. The construction of a wharf enabled the export of the quarried blue metal basalt to Sydney where it was used for road construction. Tailings from the quarry were dumped, leading to further degradation of the 80 hectare site. In the 1970s local activists managed to halt quarrying and in 1974 the Headland was declared a state park. It was weed-infested, stripped of its native vegetation, and the dumping of quarry fill meant that it bore very little resemblance to its original form. Lantana, blackberry and kikukyu grass were the main species present and this exotic cocktail together with other destructive activities such as trail bike riding, led to severe erosion problems. The volunteers who founded the Bombo Landcare Group wanted to create a haven for passive recreation such as cycling, swimming, fishing, and the observation of plants and wildlife. Twenty-three years later the group is still going strong. Today, Bombo Headland is an important habitat for a range of native animals including the majestic white breasted sea eagle, tiny blue wrens, black cockatoos, red bellied black snakes, echidnas, and even swamp wallabies. More than one thousand native trees, shrubs and plants have been successfully established each year since the rehabilitation of the site began, with the help of Landcare volunteers, Kiama Council, and other interested groups such as Green Corp, and students from some of our local schools. Plants of particular note include the regionally rare Beach Rose, Canavalia Rosea, a climber that reaches its southern limit only a few kilometres south of the headland. There is also a small remnant of littoral rainforest on the northern cliffs of the Boneyard which contains Black Apple, Coast Canthium and Port Jackson Fig. As the vegetation becomes more diverse through the efforts of the Bombo Headland Landcare Group and through natural regeneration, it can be expected that there will be a continuing increase in the number of species that call the headland home.