Wreck Bay Village

Wreck Bay Village
Jervis Bay Territory
Sign surrounded by rocks, reading "Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council - you are now entering private land owned and managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council"
Panorama of Wreck Bay, with the village on the far right
Wreck Bay Village is located in Jervis Bay Territory
Wreck Bay Village
Wreck Bay Village
Coordinates35°10′00″S 150°41′23″E / 35.16667°S 150.68972°E / -35.16667; 150.68972
Population152 (ILOC 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)2540
Elevation30 m (98 ft)[2]
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10)
 • Summer (DST)AEDT (UTC+11)
Location
Federal division(s)Fenner[3]
Mean max temp[4] Mean min temp[4] Annual rainfall[4]
20.6 °C
69 °F
14.2 °C
58 °F
1,165.6 mm
45.9 in

Wreck Bay Village, formerly Wreck Bay Aboriginal Reserve, is an Aboriginal village in the Jervis Bay Territory, Australia. At the 2021 census the population was 152.[5] It is mainly an Australian Aboriginal community, run by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.

Geography

[edit]

Wreck Bay Village is at the northeast corner of Wreck Bay between the small coves called Mary Bay and Summercloud Bay. It is in the south of the territory. It is about 2 km (1.2 mi) south of Jervis Bay Airfield and 6.6 km (4.1 mi) by road from Jervis Bay Village.

History

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The first European settlement around Jervis Bay started in the early 1880s. Wreck Bay forms part of the Jervis Bay Territory, which became Commonwealth territory in 1915 so that the national government based in Canberra could have access to the sea.[6]

Wreck Bay is so called because the waves are generally quite high and it is easy for a ship to be destroyed.[7]

Aboriginal people started a small settlement at Summercloud Bay around the early 1900s. They favoured the area because of strong cultural ties, its closeness to both the bush and the sea for collection of food and other sources and because of its distance from European settlements. This area later became an Aboriginal reserve known as the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Reserve that was put under control of a mission manager. The decision to create this permanent settlement has enabled cultural practices to survive.[7]

The 402 hectares (990 acres) of land was officially handed to the Aboriginal community in 1995 by the Australian Government,[7] including Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens.

In 2021 Nikita Ridgeway created indigenous artwork used to decorate two fire trucks used by Wreck Bay (Australia) Rural Fire Brigade.[8] The brigade is owned and managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.[9]

Booderee

[edit]

The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community owns and co-manages (with Parks Australia), the Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens. It includes Australia's only Aboriginal-owned and managed botanical garden.[10][11][12]

Current status

[edit]

The Wreck Bay Village is now private land and no public access is available.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wreck Bay (Indigenous Location)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 2 March 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Topographic map 9027 Jervis Bay
  3. ^ "Profile of the electoral division of Fenner (ACT)". Australian Electoral Commission. 19 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2013. The Division of Fenner also includes the Jervis Bay Territory.
  4. ^ a b c "Jervis Bay (Point Perpendicular AWS)". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wreck Bay". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 March 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ "European History". Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Aboriginal Culture and History". Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Australian Apparatus Art: See Wreck Bay's Unique Truck Design". Fire Apparatus. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Ocean, earth and fire trucks: Wreck Bay brigade cheers striking cultural makeover". ABC News. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Welcome to Booderee National Park". Australian Government: Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Aboriginal culture and history". Australian Government: Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Our history". Parks Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Booderee Map" (PDF). Parks Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2017.