Plan of Management Sydney Harbour National Park 2012 Sydney Harbour National Park Nurture. Understand. Learn. Enjoy. PLAN OF MANAGEMENT 2012 Foreword 6 Middle Head This plan of management describes how the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will conserve the natural and cultural heritage of the park while providing unique and enriching experiences for visitors to Sydney Harbour. The park is one of the smaller national parks in looking for partners to craft and deliver a range of New South Wales. At just under 400 hectares it sits innovative visitor experiences to complement and within a protected areas system totalling around enhance appreciation of the park. 7 million hectares of land. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 Though small the park contains an extraordinary requires that a plan of management be prepared diversity of natural and cultural heritage, as well for each national park. A draft plan of management as some of Sydney’s most valued sites for outdoor for Sydney Harbour National Park was placed on recreation, special events and celebrations. public exhibition from 12 December 2010 to 30 April 2011. The submissions received were The park is distinguished by the number and carefully considered before adopting this plan. significance of historic sites around the harbour, including the fortifications at Fort Denison, the This plan contains a number of actions to North Head Quarantine Station, the recreational achieve the NSW 2021 priority to ‘Protect our parklands of Nielsen Park and Shark Island and the native vegetation, biodiversity, land, rivers and mast of the first HMAS Sydney at Bradleys Head. coastal waterway’, including development and implementation of a pest management strategy, A remarkable variety of natural heritage persists undertaking a systematic fauna and flora survey, and and even thrives within the park. The Nielsen Park fire management strategies. The plan also contains she-oak is wholly restricted to the park, while actions towards ‘more people using parks’, including the endangered long-nosed bandicoot and little preparation of an interpretation and education penguin of North Head are two of the State’s most strategy, which will consider how to provide safe treasured and intensively managed visitor access to the park whilst protecting the wildlife populations. natural and cultural heritage of the park. The protection of the park and its natural and This plan of management establishes the cultural heritage is dependent upon the support scheme of operations for Sydney Harbour National and understanding of the community as well as Park. In accordance with s.73B of the National Parks the work of NPWS. Volunteers in particular have a and Wildlife Act 1974, this plan of management is critical part to play in the future of the park. hereby adopted. A critical aspect of the plan of management is the commitment to offering the community and visitors a diverse array of opportunities to experience, enjoy and appreciate the park. Future visitor experiences will span recreational pursuits such as bushwalking along the Sydney Harbour Scenic Walk or picnicking Robyn Parker MP at Nielsen Park, through to fine dining at Fort Minister for the Environment Denison or short stay accommodation in a harbour- side heritage property. NPWS will be actively Statement on behalf of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Taylors Bay, Bradleys Head Aboriginal communities have a profound Aboriginal heritage and connection to nature are inseparable association and connection to the from one another and need to be managed in an integrated land. The land and water, flora and manner across the landscape. fauna within a landscape are central to In the management of the headlands and islands of the Sydney Aboriginal spirituality and contribute Harbour National Park, Aboriginal cultural values will provide an to Aboriginal identity. Aboriginal anchor point for conserving and experiencing Australia’s shared communities associate natural resources history and contributing to the momentum of reconciliation. with the use and enjoyment of foods and medicines, caring for the land, passing on Opportunities supporting reconnection to the land for city- cultural knowledge, kinship systems and based Aboriginal Australians is a major focus of the Sydney strengthening social bonds. Harbour National Park Plan of Management. Sydney has a rich Aboriginal presence and heritage but these aspects of Sydney’s character have until recently been largely invisible to non-Aboriginal people. The sites and stories that are so much a part of the heritage of the park will be made more accessible with opportunities to explore Sydney’s living Aboriginal cultural heritage, past and present. Paul Morris CEO, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This plan of management was prepared by staff of the Metropolitan North East Region of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), part of the Office of Environment and Heritage, Department of Premier and Cabinet. NPWS acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which Sydney Harbour National Park is situated. NPWS will work in a respectful manner with the Aboriginal people Published by: in Caring for Country. Office of Environment and Heritage NPWS is grateful to all the organisations and individuals who 59–61 Goulburn Street contributed to the preparation of this plan of management. These PO Box A290 included the Metropolitan North East Region Advisory Committee, the Sydney South 1232 Stakeholder Working Group (SWG), the staff of Metropolitan Branch of © Copyright State of NSW and the NPWS and Elton Consulting. Office of Environment and Heritage: Front Cover: Bradleys Head. Photographer: Kevin McGrath Use permitted with appropriate acknowledgment. P23 and P38: Little penguin. Photographer: David Jenkins ISBN 978 1 74293 815 8 All other photographs: Kevin McGrath and NPWS OEH 2012/0757 For additional information or any inquiries about this park December 2012 contact the NPWS Metropolitan North East Regional Office at Bobbin Head, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Printed on recycled paper Sydney Harbour National Park Contents Section 01 Map 4 Statement of Significance 6 Park Vision Guiding Principles 9 Values and Threats 17 Desired Outcomes 21 Summary of Key Projects 38 Section 02 Common Issues 46 Nielsen Park and Hermitage Foreshore 59 Precincts South Head and Camp Cove/ Green Point 71 Gap Bluff 85 North Head 95 Dobroyd Head 111 Middle Head 123 Bradleys Head 135 Shark Island 145 Clark Island 155 Fort Denison 165 Goat Island 175 Rodd Island 191 Section 03 How to Use the Implementation Table 202 Implementation Table 203 Implementation Section 04 Location, Gazettal and Regional Context 236 Management Context 237 Appendices Values and Threats 238 Management Operations and Other Uses 283 Bibliography 284 Glossary and Acronyms 286 PLAN OF MANAGEMENT 2012 1 section 01 Park Vision 2 Sydney Harbour National Park PLAN OF MANAGEMENT 2012 3 Sydney Harbour National Park 4 Sydney Harbour National Park PLAN OF MANAGEMENT 2012 5 Statement of Significance Sydney Harbour is universally acknowledged as a place of extraordinary natural beauty and as the setting for the great global city that Sydney has become. Sydney Harbour National Park is an integral part of this setting. Bradleys Head The harbour is more than a jewel – it is Sydney’s heart. Framing the waters of Sydney Harbour are its headlands and islands, bays and beaches. These special places contain a wealth of heritage resulting from the custodianship of Aboriginal people and the early phases of the harbour’s development for maritime industries, quarantine, defence and recreation. The resilience of nature and the survival of this rich heritage in such close proximity to the city is truly inspiring. These formerly closed lands have now entered the public domain as our public parklands. The easy accessibility of the landscape over millennia and significant cultural heritage places this park at the heart of a city continue a deep connection to and providing a myriad of visitor provides a constant reminder the harbour, early settlers brought opportunities. The open spaces, of our connection to the natural their own customs and desires and natural settings and historic places world and shared past. It has sought to develop, protect and of Sydney Harbour National Park offered many Sydneysiders their enjoy these lands. Public recreation, offer opportunities for recreation, first opportunity to forge their the military’s presence and strong research, events, education, self- relationships with the landscape public support for the land’s development and exploration and and their heritage. Creating vibrant protection precluded the kind of cultural renewal. opportunities for new generations intense development witnessed The park sits within a complex to embrace these aspects of their elsewhere along the harbour array of public and private life is a great responsibility for the foreshores. The park has been lands. Sustaining the harbour’s managers of the park. shaped by the history of settlement. landscapes and heritage will Many generations have shaped Today, NPWS and its partners require strong partnership and today’s Sydney Harbour National are restoring habitats and shared purpose amongst all those Park. Aboriginal people nurtured protecting wildlife, conserving who care about this special place. 7 Crater Cove 8 Guiding Principles The following guiding principles have been developed to inform the management of the park. They will be applied in conjunction with the legislation and policy framework that applies to all national parks. PLAN OF MANAGEMENT 2012 9 Conserve natural and cultural heritage Natural heritage management will conserve, sustain and GUIDING enhance the biological and geological diversity of the landscape. PRINCIPLE 01 Aboriginal people have the primary role in determining how their heritage should be managed. We will work with the Aboriginal community to ensure that their heritage is managed with care and respect. The management of the park’s historic heritage will be sensitive to the history and patterns of use that have determined their significance.