Sarah Island Site Plan 2006

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Sarah Island Site Plan 2006 Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 This site plan has been prepared under the provisions of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Plan 1999, (p. 60, 171) and provides for the development and upgrading of facilities at the Sarah Island Visitor Services Site. A draft of this plan was released for public comment between 19 March 2005 and 2 May 2005. In total seven submissions were received on the draft plan (see Appendix 5). All submissions have been carefully considered and are reflected in the final plan where appropriate. Acknowledgments Many people have assisted in the preparation of this plan by providing information and comments on earlier drafts. Their time and efforts are gratefully acknowledged. APPROVAL This Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 was approved by the Director of National Parks and Wildlife on 7 March 2006. ISBN 10:0 7246 6381 9 © Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment, 2006 Published by Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage, and the Arts GPO Box 1751 Hobart, TASMANIA 7001 ii Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 1.1 Geography and Location...........................................................................................1 1.2 Land Tenure and Conservation Status ......................................................................1 1.3 Legislation.................................................................................................................1 1.4 Management..............................................................................................................4 1.5 Planning ....................................................................................................................4 1.6 Site Plan Scope and Structure ...................................................................................5 2 UNDERSTANDING SARAH ISLAND.........................................................................................5 2.1 Natural Values ..........................................................................................................5 2.2 Cultural Values .........................................................................................................7 2.3 Visitor Use ..............................................................................................................16 2.4 Interpretation...........................................................................................................18 2.5 Visitor Facilities......................................................................................................18 2.6 Management............................................................................................................20 3 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SARAH ISLAND.............................................................................20 3.1 Natural Significance................................................................................................20 3.2 Cultural Significance ..............................................................................................21 4 ISSUES FOR MANAGEMENT AND USE ................................................................................22 4.1 Natural ....................................................................................................................22 4.2 Cultural ...................................................................................................................22 4.3 Interpretation...........................................................................................................23 4.4 Visitor Use and Facilities........................................................................................24 4.5 Management............................................................................................................24 5 PROTECTING AND PRESENTING SARAH ISLAND FOR THE FUTURE.......................25 5.1 Vision......................................................................................................................25 5.2 Natural Heritage Policies and Actions....................................................................25 5.3 Cultural Heritage Policies and Actions...................................................................26 5.4 Interpretation Policies and Actions.........................................................................27 5.5 Visitor Use and Facilities Policies and Actions ......................................................30 5.6 Management Policies and Actions..........................................................................33 6 EFFECTS OF POLICIES AND ACTIONS................................................................................33 6.1 Tourism Effects.......................................................................................................33 6.2 Changes in the Character of the Site.......................................................................33 6.3 Site Disturbance and Environmental Impacts.........................................................33 6.4 Visual Intrusion.......................................................................................................33 6.5 Heritage Impacts .....................................................................................................34 6.6 Visitor Impacts........................................................................................................34 7 PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.......................................................................................................34 7.1 Application and Assessment ...................................................................................34 7.2 Monitoring and Evaluation .....................................................................................34 7.3 Implementation Priorities........................................................................................36 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................................39 iii APPENDICES 1. Extracts from the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Plan 1999, referring to Sarah Island................................................................................................................... 42 2. Sarah Island Flora – identified species (taken from Walsh 1992) ................................ 45 3. Sarah Island Fauna - identified species......................................................................... 46 4. Cultural Heritage Features of Sarah and Grummet Islands........................................... 48 5. Submissions received on the Draft Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan March 2005.................................................................................................... 53 Figures Map 1 Sarah Island Location – in its Tasmanian Context............................................ 2 Map 2 Sarah Island Location – in its Macquarie Harbour Context.............................. 3 Map 3 Sarah Island Vegetation .................................................................................... 6 Map 4 Sarah Island Settlement 1824.............................................................................9 Map 5 Sarah Island Settlement 1831.......................................................................... 10 Map 6 Sarah Island Settlement 1833.......................................................................... 11 Map 7 Sarah Island Settlement 1842.......................................................................... 12 Map 8 Sarah Island Settlement 1846.......................................................................... 13 Map 9 Sarah Island Settlement Areas......................................................................... 14 Map 10 Sarah Island Existing Heritage Features ......................................................... 15 Map 11 Sarah Island Existing Visitor & Management Facilities................................. 19 Map 12 Sarah Island Concept Plan .............................................................................. 32 iv Sarah Island Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 1 INTRODUCTION south-western end of the island is historically reclaimed land and this is low- Sarah Island was the site of the first lying and sometimes inundated when convict settlement in Tasmania, water levels in the Harbour are high. The established in 1821, and has remained smaller Grummet Island lies unoccupied and relatively undisturbed approximately 800 m north-east from since it was finally abandoned as a penal Sarah Island and is less than 100 m long settlement in 1847. With the advent of the by 5 m wide at high tide. It rises steeply to popular cruises from Strahan to the a height of 8 m. Gordon River in the 1980s (some of which call in at Sarah Island), the island has 1.2 Land Tenure and become a popular tourist destination, primarily to view the ruins of the penal Conservation Status settlement. Since its initial European occupation in 1822 Sarah Island has remained as Crown 1.1 Geography and Location Land, although it has been privately leased Map 1 shows Sarah Island situated in the for some periods. Sarah Island was first southern part of Macquarie Harbour on the gazetted as a reserve
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