Native name: Barunguba | |
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Geography | |
Location | Tasman Sea |
Administration | |
Australia | |
State | New South Wales |
Montague Island Nature Reserve New South Wales | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Nearest town or city | Narooma |
Coordinates | 36°15′S150°13′E / 36.250°S 150.217°E |
Established | January 1990 [1] |
Area | 0.81 km2 (0.3 sq mi) [1] |
Visitation | 6,000 (in 2002) |
Managing authorities | NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service |
Website | Montague Island Nature Reserve |
See also | Protected areas of New South Wales |
Barunguba / Montague Island is a continental island contained within the Montague Island Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve that is located offshore from the South Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The nearest town located onshore from the 81-hectare (200-acre) reserve and island is Narooma, situated approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) to the northwest.
The island has been known to the local group of Yuin people, the Walbunja people, [2] an Aboriginal nation, as Barunguba, [3] and there are Aboriginal sites of significance across the island. [4] [2] The island features in Aboriginal mythology, as the eldest son of Gulaga (Mount Dromedary), the mother. Her younger son, Najanuka (Little Dromedary), was not allowed to go far from home as Barunguba did, but Gulaga can still see both her sons in the distance. [5] [2]
The Walbunja people used to paddle across to the island in canoes to collect mutton bird eggs. One story tells of the drowning of nearly all the boys and men of a whole clan, when they were hit by a large wave or storm surge upon their return to the mainland. [6] [7]
The island was first sighted by Europeans in 1770 by James Cook and named Cape Dromedary, then identified as an island and named by the master of the Second Fleet convict transport Surprize after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax. [8] [9]
After a period of community consultation from mid-2021, [10] the island was officially assigned the dual names of Montague Island and Barunguba on 30 November 2021. Signage will place Barunguba, [11] reflecting the importance of the Dhurga language, history and traditions. Gulaga and Najanuka / Little Dromedary Mountain were dual-named at the same time. [5]
Montague Island, situated off the South Coast of New South Wales near Narooma, [12] is the second largest island off the NSW coast after Lord Howe Island, [13] and forms part of the Montague Island Nature Reserve. [12] It has been classified by the National Trust as a Landscape Conservation Area for its scenic, scientific and historical values. The Montague Island Light buildings are entered on the Register of the National Estate because of the architectural quality of the tower and residences. [13]
Montague Island is a popular tourist destination, known for its lighthouse, wildlife, most especially little penguins (Eudyptula minor), and recreational activities; managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS). [14] Public access to the island is restricted to guided tours conducted by the NPWS in association with private operators. [13]
A lighthouse called Montague Island Light is maintained on the island by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The lighthouse was designed by James Barnet and built in 1881. It was automated in 1986 and was no longer staffed in 1987. The lighthouse is 21 metres (69 ft) tall and the light is 80 metres (260 ft) above sea level with a nominal range of 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) and a geographic range of 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi). The original Fresnel lens was removed in 1986 and is now on display at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum. [15]
The next lighthouse to the north is the Burrewarra Point lighthouse. Amateur radio expeditions to the island were organised in 2010 and 2011.[ citation needed ]
Forty-nine species of fauna have been recorded on the island by the National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW. [16]
The island is home to a large colony of little penguins on the island. As the island has no foxes or feral cats, the penguins have no predators other than other seabirds and seals. With the restoration of native habitat and the provision of penguin breeding boxes, penguin numbers have increased, and there are now approximately 12,000 on the island. The female usually lays two eggs, and during a good year, both chicks will survive. The birds come ashore at dusk after feeding at sea, and visitors to the island can watch the birds from a platform near the jetty.
Crested terns, Sterna bergii, have brilliant white feathers covering the body while the head is completely black.
Shearwaters, also known as mutton birds, nest on the island. Species recorded are:
The northern tip of the island is the seasonal home to a seal bachelor colony. Due to the site's remoteness, it is only possible for visitors to see them from a boat.
The majority of the seals are Australian fur seals, (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri), subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) have also been observed.
Kikuyu grass is a major weed on the island. Originally introduced in the early 19th century to help feed the animals kept by the lighthouse keepers and their families, it has spread to cover most of the south island. To control it, NPWS officers poison a section, then burn it, before replanting with help from volunteers. In the less accessible areas of the northern and eastern parts, an aerial spraying program is used to manage the kikuyu where it infests shearwater breeding sites. The kikuyu is a barrier for the shearwaters and penguins, who cannot penetrate it to move or to burrow. Various native species are used to replant areas after the kikuyu grass has been controlled.[ citation needed ]
Montague Island has a mild oceanic climate (Cfb) with warmish summers and mild winters with moderate rainfall all year round. Temperatures are heavily moderated by the proximity to the ocean, as shown by the relatively warm winter nighttime temperatures. Under the Trewartha climate classification, it features a humid subtropical climate.
Climate data for Montague Island Light (36º15'S, 150º14'E, 52 m AMSL) (1968-2024 normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 41.0 (105.8) | 37.2 (99.0) | 36.6 (97.9) | 32.3 (90.1) | 26.9 (80.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 24.0 (75.2) | 25.9 (78.6) | 33.7 (92.7) | 34.1 (93.4) | 34.9 (94.8) | 37.2 (99.0) | 41.0 (105.8) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.3 (73.9) | 22.5 (72.5) | 20.6 (69.1) | 18.3 (64.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.2 (61.2) | 17.7 (63.9) | 19.0 (66.2) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.8 (71.2) | 19.5 (67.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.7 (63.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.2 (63.0) | 15.3 (59.5) | 13.2 (55.8) | 11.2 (52.2) | 10.2 (50.4) | 10.4 (50.7) | 11.5 (52.7) | 12.9 (55.2) | 14.4 (57.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.0 (57.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) | 5.9 (42.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 6.9 (44.4) | 5.7 (42.3) | 3.1 (37.6) | 2.1 (35.8) | 2.2 (36.0) | 4.5 (40.1) | 6.9 (44.4) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.7 (47.7) | 2.1 (35.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 66.9 (2.63) | 80.8 (3.18) | 102.0 (4.02) | 81.1 (3.19) | 71.6 (2.82) | 91.7 (3.61) | 51.2 (2.02) | 50.8 (2.00) | 54.9 (2.16) | 65.1 (2.56) | 76.1 (3.00) | 65.7 (2.59) | 856.1 (33.70) |
Average precipitation days | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 74.6 |
Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 74 | 75 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 64 | 64 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 70 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) | 17.0 (62.6) | 16.0 (60.8) | 13.5 (56.3) | 11.2 (52.2) | 8.6 (47.5) | 7.4 (45.3) | 7.8 (46.0) | 9.8 (49.6) | 11.4 (52.5) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.1 (59.2) | 12.3 (54.2) |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology [17] |
In early October 2024, a show performed by the Djaadjawan Dancers, called Baranguba: A Tale of Noorooma, [18] premiered at the River of Art festival in Batemans Bay. The performance combines modern digital technology with traditional dance, and includes animation and visual effects by Duncan Irving. [7] Creative director Scott Baker worked with founding members of the dance group: elder Aunty Vivian, who has vivid recollections of the stories of her Walbunja people; her daughter Sharon Mason; and Sharon's daughter Arwyn Landini. Djaadjawan Dancers, which was founded in 2015 by Sharon, includes girls and women of several generations from Wallaga Lake, Narooma, and La Perouse. [18] The performance tells the story of the mass drowning of almost an entire clan of Yuin people in a storm surge in the 19th century, as they returned to the mainland in their canoes after collecting mutton bird eggs on the island. [7]
Biamanga National Park is a protected area in New South Wales, Australia, 408 km (254 mi) south of Sydney and 40 km (25 mi) north of Bega. The park forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area because of its importance for swift parrots.
Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga. The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mount Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined to form this park in 2001. The park features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in New South Wales.
Wallaga Lake National Park is a former national park in New South Wales, 296 km (184 mi) south-west of Sydney and north of Bermagui. It now forms part of a greater Gulaga National Park.
Eurobodalla Shire is a local government area located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Highway and the Kings Highway.
Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south.
Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bega Valley Shire. It lies on the shores of the southern end of Horseshoe Bay. The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, permageua, possibly meaning "canoe with paddles".
The Broulee Island Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 43 ha reserve was created in 1972 and is managed by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. The reserve is situated 23 kilometres (14 mi) south of Batemans Bay and is adjacent to the village of Broulee. In the 1920s, there was a small port here from which a large amount of shellgrit was taken to Sydney, where they were made of lime and used in construction.
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-groupings of the Yuin people are made on the basis of language and other cultural features; groups include the Brinja or Bugelli-manji, , Wandandian, Jerrinja,Budawang, Yuin-Monaro, Djiringanj, Walbunja, and more. They have a close association with the Thaua and Dharawal people.
Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is a mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its highest point, it measures 806 metres (2,644 ft) above sea level.
Umbarra, or King Merriman was an elder of the Djirringanj/Yuin people of the Bermagui area on what has become called the Sapphire Coast since European Colonial settlement of far-southern New South Wales coastal area.
Mystery Bay is a small town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Mystery Bay is halfway between Central Tilba and Narooma, two kilometres off the Princes Highway on Mystery Bay Road. At the 2016 census, Mystery Bay had a population of 191. Mystery Bay features a camping area in the Eurobodalla National Park. This park is known for its recreational activities and various species of Bird. Montague Island is close to Mystery Bay and is known for its unusual quantities of Penguin called Eudyptula minor and fur seals. There is also an Infestation of a specific type of House mouse called Mus musculus which has needed eradication because of its damage on the ecosystem.
South Durras is a small village on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. South Durras is located approximately 280 kilometres south of Sydney and 15 kilometres north of Batemans Bay, in the local government area of Eurobodalla Shire. The village is surrounded by the Murramarang National Park.
Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath Mount Gulaga, in the traditional lands of the Yuin people. A large section of its foreshore and catchment are within the Gulaga National Park, since Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mt Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined into the larger national park. There is an island in the lake known as Merriman's Island, Merriman Island or Umbarra.
The Five Islands Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located in the Tasman Sea, off the Illawarra east coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The 26-hectare (64-acre) reserve comprises five continental islands that are situated between 0.5 and 3.5 kilometres east of Port Kembla. The Five Islands are Flinders Islet, Bass Islet, Martin Islet, Big Island and Rocky Islet.
The Montague Island Light is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Barunguba / Montague Island, an island in the Tasman Sea, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) offshore from Narooma on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The lighthouse is located at the highest point of the island. It was designed by James Barnet and NSW Colonial Architect and built from 1878 to 1881 by J. Musson and completed By W. H. Jennings. It is also known as the Montague Island Lightstation and its setting. The property is owned by the Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999, and the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
The Brush Island is a continental island, contained within the Brush Island Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve, known as Mit Island in the Dhurga language of the Murramamrang people of the Yuin nation see It is located off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 47-hectare (120-acre) island and reserve is situated within the Tasman Sea, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of the coastal village of Bawley Point.
.
The Bird Island Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve located near Lake Munmorah on the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The island is situated 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) off the east coast of New South Wales, within the Tasman Sea. The reserve may be seen from the lighthouse at Norah Head.
Batemans Bay is an open oceanic embayment that is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The bay forms the mouth of the Clyde River and its primary outflow is to the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean.
The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga, Walbunga and Wulbunja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation.
According to an old newspaper article, one time when the men and boys were returning, they had their canoes all tied together, a huge wave came and drowned the lot. All the women and children were waiting on the headland for them to return, but they didn't [Vivienne Mason 1.6.2006]
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