The treasured past of Yarra Bay remembered

It has a unique history and invaluable marine environment — what will happen to Yarra Bay if cruise ships are berthed there?

Yarra Bay.

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The sandy shores of Yarra Bay unite three histories — a phenomenon unique to colonial Australia.

On January 19 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip steered the First Fleet into Botany Bay to settle a British penal colony.

Captain Arthur Phillip, first Governor of NSW, arriving at Yarra Bay.

Alighting at Yarra Bay Beach, Phillip made contact with indigenous Australians who directed him to Bunnerong Creek for freshwater.

The Dharawal people, including the Gweagal and Kameygal clans, occupied the area for more than 7500 years.

Rodney Kelly, a Gweagal descendent of Cooman, shot by a member of Cook's landing party in 1770, with a Gweagal shield in the British Museum. Kelly wants the shield returned to Australia. Source: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rkk1977/photos

It is also the last recorded landfall of French explorer La Perouse.

To date, Yarra Bay remains relatively unspoilt, with shallow blue waters, Hawkesbury sandstone outcroppings and native scrub.

In the bay is an extensive artificial reef to foster a fish habitat (pictured). The reef, built in 2006, is made up of 250 pallet balls and supports an array of marine life.

Concrete reef balls which form an artificial reef in Yarra Bay, Botany Bay - The reef has been in place since 2006 and is about to be expanded by Fisheries

To the north is Bumborah Point, which is expected to become Sydney’s first dedicated Aboriginal cemetery to allow for indigenous Australians to be buried on country.

Frenchmans Bay to the south of Yarra is also where the telegraph cable connecting Australia to the rest of the world came ashore.

French navigator Comte de la Perouse, who the museum at La Perouse is named after.

Much of the Botany Bay peninsula is part of a protected national park, recognised for its natural, indigenous and colonial history.

But Yarra Bay falls just short of the protection zone. Should it become home to a cruise terminal, how much of its historical, natural and cultural heritage will endure?

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