The natural history of western Botany Bay

Western Botany Bay is an extensively urbanized area only 10 kilometres from the Sydney CBD. The residential and light industrial estates that span the landscape conceal a rich landscape that was once a major food source for early Sydney. The hinterland of western Botany Bay was not settled until relatively late because access to the area was difficult and hazardous. The twin rivers (Cooks and Georges) provided effective barriers against early settlement. However, settlement was needed as the woodlands and wetlands therein were a bountiful source of food not to be ignored. Similarly, tall, mixed forests of ironbark and turpentine trees were sought after as construction timber for the new dwellings of Sydney. The exploitation of the wildlife of western Botany Bay was only the start of its demise. The vast wetlands entrapped behind the coastal dunes were systematically dredged and drained over 100 years until now only 7% of their area still remains. Despite the great reduction in wetland area, remnant wetland and woodland areas still contain over 250 species of native plants and 180 species of vertebrate animals.