Contact Details
Email: illawarra@npansw.org.au
Branch President: Graham Burgess
Activities Contact: Margaret Carr marg@morecarrs.com
Conservation contact: Helen Wilson heleniwilson@bigpond.com
Meetings
Illawarra Branch meetings are held quarterly on a Saturday afternoon. All members are welcome to attend and contribute to the discussion. Email us for details. Branch members will receive notification of the AGM and associated activity, usually in September.
Newsletters
https://www.facebook.com/NPAillawarra
Branch area and reserves
Our area is a coastal strip extending from the Royal National Park south to Seven Mile Beach and inland into the Illawarra Escarpment. We concentrate on the Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama LGAs. The key reserves are the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, Macquarie Pass National Park, Barren Grounds Nature Reserve and Killalea Regional Park. Many environmental issues also arise in the general area, particularly in the main centre of Wollongong which is adjacent to the coast, Lake Illawarra, many other waterways and a variety of forests.
Local walks brochures
Branch information flyer
Branch history
The branch was established in 1980 with Pam Robinson as president from 1981 for many years. Pam passed away in 2024. The bushwalking program was the only one in the area and made the branch very popular. Its membership peaked at 422 in 1989. Pam was also the co-ordinator of the local environment centre set up in 1984 due to government funding obtained by Philip Laird for the South Coast Conservation Society. Its premises became a home for NPA and other community groups. As well as bushwalks, the branch ran monthly meetings with talks and a newsletter. Recognising the conservation value of the escarpment and the need to protect more of it, the centre paid researchers to investigate areas of available land to put into reserves and increase the 13% of it which was then public land. The grant was cut in 1994, by which time another bushwalking organisation, the Illawarra Ramblers, was formed and continues today along with other clubs more recently formed in our region. In 2006 the branch bought and installed picnic tables on the Woodward Track near Sublime Pt and at Illawarra lookout in Barren Grounds. The branch endeavours to continue the good work started by Pam and others.
Branch campaigns
We follow developments in all the reserves as well as other issues arising particularly in the Wollongong LGA. The Illawarra Escarpment has continued to be our major focus. We take an interest in its general health and connectivity and advocate for better recognition of threats such as mining, feral animals and overdevelopment, for better protection and management and for improved walking tracks and visitor amenities. We have been involved in the complicated and controversial issue of mountain bike riding for several years and belong to the Advisory Group run by NPWS and Wollongong Council. Currently the plans are for two trail networks at Mt Kembla and Balgownie. NPA and our sister organisation the Illawarra Escarpment Alliance (EscA) argue for minimal damage to the fragile forests, especially Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest (a federally listed Endangered Ecological Community). We also call for the closure and restoration of existing illegal trails.
Branch Map
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