Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01818:front:0:p55
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01818
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 159366–162266

Booderee remains a landscape shaped by a living culture.

Visual attributes

Booderee's scenic qualities are widely recognised and are important to the regional tourism industry and to local communities. The landscape encompasses a peninsula of native vegetation, scenic beaches and bays, and magnificent sandstone cliffs.

Comprising much of Bherwerre Peninsula, all of Bowen Island and the water and seabed at the southern end of Jervis Bay, Booderee offers visitors an opportunity to experience a variety of coastal settings. There are also a number of cultural and historical features, such as the historic lighthouse, which add to the park's visual attributes.

Without careful planning, the visual attributes and the inspiring natural and cultural experience of the park can be disturbed. For example, the scars arising from excavations for a proposed nuclear power station at Murrays Beach in 1969 remain clearly visible. There are also a number of long-established Defence facilities adjacent to the park which impact on the region's visual attributes.

Geology, landforms and soils

A comprehensive geological survey of the Jervis Bay region was completed in 1992. Jervis Bay forms part of the sedimentary rock formation on the southern edge of the extensive Sydney Basin system. Bedrock is exposed in cliffs and marine platforms, and there are minor exposures in creeks and dune areas. The Bherwerre Peninsula (of which Booderee occupies the major portion) is underlain with Permian sandstones, siltstone and conglomerates of marine origin; Lakes Windermere and McKenzie evolved when streams were blocked by sand. Bowen Island is composed of the same sandstone type as the peninsula and slopes sharply from cliffs on the eastern (oceanic) side down to sea level rock platforms on the western (Jervis Bay) side. The sandstone on the island is covered by windblown sand, which supports a range of vegetation communities.

Other features of geological interest in the park include fossil sites and exposed stone walls of a substantial quarry used to supply stone for the construction of the HMAS Creswell break-wall. The role of Booderee's landforms and geology in the evolution of ecological processes and landscape features is also of particular scientific and educational interest.

Aboriginal stories explaining the origins or characteristics of species in the area include stories of a large wave depositing animals inland. The NSW coast shows dramatic evidence of mega-tsunamis, the best evidence of which occurs along a small stretch of coastline at Jervis Bay. The most compelling evidence of tsunami impact is manifested in the various boulder deposits. The boulders, many of which exceed two metres in diameter, are deposited in an overlapping fashion on the deeply fluted rock platform surface at Stoney Creek as well as other sites in the Jervis Bay region outside the park. There