Cell Descriptions - South East Natural Resources Management Board

SE6 – Lake Bonney SE
Benthic Habitat
Irregular distribution of 3 benthic habitats along the shore: bare sand; heavy limestone/
calcarenite reef; and low profile platform reef. These 3 extend to c.1000 to 1400m offshore,
where low profile platform reef extends along the shore.
Canunda Dunes; steep coarse sand beach; vegetated foredunes with grey clay crust in swales;
transgressive dunes; small freshwater lake threatened by transgressive dunes. Lake Bonney in
background. Photograph Coast Protection Board 2003.
Land Use/ Land Ownership
Canunda National Park (30% of the cell area). Lower South East Marine Park (Cape Buffon to
Admella Beach). 70% of the cell area is unallotted Crown land, which includes Lake Bonney.
Luebbers research (1980) provided the basis for an assessment of Aboriginal sites in the park by
Rhoades (1983); the density of sites within the park is such as to suggest the entire park should be
considered an Aboriginal site, NPWSA 1986, p.38.
Values/ Uses (Field visits and local reports)
Fishing. ORV activities. Camping throughout the park. Coola Outstation ruins within the park.
Aboriginal Heritage values throughout.
Threats (Field visits and local reports)
Recent aerial photography shows heavy impact of vehicle and foot traffic to many dunes and
headland lookout points, with vegetation and soil loss: at the headlands this is usually terra rossa
soil over calcrete layer within the Robe Range.
Dune transgression is threatening vegetation and small lakes SE of Lake Bonney, (NPWSA
1986). Between Whale Rock and Two Mile Rock unstable dunes were extensively fertilised and
planted with marram by Dept Agric. in 1979 and 1983, with the aim of preventing further dune
migration into small freshwater lakes. National Parks (1986, p.54) note that early descriptions of
Limestone Coast and Coorong Coastal Action Plan 297