A History - the saga of the Survival of the Bushland
|
Like all urban bushland, this marvelous example of the original landscape has been abused and carries the scars of past neglect. It has nevertheless survived and remains as an important community resource for present and future generations.
This fight commenced in the late 1980s when the ‘thought to be extinct’ Bomaderry Zieria was rediscovered in the Bushland. Council plans for a road (the North Nowra Link Road) through the middle of the Zieria’s habitat and housing throughout the Bushland led to a 25 year battle to save this significant community resource. In December 2012, the NSW government Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) made a Determination that ruled out Council's preferred option through the middle of the Park instead approving the West Cambewarra Road (parallel) route. The lengthy and expensive consultation process has also delivered many benefits: as development plans progressed, so to did community interest in the Bushland grow. Today it is a very popular location and an important educational resource for local schools. Studies carried out to justify the development plans only served to reveal a locality of high biodiversity including three threatened plant species and twelve threatened animal species. |
Following a vigorous community campaign, a court case launched and won by the community against the proposed road in the early 1990s and in 2002 led to a third of the Bushland being dedicated as the Bomaderry Creek Regional Park.
Since declaration of the Park and to redress some of the past neglect, local residents formed the Bomaderry Creek Landcare/Bushcare Group in 1994. The work undertaken by the Group in close cooperation with the National Parks & Wildlife Service and the Shoalhaven City Council has built upon the earlier establishment of recreational facilities, including maintenance and extension of the walking track system, upgrading and repairs to recreational facilities, rubbish cleanups, bush regeneration and replanting of disturbed and weedy areas, along with community promotion of the values of the Bushland. The Group needs and invites others to join it in this worthy undertaking. All of these attributes, successfully persisting in an area which is so accessible to our rapidly growing population and the growing number of visitors to the Shoalhaven, gives the Bomaderry Creek Bushland its special significance. More on the Link Road saga in the downloadable file: 
| ||
