Volunteer Bush Regeneration in the Stanwell Park

Contents

Part 1: A History of the Stanwell Avenue Reserve 1.1 A Short Early History of Stanwell Park The British Colony and Aboriginal Dispossession in the Illawarra The Frontier Wars The Appin Massacre The First Land Grants in the Illawarra The Official Dispossession of the Aboriginal People from Stanwell Park: Matthew Gibbons Major Thomas Mitchell 1.2 An Ecological History of the Dress Circle: The Littoral Rainforest Aboriginal Patch Burning of the Land The Classification of the Forest in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve Species Map Naturally Regenerated Species Planted Species Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and which had Regenerated in the Reserve Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park, but Not Found in the Reserve Addition of Illawarra Native Trees Not Endemic to Stanwell Park Addition of Native Trees Not Endemic to the Illawarra, but Endemic to Other Parts of NSW Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Queensland Part 2: The Naturally Regenerated Species in the Reserve Native Forest Type: Acacia: Acacia longifolia (Coastal Wattle); Acacia maidenii (Maiden's Wattle); Acacia binervata (Two Veined Hickory) Native Forest Type: Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt); Eucalyptus Robusta (Swamp Mahogany); Eucalyptus paniculata (Grey Ironbark) Native Forest Type: Rainforest: Acmena smithii (Lilly Pilly); Acronychia oblongifolia (White Aspen); Alphitonia excelsa (Red Ash); Androcalva fraseri (Brown Kurrajong); Backhousia (formerly Choricarpia) leptopetala (Brush Turpentine); Breynia oblongifolia (Breynia); Claoxylon australe (Brittleweed); Clerodendron tomentosum (Native Clerodendron); Cryptocarya microneural (Murrogun); Cupaniopsis anarcardioides (Tuckeroo) ;Cyathea australis (Rough Tree Fern); Diosporos australis (Black Plum) ; Elaeodendron australe (Red Fruited Olive Plum); Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese Tree); Grevillea robusta (Silky Oak); Ficus Coronata (Sandpaper Fig); Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson Fig); Guioa semiglauca (Guoia or Wild quince); Homalanthus populifolius (Native Bleeding Heart); Livistona australis (Cabbage Tree Palm); Polyscias elegans (Celery Wood); Melia azedarach (White Cedar); Myoproum acuminatum (Boobialla); Myrsine variabilis (Brush Mutton Wood); Myrsine howitteana (Mutton Wood); Notelaea longifolia (Large Mock Olive); Notelaea venosa (Long Leaved Mock Olive); Pittosporum undulatum (Pittosporum); Pittosporum revolutum (Yellow Pittosporum); Pittorsporum multiflorum (Orange Thorn); Synoum glandulosum (Unscented Rosewood); Trema tomentosa (Native Peach); Tristaniopsis colina (Mountain Water Gum) Native Forest Type: Banksia: Banksia Integrifolia (Coast Banksia); Banksia serrata (Old Man Banksia)

Native Forest Type: Hakea: Hakea salicifolia (Willow Leaved Hakea) Native Forest Type: Leptospermum: Leptospermum laevigatum (Coast Tea Tree) Native Forest Type: Syncarpia: Syncarpia glomulifera (Turpentine) Native Forest Type: Casuarina: Casuarina glauca (Swamp Oak); Allocasuarina littoralis (Black Oak) Part 3: Species Planted in the Reserve Since the 1980s 3.1 Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and which had Regenerated in the Reserve Native Forest Type: Banksia: Banksia ericifolia (Heath-leaved Banksia) 3.2 Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and Not Found in the Reserve (16 species) Native Forest Type: Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus Botryoides (Bangalay); Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney Blue Gum) Native Forest Type: Rainforest: Alectryon subcinereus (Native Quince); Backhousia myrtifolia (Grey Myrtle); Ceratopetalum gummiferum (NSW Christmas Bush); Doryphora sassafras (Sassafras); Elaeocarplus reticulatus (Blueberry Ash); Endiandra sieberi (Corkwood); Ficus superba (Deciduous fig); Pararchidendron pruinosum (Snow wood); Planchonella australis (Black Apple); Polyscias murrayi (Pencil Cedar); Sloanea australis (Maiden's Blush); Syzygium oleosum (Blue Lilly Pilly); Toona Ciliata (Red Cedar); Tristaniopsis laurina (Water gum) 3.3 Addition of Wollongong Native Trees Not Endemic to Stanwell Park Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (Bangalow Palm); Brachychiton acerifolius (Illawarra Flame Tree); Callistemon salignus (Pink Tips Bottlebrush); Casuarina cunninghamiana (River Oak); Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum); Cyathea cooperi (Straw Tree Fern); Diploglottis cunninghamii (Native Tamarind); Dodonaea viscosa (Narrow Leaved Hop Bush); Ehretia acuminata (Koda); Emmenosperma alphitonioides (Yellow Ash); Eucalyptus Tereticornis (Forest Red Gum); Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Hibiscus); Melaleuca styphielioides (Prickly Leaved Paperbark); Podocarpus elatus (Plum pine); Syzygium australe (Brush Cherry); Syzygium paniculatum (Magenta Lilly Pilly) 3.4 Addition of Native Trees Not Endemic to Wollongong, but Endemic to Other Parts of New South Wales Archontophoenix alexandrae (Alexander Palm); Argyrodendron trifoliatum (White Booyong); Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine); Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island Pine); Davidsonia jerseyana (Davidson’s Plum); Eucalyptus globulus maidenii (Maiden's Gum); Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum); Howea forestiana (Kentia Palm); Hymenosporum flavum (Native Frangipani); Lophostemon confertus (Brush Box); Macadamia tetraphylla (Macadamia); Melaleuca nodosa (Prickly Leaved Paperbark); Melaleuca quinquenervia (Broad Leaved Paper Bark); Stenocarpus sinuatus (Firewheel Tree) 3.5 Addition of Native Tree Endemic to Queensland (3 Species) Agathis robusta (Kauri Pine; Ficus microcarpa (Hills Fig); Graptophyllum ilicifolium (Holly Fuchsia) Part 4: The Look Alikes

Senna (Cassia) and Breynia; Trad and Commelina; Lantana and Trema; Madeira Vine, Pearl Vine and Snake Vine; Blackberry and Native Raspberry; Common Jasmine, Wonga Vine and Sweet Morinda; Slender Grape and Balloon Vine; Asthma Weed (Parietaria Judaica) Part 5: Bush Care Policies and Practice Volunteer Bush Regeneration in the Stanwell Park Reserve Hargrave Creek The Reclamation Area The Dress Circle Banksia Bush Care Volunteers Recent Projects: 29 Stanwell Avenue Community Involvement Art in the Park Community Education Tree Labels Rusa Deer The Future

Part 1: A History of the Stanwell Avenue Reserve

The Stanwell Avenue Reserve consists of 4.5 hectares of land at the end of Stanwell Avenue, Stanwell Park. There are three houses on the site, Nos. 19, 31 and 35, a childcare centre and a surf club.

1.1 A Short Early History of Stanwell Park

Stanwell Park was occupied by the Aboriginal people for possibly 42,000 years, because that was the age of Mungo Man, found in the Willandra Lakes district. Archaeological evidence along the eastern seaboard varies, but the longest goes back to 22,000 years. This may be explained by rising sea levels which may have covered up evidence of earlier settlement.

Around the time of Captain Cook in 1770, the Dhargarigal clan of the Dharawal nation occupied Stanwell Park. They spoke a variant of the Dharawal language, which extended from Botany Bay in the north, west to the Bowral/Moss Vale area and south to the Shoalhaven River. The Dhargarigal's traditional lands stretched from Port Hacking to Sandon Point near Bulli, some 50 kilometres. The Wodi Wodi people occupied the land around Wollongong, Lake Illawarra and Shellharbour. Archaeological evidence points to social and trading links between the Dharawal people and surrounding groups.

The Aboriginal name for Stanwell Park was Jujinbellily, and the whole of the northern Illawarra below the escarpment was known as Bulli, a name preserved by one of Wollongong suburbs. The white colonists called the area between Coalcliff, just south of Stanwell Park, and the current Bulli, Big Bulli, and Stanwell Park and Coalcliff were Little Bulli.

A large part of the Dhargarigal people's diet was seafood, and there was a large kitchen midden around a sand dune on the northern end of Stanwell Park beach. However, it was destroyed when the northern lagoon was filled in with the sand to create the current picnic area, and more sand was taken away in the 1930s to build the Woronora Dam.

It is not known how many Aboriginal people lived in the Stanwell Park area in 1788, when European occupation began, but it has been estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 lived between Stanwell Park and Kiama, 75 kilometres to the south.

We have no contemporary paintings of Aboriginal life at Stanwell Park, but there are some done further down the coast.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Condon's Creek. (1848). Lithograph published in 1848 based on sketches by Captain R. Westmacott. (Note: Location is listed as East Corrimal Beach with a note that location could be Shellharbour)(Reproduced with permission from the collections of the Wollongong City Library and the Illawarra Historical Society), and a painting by John Skinner Prout in 1843 of an Illawarra campsite (Courtesy of State Library of NSW).

As with most indigenous peoples, the main causes of death were western diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, and particularly smallpox. Others died in the Frontier Wars between the Aboriginal people and the British colonists.

The British Colony and Aboriginal Dispossession in the Illawarra

The first contact between the Aboriginal people and Europeans in the Illawarra area was in 1796 when George Bass and Matthew Flinders sailed a tiny boat, the Tom Thumb, from Sydney Harbour and landed at Towradgi Point, north of Wollongong.

The next known encounter was through the shipwreck of the Sydney Cove on Preservation Island in Bass Strait in 1797 and an extraordinary three months walk of 700 kms along the coast from Ninety Mile Beach in Victoria to Sydney by some of the survivors, who were helped along the way by the Aboriginal people who provided them with food, water and advice. As Mark McKenna in his book From the Edge says, the shipwrecked sailors could never have made it back to Sydney without their help.

Within two years of the arrival of the First Fleet, half the Aboriginal population of Sydney had died of smallpox, and it was spreading. By 1802, it had reached Jervis Bay. In 1797, the frontier wars between the English settlors and the Aboriginal people were well underway in Sydney and surrounding areas, and the survivors found more hostility from the Aboriginal people the closer they got to Sydney.

When the five surviving crew members reached Coalcliff, attacks on British settlements and counterattacks on the Aboriginal people in the west of Sydney had became more frequent. Two of the shipwrecked sailors were left at Coalcliff when one of them became sick, while the other three continued to Wattamolla where they managed to attract the attention of a colonial fishing boat that took them back to Sydney Cove. The pair left at Coalcliff were killed in a skirmish with the local Aboriginal people.

The Frontier Wars

Aboriginal resistance to the taking of their land started in Sydney Harbour shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. It continued throughout the expanding colony until around 1820 and much later in the rest of Australia.

Many of the colonists, former convicts or free settlers, went looking for land on which they could start a farm. They often came across land which looked like perfect sheep and cattle country with sparse trees and abundant grass. While some of those places might have been naturally like that, very often the grassy clearings had been created by the Aboriginal people using fire.

In 1822, Alexander Berry, after whom the town of Berry is named, went looking for land around the Shoalhaven River. He met an Aboriginal man there, named Wagin and asked him about a cleared piece of grassy land surrounded by rainforest near the river. Berry asked him who had cleared it, and Wagin told him that all he knew was that it had been like that in his grandfather's time. It was one of several clearings in the rainforest, and Berry erected his head station on one of them.

The explorer, Edward John Eyre, made a similar comment about other parts of Australia: "The localities selected by Europeans as best adapted for the purpose of cultivation or grazing are those that would usually be equally valued by others, by the natives themselves, as places or resort or districts in which they could most easily procure food." The effect of taking over the already cleared land and the exclusion of the Aboriginals by fencing and force meant that they were being excluded from important parts of their food sources.

The pattern of land grabbing by the British colonists, followed by conflict with local Aboriginals and the destruction of their traditional agriculture and lifestyle was the same in the Illawarra region as elsewhere. There had been incursions by stockmen with their cattle, possibly as early as 1803, and cedar cutters started cutting down the huge cedar trees from about 1810. Cedar was much in demand for furniture making, and that created conflict. In 1814, three cedar cutters disappeared, and one was later found with his hands amputated, a universal sign that they had been stealing.

The Appin Massacre

In 1810, Governor Macquarie declared that Aboriginal land in the Appin region would be handed out to white settlers. Aboriginal resistance to the invasion took the form of attacks on settler's farms, and the destruction of their crops and livestock. That resulted in counter attacks by vigilantes and the colonial army, known as the New South Wales Corp.

On 5 April 1816, Charles Throsby, one of the first European settlers in the Illawarra, wrote to the Chief Magistrate in Sydney, D'Arcy Wentworth, describing what had happened two years before in 1814:

"Our countrymen…not content at shooting them (Aborigines) in the most treacherous manner in the dark (sitting about their campfires) …actually cut the (Aboriginal) woman's arm off and stripped the scalp over her eyes, and on going up to them and finding one of the children was only wounded, one of the fellows deliberately beat the infant's brains out with the butt of his musket (sic), the whole of the bodies then left in that state by the "brave" party unburied! As an example for the savages to view the following morning...."

Throsby was not surprised that Aboriginal people sought revenge in retaliation, which they did in mid-July 1814, when some of them entered the house of Maria Bentley near Appin. Her husband was away, and the intruders killed two of her children, apparently as a reprisal for the deaths of the Aboriginal children.

The result of these attacks on white farms was that many of them were abandoned, a situation that greatly concerned Macquarie who was determined to extend the boundaries of the colony. His response was to "strike them with terror against committing similar acts of violence in the future" by starting the largest military campaign in the colony's history. He wanted to "drive the hostile natives across the mountains" and "clear the country of them entirely."

Although Macquarie made no formal declaration of war, his instructions had all the features of a military campaign. Captain James Wallis was put in charge of a force of thirty-three soldiers in the Appin area. Wallis knew that the only way to have the Aboriginals taken as prisoners of war was to approach their camps at dawn. On 17 April 1816, he attacked their campsite near the current Cataract Dam, 15 kms south west of Stanwell Park. He later reported that after firing started, his principal efforts were to spare the women and children but admitted "some had been shot and others met their fate by rushing in despair over the precipice." He also wrote in his journal that he "regretted the death of an old native, Balyin."

Macquarie sugared his report to his superiors in England, by stating that those shot had refused to surrender, but there is no evidence that Wallis or anyone else in the party called on them to surrender. Macquarie also wrote that his men had acted "perfectly in conformity to the instructions I had furnished them," which was certainly not true. They did follow the Governor's orders by cutting off the heads of two men and hanging

8 their bodies from trees as a warning against further attacks on the settlements. The heads were taken to Sydney and then sent to Edinburgh University for "study" as part of the odd science of phrenology, the theory that conclusions could be reached about human behaviour from the shape of the skull.

The First Land Grants in the Illawarra

The first official dispossession of the Dhargarigal and Wodi Wodi people in the Illawarra region occurred in 1816 when Governor Lachlan Macquarie on behalf of King George III "gave" large tracks of land near Wollongong to white colonists. Five months after the Appin massacre, a notice in the Sydney Gazette of 28 September 1816 required those who had been promised land to gather at Charles Throsby's stockman's hut on what is now the corner of Smith and Harbour Streets in Wollongong, where they were "given" 2,100 hectares of Wodi Wodi land. As Leon Fuller notes in Wollongong´s Native Trees, these grants were probably designed to formalise encroachment onto the land that had been going on for some time.

It was inevitable that there would be conflict in the Illawarra, and so it happened. Two years after the Appin massacre, there was a massacre of 6 Aboriginals on the Minnamurra River near Kiama on 1 October 1818 when Lieutenant Weston, who owned land at Dapto, and Cornelius O'Brien from Sandon Point got together a posse of labourers and convicts for the purpose of recovering some muskets lent to a group of Aboriginals who lived along the Minnamurra River. They killed everyone in the camp.

Charles Throsby protested to Governor Macquarie who ordered an investigation by the Principal Superintendent of Police, D'Arcy Wentworth, and other magistrates. They took no action against the killers. Throsby wrote to Governor Macquarie expressing his "surprise, regret and displeasure" at the findings. Wentworth was hardly a disinterested investigator. In 1917, the police chief and founder of the Bank of New South Wales had applied for a land grant in the Bass Point/Shoalhaven area, and by 1821, he was the owner of 5,000 hectares of mainly Wodi Wodi land in the Illawarra.

The highpoint for hostilities between the Aboriginal people and white settlers in the Illawarra region occurred in the 1830s. The attacks on white settlers were well recorded, but the reverse was not always the case. A police magistrate noted: "A murder committed by the blacks is paraded in the papers, and everybody is shocked; but there have been hundreds of cold-blooded murders, perpetrated by the whites on the outskirts of the Colony, which we have never heard of."

The taking over of Aboriginal land not only caused conflict between them and the newcomers, but also among themselves. Those tribes whose land had been dispossessed invaded the lands of others. Members of the Gandangara clan from the Blue Mountains area had moved into Dharawal country, and a major battle took place at Fairy Meadow around 1830, in which it was thought that several hundred men on each side

9 took part. According to an observer, Martin Lynch, more than 100 died in the battle. Apart from dispossession and invasion being a factor, it appears that there was an argument over the abduction of a woman. A kind of Australian Helen of Troy incident. The defeated Gandangara retreated over the escarpment to the Southern Highlands. The dead on both sides were buried at Fairy Creek.

Both European and Aboriginal people in 1788 had practices that we now regard as unacceptable, and some of them would now be crimes against humanity. The original inhabitants of Australia were just as capable of vengeance killings as the European invaders, even if their victims were fewer. Not all shipwrecked Europeans were treated with the same kindness as the survivors of the Sydney Cove, and we still do not know how two of them met their violent deaths at Coalcliff in 1797. The owner of the ship and one of the survivors, William Clark, blamed the ship's carpenter because of his aggressive attitude to the Aboriginal people during their long walk. The tribal war at Fairy Meadow in 1830 suggests that Aboriginal clans were no different to the many tribes of Europe in terms of warmongering. Only their weapons were different.

Recognising the reality of the frontier wars does not reveal Jean Jacques Rousseau's "noble savage", totally in tune with nature and not subject to the same evolutionary disadvantages of violence and aggression that have plagued the human species from its first appearance on planet Earth. A true reading of our history, and not the whitewashed one most of us were fed as children, reveals just another attempt by a branch of Homo sapiens to survive and flourish within the land to which they had adapted, and to react to attempts by others to steal it from them.

In contrast to many colonists who regarded the Aboriginal people as nothing more than Australian fauna, there were good people, who strongly objected to the way the first peoples of the country were treated, as Henry Reynolds demonstrates in his book, This Whispering in Our Hearts. Recognition of the savagery, bravery and kindness on both sides of the Frontier Wars is one step forward in overcoming our historical amnesia, so often found in history written by the victors.

A census of Aboriginal people in 1838 stated that there were 124 living in 19 different camps stretching from Kiama to Bulli. In the Stanwell Park area, the census noted that only Charcoal Will, a Kamilaroi man, his wife and daughter lived there. In the 1901 census, the camps had reduced to 7, and the numbers to 98, with most living in the Port Kembla area. By 1901, there were no more Aboriginal people living in the Stanwell Park area, although Nellie Hargrave remembers that they used to visit the area during the 1890s, coming down from the top of Mt. Mitchell.

The Official Dispossession of the Aboriginal People from Stanwell Park: Matthew Gibbons

In 1787, Matthew Gibbons was convicted at the age of 22 of stealing a pound and a quarter of tea from his employer, the East India Company and was given the minimum sentence of transportation to the new colony about to be established at Sydney Cove. The first fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip with its 11 ships loaded with convicts had already left England. The second fleet left England in October 1789 with Gibbons on board. It was a disastrous trip with one third of the convicts dying on the way. The ships eventually landed in Sydney in June 1790, and Gibbons, who could read and write, was assigned to be Major Francis Grose's servant, clerk and steward.

Gibbon was pardoned in 1793 and returned to England in 1798 but decided to come back to Sydney as a "free settler" when the Napoleonic wars broke out. Governor Hunter gave him 100 acres of land at Prospect to start a farm, and when that failed, he was given more along the Nepean River. Gibbons was granted a wine and spirit licence in Sydney, and in 1810, Governor Macquarie appointed him Constable of the Town and Clerk of the Market, and later as the salary master to the Civil Engineer at the Sydney Lumber Yard.

The first official dispossession of the Aboriginal people from Stanwell Park occurred when Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1820 promised 1000 acres at "Little Bulli", as Stanwell Par and Coalcliff were then known to Matthew Gibbons. He started occupying it in 1824 but was only given formal title to it by Governor Richard Bourke in 1833.

A survey was carried out of the land grant to Gibbons in 1825. It extended from Bald Hill to Stony Creek at Coalcliff. A stockyard was developed west of what became known as the "Dress Circle", the area of parkland in the centre of the beach that is now known as the Stanwell Avenue Reserve. The Dhargarigal people who lived at Stanwell Park had their camp at the foot of Mt. Mitchell, but they also used the large sandhill near the northern lagoon as a kitchen midden in which they deposited the shells and bones of the seafood that they caught.

In 1827, Gibbons was assigned a convict named John Paid to help him clear and develop the land. By 1828, he had built a stockman's hut and cleared 10 acres and had 10 under cultivation with 4 horses and 71 cattle. He cut a road down the side of what is now known as Mt. Mitchell on the southern side of Stanwell Park along what was probably the traditional Aboriginal entrance to the Stanwell Park beach. It allowed access into the area through the Appin Road at the top of Bulli and over Maddens Plains. The remnants of the convict laid road can still be seen.

Fig. 4 Fig. 5

The original convict-built road into Stanwell Park along the side of Mt. Mitchell

John Paid soon found more adventurous pastimes because Stanwell Park became a hideout for his gang of bushrangers. He called himself "Wolloo Jack", probably after "Wollongong". He and his gang terrorised the area from the Illawarra to Liverpool and Camden until they were caught and hanged in 1829.

The name "Stanwell Park" comes from the name of rural village outside London and now close to Heathrow airport, and it seems to have come from Matthew Gibbons who had some connections there.

Major Thomas Mitchell

Gibbons died in 1835, just two years after he was given the deeds to his farm at Stanwell Park. The property passed out of the family to Major Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor General and explorer in the 1840s. Mitchell was a difficult man, and not a particularly good administrator of his department, let alone his own personal finances. He was not even a good shot. At one time, he challenged Stuart Donaldson, a member of the Legislative Council, to a duel. Three shots were fired and all of them missed.

Fig. 6

The Mitchell house at the end of what is now Stanwell Avenue

Mitchell built the first house at Stanwell Park in about the middle of the central headland along which Stanwell Avenue now runs. He used it as a holiday house. After Mitchell died in 1855, his son, Campbell sold the land to Judge John Fletcher Hargrave, the Chief Judge in Equity of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and the father of Lawrence Hargrave. Judge Hargrave divided up Stanwell Park among his three sons and from there, further subdivisions and sales were made.

1.2 An Ecological History of the Dress Circle: The Littoral Rainforest

Aboriginal Patch Burning of the Land

In 1795, Matthew Everingham, a former convict, with two companions, tried to cross the Blue Mountains. From a vantage point on Bowen Mountain, he had a view over the Cumberland Plain towards Parramatta and Sydney, of the Hunter region to the north and the Illawarra to the south. He reported "thousands of small fires," evidence that there were far more Aboriginal people populating the country than the 500 or so that the colonial authorities in Sydney and Parramatta had imagined.

These fires were not just campfires, but management tools for creating and maintaining grasslands which were just as an important source of food for the indigenous people as the forests themselves. That practice of regular burning by Aboriginal people still occurs in the Northern Territory.

Bill Gammage in The Biggest Estate on Earth quotes Alexander Harris in his 1847 book, Settlers and Convicts where Harris described the escarpment behind Wollongong in these terms:

"(There) was a small grassy forest on the hill side; and everywhere around it…was a thick tangled brush growing amidst lofty trees, so thick set that beneath them was perpetual shadow…a little patch of grassy forest would assert a place for itself on the shoulder of a hill, and partly down the side; but generally the entire surface of this mountain, for many miles up and down the coast every way was clothed with this thick bush."

Gammage also quotes an anonymous description of the Illawarra land possibly from around 1854:

"Lofty cedars, graceful tree ferns and stately palms, raised their heads over a thick undergrowth of wild vines, creeping plants, and shrubs…. Grassy meadows are interspersed throughout, destitute of timber, and enclosed with a border of palms."

These descriptions include the rainforest along the escarpment that we know today, but the "grassy meadow" and "grassy forest" point to Aboriginal clearings within the rainforest. The grassy meadow descriptions, particularly in the more fertile soils is repeated by just about every European explorer from Captain Cook onwards, not only for the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven, but over much of the country. Many

13 parts of Australia resembled an English gentleman's parkland with trees sparsely separated, with little undergrowth, and luxuriant grass. That is what made it so attractive to the newcomers.

Major Thomas Mitchell arrived in the colony in 1828 and explored many different parts of the country and was the colony's surveyor general. Twenty years later, he complained that it was much more difficult to travel through the countryside than before. The most probable explanation for this was that once the Aboriginal people had been forced off their land, the burning practices stopped, and the undergrowth thickened.

Matthew Gibbons did not really want "Little Bulli" because it was too remote and not commercially viable. He had earlier applied for a grant of land at Wattamolla. It had the advantage of a small harbour, but Gibbons' description of it in his application is surprising for those familiar with the vegetation there now. He described it as "an excellent run for a small flock of sheep" and likened it to "the feeding land of Essex." This suggests grassy land created by Aboriginal burning. His application for Wattamolla was turned down and he had to settle for "Little Bulli".

Gibbons also applied in 1828 for 2,000 acres for a "cattle run" at Bulgo, just north of Stanwell Park. His application was not accepted, but 8 years later, in 1836, John Dwyer purchased from the Crown 200 acres there and used it to run cattle. This also suggests that Bulgo had been cleared by burning.

Aboriginal occupation and use of the land around Era beach have been documented, and in 1832, a large parcel of land there was granted to Andrew Byrne who also used it to run his cattle. The first hut at Era was built by one of his Aboriginal stockmen, "Old Tom." This would also suggest that its suitability for grazing had come about by Aboriginal burning.

Robert Westmacott, the former Aide de Camp to Governor Bourke bought up much of the land around the northern Illawarra near Coledale, and called it "The Meadows", which again implies that it had also been subjected to Aboriginal burning. The name "Burning Palms" in the Royal National Park, on the other hand, is said to derive from the name given to the beach by the Mountain Trails Club in 1928 because the dead leaves under the cabbage tree palms gave the impression of trees being burned but never consumed, like Moses with the burning bush.

It seems unlikely that the central headland on Stanwell Park beach was burned to create grasslands if Matthew Gibbons thought it was not commercially viable. But even if it had been, the photos from 1886 show that the forest in what is now the Dress Circle may have grown back in the meantime. It was denuded by the Europeans of virtually all trees between 1920 and 1935, and took some 50 years to regenerate, so there was still plenty of time between 1824 to 1886 for the same thing to have happened.

Fig. 7 Fig. 8

These early photos of Stanwell Park taken in 1886 and 1935 show the gradual removal of all vegetation on the central headland to make way for European farming. It remained like that until the 1950s, with a small amount of regrowth being allowed to occur on the northern and southern sides of the Dress Circle.

Fig. 9 Aerial photo of the Reserve 1948 Fig. 10 The Reserve 1961 Fig 11. The Reserve 1977

Fig 12. The Reserve 1986 Fig. 13 The Reserve 2018

From the 1940s to the present time, more than 4.5 hectares of trees from 40 species and from 7 forest types regenerated in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve of their own accord. Rainforest trees represented 28 species within that 40. Since the 1980s, the invading Lantana camara, Senna pendula (cassia) Ochna serrulata and Asparagus aethiopicus were replaced by trees mainly endemic to the Illawarra. Despite being inhibited by foreign invasive plants and Rusa deer, the Dress Circle has survived as a paradise of biodiversity. It was desolated by human hands over a hundred years ago, but is now being improved and protected at the hands of a new generation or residents.

The Classification of the Forest in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve

The Australian National Forest Inventory describes a forest as an area dominated by trees with a mature stand over 2 metres and with a crown cover of 20 percent or more. Australia has 134 million hectares of forest, which is equivalent to 17% of Australia's land area. Australia has about 3% of the world's forests, and globally is the country with the seventh largest forest area. This includes both native and commercial forests.

Native forests are categorised into eight national forest types named after their key genus or structural form: Acacia, Callitris, Casuarina, Eucalypt, Mangrove, Melaleuca, Rainforest, and Other native forest. There is a range of minor native forest types that are named after their dominant genera, including Agonis, Atalaya, Banksia, Hakea, Grevillea, Heterodendron, Leptospermum, Lophostemon and Syncarpia.

It is impossible to tell from the old photos the exact type of vegetation that had existed on the Stanwell Avenue Reserve before the European axes arrived, but much of it looks suspiciously like littoral rainforest. Littoral rainforest occurs along the coast and is influenced by coastal processes along sand dunes, headlands and sea cliffs. It not only includes rainforest species but vine thickets. Such areas are not static, because they can be affected by land clearing, storm damage and particularly by fire.

Similar areas along the south coast, particularly around Kiama, show pockets of rainforest in various gullies and landforms too steep to be used as grazing land. The giant cabbage tree palms among the dairy farm plains also suggest that this was mainly rainforest at one time. The fact that a significant hind dune rainforest has grown up of its own accord at Stanwell Park is strong evidence that the central headland as well as much of the rest of Stanwell Park was largely littoral rainforest prior to the arrival of the British colonists. The early clearing by Matthew Gibbons and Major Mitchell in Stanwell Park from 1824 onwards was part of the trend to remove native forests to create European farmland.

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage says: "Littoral Rainforest is very rare and occurs in many small stands. In total, it comprises less than one percent of the total area of rainforest in NSW." The Office has

16 classified it as "endangered" and the Commonwealth goes even further and classifies it as "critically endangered." The littoral rainforest at Stanwell Park is therefore of great ecological value.

The Dress Circle now contains 4 of the 7 major national forest types, Acacia, Eucalypt, Casuarina and Rainforest, and 4 of the 9 minor forest types, Banksia, Leptospermum (Tea tree), Hakea and Syncarpia (Turpentine), all of which came up naturally and without any human assistance. In addition, planting after the removal of lantana, senna and ochna from 1972 onwards, added the genus Melaleuca to the list of the major forest types, and Grevillea and Lophostemon from the minor types. In other words, of the 16 major and minor native forest types, mentioned in the Australian Forests Inventory, the Dress Circle has 11 representatives of them. And within those 11 categories there is a huge diversity of species.

When a fire destroys a rainforest, the first species to germinate are wattles and eucalypts. Most wattles tend not to live long, and the eucalypts provide reduced shade that encourages the rainforest species to grow. Rainforest trees have denser foliage, inhibiting the growth of more eucalypts, and so the rainforest will eventually take over. The process can take two or three hundred years after which there will be pure rainforest once all the eucalypts die. If a fire destroys that rainforest, the procedure repeats itself. The definition of rainforest varies from place to place. Forestry Tasmania defined rainforest negatively in terms of 5% or less of eucalypt cover. Several rainforests in Tasmania have a few very old and declining eucalypts which indicate that at some time in the distant past it had been destroyed by fire.

The Stanwell Avenue Reserve has sections of pure rainforest but also eucalypt forests under which rainforest species are growing, and with no young eucalypts replacing them. Providing there is no fire, the rainforest will spread as the eucalypts grow old and die.

In 1907 and 1908, a real estate developer, Henry Halloran purchased virtually the whole of Stanwell Park, and over time, much of the land on which the village now stands was cleared of its vegetation. Halloran put forward a plan of subdivision which effectively would have made the beach private property. Private beaches in Australia have long been culturally rejected, and the New South Wales government resumed 28 acres, comprising the beach, the northern lagoon and picnic area for the purposes of a public park.

Halloran had another idea. He started a new company called The Stanwell Park Hotel Company which bought 27 acres of the land for the purpose of building a "palatial" hotel at the end of Stanwell Avenue in the Dress Circle. The main problem with this plan was the lack of electricity, but there would also have been opposition from competing hotels at Clifton, Scarborough and Helensburgh. In those days, you had to show a need for a liquor licence, and the population of Stanwell Park was quite small.

In 1915, Halloran had changed his mind about the hotel and created a subdivision for residential lots. Charles D'Arcy bought the block on the point on the headland of the Dress Circle and built a substantial house there. It subsequently changed hands several times, until it came into the hands of the Christian Brothers. By 1948 three other houses have been built on the circle at No. 19, 29 and 31. In the 1980s, No. 29 was sold to Wollongong Council and eventually demolished to add to the park.

The aerial photos and several old photographs in Michael Adams book The Big History of Little Stanwell Park show that the denuded state of the central headland continued right through until the 1940s. The 1948 aerial photos show patches of regrowth in the north west and south west faces of the headland. The north west vegetation is likely to have been the turpentines which have since grown into a significant forest of 42 large trees. The 1961 photo shows an accelerated return of vegetation in the succeeding 13 years, but by 1972, there was an invasion of lantana, stretching up into the trees and reducing the chance of other plant growth. To the west, the turpentines, grey ironbarks, black butts, swamp mahoganies, swamp oaks as well as the mock olives, mutton woods and wattles were struggling through the lantana. On the sea front of the Dress Circle, a significant coastal banksia forest developed and behind that the hind dune rainforest with its cabbage tree palms, lilly pillies, cheese trees, boobiallas, red ash and guioas.

The Council has not adopted the purist approach by planting only those trees endemic to Stanwell Park in the Reserve. It has planted Bangalow palms, Illawarra flame trees, Tuckeroo, Red cedars and Coastal wattle, which are endemic to other parts of the Illawarra but not to Stanwell Park. It has planted trees which are not endemic to the Illawarra, but to other parts of New South Wales and Queensland: Norfolk Island palms, Norfolk Island hibiscus, Brush box and Kentia palms. It has also planted trees which are not Australian natives, such as Brazilian Cocos palms and Caribbean Frangipani. Volunteers have not planted any exotics in the Reserve. Since the 1970s, 1,378 trees have been planted to occupy the space taken over by invasive weeds:

10 species (550 trees) endemic to Stanwell Park and which had regenerated naturally in the Dress Circle.

16 species (60 trees) endemic to Stanwell Park, but not found in the Dress Circle.

16 species (718 trees) endemic to the Illawarra, but not to Stanwell Park.

14 species (42 trees) not endemic to the Illawarra, but endemic to other parts of New South Wales.

3 species (8 trees) endemic to Queensland.

Set out below is a Species map and a list of trees that have regenerated naturally and that have been planted within the Dress Circle and Reclamation Area.

Species Map

This species map shows the areas where there are predominant species within the Dress Circle.

Fig. 14

Naturally Regenerated Species

From the 1940s to the present time, 40 different species of trees from 7 different forest types (Acacia, Casuarina, Eucalypt, Rainforest, Banksia, Hakea, and Syncarpia) regenerated in the Reserve without any human assistance. Rainforest trees represented 28 different species within that 40. The numbers listed below indicate the place on the species map where these trees are mainly situated in the Dress Circle, and

19 the numbers in brackets after each species are those we have counted. The total number of naturally generated trees counted is 2,866.

1 Acacia longifolia (Coastal wattle) (100)

2 Acacia maidenii (Maiden's wattle) (28)

3 Acacia binervata (Two veined hickory) (324)

4 Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt) (12)

5 Eucalyptus robusta (Swamp mahogany) (13)

6 Eucalyptus paniculata (Grey ironbark) (54)

7 Eucalyptus (Planted): saligna (Sydney blue gum) (14), tereticornis (Red forest gum) (2) grandis (Flooded gum) (1), botryoides (Bangalay)(8), globulus (Maiden's gum)(3), Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum) (10).

8 Banksia integrifolia (Coast banksia) (215)

9 Leptospermum laevigatum (Tea tree) (417)

10 Rainforest: Acmena smithii (Lilli pilly), (120) Acronychia oblongifolia (White aspen) (61), Alphitonia excelsa (Red ash) (20), Androcalva fraseri (Brown kurrajong), (1) Breynia oblongifolia (Breynia) (30), Clerodendron tomentosum (Native clerodendron) (2), Cyathea australis (Rough tree fern) (2), Cryptocarya microneura (Murrogun) (7), Cupaniopsis anacardioides (Tuckeroo) (30), Diosporos australis (Black plum) (10), Elaeodendron australe (Red fruited olive plum) (30), Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese tree) (340), Grevillea robusta (Silky oak) (2) Ficus coronata (Sandpaper fig) (32), Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson fig) (1), Guioa semiglauca (Guioa) (225), Homalanthus populifolius (Native bleeding heart) (10), Livistona australis (Cabbage tree palm) (256) Melia azedarach (White cedar) (3), Polyscias elegans (Celery wood) (26), Myoproum acuminatum (Boobialla) (18), Myrsine variabilis (Brush mutton wood) (12), Myrsine howitteana (Mutton wood) (14), Notelaea longifolia (Large mock olive) (25), Notelaea venosa (Large-leaved mock olive) (225), Pittosporum undulatum, (72) Pittosporum revolutum (3), Pittosporum multiforum (Pittosporum) (35), Synoum glandulosum (Unscented rosewood) (5).

11 Syncarpia (glomulifera) (Turpentine) (72)

12 Casuarina (glauca) (Casuarina) (12), Allocasuarina littoralis (Black oak)(2)

Planted Species

Some 1,378 trees have been planted in the Reserve from the 1980s to the present time to fill the spaces left after the removal of Lantana, Senna, Ochna and Asparagus fern, and to replace those destroyed by Rusa deer.

Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and which had Regenerated in the Reserve: (10 species, 550 trees)

The planting of trees in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve since the 1980s, included some of the existing species, with Livistona australis (Cabbage tree palms) and Banksia integrifolia (Coast banksia) being the most prominent. Approximately half of the 512 Cabbage tree palms growing in the Reserve were germinated from local seed and planted. Approximately half of the 430 Coast banksia were planted by Wollongong Council in the Reclamation Area as part of its sand dune stabilisation program.

In addition those species, we planted more of the following, from seedlings obtained from Wollongong Botanical Gardens, with the exception of Synoum glandulosum, which we germinated from local seed: Acmena smithii (Lilly pilly) (30), Acronychia oblongifolia (White aspen), (10), Alphitonia excelsa (Red ash), (10), Cyathea australis (Rough tree fern), (1) Diosporos australis (Black plum) (20), Hakea salicifolia (Willow leaved hakea) (1), Melia azedarah (White cedar) (1)and Synoum glandulosum (Unscented rosewood) (6).

Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park, but Not Found in the Reserve (16 species, 60 trees)

These trees were obtained from Wollongong Botanical Garden or from nurseries: Alectryon subcinereus (Native quince) (1), Backhousia myrtifolia (Grey myrtle), (10) Ceratopetalum gummiferum (NSW Christmas bush) (1), Doryphora sassafras (Sassafras) (2), Elaeocarpus reticulatus (Blueberry ash) (1), Endiandra sieberi (Corkwood) (1), Eucalyptus botryoides (Bangalay) (8), Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney blue gum) (14), Ficus superba (Deciduous fig) (1), Pararchidendron pruinosum (Snow wood) (1), Planchonella australis (Black apple) (6), Polyscias murrayi (Pencil cedar) (1), Sloanea australis (Maiden's blush) (1), Syzygium oleosum (Blue lilly pilly) (6), Toona ciliata (Red cedar) (6), Tristaniopsis laurina (Water gum) (1).

Addition of Illawarra Native Trees Not Endemic to Stanwell Park (16 species, 718 trees)

The most common trees from this category planted in the Reserve are Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (Bangalow palm) (590), Brachychiton acerifolius (Illawarra flame tree) (70) and Podocarpus elatus (Plum pine)

(12). All of these have been germinated from local seed taken from mature planted specimens in private gardens or as street trees.

These other planted trees have been obtained as seedlings from the Wollongong Botanical Gardens or nurseries and number between: Callistemon salignus (Pink tips bottlebrush) (2), Casuarina cunninghamiana (River oak) (12), Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum) (10), Cyathea cooperi (Straw tree fern) (1), Diploglottis cunninghamii (Native tamarind) (3), Dodonaea viscosa (Narrow leaved hopbush) (1), Ehretia Acuminata (Koda) (1), Emmenosperma alphitonioides (Yellow ash) (4), Eucalyptus tereticornis (Forest red gum) (2), Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Hibiscus) (10), Melaleuca styphelioides (Prickly leaved paperbark) (3), Syzygium australe (Brush cherry) (1), Syzygium paniculatum (Magenta Lilly Pilly) (10)

Addition of Native Trees Not Endemic to the Illawarra, but Endemic to Other Parts of New South Wales (14 species, 42 trees)

These trees were obtained as seedlings from the Wollongong Botanical Gardens, nurseries or as gifts from residents: Archontophoenix alexandrae, (Alexander palm) (10), Argyrodendron trifoliatum (White booyong) (1), Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine) (4), Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island pine) (2), Davidsonia jerseyiana (Davidson’s plum) (4), Eucalyptus globulus (Maiden's gum) (3), Eucalyptus grandis, (Flooded gum) (1), Howea forestiana (Kentia palm) (4), Hymenosporum flavum (Native Frangipani) (1), Lophostemon confertus (Brush box) (4), Macadamia tetraphylla (Macadamia) (1), Melaleuca nodosa (Prickly leaved paperbark) (5), Melaleuca quinquenervia (Broad leaved paper bark) (10), Stenocarpus sinuatus (Firewheel tree) (2).

Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Queensland (3 species, 8 trees)

Agathis robusta (Kauri pine) (1), Ficus microcarpa (Hills Fig) (1), Graptophyllum ilicifolium (Holly fuchsia) (6).

After being deprived of all its vegetation in the early 1900s, the Stanwell Park Reserve was largely left to its own resources from 1935 onwards. The end result was that the littoral rainforest and mixed forest regenerated of its own accord. Despite being inhibited by foreign plants and animals, Lantana, Senna, Ochna Asparagus fern and Rusa deer, it survived as a paradise of biodiversity. It was desolated by human hands over a hundred years ago, but is now being assisted and protected at the hands of a new generation of residents.

Part 2: The Naturally Regenerated Species in the Reserve

Native Forest Type: Acacia

Acacia longifolia (Coastal wattle)

Fig. 15

Coastal wattle is endemic to the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria. It often grows in sand dunes and is salt resistant. It is also used to stabilize sand dunes and other coastal areas. At Stanwell Park it mainly grows in the sand dune area off the northern lagoon where most of them were planted to stabilize the dune area. There are about 100 specimens there.

(Acacia maidenii) Maiden's Wattle

Fig. 16

This wattle has long thin leaves, and bark that is grey, fawn or brown and is rough with irregular fissures. Its pale-yellow flowers are on two or three spike clusters. The seed forms a twisted legume from 50mm to 150mm. It is easy to tell the difference between the two wattles at the time of flowering.

The deer do not normally attack wattles as they generally prefer smooth barked rainforest trees to destroy. However, a large Two veined hickory in the Reserve was attacked and has since been protected. There have been no attacks on Maiden's wattle. The deer do not appear to enjoy eating the leaves of the juvenile wattles that came up after the removal of the lantana.

There are 28 of this species of wattle, most of them on the north entrance to the circle from Stanwell Avenue.

Acacia binervata (Two Veined Hickory)

Fig. 17

Acacia binervata is native to the Wollongong area, and is well developed on the edges of the rainforest. It often grows profusely in burned or disturbed ground. The leaves have two distinctive veins (hence the name).

It has quite different bark to another wattle in the Reserve, Maiden's wattle. Two veined hickory has dark brown and rough bark and a wide leaf. Its flowers are at the end of the smaller branches in balls of about twenty tiny flowers in each.

There are 324 of these trees on the Reserve, most of them within the circle of Stanwell Avenue.

Native Forest Type: Eucalypt

Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt)

This is one of the most common Eucalypts in the Stanwell Park area. Most of the eucalypts on the way down from Bald Hill are blackbutts, as are those on the Wodi Wodi track to the top of Mt. Mitchell. Blackbutts have flaky stringy bark on the lower trunk which often remains black after bushfires – hence the name. The upper branches are creamy white. There are a number of large examples of it on the right-hand side of the track running from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk.

Fig. 18

There are 12 examples of Blackbutt in the bush care area. They are mostly huge trees, most of them multi- trunked. As the rainforest trees have grown underneath them, the germination of further Blackbutts from these old trees has been inhibited. This is the natural progression of eucalypt forest into rain forest.

Eucalyptus Robusta (Swamp Mahogany)

This Eucalypt mostly grows in the western part of the Banksia site, on both sides of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk.

Fig. 19

There is a huge example towards the bottom with one branch forming a bridge across the track and is being supported by a large Guioa semiglauca. It has brown/grey, fibrous and furrowed bark and large leaves.

There are 13 Swamp mahogany in the bush care site, most of them on the lower reaches of the north face of the spine.

Eucalyptus paniculata (Grey Ironbark)

Fig. 20

This is the most common Eucalypt in the Banksia Bush Care site, most of it occurring east of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk, and along the northern side of the Stanwell Avenue circle. There are also

26 significant numbers within the circle itself. Its bark is dark, at times black, and deeply furrowed. It is also common throughout the Illawarra on the coastal plan and on the escarpment.

There are 54 examples of this species in the bush care site.

Native Forest Type: Rainforest

Thirty different species of rainforest tree have regenerated naturally in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve over the last 70 years. They are:

Acmena smithii (Lilly Pilly), Acronychia oblongifolia (White Aspen), Alphitonia excelsa (Red Ash), Androcalva fraseri (Brown Kurrajong), Clerodendron tomentosum (Native Clerodendron), Cyathea Australis (Rough Tree Fern), Cryptocarya microneura (Murrogun), Cupaniopsis anacardioides (Tuckeroo), Diosporos australis (Black Plum), Elaeodendron australe (Red Fruited Olive Plum, Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese Tree), Grevillea robusta (Silky Oak), Ficus coronata (Sandpaper Fig), Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson Fig), Guioa semiglauca (Guioa), Homalanthus populifolius (Native Bleeding Heart), Livistona australis (Cabbage Tree Palm) Polyscias elegans (Celery Wood), Myoproum acuminatum (Boobialla), Myrsine variabilis (Brush Mutton Wood), Myrsine howitteana (Mutton Wood), Notelaea longifolia (Large Mock Olive), Notelaea venosa (Large-leaved Mock Olive), Pittosporum undulatum (Pittosporum), Pittosporum revolutum (Yellow Pittosporum), Pittosporum multiflorum (Orange Thorn), Synoum glandulosum (Unscented Rosewood), Trema tomentosa (Native Peach) and Tristaniopsis colina (Mountain Water Gum).

Acmena smithii (Lilly Pilly)

Lilly pilly is one of the most common trees in the rainforest of the Illawarra. It is very adaptable and can grow outside the rainforest, in the coastal plain and along the sea cliffs. It readily lends itself to being sculptured by the salt spray. In good rainforest, it grows to about 20 metres, but when subject to salt winds, it will be a small shrub.

Fig. 21

The bark is reddish brown and the leaves are opposite and pointy at the end. The underside of the leaf is paler than the glossy top. The flowers are white to pink and the fruit can vary from white to pale purple.

There are 120 examples of Lilly Pilly in the bush care site from small trees to giant ones, of which 30 have been planted.

The deer generally do not eat the leaves, and it is not its favourable tree for antler rubbing. Part of that could be because it tends to retain its lower lateral branches. Where it does lose them, the trees need to be protected.

Acronychia oblongifolia (White aspen)

White aspen can be found right along the Illawarra escarpment, on the edges or within rainforest. It occasionally can be found along the coastal plain. It has attractive edible white berries

Fig. 22: The fruits of the White aspen are edible. The other photos show the deer damage and attempts to protect them.

There is one stand of 11 mature White aspen of varying sizes on the edges of the Turpentine/Blackbutt forest on the eastern side, and halfway down the bush track, from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk. Unfortunately, about four of these trees were ringbarked by the deer but are starting to reshoot from the roots. The seed from the trees have sprouted more than 50 seedlings in the surrounding area, and they do not appear to be eaten by the deer. However, as they get older, they will need to be protected from the deer by caging because their trunks are susceptible to damage by rubbing. We have planted another 10.

Alphitonia excelsa (Red Ash)

Red Ash occurs throughout the Illawarra on the lower parts of the escarpment and on the coastal plain. It can grow to 20 metres, and there are two good examples of it on both sides at the bottom of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk. There is another large example on the flat area south west of the Kiosk.

Fig. 23

A distinctive feature of the tree is the dark green upper surface of the leaf and the white under surface. There are often holes in the leaves, probably caused by insects. The tree has light grey, furrowed bark.

There do not seem to be any young examples of the tree in the bush care site outside the deer fence, and they are starting to come up within it. That might be an indication that the seedlings were eaten by the deer. There are some 20 in total in the Reserve with about 10 planted within the deer fence area.

Androcalva fraseri (Brown Kurrajong)

Its botanical name was formerly known as Commersonia fraseri. It is most obvious in areas of disturbance as a pioneer plant. It is usually a small shrub from 2 to 4 metres, but occasionally it reaches 6 metres.

Fig. 24

These photos were taken of a Brown Kurrajong in an area where the Council brought a house and then pulled it down in the late 1990s, so it was a disturbed area for quite a while. The juvenile leaves are more rounded and look more like grape leaves. There are no other obvious examples in the Reserve.

Backhousia (formerly Choricarpia) leptopetala (Brush Turpentine)

Fig. 25

Backhousia leptopetala (Brush Turpentine) is not found anywhere else in the Illawarra. In Stanwell Park, it is confined to the area between the CWA Hall and the tennis courts and up Stanwell Creek, along the western end of Stanwell Avenue and Lower Coast Road, opposite the shops in Lawrence Hargrave Drive and along

30 the edge of the Reserve close to the Surf Club. It is commonly found north of Sydney to Buderim in Queensland.

Stanwell Park is a cross over point between the trees of Sydney, the Royal National Park, and those of the Illawarra escarpment, which has had a significant effect on the local flora. Backhousia leptopetala is another example of this cross over, and for that reason we have included it here despite it not being, strictly speaking, within the confines of the Reserve. It can grow as high as 10 metres, and although it has bark like the Turpentine, it is not as rough. It has yellow/white flowers, and opposite leaves. There are 20 examples of it in the area mentioned.

Breynia oblongifolia (Breynia)

Fig. 26

Breynia oblongifolia, is sometime known as Coffee Bush and can grow up to 3 metres high. Its leaves are ovate and alternate, as distinct from the invasive Senna (Cassia) whose leaves are opposite and which produces conspicuous yellow flowers in the late summer. Breynia has small green flowers and orange and pink berries. While Breynia does grow in the rainforests, it also tolerates a wide variety of environments. In the Reserve, it is mainly found in the circle with Banksia integrifolia, Leptospermum laevigatum, Acmena smithii and Guoia semiglauca. There are about 30 examples of it in the Reserve.

Claoxylon australe (Brittleweed)

Fig.27

This tree is common throughout the whole Illawarra area, and can be found in rainforest, sometimes in Eucalyptus forest and on the coastal plain. It can be a small bush shrub or 6m tree. The leaves are spiral along the stalk with two small stipules at the base of the leaf. Several mature trees in the hind dune rainforest were ringbarked by deer. They are now protected by the deer fence and several smaller plants have germinated now that the deer have been excluded. The absence of this tree outside the deer fence is explained by the deer eating them as soon as they sprout. There are 11 examples growing within the deer fence area.

Clerodendron tomentosum (Native Clerodendron)

Fig. 28

Native Clerodendrum (Clerodendrum tormentosum) occurs right throughout the Illawarra region, from hind dunes to rain forest. It is sometimes a medium size tree reaching 8 metres, but more often a small shrub. Its flowers are white and in massed bunches. It occurs most commonly as an understorey plant in wet

32 sclerophyll forest and on the edges of rain forest. Its leaves are opposite, and the fruit is black and surrounded by bright red when mature. There are 2 examples within the deer fence area.

Cryptocarya microneural (Murrogun)

A rainforest tree, native to the Illawarra, and it can be found in the Wollongong area through to Stanwell Park, but mostly in the northern suburbs. It also grows along the coastal plain. It can be found both in rainforest and sclerophyll forest. Its leaf is similar to Camphor laurel, but without the camphor smell.

Fig. 29

The bark is grey and slightly rough. The leaves are alternate and stalked from 60mm to 120mm long, with a conspicuous yellow midrib. It has small white flowers and they appear between September and November with fruits from January to February.

There is one mature tree in the circle of the Reserve, and there was a smaller one to the east of the Stanwell Avenue to Kiosk track, but it was ringbarked by deer. Some regrowth has sprung up from the roots, and it is now protected by a cage. There are 3 other smaller examples west of the Stanwell Avenue to Kiosk track, and 4 new trees have come up within the deer fence.

Cupaniopsis anarcardioides (Tuckeroo)

This tree grows along the sea cliffs at Coalcliff and as far north as Queensland. It grows into a small tree about 8 metres high and is quite distinctive because of its pinnate leaves. It is very salt tolerant, and there are several mature examples planted in the northern picnic area of Stanwell Park Beach.

Fig. 30

Tuckeroo has small flowers and spectacular yellow seed capsules with red and black seeds. It is not surprising that small tuckeroos are growing within the Reserve of their own accord, with seeds being dropped by birds eating the fruit from the larger planted trees in the picnic area. There are at least 30 examples of it within the site.

Cyathea australis (Rough Tree Fern)

Fig. 31

Of the four tree ferns in the Illawarra (Cyathea australis, Cyathea cooperi, Cyathea leichardtiana and Dicksonia antartica), the Rough tree fern is the most widespread and grows not only in the escarpment rainforest, but also in the plateau and across the coastal plain. It can grow up to 15 metres. Broken frond stems cover the trunk and are covered with short prickles. There are two small examples of it in the Reserve on both sides of the track leading from Stanwell Avenue to the Surf Club, and one has been planted.

Diosporos australis (Black Plum)

This is moderately common in the Illawarra, and generally appears in dry rainforest. There is a good example 10 metres west of the Stanwell Avenue to Kiosk track, about halfway down. There was an even better example some years ago, but it was chopped down by some youngsters wanting to make a cubby house. The deer do not seem to want to eat its leaves, as there are several juvenile plants around the Stanwell Avenue to Kiosk track, and they seem to have been untouched. The tree does not lose its low lateral leaves which means that it is less likely to be ringbarked.

There are some 30 examples of this tree on the site, and about 10 of these came up naturally, and the others were planted in 2020 in areas cleared of lantana.

Fig. 32

The leaves are small and elliptical with no serrations, with the upper surface being very dark green and the under surface a green/yellow, which is its most distinctive feature for identification. The bark is dark grey on the younger tree and almost black on the mature ones. The fruit grows in the fork of the leaves, is black and about 20mm long.

Elaeodendron australe (Red Fruited Olive Plum)

Red Fruited Olive Plum is widespread throughout the Illawarra. It can be found in rain forest and sheltered wet sclerophyll forest, in the coastal plain and on the escarpment. Several large examples of it are growing behind the Kiosk.

Fig 33

The leaves are fleshy and serrated. The deer do not appear to eat them when young, which probably explains the number of such trees in the richer rainforest area facing onto the main Stanwell Park picnic area. If they lose their lower lateral branches, they are ringbarked by the deer. We have had to protect their trunks with flower wire or wrapping ochna sticks around the trunk with cable ties.

The seeds are difficult to germinate, and that may be that they have passed through a bird's stomach before germinating naturally on the ground.

There are about 30 of these on the site, all of which germinated by themselves.

Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese Tree)

Fig. 34

Cheese Trees are the most common rainforest tree in the Reserve. They came up of their own accord particularly in the temporary creek created by a drainage pipe on the northern side of the circle in Stanwell Avenue, where the water runs down to the parking area near the dressing sheds. In heavy rains, it forms quite a significant creek and then runs off into a flat area with large Cabbage Tree Palms.

There are many Cheese Trees bordering the northern half of the Stanwell Avenue circle. The common name for the tree comes from its fruits which resemble small cheeses. It is partially deciduous and is mildly salt resistant, growing very well behind a wall of Banksia integrifolia. It has whitish grey bark and alternative leaves. Its fruits are green, turning yellow with a pink tinge. Many birds and possums feed on them.

There are some 340 Cheese Trees in the Banksia Bush Care site.

Grevillea robusta (Silky Oak)

Fig. 35

Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta) is the tallest of the grevillea family and can grow into a very large tree. Its natural habitat is in Queensland and northern New South Wales as far south as Coffs Harbour. It has been widely grown as a street and ornamental tree because of its profusion of yellow flowers. In some places it has become invasive. It is included in the section on trees that have naturally regenerated because one of the two examples in the Reserve came up by itself, probably from a seed dropped by a bird.

Ficus Coronata (Sandpaper Fig)

Fig. 36

Sandpaper Fig is easily recognised. The leaves are like sandpaper, and it has been said that the Aboriginal people used them to sharpen their spear heads. While it is generally smaller than the Port Jackson Fig and Moreton Bay Fig, it can reach about 10 metres. It is one of the most common rainforest species in the Illawarra. It has one drawback. Despite the rough nature of its leaves, the deer love to eat it. Prior to the erection of the deer fence in the bush care site, there were about forty young sandpaper figs coming up. One night, a herd Rusa bucks came into the Dress Circle and demolished the lot. Those that were inside the area of the deer fence are now regrowing. None of these were planted. They germinated naturally, possibly from a large one that was planted 35 years ago and survived to adulthood when the deer were not around. There are now 32 sandpaper figs on the site.

Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson Fig)

Fig. 37

The Port Jackson Fig also tends to be smaller than the Moreton Bay Fig. It is a strangler fig in the sense that it will grow on a rock or in the crook of a tree and gradually smother the tree. In the example above, the fig is strangling a rock, and this is typical of this species. The figs are arranged in pairs in the forks of the leaves.

The main distinguishing feature between the familiar Moreton Bay Fig that is common in Sydney parks, and the Port Jackson Fig is the rusty colouring on the underside of the Moreton Bay Fig. It can be spectacular on windy days when the tree will change its colour. While the Port Jackson Fig can also have that rusty colouring, it is not so heavy or as common. There are 8 Port Jackson Figs within the reserve, 7 of then planted since the 1980s.

Guioa semiglauca (Guoia or Wild quince)

Guioa semiglauca is sometimes called Wild Quince. It is a rainforest tree that reaches about 15 metres but can grow higher in good conditions such as in the richer soils of the northern side of the Reserve near Station Street. There is a large specimen on the right-hand side of the track going down from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk.

Fig. 38

It seems to have been one of the few trees which has been able to keep grow up through lantana as it is one of the most prolific species in the Reserve. However, it does have one disadvantage in that it loses its lower lateral limbs early and they thus become a target for being destroyed or severely damaged by deer rub once the Lantana, Ochna or Senna have been removed. Every mature Guioa on the site has had to be protected. The deer do not seem to want to eat the leaves, which is fortunate for regrowth, but as they grow older, they must be protected by cages or with sticks bound around their trunks.

The tree is easily identified by turning over the leaf. The underside is a much paler shade of green, hence the name "semi glauca" meaning "half green". The bark is dark grey to charcoal particularly as it gets older. It has flowers and red fruits in the forks of the leaves.

There are some 225 Guoias, spread evenly throughout the Reserve.

Homalanthus populifolius (Native Bleeding Heart)

Fig. 39

Homalanthus populifolius is a pioneer rainforest plant which often comes up after disturbance to the rainforest. It grows from the border of New South Wales and Victoria to far North Queensland.

The trunk is cylindrical with greyish-brown bark, with some bumps and irregularities. Branchlets appear thick, reddish or green. The leaves are triangular, not toothed, and alternate, 5 to 15 cm long, and like those of a poplar, hence its species name. The leaves turn red when they age, giving it the common name of bleeding heart.

Flowers are yellow green to red, 2 to 10 cm long, and the fruits are eaten by a variety of birds. As with many pioneer species, the seeds of the bleeding heart have a long dormancy period. As a pioneer species, there are some 10 in the Reserve.

Livistona australis (Cabbage Tree Palm)

Fig. 40

The Cabbage Tree Palm is the most common palm throughout the Illawarra. The genus of Livistona is a genus of palms (family Arecaceae), native to southern, southeastern and eastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa. They are fan palms, instantly recognizable even in their different forms. There are about 20 different species of Livistona palms in Australia. Some grow in rainforest, but others can grow almost anywhere, even in otherwise desert areas, but which have a good supply of ground water.

Livistona australis extends from north Queensland to Victoria and is the southernmost native palm to grow there naturally. The most southerly stand is near Orbost. The Cabbage Tree Palm has a special significance in Aboriginal culture. In the Illawarra, it was called "Dharawal", which is also the name of the local indigenous language. New growth from the top of the Cabbage Tree could be cooked or eaten raw and the heart of the trunk could be cooked as a medicine to ease a sore throat. Leaves of the cabbage-tree palm were used by the Aboriginal people for shelter and fibres for string, rope and fishing lines.

Cabbage Tree Palms can grow to 30 metres or more, and there are some very tall ones along Lady Carrington Drive in the Royal National Park.

Cabbage Tree Palms were coming up in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve as soon as the unbuilt on land was compulsorily acquired in 1968 by the State government to create the Reserve on the beach headland. Many more were planted from 1972 onwards, after being germinated from seed dropped local trees. Many more have come up naturally.

The Rusa deer do not generally eat the leaves of the Cabbage Tree Palm, but when they are small, they sometimes eat the tips. At times, it appears that they have tried to pull out a young cabbage tree palm by twisting it around and around. There seems to be no other explanation for this except vandalism.

There are now 512 Cabbage Tree Palms within the Reserve, of all different stages of growth from young seedlings to very old palms more than 10 metres high.

Polyscias elegans (Celery Wood)

Fig. 41

Celery Wood is common in the Reserve and is also found along the escarpment. It often comes up as a small plant from seed probably dropped by currawongs and bower birds that feed on the fruits during the summer season. The deer do not seem to eat it when small, but once it gets to about a metre and a half it loses its low lateral branches and thus becomes a favourite rubbing tree. Many have been killed by deer outside the deer fenced off area.

Celery Wood has grey and slightly rough bark. Its pinnate leaf pattern is quite distinctive and easy to spot in a canopy. There are some 26 of them in the bush care site, all of them germinating naturally.

Melia azedarach (White Cedar)

Fig. 42

White cedar is found extensively along the escarpment, but not so commonly in the northern suburbs. It is a small, spreading tree, growing to about 10 metres. It is one of the few deciduous native trees in the Illawarra region. There are three white cedars in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve, one towards the bottom of the Stanwell Avenue to Kiosk track on the eastern side, another at the entrance to the track from Stanwell Avenue to the surf club and a third behind the sand dune and within the deer fence.

The White cedar attracts a particular kind of moth, called Leptocneria reducta whose caterpillar strips the tree of its leaves. Despite this, the tree survives and soon sends out the shoots of new leaves. The caterpillars are in turn eater by birds or turn into moths and the cycle recommences.

Myoproum acuminatum (Boobialla)

Fig. 43

Boobialla (Myoporum acuminatum) is a small shrub or medium sized tree found in the rainforests, coastal zone and the Illawarra plain. It grows naturally as far south as Mimosa Rocks, National Park and as far north as Fraser Island in Queensland. It has a corky bark and prefers sheltered sites. There is a large example east of the deer fence along Stanwell Avenue. There is an even taller one in among the Cabbage Tree Palm forest behind the dressing sheds in the northern picnic area. In addition to these, there are some 16 smaller ones within the sand dune reclamation area. It is not known if they came up naturally or were planted as part of the reclamation work.

The leaves are stalked, long, thin and pointed from 50mm to 120mm long. It has clusters of white flowers with purple dots in the forks of leaves. The 5mm globular fruit is black, bluish or purplish. Boobialla was used by Aboriginal people for a variety of medicinal purposes.

Myrsine variabilis (Brush Mutton Wood)

Fig. 44

Brush Mutton Wood has a leaf with serrations more widely spaced than with Ochna serrulata, which resemble those of a hack saw blade. The serrations on the Brush Mutton Wood are also quite variable from leaf to leaf and hence the name. The tree is found from the back of sand dunes up to the escarpment. The leaves are elliptical and shortly stalked. The flowers cluster in the forks of the leaves and the fruit is coloured from whitish to purplish, about 7mm in diameter. There are some 12 examples in the Reserve, most of them in the circle.

Myrsine howitteana (Mutton Wood)

Fig. 45

The only significant difference between this and variabilis is the lack of serration on the leaves. There are 14 of these in the Reserve, mostly in the circle and along Stanwell Avenue.

Notelaea longifolia (Large Mock Olive)

Fig. 46

Notelaea longifolia (Large Mock Olive) does not exist south of Stanwell Park and it is an indication of what Leon Fuller describes in his book, Wollongong's Native Trees, as a cross over area between the vegetation of the Illawarra escarpment and of the Sydney region. Stanwell Park and Coalcliff are a kind of halfway point from a botanical perspective between Sydney and Wollongong. The presence of the Notelaea longifolia is one example of this cross over, but there are others. There are 25 examples of this tree, mostly in the circle of the Reserve and along Stanwell Avenue.

Notelaea venosa (Long Leaved Mock Olive)

There are two species of what are commonly called "Mock Olives", Notelaea venosa (Long Leaved Mock Olive) and Notelaea longifolia (Large Mock Olive). Stanwell Park is one of the few areas in the Illawarra where they both grow, although both can be found together in the Royal National Park.

Fig. 47

Notelaea venosa (Long-leaved mock olive) is common throughout the Illawarra, and it can be found in most forest types, including eucalyptus forest as well as rain forest. The leaves are very distinctive and feel like rough leather to touch. It is very often a small shrub but can grow to 8 metres. The tree has white flowers that form into small olives from green to black as they ripen. They provide fruit for various birds. This is one of the most common rainforest trees in the Reserve with some 225 examples.

Pittosporum undulatum (Pittosporum)

Fig. 48

This is the most common Pittosporum, and it is well known for coming up after a fire or land disturbance. In some places it is regarded as a weed. In the Reserve, they are reasonably common but not so much as to be regarded as invasive. It can form a tall tree of 20 metres and with a trunk of 500mm or more in old trees. It is most conspicuous in August/September, when it sprouts bright green leaves in contrast to the darker older ones. The leaves are alternate, drawn out to a point from 80mm to 130mm long and 25 to 40mm wide, mostly with an undulating margin and prominent midrib. It has white flowers and an orange berry like fruit. Deer like to ringbark it during the rutting season.

There are 72 Pittosporum undulatum on the bush care site.

Pittosporum revolutum (Yellow Pittosporum)

Fig. 49

There are only a few examples of this within the Banksia Bushcare area, and each of them has had to be protected against deer damage. The absence of many seedlings might indicate that they have been eaten by deer as soon as they have come up.

The underside of the leaf is a slightly lighter green. The leaves are alternate or clustered at the end of branches, ovate to elliptic or oblong-elliptic, usually 5–15 cm long, 15–60 mm wide. The flowers are fragrant and in clusters at the ends of the branches. The seed capsule is oval shaped, 12–20 mm long, hard, thick- walled, valves rough and often warty, usually hairy with numerous red-brown seeds. There are three examples in the Reserve.

Pittorsporum multiflorum (Orange Thorn)

Fig. 50

Most plants within the same family look roughly similar, but Pittosporum multiflorum looks nothing like the other two, apart from a similarity of the flowers and fruit. It is generally a small shrub, growing to between one to three metres. It has needle-like spines on it. Its leaves are almost circular, 3-12 mm long and practically without leaf stalks. The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records the common names included "Native Orange" and "Orange Thorn" and that the fruit is an orange berry with a leathery skin, about one inch and a half in diameter, and which formed part of Aboriginal bush tucker. A lot of it has come up since the lantana was removed from the site, and there is some of it about halfway down on the left on the bush track to the Kiosk from Stanwell Avenue. One significant advantage of this plant is that it is an understorey species, and for obvious reasons is not eaten by deer. It also provides good shelter for small birds. There are some 35 in the reserve with others coming up.

Synoum glandulosum (Unscented Rosewood)

Fig. 51

Unscented Rosewood can be found throughout the rainforest and on its edges, and in wet sclerophyll forest. It mostly grows as a large shrug, but there is a stand of large trees of it halfway up the track going up Bald Hill.

Its leaves are compound and alternate. The flowers grow in the forks and are white and reddish on the outside. Its seed capsules are spectacularly red and contain one to four red and black seeds.

There are several examples of it in the north western end of the circle near the giant bower. There are also a couple of others about 2 metres tall on the other side of Stanwell Avenue.

Trema tomentosa (Native Peach)

Fig. 52

Trema can grow into a small shrub or tree, and grows right throughout the Illawarra area, within rainforest and on the coastal plain. When small it is easily confused with lantana because of the similar serrated shape and colour of the leaf. There are many examples of it growing in the circle after the lantana was removed and there are also some larger ones immediately behind the dune within the deer fence.

Tristaniopsis colina (Mountain Water Gum)

Fig. 53

Mountain Water Gum in the Wollongong area tends to be a shrub rather than a tree and is found on hillsides rather than next to streams like its cousin, Tristaniopsis laurina. It can appear as understorey in Eucalypt forest and in coastal areas as part of the littoral rainforest. At Stanwell Park, it is found along the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Surf Club.

The leaves are alternate, with short stalks and paler on the underside with small oil spots.

Native Forest Type: Banksia

Two species of Banksia have regenerated naturally in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve since natural vegetation started growing back over 70 years ago.

Banksia Integrifolia (Coast Banksia)

Fig. 54

This is one of the most widely distributed trees within the Stanwell Avenue Reserve. It can be found in all kinds of soils from the sandy/clay soils of the circle, in the rich soils of the hind dune rainforest areas, and on the sand dune itself. It can reach 25 metres in height. Its leaves have a dark green/grey upper surface and a white/grey underside that can be striking on windy days. In the Reserve, they do not seem to live much past 50 years, and many of the old ones in the reclamation area are now being blown over or broken in high

52 winds. The flowers have an unusually short life span for Banksia species, producing nectar for only about four to twelve days. Most nectar is produced during the night and early in the morning, with only small amounts produced during the day. Flowers are produced throughout the year, but there is a strong peak in autumn. It is a seasonally important source of food for nectar gathering animals when it does produce it. Surveys have observed a range of animals feeding on the species, including a wide range of insects; many species of bird including Phylidonyris novaehollandiae (New Holland honeyeater), Anthochaera carunculata (red wattlebird), Anthochaera chrysoptera (little wattlebird), Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (eastern spinebill), Calyptorhynchus funereus (yellow tailed black cockatoo)and Trichoglossus haematodus (rainbow lorikeet); and mammals such as Petaurus norfolcensis (squirrel glider), Petaurus breviceps (sugar glider), Acrobates pygmaeus (feathertail glider) and Pteropus poliocephalus (grey-headed flying fox). At Stanwell Park, the black cockatoos periodically visit these Banksias for their seeds.

There are some 430 of this tree on the site. About half of them germinated naturally and the other half were planted in the reclamation area of the beach by Wollongong Council.

Banksia serrata (Old Man Banksia)

Fig. 55

This Banksia is common in the sandstone soils on top of the escarpment. There is one plant of this species growing in the lower western area of the Reserve. Its position is somewhat unusual because it is growing in rich soils at the bottom of the hill under the shade of Turpentine trees. It normally prefers sandy soils.

Native Forest Type: Hakea

Hakea salicifolia (Willow Leaved Hakea)

Fig. 56

Willow leaved hakea (Hakea salicifolia) was first described by a French botanist in 1800. It is widespread throughout New South Wales and tends to grow on the edges of rainforest. It is often used as a hedge and has attractive white flowers along the stems. We frequently complain about the foreign plants like lantana, ochna and senna, but with willow leaved hakea, Australian plants are having their revenge. It has been declared an invasive weed in New Zealand.

There are two Hakea salicifolia growing in the circle, one of which was planted.

Native Forest Type: Leptospermum

Leptospermum laevigatum (Coast Tea Tree)

Fig. 57

This tree is common along the beach fronts and behind sand dunes in south eastern Australia. Its natural range is from Nambucca Heads to Anglesea in Victoria. Because of its salt resistant properties, it has been introduced into Western Australia where it has become a weed. Where it is protected from the sea salt, it can grow into a reasonably large tree. The bark is grey, brown, fissured and flaky. For this reason, it does not appear to be attacked by the Rusa deer. The leaves are small, alternate and a green/ grey colour. It produces a single flower in the forks of leaves. It produces fruit in the form of a woody capsule with a flat top.

There are some 417 Coast tea tree in the Reserve, mainly in the circle and the reclamation area.

Native Forest Type: Syncarpia

Syncarpia glomulifera (Turpentine)

Turpentine is often found on the edges of rainforest. It also occurs across the coastal plain and escarpment. In wet sclerophyll forest in the Illawarra, it can grow to 30 metres. It is often found with Blackbutt and Sydney Blue Gum/Bangalay hybrids, as occurs in the Reserve.

There is a stand of 42 Turpentines, some of them large, in the area to the west of the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Kiosk. On the other side of the track is a stand of Blackbutts. There are also about 30 smaller turpentines on the south facing hill of the Reserve, where they are mixed in with Coastal banksias, Lilly pilly and Coast tea tree, all sculptured by the salt laden southerly winds.

Fig. 58

The bark is grey and fibrous and can be pulled off in strips. The leaves are opposite, and the flowers are on long stalks, coming out in spring and summer. The fruit is a hard capsule between 15 and 20 mm across.

Native Forest Type: Casuarina

Casuarina glauca (Swamp Oak)

Fig. 59

Swamp Oak can be found along the coast from Yeppoon in Queensland to Bermagui on the New South Wales south coast. It is common in low lying lagoon communities. The picnic area in Stanwell Park used to be a large lagoon until it was filled in, mainly with sand from the beach dune. It makes sense then that it grows

56 naturally on the edge of what used to be a large lagoon and which in any event has a high-water table. There are several strands of it, totalling 12 trees along the edges of what used to be the northern lagoon.

Allocasuarina littoralis (Black Oak)

Fig. 60

Black Oak (Allocasuarina littoralis) can grow to 10 metres, but it is usually a smaller tree because it is often buffeted by salt laden winds on the coastal cliffs. There are two examples standing in the middle of the Reserve headland. The needles are much thicker than the Casuarina Glauca and Cunninghamiana.

Part 3: Species Planted in the Reserve Since the 1980s

3.1 Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and which had Regenerated in the Reserve (10 Species)

Most of the trees planted since the 1980s in the areas cleared of lantana have been rainforest trees. The detailed descriptions and photos of naturally regenerated species that have also been planted can be found in Part 2. The planting of trees in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve since the 1980s, included some of the existing species, with Livistona australis (Cabbage tree palms) and Banksia integrifolia (Coast banksia) being the most prominent. Approximately half of the 512 Cabbage tree palms growing in the Reserve were germinated from

57 local seed and planted. Approximately half of the 430 Coast banksia were planted by Wollongong Council in the reclamation area as part of its sand dune stabilisation program. Other trees in this category are:

Acmena smithii (Lilly pilly), Acronychia oblongifolia (White aspen), Alphitonia excelsa (Red ash), Cyathea australis (Rough tree fern), Diosporos australis (Black plum), Hakea salicifolia (Willow leaved hakea), Melia azedarah (White cedar) and Synoum glandulosum (Unscented rosewood).

Acmena smithii (Lilly pilly)

About 30 of the 120 Lilly pillies in the Reserve were planted from 1980 onwards.

Acronychia oblongifolia (White aspen)

Ten of these trees have been planted in 2020 inside the deer fence and outside of it in the western section of the reserve, where they have been protected from the deer by wire cages.

Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson fig)

In addition to the Port Jackson Fig that germinated naturally within the Reserve, seven more have been planted, including two large ones planted in the 1980s. One is near the signpost to the entrance of the picnic area, and the other on the northern side of Stanwell Avenue, just before the deer fence.

Fig. 61

Native Forest Type: Banksia

Banksia integrifolia: the whole of the reclamation area between the Kiosk and the beach was planted from the 1980s onwards. The others marked on the species map regenerated naturally.

Banksia ericifolia (Heath-leaved Banksia)

Banksia ericifolia is a common shrub found on top of the escarpment in sandstone country. It does not appear to be growing naturally in the Reserve, but several have been planted outside the Child Care Centre and seem to be doing well.

Fig. 62

They do not seem to have been attacked by deer. For that reason, some have also been planted in the circle as part of our program to plant deer resistant understorey.

3.2 Addition of Native Trees Endemic to Stanwell Park and Not Found in the Reserve (16 species)

Native Forest Type: Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus Botryoides (Bangalay)

Fig. 63

There are some examples of this on the eastern side of the deer fence in the Reserve. It has brown bark that can be thick and tessellated or evenly fibrous. It is found throughout the Illawarra, and often hybridises with the Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna). Only the smaller branches have smooth bark.

There are 8 examples of this planted in the Reserve.

Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney Blue Gum)

There is a stand of Sydney Blue Gum behind the kiosk. It has smooth bark which turns from white to green to a pale blue at certain times of the year.

Fig. 64

Sydney Blue Gums are found throughout the Illawarra, including the escarpment and the plateau, and generally is in deep, fertile soils. The soil behind the kiosk is typical of that. It often hybridises with Eucalyptus botryoides.

There are 14 Sydney Blue Gums behind the Kiosk. They were planted in the 1980s.

Native Forest Type: Rainforest

Alectryon subcinereus (Native Quince)

Fig. 65

In the open this tree forms a broad bush, but in the rainforest where it mostly grows, it may reach 8 metres. It is native to Stanwell Park and can be found right along the escarpment. It is not one of the species that regenerated in the Reserve but is found elsewhere in Stanwell Park. It has alternative dull green leaves, and the leaf edges are often toothed. Its seeds are bright black and red. One of these trees was planted in the circle in 2019 from stock supplied by the Wollongong Botanical Gardens. It is protected by a cage because of the deer.

Backhousia myrtifolia (Grey Myrtle)

This is a common rainforest tree along the Illawarra coastline and escarpment, but it also grows from southern New South Wales to Fraser Island. It grows into a large tree, as high as 20 metres in rainforest areas, and there are smaller examples along Stanwell and Hargrave Creeks.

Fig. 66

Grey myrtle leaf looks like Lilly pilly, but the main difference is that if the leaf is crushed, it has a strong smell of cinnamon or bubble gum. Its wood was highly prized in the past for hammer and axe handles. About 10 of them have been planted within the Reserve.

Ceratopetalum gummiferum (NSW Christmas Bush)

Fig. 67

Ceratopetalum gummiferum (NSW Christmas Bush) does grow naturally in Stanwell Park, but only plateau west of Clifton, Coalcliff and Stanwell Park. It has found its way down the escarpment as a street tree and in home gardens because of its spectacular red to pink flowers, which come out at Christmas time.

The Christmas Bush is a cousin of a much more numerous rainforest tree, Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum) which is common along the escarpment and which has similar flowers but are more a reddish brown and not so spectacular. However, they do stand out in the rainforest of the escarpment in summertime, giving it a reddish-brown tinge.

One NSW Christmas Bush has been planted in the Reserve.

Doryphora sassafras (Sassafras)

Fig. 68

Sassafras is one of the most common trees of the Illawarra escarpment rainforest. It is a medium to large tree reaching 30 metres. Its leaves are highly serrated and opposite, and highly aromatic if crushed. Its bark is light brown and sometimes grey, soft, flaky and tessellated. The white flowers are in clusters of three on short stalks. The fruit is brown when ripe and has a short appendage for wind dispersal.

Two Sassafras were planted in the Reserve in 2018 and are protected by a cage against the deer.

Elaeocarplus reticulatus (Blueberry Ash)

Fig. 69

Blueberry ash is a small to medium tree which can grow in a wide variety of conditions. It is notable for its attractive white or pink flowers and blue berries. It survives well in low nutrient soils and can grow from shade to full sun. The leaves are elliptical and serrated. One of them has been planted within the deer fence.

Endiandra sieberi (Corkwood)

Fig. 70

This species can be easily confused with the Cryptocaria microneural because of the yellow central vein. It does not have the conspicuous yellow veins of the Cryptocaria, and it has the familiar cork like bark, hence the name. It grows on the plateau west of Stanwell Park, but was not one that regenerated of its own accord on the reserve. It has flowers in the forks of the leaves and a black fruit.

One corkwood was planted in the circle in 2018 and is protected by a cage against the deer.

Ficus superba (Deciduous fig)

Fig. 71

The deciduous fig is the least common in the Wollongong area. As the common name suggests, it loses its leaves in the winter. It occurs naturally in small populations near Coalcliff. It is usually 15-20 metres tall but can reach 40 metres with a massive crown. It prefers low altitudes and fertile soils. One has been planted in the Reserve.

Pararchidendron pruinosum (Snow wood)

Fig. 72

Pararchidendron pruinosum (Snow Wood) is a member of the mimosa family and is endemic to Stanwell Park, although it did not regenerate naturally in the Reserve. It is mostly a spindly plant but can grow to 15 metres. It has bipinnate leaves and globular greenish flowers.

Planchonella australis (Black Apple)

Fig. 73

Black Apple, (Planchonella australis) is a medium to tall tree that occurs throughout the Illawarra on the escarpment, coastal plain and behind dunes. The leaves are thick, dark green and leathery. The upper surface is shiny, and the underside is a paler green. Its range extends from the Illawarra to Bundaberg, Queensland. It has black edible fruit which can be seen hanging from the tree or lying on the ground. Its fruit is a globular black berry 50 mm in diameter. The one in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve was planted from a local seed about 20 years ago. Five more have been planted recently.

Polyscias murrayi (Pencil Cedar)

Fig. 74

Pencil Cedar has a large central stem about 6 metres long and with large pinnate leaves radiating from it. It can reach 30 metres tall and is easily to spot in the forest. It is generally found in the rain forest but also in wet sclerophyll forest. The pinnate leaves with between 9 and 31 leaflets can be over a metre long.

There is one example of Pencil Cedar in the Reserve, planted about 30 years ago.

Sloanea australis (Maiden's Blush)

Fig.75

Sloanea australis (Maiden's Blush) is a rainforest tree extending throughout the Wollongong area, including Stanwell Park. It is more commonly found along the watercourses of the escarpment. It has large dark green elliptical leaves and white flowers emanating from the forks of the leaves. Its fruit is a light brown woody capsule that contains red and black seeds. One has been planted in the Reserve.

Syzygium oleosum (Blue Lilly Pilly)

Fig. 76

This Lilly Pilly is common in the northern part of the Illawarra escarpment, including Stanwell Park. It is mainly found in the rainforests of the plateau and occasionally on the higher reaches. It is mostly a spindly bush, but it can grow to 10 metres. The leaves are opposite and short stalked, tapering to a point, like the other Lilly pillies. The fruit is urn shaped and a blue/purplish colour.

Six have been planted in the reserve in 2020.

Toona Ciliata (Red Cedar)

Fig. 77

Red Cedar is famous for its furniture timber. As mentioned in the short history above, it also has a bloody history with the arrival of the first cedar cutters in the Illawarra in 1810 and the subsequent conflict with the Aboriginal people.

Red Cedar can grow to 50 metres. The juvenile tree has smooth bark, but as it matures, it becomes scaly and fissured. There are some fine examples of it along Lady Carrington Drive in the Royal National Park. It is one of the few native deciduous trees, with leaves falling in autumn and growing back in early December. The tree in the photograph is 2 years old, but there are some very tall ones that were planted behind the Kiosk about 30 years ago. Six have been planted in the reserve.

Tristaniopsis laurina (Water gum)

Fig. 78

This typically grows along watercourses, such as Stanwell and Hargrave creeks. One was planted in 2020 in the Reserve within the deer fence area.

3.3 Addition of Wollongong Native Trees Not Endemic to Stanwell Park (16 Species)

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (Bangalow Palm)

Fig. 79

Bangalow Palms can often be found in colonies along the escarpment, but they are certainly not as common as the Cabbage Tree Palm. That may well be because they are generally killed by fire. Cabbage Tree Palms

71 survive fire very well and are one of the first things to sprout green after everything else is turned black. As with the Cabbage Tree Palm, the Aboriginal people ate the Bangalow’s "cabbage." The palms stretch from north eastern Queensland (Eugella range, Mackay) to south eastern New South Wales near Bateman's Bay, but they are known to survive in gardens as far as Melbourne.

Bangalows have lilac flowers and red fruits which are visited regularly by bower birds and many others.

The Rusa deer sometimes eat the leaves of young Bangalow palms when drought has dried up other sources of food. The damage is not usually fatal, but certainly seems to affect the growth of the tree.

There are now 590 Bangalow Palms within the Reserve. All of these have been planted, and 372 of them are within the deer fence.

Brachychiton acerifolius (Illawarra Flame Tree)

This is undoubtedly the Illawarra's most famous tree, being widely planted as a street tree. It is a rainforest tree that prefers sheltered conditions, and there are a number that can be seen in the escarpment rainforests when they flower. They do not always flower every year. They may take 10 years to flower, and then the flowering is sporadic with at times only part of the tree producing flowers.

Fig. 80

There are six very tall Illawarra Flame Trees in the rainforest behind the kiosk, planted in the 1980s, and they do flower from time to time. Some of them have been flowering over the last decade, and several naturally regenerated species have grown up further to the west in the more shady sections of the reserve.

In more recent years with the removal of the Lantana, Senna and Ochna, we have planted over 70 of them in the Reserve, germinated from local seed. All are growing well but have had to be protected against the deer with cages. They lose their lower lateral leaves quickly, and this makes them a target for ringbarking.

The large leaves are variable in shape, and form an attractive, glossy tree even when not flowering. The tree can lose all its leaves, and then the whole tree is covered with bell shaped red flowers.

The seeds are in a large pod and have prickly hairs on them. The hairs need to be rubbed off with gloves and then placed in hot (not boiling) water and then allowed to stand for 24 hours before planting.

Callistemon salignus (Pink Tips Bottlebrush)

Fig. 81

This bottlebrush is a showy tree and if mostly found on the coastal plains and the foothills of the escarpment. It is often found in association with Prickly Leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca styphelioides).It is the only bottlebrush in the Illawarra that is not a Melaleuca. It has alternate leaves with creamy white bottlebrushes and its fruit is a woody capsule with multiple seed heads. One was planted in the Reserve in the 1980s, and another in 2020.

Casuarina cunninghamiana (River Oak)

River Oak is not common in the Illawarra, but there is some along creek lines at West Dapto. In the 1980s 12 of them were planted along the north side of the circle of Stanwell Avenue, and just west of the deer fence. They are tall, have dropped cones and are growing in small numbers further down the hill.

Fig. 82

The difference between the Swamp Oak and the River Oak is that the latter has paler and more crowded branchlets.

Corymbia maculata (Spotted gum)

Fig. 83

The Spotted Gum used to be known as Eucalyptus maculata, and that is its title in Brooker and Kleinig's 1983 book, Field Guide to Eucalypts. The botanists changed its name to Corymbia in 1995. The Bloodwood (Eucalyptus gummifera) suffered the same fate, being classified as Corymbia. Both are native to the Illawarra. The difference between eucalypts and corymbia is minute in that the lowers branches occur in "corymbs", a

74 structure where flower stalks arise from different levels on the stem, but all flowers finish in more or less the same plane. Otherwise, they have the same features as the other Eucalyptus.

The bark is spattered with irregular spots and dimples caused by the retention of the previous smooth bark from the year before.

Spotted Gums are mainly found in the St. Thomas area of the Illawarra, and there are a few at Corrimal. They are not as tall as those found south of Nowra along the coast. There are 10 examples of the Spotted gum in the reserve, all of them planted in the 1980s.

Cyathea cooperi (Straw Tree Fern)

Fig. 84

This tree fern can be found across the coastal plain and throughout the escarpment in sheltered eucalypt forest and rainforest. It can be distinguished from the other tree fern, Cyathea australis by the oval shaped scars left on the trunk when the dead fronds fall off. It has short prickles on the branches and brown scales at their base. Sixteen of them were planted in the bush care site area in the 1980s, but only one has survived. The others died during drought periods. There are 3 others that have come up by themselves in the dry creek bed created by the stormwater pipe from the Stanwell Avenue circle, and along the track from Stanwell Avenue to the Surf Club.

Diploglottis cunninghamii (Native Tamarind)

Fig. 85

Native Tamarind is rainforest tree than can grow more than 20 metres. It has quite a distinctive large leaf. Its trunk is brown to grey with circumference rings like coachwood. There is a large example in the rainforest behind the Kiosk. There is also one in a cage in the circle to protect it from the deer, and another within the deer fence. Both are growing well.

The fruits are edible, but tangy.

Dodonaea viscosa (Narrow Leaved Hop Bush)

Fig. 86

Dodonaea viscosa (Narrow leaved hop bush) grows mostly around Coniston and Oak Flats. It is often a small bush but can reach 10 metres. The bark is grey and flaky. The leaves are long and are attached to the main stem. The flowers are small, green or reddish. One was planted in the park in 2020.

Ehretia acuminata (Koda)

Fig. 87

Koda can grow to about 15 metres and is one of the few deciduous trees in the Illawarra. The leaves are lightly serrated and spiked, with white flowers and orange fruit. One tree was planted in the Reserve in 2020.

Emmenosperma alphitonioides (Yellow Ash)

Fig. 88

This tree is native to the Illawarra and is not common. It can grow to 30 metres. The leaves are opposite, and it has bright orange fruit. Four of them were planted in the Reserve in 2020.

Eucalyptus Tereticornis (Forest Red Gum)

Fig. 89

Forest Red Gum is a common eucalypt species in the Illawarra region, mostly south of Bellambi. It has smooth blue to grey to white bark that is shed irregularly, and like the spotted gum, some of the old bark remains on part of the trunk. There are 2 Red Forest gums in the Reserve behind the Kiosk.

Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Hibiscus)

Fig. 90

This tree is a native to the Illawarra, although it is not generally found naturally in the northern suburbs of Wollongong. It can grow up to 10 metres tall. It is fast growing and short lived. It has large attractive flowers, and despite the spikes on the branch stems, like most hibiscus, it is a favourite food of deer. In 2020, 8 of them were planted in the deer fence area and another 2 outside of it, protected by cages.

Melaleuca styphielioides (Prickly Leaved Paperbark)

Fig. 91

This Melaleuca is the most common in Wollongong's coastal plain. It extends to the foothills of the escarpment and is generally found in lagoon communities. It often grows in communities of Eucalyptus pilularis (Blackbutt) and Eucalyptus paniculata (Grey ironbark), both of which are found within the Reserve. According to Leon Fuller's Wollongong's Native Trees, it does not extend north of about Thirroul. However, some photos of Stanwell Park's northern lagoon in 1886, and shown on page 88 of Michael Adams' The Big History of Little Stanwell Park show white barked trees right up to the water’s edge. The bark does not appear to be consistent with Blackbutt, and it is quite possible that they are Melaleuca styphelioides. Their failure to regenerate like so many other species might be explained by a change in the melaleuca's natural habitat, namely when the lagoon was filled in with sand from the dune. The flowers of this melaleuca are like bottle brushes and are creamy white.

Three of these Melaleucas were planted in the reserve in 2020.

Podocarpus elatus (Plum pine)

Plum pine is one of the only two pines in the Illawarra. The other is the Port Jackson pine, (Callitris rhomboidea), which is rare. Plum pine, however, is widespread throughout the Illawarra. It is found at Brokers Nose, Berkeley Hills, the hind dunes behind Perkins Beach, Puckey's Estate and Bellambi. There are some large mature and fruiting trees in private gardens in Stanwell Park, and we have to assume they have been planted.

Fig. 92

There are 12 Podocarpus elatus planted within the Reserve, all with their own deer protection cage, although it now seems that the deer are not interested in eating them. As they tend to retain low lateral branches, there seems little likelihood of ringbarking by antler rubbing.

Syzygium australe (Brush Cherry)

Fig. 93

In the Wollongong area, this Lilly pilly is confined to watercourses on the lower half of the escarpment but does not reach Stanwell Park naturally. The bright red cherries are edible. The leaves are opposite and

80 pointed like the more common Acmena smithii. One tree was planted in the 1980s and is now a significant size.

Syzygium paniculatum (Magenta Lilly Pilly)

Fig. 94

This species has only been found growing naturally in the Upper Cordeaux Dam areas west of Mt. Kembla and along the lower parts of Stoney Creek at Coalcliff. It can grow to 8 metres tall. Its leaves are opposite and pointed at the tip. It has white flowers and magenta fruits that are edible. About 10 specimens were planted in the Reserve in 2020.

3.4 Addition of Native Trees Not Endemic to Wollongong, but Endemic to Other Parts of New South Wales (14 Species)

Archontophoenix alexandrae (The Alexander Palm)

Fig. 95

The Alexander Palm is endemic to northern New South Wales and Queensland, but it thrives in frost free areas further south, particularly along the coast in the Illawarra. It is a cousin of the Bangalow Palm and from a distance without flowers and leaves to identify it, they appear identical. The Alexander palm sometimes is wider than the Bangalow at the base. In contrast to the lilac flowers of the Bangalow, Alexander Palm's flowers are white. The seed is also red and indistinguishable from that of the Bangalows. There are 10 planted in the Reserve.

Argyrodendron trifoliatum (White Booyong)

White Booyong is a giant rainforest tree, growing to 45 metres, and endemic to Queensland and north eastern New South Wales. Its leaves are dark green on top and grey/ brown underneath. It is called Booyong in local indigenous languages where it occurs and is also known as Tulip oak. It develops large buttresses around the trunk once it gets some size. Before the arrival of fibreglass and carbon fibre, it was often used for fishing rods. It was also highly prized as flooring timber because of its attractive grain.

Fig. 96

The one tree planted on the Banksia Bush Care site in 1985, has not achieved that distinction because it was savagely attacked by a deer about 20 years ago, and it took many years to recover. However, it is still growing, has reached about 4 metres, its trunk is now protected by flower wire, and perhaps it might eventually throw out a buttress or two.

Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine)

The Bunya pine is a native to northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland. It has often been planted further south because of its attractive shape. It used to be common in parks, but its popularity has waned because of its heavy fruit which could kill someone standing underneath if it fell.

Fig. 97

There are two mature Bunya pines in the bush care area, planted around 1985, a large one on the northern side of the Stanwell Avenue circle, and a smaller one behind the kiosk. The large one has started to fruit, although they have not yet reached the lethal size. The smaller pine has not yet fruited. Two smaller ones have come up by themselves within the deer fence area and are the offspring of the one that has been fruiting.

Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island Pine)

Fig. 98

As the name suggests, the Norfolk Island pine is endemic to Norfolk Island but has been widely planted along beaches in Australia because of its salt tolerant leaves. The mature one on the right was planted to protect the Bunya pine behind it from salt laden winds. The smaller one was a gift from some residents who had it in a pot. It is now within the deer fence.

Davidsonia jerseyana (Davidson’s Plum)

Fig. 99

This tree is also known as Mullumbimby plum. It is a subtropical rainforest tree from Northern New South Wales, which can grow to 10 metres. The hairy and serrated leaves are compound. The fruit emerges from the trunk, and it is a favourite food of King parrots, which are common in the Stanwell Park area. In the wild, it is considered an endangered species. Four have been planted in the Reserve behind the deer fence.

Eucalyptus globulus maidenii (Maiden's Gum)

Fig. 100

This is a cousin of the Tasmanian Blue Gum, and an example can be found halfway around the circle of Stanwell Avenue just before the deer fence. It has long leaves, which makes it easy to distinguish from the Sydney Blue Gum. There is a small example behind the kiosk where the long leaves can be easily seen. The tree’s juvenile leaves are blue, which probably explains why it is called a blue gum, as distinct from the Sydney blue gum which has at times a pale blue bark. The juvenile leaves, if crushed put out a strong eucalyptus smell.

There are 3 examples of Maiden's Gum in the Reserve.

Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum)

Fig. 101

This is a very tall gum from the north coast of New South Wales and southern Queensland that was planted behind the Kiosk in 1985. It has rough bark for a few metres at the base and smooth white trunk and limbs. The tallest tree in New South Wales is a 76 metre Flooded gum in the Myall Lakes National Park. The height of the one in the Reserve has been sculptured back by the salt winds from the North East.

Howea forestiana (Kentia Palm)

Fig. 102

Kentia palms are endemic to Lord Howe Island, but their popularity is worldwide, mainly because they are very suitable for indoor plants. There are 4 examples of Kentia palms in the rainforest west of the deer fence.

Hymenosporum flavum (Native Frangipani)

Fig. 103

Native Frangipani is a rainforest tree native to Queensland and New South Wales but is not endemic to the Illawarra. Its natural habitat is from the Hunter River in Newcastle to the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland. Despite its common name, it is not related to the common garden Frangipani. It is, however, related to the Pittosporum.

In the 1980s, three of them were planted in the Reserve after the removal of the lantana, but only one has survived. It can be found in the forest behind the Kiosk and regularly displays its brilliant yellow flowers. Like the exotic Frangipanis, it does have a strong scent, and the Aboriginal people used its bark to make string.

Exotic Frangipani attract birds and bees with their scent, but there is no nectar for them, unlike the native version.

Lophostemon confertus (Brush Box)

Fig. 104

Brush Box is a common street tree in all States of Australia, but it is not native to the Illawarra area. Its native area is northern New South Wales and Queensland. It used to be known as Tristania conferta, but botanists have since reclassified it. In its natural setting it grows in damp sclerophyll forest and rainforest, where it can reach 40 metres or more. It looks like a Eucalypt but has denser foliage and therefore creates more shade. Its popularity as a street tree comes from the less likelihood of branches dropping, and it will survive even savage pruning (for example for power lines).

There are 4 large Brush Box, planted in the 1980s within the Stanwell Park Reserve. One of them is next to the main walkway from the dressing sheds to the beach.

Macadamia tetraphylla (Macadamia)

Fig. 105

Macadamia (Macadamia tetraphylla) is a rainforest tree from Northern New South Wales and Queensland. There is one mature Macadamia tree within the Reserve. It was planted about 30 years ago and does produce nuts from time to time.

Melaleuca nodosa (Prickly Leaved Paperbark)

Fig. 106

Melaleuca styphelioides is also referred to as Prickly Leaved Paperbark in Leon Fuller's Wollongong's Native Trees. Melaleuca nodosa has the same common name and is found in the Royal National Park. A study carried out in the Park in 2005 found that it was one of the plants that the deer do not like to eat, possibly because of its prickly nature.

Nodosa is a medium to large shrub from 1.5 to 3 metres. The flowers are about 25mm long and bright yellow. The leaves have sharply pointed tips.

Five of these trees were planted in the Reserve as part of creating an understorey of deer resistant plants.

Melaleuca quinquenervia (Broad Leaved Paper Bark)

Fig. 107

The Broad-Leaved Paper Bark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) is native to New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and coastal eastern Australia, from Botany Bay in New South Wales northwards into Queensland. There are some remnant examples of it at Jervis Bay. It was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish naturalist Antonio José Cavanilles from a specimen obtained near Sydney Harbour.

It is often associated with Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta) and Bangalays (Eucalyptus botryoides), two eucalypts that are common in the Stanwell Avenue Reserve. It is a small to medium sized tree, that can grow to 25 metres. It mainly grows in swamps, on floodplains and near rivers and estuaries, often on silty soil. It is another native Australian plant that is wreaking revenge in other countries for their invasive weeds here. It is considered a serious weed in Florida's Everglades. Ironically, in Australia, its habitat became threatened by the filling in of coastal floodplains for housing development. There are significant populations of it in the Myall Lakes and other national parks.

There are 10 of them in the bush care site, on the northern side of Stanwell Avenue to the west of the deer fence. They were all planted in the 1980s after the removal of lantana.

Stenocarpus sinuatus (Firewheel Tree)

Fig. 108

The Firewheel Tree is endemic to northern New South Wales and stretches as far as the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland. It does have a less splashy cousin that is native to Wollongong, the Scrub Beefwood (Stenocarpus salignus). The Scrub Beefwood has similar spider shaped flowers, but they are white or greenish, rather than the flashy red of its flamboyant cousin from the north. The Scrub Beefwood is not common but can be found on the edges of the escarpment and on the coastal plain.

The Firewheel Tree in the Reserve was planted in the 1980s and stands at about 8 metres. It now flowers regularly. Its trunk has had to be protected from deer. There is a second tree of about the same height near the eastern boundary fence of No. 19 Stanwell Avenue, about halfway up the hill.

3.5 Addition of Native Tree Endemic to Queensland (3 Species)

Agathis robusta (Kauri Pine)

Fig. 109

The Kauri comes from Fraser Island and around Cairns, and one was planted in the Reserve around 1985. It is one of the tallest trees in the rainforest behind the Kiosk. It can reach a height of 50 metres. It has smooth grey bark and glossy wide leaves, unlike typical conifers. Despite its tropical origins, it grows well in cooler climates, and this one is a good example.

Ficus microcarpa (Hills Fig)

Fig. 110

Hills Fig are those standing in Sydney's Hyde Park, which were planted there in 1857. They are endemic to central and north Queensland. There is one example of large Hills Fig in the bush behind the Kiosk, planted in 1985. It is endemic from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is widely planted as a shade tree. It is regarded as an invasive species in Hawaii, Central and South America. Despite its invasive nature in those places, it is recognised as being an important food source for birds.

Graptophyllum ilicifolium (Holly Fuchsia)

Fig. 111

This small tree is a native to Queensland, and as the name suggests, it has spiky leaves like holly. It generally grows on the edges of rainforest. Five have been planted in the Reserve on the assumption that their spiky leaves will repel the deer.

Part 4: The Look Alikes

There are many species of plants which look similar, and it is important to be able to distinguish between them when a particular plant is a noxious weed which could cause damage to the plant environment. The purpose of this section is to assist the reader to distinguish between them.

Senna (Cassia) and Breynia

Fig. 112: Senna (Cassia) (Senna Pendula), an invasive weed Breynia (Breynia Oblongifolia), a native tree

Senna is an invasive weed. It has a beautiful yellow flower, followed by a long bean containing its seeds. It has invaded many parts of the escarpment and can be seen very clearly when it is flowering. It can grow to 4 metres and the stems are dark and tough to cut. It has opposite leaves. It is relatively easy to pull out when young. Breynia, sometimes called Coffee Bush, is a native tree and will grow to 2.5 metres and has a reddish- brown stem. It has alternate leaves and is much harder to pull out. The easiest way to distinguish them is by the leaf arrangement.

Trad and Commelina

Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) (Weed)

Fig. 114

This is a fleshy creeper from South America that used to go under the name of Wandering Jew. It has succulent dark green leaves with purplish stems. It is difficult to eradicate because it breaks off easily from the roots and then regrows. Even one small stem left on the ground will regrow.

Commelina (Commelina Cyanea) (Native)

Fig. 113

Commelina is a sprawling native groundcover that can often appear weedy because of abundance. The leaves are sparsely spaced along the stem with wavy leaf margins. The leaf arises from an enclosed sheath. It has blue flowers from spring to summer.

Lantana and Trema

Fig. 115: Lantana camara, an invasive weed Native Peach, Trema tormentosa Lantana (Lantana camara) is one of the most invasive weeds in our area. Everyone is familiar with it. However, it does have a look alike, Native peach or Trema tomentosa. It is easy to mix them up when they are juvenile because they have almost identical leaves. The difference is that lantana has a more rounded leaf, and Trema has a pointy leaf, and tends to have a slightly lighter shade of green. In addition, Lantana leaves are opposite, and Trema's leaves are alternate. Trema's leaves are tri-veined, whereas Lantana's leaves are single veined. Trema grows into a tree, whereas Lantana is a scrambler, but that only is a distinguishing feature when both have some size.

Madeira Vine, Pearl Vine and Snake Vine

Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia)

Madeira Vine is an invasive climber that is native to South America (Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina). In Australia it has been used as an ornamental plant in gardens, but has become an invasive environmental weed, blanketing and smothering both shrubs and trees.

Fig. 118

Madeira vine is similar to pearl vine, but the giveaway is its flowers and nodes along the vine itself. It is a mistake to try and pull it out when mature because the nodes drop on the ground and can sprout in the thousands. The best way to remove it is to leave it as it is, scrape about 50 cms along one side of the vine and paint neat glysophate or similar poison along the trunk.

There was a large example of it on the western side of the Reserve along Station Street, and it was smothering a tree. There was also some down near the surf club, and both have now been treated. There is a lot of it up near the railway station and along the western side of Lawrence Hargrave Drive near the turn off to Chellow Dene.

The Madeira vine produces a potato like root under the ground and is edible, but slimy.

Pearl Vine (Sarcopetalum harveyanum) (Native)

A common plant found mostly in coastal areas of eastern Australia. It can be found in or around rainforests and is also seen in eucalyptus forests. There are plenty of examples of it within the Reserve.

Fig. 116

The leaf stalk is attached under the surface of the leaf. The leaves are heart shaped with raised leaf veins on both surfaces of the leaf. Seven veins branch out from the leaf base (A mid rib and three pairs of veins). The inner pair of veins extend almost all the way up the leaf. It has red berries.

Snake Vine (Stephania japonica) (Native)

Fig. 117

Another common native vine which is similar to pearl vine, except that the stalk is attached to the middle of the leaf. It is common throughout Asia and the Pacific region. It has small greenish flowers 4- 8 cms long, growing from the leaf axils in the warmer months. The fruit is an oval shaped, orange or red drupe, 2 to 5

98 mm long. There is plenty of it throughout the Reserve, and like pearl vine, is spreading now that the lantana and ochna have been removed.

Blackberry and Native Raspberry

Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)

Fig. 120

There is some blackberry in the Reserve, but fortunately not very much, and it is relatively easy to remove.

Native Raspberry (Rubus parvifolius)

Fig. 119

Native raspberry has prickles up the stem, but they are much smaller than blackberry thorns. The blackberry's leaves are much larger, 3 to 5 lobed and each lobe is oval shaped and serrated. Native raspberry is common within the Reserve.

Ochna and Mutton Wood Ochna (Ochna serrulata) is the worst of the invasive plants in the Reserve. It is a beautiful African bush with a red and black flower, like a Sturt's desert pea. However, it is almost impossible to pull it out once it gets above 5 cms. Evolution has given it a tap root that develops when it is over 5 cms, so that when an animal eats it, the leaf section snaps off, leaving the root to grow again. The only feasible way to get rid of it is by poisoning either by spraying or by scraping away the bark on the stem and painting poison on the wounded section. It is relatively easy to identify because it has long finely serrated leaves like a hacksaw blade.

Fig. 121: Ochna (Ochna serrulate) Mutton wood (Myrsine variabilis) Mutton wood, (Myrsine variabilis), on the other hand has wider leaves and with the serrations further apart. It is usually found in sclerophyll forest and sometimes in rain forest. There is a lot of it around the Stanwell Avenue circle. Unfortunately, it is one of the native plants that the deer like to ringbark with their antlers, and almost all of them have had to be protected with flower wire or wrapping dead ochna plants around the trunks. It is usually not a problem mixing the two up when they both have a bit of size, but it is easy to do so when they are small. It is important to get rid of ochna as soon as you see it because the seed is spread by birds, and once it takes hold, it is very difficult to eradicate. It is now becoming a serious problem along the escarpment.

100

Common Jasmine, Wonga Vine and Sweet Morinda Common Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) (Exotic)

Fig. 124

This is known as Pink or White Jasmine and evergreen twining climber native to China and Burma (Myanmar). It produces an abundance of reddish-pink flower buds in late winter and early spring, followed by fragrant five-petalled star-like white flowers which are about 2 cm in diameter. It has compound leaves with 5 to 9 leaflets which are dark green on the upper surface and a lighter green on the lower surface. The terminal leaflet is noticeably larger than the other leaflets. The plant is very vigorous and can grow up to 6 metres in height when supported. Depending on the climate, this vine has a semi-deciduous to evergreen foliage.

Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana)

There is a magnificent specimen of Wonga Wonga Vine on the right-hand side of the track to the Kiosk at the entrance from Stanwell Avenue.

101

Fig. 122

The photo on the left is of the Wonga Vine near the entrance to the Kiosk track. It was just starting to flower at the time this photo was taken on 17 August 2020. It grows all along eastern NSW in varying soils and climates. It has compound, thick and glossy leaves. The juvenile leaves are opposite and largely reduced in size with toothed margins. It has large brown pods that release papery thin seeds that are spread by the wind.

Sweet Morinda (Morinda jasminoides) (Native)

102

Fig. 123

Morinda is also a native climber with different but similar colour flowers and a yellow fruit. The leaves are opposite, glossy on the top surface and more matt below. It flowers in November-December. There is a Morinda vine to about 20 metres west of the Kiosk track. It has been surrounded by a small deer fence to prevent deer damage.

Slender Grape and Balloon Vine

Slender grape is a native and balloon vine is an invasive weed. Both vines grow within the Reserve.

Slender Grape Vine (Cayratia clematidea)

Fig. 125

Slender grape vine prefers rainforest and humid gullies and coastal areas. It has fleshy hairless stems with leaves that have short sparse hairs and an opposing tendril to help it climb. It has a cluster of small green flowers in summer and produces 5-6mm black berries.

Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum)

103

Fig. 126

Balloon vine is a climbing herb with tendrils. Balloon Vine has 7-9 leaflets in a branching pattern whereas Slender Grape has only 5 leaflets arising from a central point (palmate). The flowers of balloon vine are small and white. The easiest way to distinguish these two vines is if one of them makes these balloons.

Asthma Weed (Parietaria Judaica)

There is no look alike for Asthma weed, but as it has made its appearance in the Reserve, as well as in several home gardens, it is mentioned here. It is a particularly noxious weed, because not only is it invasive, but it is also dangerous. This is from the ABC Gardening Australia:

“It's also known as pellitory, or pellitory in the wall, sticky weed, dead nettle, Kirribilli curse, and botanically as Parietaria judaica. But no matter what it's called - it's a shocker.….it's a shocker.

It's also called sticky weed because it's covered in tiny sticky hairs which, if they touch your skin, can cause a rash, which itches and then t turns red like a burn. The plant has tiny flowers that release airborne pollen. If it gets in your eyes it can cause conjunctivitis, or up your nose can cause rhinitis and it can make you wheeze or trigger asthma attacks. One of the dangerous things about asthma weed is that it flowers all year so you're always at risk.

You may have walked past this plant and never be affected, but like beestings and rhus trees, it builds up in your system as an accumulative poison. The more you're around it the more likely you are to get an allergic reaction one day.

It's a tenacious plant, growing between cracks in the wall. It also takes salt spray and wind. Not only does it grow anywhere but it also spreads easily. The flowers are sticky so the perianth sticks to clothes and animal fur to spread. They are also spread by wind and water. One square metre of the plant can produce about 250,000 seeds.

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The obvious thing to do is get rid of it. Use an herbicide, like glyphosate, or hand-remove it - but wear gloves and be thorough. Ensure you dig out all the roots - because it can grow from root cuttings. Don't throw it in the compost, but bag it instead, because it will re shoot. If you're unsure about anything, contact your local council.”

Spraying it is the obvious solution where it is not interspersed with other plants, but spraying will kill everything else as well. If it has invaded other plants, it may well be better to kill the lot and start again.

Part 5: Bush Care Policies and Practice

The nature of the Australian bush has changed radically since the arrival of the first fleet in 1788 when Aboriginal burning practices gave way to European farming. It has changed even further with the introduction of foreign plants and animals. It is likely to change again with the advent of global warming and the likelihood of hotter bushfires. These changes raise the question: what kind of environment are we trying to “conserve?”

The practice of bush care is a relatively recent activity within Australia, with the first recorded regeneration project being undertaken in Broken Hill in the 1930s. It only started to take off in the Hawkesbury sandstone areas of Sydney in the 1970s and gradually it extended to other areas.1 In Stanwell Park in the 1970s, complaints to Council about Lantana encroaching from Council managed lands were responded to by sending a bulldozer, creating a scar along a fence and then doing nothing. The Lantana and other weeds came back more ferociously than before. That would never happen today.

In 2005, the New South Wales Department of Land and Environment issued a booklet entitled Recovering

Bushland on the Cumberland Plain.2 It set out three basic principles for bush regeneration: Retain remnant indigenous vegetation on site as a priority; Regenerate where bushland remains but is degraded by weed and animal invasion; Revegetate where a site has failed to respond to natural and/or assisted regeneration techniques.

In 2019, the Australian government issued its national biodiversity and action plan, entitled, Australia's Strategy for Nature 2019-2030.3 Its goals were to connect all Australians with nature, to care for nature in all its diversity and to share and build knowledge. Its sixth objective was to “maximise the number of species secured in nature.”

In February 2019, the Australian Government issued its National Recovery Plan for the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community, a document with special relevance to the Stanwell Avenue Reserve. The Recovery Plan notes that littoral rainforest is critically endangered and that it

1 http://www.aabr.org.au/images/stories/resources/manuals/bringing_the_bush_back.pdf 2 https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/RecoveringCumberlandPlainCh3-5.pdf 3 https://www.australiasnaturehub.gov.au/national-strategy

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“continues to be reduced and fragmented by land clearance, weed invasion, recreational disturbance, animal browsing/grazing, fire and natural disturbance.” The significant dangers for the Reserve, apart from potential danger from bushfire, are weed invasion and animal damage through Rusa deer.

The mixed forest of the 4.5-hectare Stanwell Park Reserve in the middle of Stanwell Park beach has regenerated of its own accord from being almost without a tree in the 1930s to a diverse mixed forest of 40 different species of trees from 7 forest types. Rainforest trees represent 29 species within that 40. From about the 1960s onwards, this regeneration was inhibited and threatened by the invasion of Lantana and Senna, and about 20 years ago by the more disastrous Ochna. These have now largely been eliminated, but ironically in some parts, it left the existing trees more vulnerable to Rusa deer, both by rubbing, eating seedlings and sheer vandalism.

In June 2019, I did a survey for a submission to the Senate inquiry into feral animals and counted 1,778 mainly rainforest trees that had been killed or substantially damaged in the previous two years. Many of the damaged ones have since died. Despite our efforts, the damage is continuing. Deer eat Glochidion ferdinandi, Alphitonia excelsa and Ficus coronata seedlings. They do not seem to eat Guioa semiglauca, Elaeodendron australe or Acronychia oblongifolia seedlings. However, once the latter trees grow to more than 2 metres in height, they will be rubbed to death, as many have been.

Planting and caging have therefore become an essential part of trying to preserve the biodiversity of this Reserve. The question is: what do we plant to replace the space left by weeds and the trees destroyed by deer? Expecting many native plants to come up naturally is useless given the grazing habits of the deer.

In the 1980s, we planted in the Reserve some 50 Australian native trees that were not endemic to the Illawarra, and 1,328 trees which were. The non-endemic ones have not become invasive and have not inhibited the growth of endemic species We are unlikely to plant more non-endemic ones because they are not necessary to “maximise the number of species” (to quote Australia's Strategy for Nature 2019-2030). These trees, such as Brush box, Kauri pine and Hills fig are already widely planted as street trees or in private gardens within the Illawarra and elsewhere.

There are trees which are endemic to Stanwell Park, which have not regenerated naturally in the Reserve. A good example is Backhousia leptopetala. It is not in the Reserve but there are many examples of it 50 metres away from it along the banks of Stanwell Creek. There are 15 other species of planted trees that come into this category. The argument might be that since they did not come up naturally in the Reserve, they should not be planted there, despite their existence elsewhere in Stanwell Park bushland. However, the photos of the northern lagoon at Stanwell Park taken in the 1880s suggests that Melaleuca styphelioides or ericifolia were growing there but are not there now, possibly because the lagoon was filled in. We do not know what

106 other species were lost with the clearing of the Reserve in the 1920s. “Nature” is not a static concept. The reasons for the absence of some trees in the regeneration process could be many and complex.

Similar considerations apply to Wollongong's native trees which are not endemic to Stanwell Park. There is a good argument based on maximum biodiversity for planting these trees in the Reserve, particularly if they are not so common.

Botanists say that Stanwell Park is a cross over between trees of the Illawarra and those of the Sydney region – Backhousia leptopetala being just one example. The cross over status of Stanwell Park also has implications. Does it matter if we plant in the Reserve Melaleuca nodosa, which is not a Wollongong tree, but is found in the Royal National Park and was found to be relatively deer resistant in a 2005 study?

The deer are affecting the regeneration in other ways, particularly with understorey. Pittosporum multiflorum is coming up in many places now because its needles stop the deer from eating it – Asparagus fern had previously stopped its spread. For this reason, it is likely to dominate the understorey in ways that may not have happened prior to the arrival of the deer.

If the deer are with us forever, as seems inevitable, it is arguable that maximising species diversity means planting deer resistant native species no matter from where they come. As the results within our deer fence make clear, the only way to ensure complete natural regeneration is by fencing off the whole area. As government authorities do not seem to have the capacity to eradicate the deer, and do not have the funds to erect proper deer fences around bush care sites, the solution that we propose seems to be a practical one.

Volunteer Bush Regeneration in the Stanwell Park Reserve

Hargrave Creek

In the 1990s, Elaine Pugh organised some residents to become involved in removing weed material from Hargrave Creek, and cleaning up the area around the CWA Hall.

The Reclamation Area

In the mid-1970s, the Council and NSW coastal authorities fenced off and planted spinifex and marron grass in front of the existing dressing sheds to stabilize and restore the dune. It later planted Coastal wattle (Acacia longifolia) Coastal banksia (Banksia integrifolia) and Coastal tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum). In 2004, Bill Harris and Barry McGuinness started removing the Asparagus fern and Lantana from the Reclamation Area and planted suitable dune plants, including Coastal banksia. Barry germinated many Bangalow palms, and created a forest of some 100 trees in a gully behind the recovering sand dune.

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The Dress Circle

In the mid-1970s, the then Council Ranger, Brian Phillips and I decided to do something about the Lantana and Senna in the area behind the Kiosk. He started working upwards from Station Street, behind the Kiosk, and I started working down from Stanwell Avenue.

By the early 1980s, we had cleared about four blocks of land on the western side of No. 19 Stanwell Avenue, and about two on the eastern side. We then started to plant trees, some of which were provided by Wollongong Council and some of which I bought from nurseries, but many, such as the Cabbage tree palms and Bangalow palms were germinated from local seed.

Fig 127: The dressing sheds, and remainder of the sand dune in 1973. The dressing sheds were being covered by windblown sand. The reclamation area was then planted with grass in 1975 and fenced off.

Fig. 7. The house at 19 Stanwell Avenue and surrounding land in 1975. Some eucalypt species (Grey ironbarks, Swamp mahoganies and Blackbutts) were growing on the western side and some Cheese trees and Guioas on the eastern side. The Lantana was thick.

Fig. 128 Fig. 129

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Fig 128: Lantana removal and tree planting in the 1980s. The photo is looking up towards Stanwell Avenue from the eastern side of 19 Stanwell Avenue, where we left a corridor of lantana facing the road. The River Oaks (Casuarina cunninghamiana) were then well established. Fig 129: This photo is taken from the western side of No. 19, looking down to Station Street and the Council park. In the background are mainly cheese trees that came up by themselves.

The various Council rangers and I continued to maintain the cleared area to keep it free of mainly Lantana and Senna. However, in about 2000, a far more invasive weed, Ochna serrulata from Africa appeared, mainly in the western section of the Dress Circle, but it was also dispersed within the circle itself. The seeds had probably been dropped by birds. It would eventually have created a monoculture of Ochna in the western end of the Reserve. Once the native trees died of old age (and some, particularly the two Wattle species, Acacia binervata and Acacia maidenii were already doing so), there would be no more native trees to replace them because of the density of the Ochna's foliage.

In 2004, I retired and had more free time on my hands, and started removing the noxious weeds from the northern facing areas of the Dress Circle where the infestations of Lantana and Ochna were the worst.

I germinated Bangalow Palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), Illawarra flame trees (Brachychiton acerifolius) and Plum Pine (Podocarpus elatus) from local seed and planted them in the areas where the noxious weeds had been removed, leaving a hole in the canopy.

Fig. 130 Fig. 131

Fig. 130: The Stanwell Park Reserve and reclamation area in 1996. Fig. 131 The area surrounded No. 19 Stanwell Avenue in 1999. The rainforest and sclerophyll areas on both sides of the property were well established.

Banksia Bush Care Volunteers

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By 2017, some friends and I had removed a huge amount of weed material and put it in a pile further along in the circle where we expected the Council could collect it. Two Council officers came up and were pleased with what had been done and suggested that we should become volunteers within the Council’s bush care program. They also told us that it the Council’s preferred policy to leave the weed material on site.

This created a problem for the owners of No. 19, 31 and 35 Stanwell Avenue, and the Child Care Centre because the amount of weed material was huge and having big heaps of dried sticks and fines in heaps presented a fire hazard.

Gaby Porter, a sculptor from Wombarra had made a giant bower and a nest in her garden, and this provided some inspiration for creativity in the disposal of the weeds. The nests we created were filled with leaf litter and became compost heaps for the trees we planted downhill of them. The leaf litter composted with the rain and sent the nutrient to the tree around which we had built a small dam to contain it.

Fig. 132. The nests made mainly from lantana, senna and ochna

I made some porcelain eggs, more as a joke, to put in the nests. Like most places, Stanwell Park has a history of vandalism and to try and discourage that, I painted the bottom of the eggs with underglaze with the message: "Art in the Park. Please Do Not Steal Me," and signed it "Banksia," because the nests were three- dimensional graffiti in a public park, and at that stage, no one really knew who was making them.

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Fig. 133

The Council bush care people were supportive of what we were doing and agreed to call the Dress Circle the "Banksia Bush Care" site.

Fig 134

The composting nests have been successful as can be seen from the south western side of the bush care area where some planted trees of the same species (Illawarra flame trees and red cedars) have a nest, and some

111 do not. Those with nests have grown as much as 1.5 metres higher than those without. There are now 186 giant nests on the site, fertilizing the trees planted downhill of them.

Fig. 135

Fig. 135: Illawarra Flame trees and Red Cedars showing different growth rates depending on whether they had the benefit of a compost nest

The nests surprisingly act as a fire retardant. The outside burns, but the wet composting centre has the effect of restricting the airflow. I tested my hunch with an experiment at another place. I built some nests on the property and filled them with leaf litter. I also made a heap of an equivalent quantity of sticks a few metres away and left them in the weather – which is effectively what the Council wanted us to do with the weed material. After two years out in the weather, both were burned side by side. The difference was significant, with the nest taking twice as long to burn and with half the intensity. The composted centre did not burn except for the top 5 cms. This experiment was carried out calm conditions without there being any bushfire danger. The real test came on 4th January 2020 when a huge fire storm raced through the property and burned the house and all the forest, including the rainforest that had survived a fire in 1968. The temperature inside the house had to be 1,250 degrees because the glaze on my ceramics inside the house melted and then cooled. The centres of two of the nests survived the firestorm. While the nests exteriors will burn, they will do so slowly, and as the compost material breaks down and contracts, the nest can be used continually to fill up with excessive leaf and fallen stick material which can significantly increase bushfire intensity if left spread on the ground.

Banksia Bushcare has 12 local volunteers who work with me as the coordinator. The arrangements are informal to suit the free time of the individuals. Pre-Covid, we signed up 20 backpackers as

112 volunteers who were given free board and accommodation in return for a few hours work per day. Between 1917 and 2021, volunteers have provided 2,900 manhours work within the Dress Circle.

Fig. 136: Some Belgian backpackers and the nest they made

Recent Projects: 29 Stanwell Avenue

Fig. 137 Fig. 138

No 29 Stanwell Avenue is a Council owned block of land where the house was demolished to add to the park about 20 years ago. While there had been some regeneration of native species (Myoporum acuminatum (Boobialla), Leptospermum laevigatum (Coastal tea tree), Banksia integrifolia (Coastal Banksia) and Glochidion Ferdinandi (Cheese tree) the Lantana and six giant Oleander trees down the western boundary dominated the block. We have removed all of it and turned the wreckage into nests (Fig. 137) and then planted a variety of trees and ground covers. Towards the front of the block, (Fig. 138), we have planted Acacia longifolia (Coastal wattle) Acmena smithii (Lilly pilly), Podocarpus elatus (Plum pine), Hibiscus heterophyllus (Native Hibiscus), Microlaena grass and a variety of Lomandras, and other ground covers.

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Community Involvement

Art in the Park

Art in the Park started as a creative way of dealing with huge quantities of weed material. The giant bower was created for that reason, but it also provided an opportunity to educate people about the extraordinary bower bird. The nests were created for the same reason, but they also had a more practical object of providing compost heaps and disposing of combustible material in ways that reduced the bushfire hazard. There has been little vandalism of the eggs, despite the obvious temptations, and we have of spare ones when it does happen.

Fig. 139: The giant bower, male and female bower birds and a description of them

The eggs also became a way of involving the community in the project. Some 45 eggs in the nests have now been painted by residents, most of them by children, creating a kind of bush art gallery. Another 20 are being painted at the time of this submission.

Fig. 140: Sign explaining the purpose of the nests and Art in the Park

The Child Care Centre has also had their children paint smaller wooden eggs and these have also been placed in the nests during the children’s trips with their carers through the bush.

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Fig. 141: A sample of the painted eggs

Community Education

Tree Labels

While most people can recognize a eucalypt, a wattle, and a banksia, the species in the Dress Circle are so diverse that few people could identify all of them. Natasha Watson from Otford kindly donated 200 professionally made enamel identification signs for the trees. People who walk through the bush can now learn about the critically endangered littoral rainforest in their village.

Fig. 142

Rusa Deer

Rusa deer from Indonesia were introduced into the Royal National Park in 1906. When I moved into the area in 1972, they were occasionally seen around the Otford area. They were rarely seen in Stanwell Park, and certainly not in the Dress Circle until about 20 years ago. Then a buck with a couple of does appeared. He did a bit of damage, but not all that much to be worried about. Then they disappeared for a couple of years, and the regeneration flourished with ferns and grasses around the trees that I planted.

About five years ago, a herd of as many as 10 Rusa Bucks started living in the Dress Circle. They ring barked the young native trees and leaving gaping wounds in older ones. Residents reported seeing between 20 and 30 deer in the picnic areas of Stanwell Park during some dry periods. It was pointless planting any trees in bushland without providing them with protection.

Deer Damage

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There are four ways in which deer can destroy a forest. The first is by partially ring barking the tree which may not result in the death of the tree, but certainly weakens it significantly. The second is by snapping off young trees about a metre off the ground. The third is by complete ring barking of younger trees, thus killing them. The fourth is by eating new trees as they come up.

In 2019, we approached Wollongong Council about putting up a deer fence within the littoral rainforest because not only were rainforest trees being ringbarked, but they were eating practically every new native tree that was coming up.

The Deer Fence

With the assistance of Wollongong Council, we erected a 3,000 square metre deer fence in the sensitive area behind the sand dune.

Fig. 143: Deer fence around a sensitive area behind the sand dune at Stanwell Park Beach where the deer had been attacking over 100 Bangalow palms.

The improvement in the area inside the fence is significant with native trees and grasses coming up, as well as some weeds which we are managing to control. Outside the deer fence, we have had to protect the existing trees with flower wire or by wrapping ochna branches around their trunks with cable ties to stop the ring barking, or by creating smaller copses with a deer fence around them.

The Future

At the time of publication, there is still weed material that needs to be removed from between 31 and 35 Stanwell Avenue, and the area planted out. There is also Lantana and Asparagus Fern on the southern side of the Child Care Centre.

Even when these areas have been regenerated, there will need to be continuous maintenance until the weed seed bank is exhausted. The nests and the compost inside them will continue to reduce in size, and they

116 provide a convenient means for keeping the forest clean of combustible fuel in terms of fallen sticks and excessive build-up of leaf litter.

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Image Acknowledgments

Acmena smithii: Akos Kokai https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syzygium_smithii_(13368821554).jpg

Aerial photos: Wollongong Council

Alectryon subcinereus: Ethel Aardvark https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alectryon_tomentosus_foliage_and_flowers_2.jpg

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana: (seeds) Kahuroa, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArchontophoenixCseeds.jpg

Banksia ericifolia: John Moss https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banksia_ericifolia_flower1.JPG

Balloon vine: Tatters https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balloon_vine_(_Cardiospermum_grandiflorum)_(6634739087).jp g

Casuarina cunninghamiana: (nuts) Philmarin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C.cunnin.-fr-1.jpg

Clerodendrum tomentosum: John Tann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hairy_Clerodendrum_(5213472863).jpg

Commelina cyanea: Mike Young https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commelina_cyanea_square.jpg

Doryphora sassafras: author Cgoodwin. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doryphora_sassafras.jpg

Dodanaea viscosa: author David Eickhoff https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dodonaea_viscosa_(5187412747).jpg

Eucalyptus paniculata (flowers) Murray Fagg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eucalyptus_paniculata_buds.jpg

Grevillea robusta: RickP https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grevillea_robusta_flowering_05.jpg

Hibiscus heterophyllus : Tatiana gerus

Macadamia flower and nuts : Flower By Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66459775 ; Nut by Melburnian

Madeira vine : John Tann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madeira_vine_(3372772764).jpg

Melaleuca nodosa : Melburnian https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melaleuca_nodosa.JPG

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Melaleuca quinquenervia: B. Henry https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melaleuca_quinquenervia.jpg

Melaleuca styphelioides : Consultaplantas https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melaleuca_styphelioides_3c.JPG and Geoff Derrin : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Melaleuca_styphelioides_fruit.jpg

Morinda jasminoides John Tann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sweet_Morinda_(6303913596).jpg

Pararchidendron pruinosum Peter Woodward https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pararchidendron_pruinosum#/media/File:Pararchidendron _pruinosum_7_mile_beach_1.JPG

Polyscias murrayi: Tatiana gerus https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polyscias_murrayi_1.jpg

Sloanea australis: Australian National Botanic Gardens http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sloanea+australis

Stenocarpus sinuatus: Cas liber (flowers) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stenocarpus_sinuatus_maranoa_email.jpg

Syncarpia glomulifera: Casliber https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syncarpiaglomuliferaflwr.jpg

Syzygium paniculatum: John Tann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magenta_lillypilly_%283364752755%29.jpg

Syzygium australe: Pseudopanax https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Syzygium_australe.jpg

Syzygium oleosum: John Moss https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syzygium_oleosum_fruit1.JPG

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Adams, Michael The Big History of Little Stanwell Park

Little Bulli: The Pioneering of Stanwell Park and the Northern Illawarra till the 1860s

Brooker & Kleinig Field Guide to Eucalypts Vol 1, 1983

Costermans, Leon Native Trees and Shrubs of South Eastern Australia, 2009

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Dept Environment..(Cth) Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/19747170-3fd3-4930-9ca5- 6ca89508b571/files/littoral-rainforest.pdf (Accessed 23 September 2020)

Dept. Environment..(NSW) Identification of Rainforests, a Field Guide: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/pnf/OGRFreviewFieldGuide.pdf (Accessed 23 September 2020)

Donaldson, Bursill & Jacobs: A History of Aboriginal Illawarra Vol 1 & 2.

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Forests Australia https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia/australias-forests (Accessed 23 September 2020)

Fuller, Leon Wollongong's Native Trees, third edition 2011

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Gammage, Bill The Biggest Estate on Earth

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NPWS (NSW) Bioregional Assessment Study Part 1, Native Vegetation of the Illawarra Escarpment and Coastal Plain: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/surveys/020107N atVegIll.pdf (Accessed 30 December 2020)

Office of Environment..(NSW): Royal National Park Coastal Cabin Communities: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDet ails.aspx?ID=5054896 (Accessed 9 October 2020

Pascoe, Bruce Dark Emu

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