| Lee Point Darwin, Northern Territory | |
|---|---|
 Lee Point, Darwin | |
  Lee Point | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 12°20′22″S130°53′35″E / 12.33944°S 130.89306°E |
| Population | 94 (2016 census) [1] |
| • Density | 3.032/km2 (7.85/sq mi) |
| Established | 1869 |
| Postcode(s) | 0810 |
| Area | 31.0 km2 (12.0 sq mi) |
| Location | 18 km (11 mi) from Darwin City |
| LGA(s) | City of Darwin |
| Territory electorate(s) | Casuarina |
| Federal division(s) | Solomon |
Lee Point refers to a coastal point north of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
It is on the traditional Country and waterways of the Larrakia people. [2] The area is known to the Larrakia people as Binybara, [3] and has been described as 'sacred... a living and breathing archive". [4]
The name is derived from the point, "Lee Point" which appears on George Goyder's 1869 Plan of Port Darwin which likely dates back to Stokes' examination of the harbour in 1839. [5]
It is also forms the northern point of the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, featuring a recreational area and nearby hotel and caravan park.
There are a number of World War II heritage sites in the area. Along the cycle path which runs from Lee Point to Brinkin is a preserved bunker built between 1939 and 1941 as part of Australia's coastal defence strategy. [6]
Lee Point forms part of a largely undeveloped 27 kilometre coastal monsoon forrest corridor that runs from Casuarina Coastal Reserve to Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve, and includes Buffalo Creek and Sandy Creek. It features sandy beaches, tidal flats, estuaries, dune systems, mangrove communities, Casuarina forests, old growth trees, monsoon forests and an offshore marine area. [7] It is the last remaining biodiversity corridor that connects the Darwin savanna woodland to the broader ecosystem across northern Australia. [8] Studies have found this tropical savanna ecosystem is highly vulnerable to climate change and meets the criteria of collapsing. [9] Lee Point and Buffalo Creek form part of the internationally significant Shoal Bay Key Biodiversity Area, which was declared based on records of the Critically Endangered Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris). [10] Lee Point and Sandy Creek beaches are connected ecosystems and used by migratory shorebirds in the network of sites so birds can move between low tide and high tide. [11]
An internationally-significant site for migratory shorebirds, the reserve supports up to 10,000 shorebirds from over 25 species including the critically-endangered Far Eastern Curlew as well as the whimbrel, bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, great knot, red knot, greater sand plover, lesser sand plover, sanderling, red-necked stint and ruddy turnstone. [12]
Many species of rare vagrant birds have been recorded at Lee Point and Buffalo Creek beaches, including Black-backed Gull, Black-tailed Gull, Kentish Plover, Christmas Island Frigatebird and others. [13] Several species of migratory shorebird have suffered chronic levels of anthropogenic disturbances along Lee Point beach, and these disturbances cause the shorebirds to fly away from humans and humans and dogs, which causes unnecessary use of energy resources. [14]
Many waterbird species have also been recorded at Lee Point beach, including 200 Radjah Shelduck in 2014, as well as Pied Cormorant, Pied Heron, Little Egret, Little Tern. [15] The migratory tern species Common Gull-billed Tern as well as the resident-breeding Australian Tern have also been recorded at Lee Point beach. [16]
Lee Point is also a significant habitat site for the endangered Gouldian finch. [17]
It is also home to the endangered black-footed tree rat and northern brown bandicoot. [18] Flatback turtles nest along Sandy Creek beach and Lee Point beach. There are regular sightings of saltwater crocodiles in Buffalo Creek. [13]
The area has been long defended by environmental and Indigenous communities. [19]
Lee Point is the location for a controversial multi-million-dollar Defence Housing Australia housing project, approved in 2019. [17] It includes 800 houses built across 131 hectares of zoned residential land. The development has caused community concern about the project's environmental and cultural impacts. [20] In 2016, it was deemed that the proposed urban development would have the potential to impact migratory shorebirds through increased human access to the important roosting and feeding site Sandy Creek, on the northern beaches of Darwin. [21]
Federal approval of the project was halted in 2022 [22] upon increased sightings of the rebounding Gouldian Finch population. [23] The land clearing is particularly considered a threat to finch population as they lay their eggs in tree hollows. [4] Original approval conditions were changed to include a four hectare wildlife corridor around their habitat area. [24] Campaigning to prevent clearing continued, and upon commencement of land clearing there were community protests which saw 11 arrests. [25] While Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation initially supported the project, they withdrew support. [26] Danggalaba Kulumbirigin traditional owners made an emergency application to Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to have it ceased, on the grounds of protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage. [4] [24] It was rejected in March 2024, sparking additional protests. [27] Defence Housing Australia voluntarily stopped work on the project until March 31 2024. [28] They then recommenced land clearing in late April 2024 triggering additional protests to defend the site resulting in multiple arrests. [29] Works halted again shortly after with accusations of illegal land clearing. [30]
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities and serves as the Top End's regional centre.
Judbarra National Park, formerly Gregory National Park and Judbarra / Gregory National Park, is a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia, 359 km (223 mi) south of Darwin.
Darwin Harbour is a body of water close to the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the traditional waterways of the Larrakia people.
The Gouldian finch, also known as the Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia.
Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people.
Eighty Mile Beach also spelled Eighty-mile Beach or 80-mile Beach, and formerly called 90-mile Beach, lies along the north-west coast of Western Australia about half-way between the towns of Broome and Port Hedland. It is a beach some 220 kilometres (140 mi) in length, forming the coastline where the Great Sandy Desert approaches the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most important sites for migratory shorebirds, or waders, in Australia, and is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
Larrakeyah is an inner suburb of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people. It was one of the first parts of the city to be developed, and borders the Darwin Central Business District.
Tiwi is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Trower Road, Henbury Avenue and a coastal strip, separating Casuarina Beach and Lee Point Beach. It is in the Local Government Area of City of Darwin. It is home to Dripstone Middle School.
Rapid Creek refers to both a creek in the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and the name of a suburb north of the city, situated where the creek meets Darwin Harbour. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people.
Leanyer is a northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
Wulagi is a Northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Darwin City is a suburb in metropolitan Darwin which comprises the original settlement, the central business district, parkland and other built-up areas. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people. It is original site of occupation and includes many of the city's important institutions and landmarks, such as Parliament, Government House, the Northern Territory Supreme Court, Bicentennial Park and the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens. The city centre is located in the local government areas of the City of Darwin and the Darwin Waterfront Precinct.
Muirhead is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is on the traditional Country and waterways of the Larrakia people.
The Keep River Important Bird Area is a 983 square kilometres (380 sq mi) tract of land on the upper Keep River straddling the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It lies at an altitude of 150 m (490 ft) to 210 m (690 ft) and is about 400 km (250 mi) south-west of Darwin and 40 km (25 mi) east of Kununurra.
Limmen Bight is a bight, or large, open bay, located in the Northern Territory of Australia at the western end of the Gulf of Carpentaria about 360 kilometres (220 mi) east of the town of Katherine. It is part of the traditional lands and waters of the Marra people. It was named in April 1644 by Abel Tasman for one of his ships on his voyage of exploration along the northern Australian coast. It contains the second largest area of tidal flats in the Northern Territory.
Bird Islands Conservation Park is a 3.69-square-kilometre (1.42 sq mi) protected area in eastern Spencer Gulf, South Australia. It is located at Warburto Point on Yorke Peninsula, about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the town of Wallaroo. In 1991, land additions were made to the park to include the intertidal zone of both islands. In 1999, a larger, mainland section was added to support mangroves, samphire and coastal fringe vegetation.
Casuarina Coastal Reserve is a protected area in the northern area of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is on the traditional Country and waterways of the Larrakia nation.
Bagot Community is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia located in Ludmilla, a northern suburb of the city of Darwin. It was established in 1938 as the Bagot Aboriginal Reserve, when the Aboriginal residents were moved from the Kahlin Compound, it was also sometimes referred to as the Bagot Road Aboriginal Reserve.
East Arm is a suburb in the Northern Territory of Australia located in Darwin about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Darwin City overlooking a part of Darwin Harbour known as the East Arm. It is the traditional land and waterways of the Larrakia people.
Middle Arm is a coastal peninsula of Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 13 kilometres south of Darwin City. It is the traditional land and waterways of the Larrakia people. Middle Arm includes Wickham Point, Bladin Point, Channel Island and the nearby locality of Wickham.
