Phillip Island Nature Parks Community Information Guide 2012

Phillip Island Nature Parks Community Information Guide 2012 Please accept a copy of ‘Your Community Information Guide 2012’. As a community member, business or organisation interacting with Phillip Island Nature Parks, we hope you find it useful. You can find more about Phillip Island Nature Parks at www.penguins.org.au. Further copies of this guide are available from: - Phillip Island Nature Parks’ visitor centres - Phillip Island Visitor Information Centre, Newhaven - Bass Coast Shire Council office, Cowes - Online at www.penguins.org.au. Bass Coast Shire Council also manages Crown Land and foreshore reserves on Phillip Island. For more information about Bass Coast Shire Council, please visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au. For any further information, please contact us on (03) 5951 2800 or [email protected] Kind regards, Matthew Jackson Chief Executive Officer Thank you Local Pass www.penguins.org.au (03) 5951 2800 Phillip Island Nature The Local Pass: $36.85 for a 12 month adult pass* Parks has launched $18.40 for a 12 month child pass* To ensure the new pass is exclusive to an exclusive Bass Bass Coast Shire residents, you must show identification of your residency within the Coast Shire residents Bass Coast Shire (eg. licence, rate notice, Local Pass. utilities bill/receipt) when you purchase the pass. For the cost of one single 3 Parks Pass The Local Pass is available to purchase at the new Local Pass gives unlimited the Penguin Parade, the Koala Conservation Centre, Churchill Island Heritage Farm and the 12 month entry into the Nature Parks’ three Nobbies Centre. major attractions - the Penguin Parade, For full terms and conditions visit: Churchill Island Heritage Centre and the Koala Conservation Centre. Entry into www.penguins.org.au the Nobbies Centre is already free. *Prices subject to change Your Community Information Guide 2012 For further information on any section of this Guide, or about Phillip Island Nature Parks, please contact: Ph: 03 5951 2800 Email: [email protected] Website: www.penguins.org.au 2 Introduction and welcome This Information Guide is designed to help inform you about Phillip Island Nature Parks (the Nature Park) – whether you are a local community member or a visitor to Phillip Island and the Nature Park. The Guide provides information on the history of the Nature Park which is a not-for-profit organisation. We outline how we are managed and funded, the departments within the organisation and our attractions. Our core responsibility is to achieve a balance between ecotourism, conservation and recreation. As the largest employer on Phillip Island, the organisation is committed to working with the Phillip Island community and other stakeholders through consultation and co-operation. The success and sustainability of the Nature Park is testament to the passion, dedication and commitment of the Nature Park’s board, management team, staff, volunteers, community and supporters. It is through their work that the Nature Park’s unique ecosystems are able to be restored and protected for future generations. We acknowledge that the Nature Park forms part of the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung and Bunurong people. All information contained in this Guide is correct at the time of print (December 2011) and may be subject to change. Cover image; © D.Parer and E.Parer-Cook 3 4 Index Who we are 6 Nature Park departments 10 Attractions and natural areas 14 Infrastructure and assets 20 Permits and licences 22 Wildlife rehabilitation 25 Volunteers and community groups 27 Phillip Island penguin foundation 29 5 Who we are Created by the Victorian State Government in 1996, Phillip Island Nature Parks is the only ‘Nature Park’ in Victoria. The term means that all conservation areas are managed under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978. The Nature Park is committed to the preservation and conservation of the 1,805 hectares of land and wildlife it cares for across Phillip Island. 6 who we are who we Formed in 1996, Phillip Island Nature Parks is managed by a Board of Management, which is appointed by the Minister responsible for the penguin foundation and community groups volunteers rehabilitation wildlife park and assets permits departmentsinfrastructure and licences nature areas attractions and nature Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978. The Nature Park reports to the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), which comes under the Minister for Climate Change and Environment’s portfolio. The 1,805 hectares of land the Nature Park cares for comprises Crown land, and land that has been donated or bequeathed by private landholders with the request that the land and wildlife is to be preserved and protected for generations to come. The Nature Park is part of the UNESCO Western Port Biosphere Reserve and encompasses wildlife sanctuaries, wetlands, woodlands and breathtaking coastlines which are protected and managed by quality environmental and research programs. Most of the native vegetation on Phillip Island is contained within the Nature Park and this habitat supports significant populations of Little Penguins, Hooded Plovers, Short-tailed Shearwaters, and other international migratory bird species and mammals such as koalas, possums, wallabies, Australian Fur Seals and bats. The Nature Park protects a range of plant communities which includes over 330 native species. Sections of the Nature Park also fall within, or are adjacent to, wetlands protected under the intergovernmental Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance. We are dedicated to conservation, ecotourism and wildlife management. 7 Our history Thousands of years ago Aboriginal people travelled to the island to collect shellfish, fish, Short-tailed Shearwaters (muttonbirds), wallabies and ochre. Late 1700s Europeans started to enter the area by boat to hunt seals. 1798 George Bass entered and named the bay of Western Port and Seal Rocks. 1842 The McHaffie brothers rented Phillip Island, clearing vegetation by using fire, and introducing stock to graze the land. In the 1880s, Patti Phelan became the first owner of the Summerland Peninsula. 1920s Phillip Island residents Bern Denham, Bert West and Bert Watchorn began to take tourists by torchlight to see the Little Penguins’ nightly arrival on the beach on the Summerland Peninsula. The first access road was built in late 1927, a golf course was constructed and Summerland Peninsula was divided into 774 housing allotments. 1924 State Government establishes Fauna Reserve at Swan Lake to protect the Short-tailed Shearwaters. 1930s Four hectares of land on the Summerland Peninsula was given to the ‘people of Victoria’ for the protection of the Little Penguins. First bridge to Phillip Island built in 1939. 1955 The then Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, after recognising the impact the Summerland Estate was having on Little Penguins, established a large reserve over the penguin colony. The Shire of Phillip Island in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service assumed responsibility, with Bert West as the manager. Fences and concrete viewing stands were erected to control the public view and access to the beaches and Little Penguin nightly viewing. 1966 Seal Rocks declared a State Faunal Reserve. 1968 Penguin Study Group established. 1984 The Phillip Island Penguin Reserve Committee of Management was formed, including local Shire, tourism, scientific, conservation and Government representatives. This committee cared only for the Summerland Peninsula including the Penguin Parade, Swan Lake and the Nobbies. 1985 The Penguin Protection Plan was announced to include scientific research, preparation of a management plan, fox control program and the buyback of the Summerland Peninsula. 1988 The Penguin Parade building was upgraded to include a new visitor centre, displays, boardwalks and viewing platforms. 1991 The Nature Park is now responsible for the Koala Conservation Centre and the new Centre opens to the public. 1996 The current Phillip Island Nature Parks was created incorporating lands previously managed by the Shire and Department of Conservation and Environment. The buyback and removal of the houses on the Summerland Peninsula continued. 2010 The completion of the Summerland Estate buyback achieved. 2011 Final houses and infrastructure were removed, with an ongoing program of revegetation and rehabilitation of the penguin habitat continuing. No penguins killed by foxes for the second year in a row. 8 who we are who we How we are funded penguin foundation and community groups volunteers rehabilitation wildlife park and assets permits departmentsinfrastructure and licences nature areas attractions and nature The Nature Park is a not-for-profit organisation, self-funded by revenue generated from four main attractions (Penguin Parade, Koala Conservation Centre, Churchill Island Heritage Farm and Nobbies Centre). The funds raised through commercial activities support research, education and environmental (revegetation, weed and pest management) projects. They also fund operational costs, including staff salaries, infrastructure and marketing. The Nature Park supports many local community organisations through sponsorship, and is proud to be the largest employer on Phillip Island. The Nature Park also receives some funding for capital works from DSE, and applies for (and receives) grants for specific environmental and research projects – often working in collaboration with leading science and educational institutions and other environmental bodies. The Nature

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