Maroubra Beach dunes on the mend

Trail bike, bicycle and pedestrian use, as well as weed infestations and past sandmining, had taken their toll on the dunes of Maroubra Beach over the past few years. However the area has now undergone a complete transformation, thanks to the efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers.

“Friends of Malabar Headland formed in 2000, but volunteers have been clearing weeds from 70 hectares of bush on Malabar Headland for 20 years,” the Friends’ Treasurer Claire Bettington said.

“So it was a natural progression for us to move onto the Maroubra Beach dunes and help to look after them as well. They adjoin the headland and are part of the whole ecosystem.”

Funding

In 2004 the Friends of Malabar Headland received more than $27,000 from the Australian Government to fence and replant the dunes.

Activities

With the funding and the assistance of Randwick City Council, the Friends created the South Maroubra Bushcare Volunteer Group 2 to bring the dunes back to health.

“We removed a huge amount of bitou bush by hand and planted native seedlings along the dunes, while Randwick City Council organised a contractor to fence off the area,” Claire said.

“We’ve planted native species including Coast Banksia, Heath Banksia, Old Man Banksia, Flax Lily and the smaller Acacias, which are all sourced from Headland seed and grown by the Randwick City Council nursery.”

Achievements

Meeting once a month, the volunteers planted 1,000 locally indigenous groundcovers, shrubs and trees in the 3.3-hectare dunes, which are now protected by two kilometres of fencing.

“The fence is keeping people to the paths and the young plants we put in have had a chance to establish. They’ve really started to take off and we’re also seeing native species come up on their own, such as Broom Heath, Kidney Grass, and Sydney Golden Wattle.

“There’s even a nice patch of Sea Daisy, a native dune species pretty rare in NSW, which came up naturally.”

Claire said wildlife was also taking full advantage of this new habitat, especially lizards - including Skinks and Blue Tongue Lizards - blue wrens and black cockatoos, which eat the banksia seeds.

“All the work we’ve done on the headland and now the dunes has been a huge job, but we have shown it can be done. All you need is a small group of committed people,” she said.

More information

1. Claire Bettington, Friends of Malabar Headland Treasurer: (02) 9344 8589 or cbettington@bigpond.com
2. Judy Christie, Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority Regional Natural Resource Management Facilitator: (02) 9895 7753 or judy.christie@cma.nsw.gov.au
3. Malabar Headland 

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

DEWHA  | DAFF  | australia.gov.au  | NAP  | NHT 
Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts