Low Res The Royal

The Royal
Exploring the Royal National Park
By Carmelina Bilotta

The Royal
Exploring the Royal National Park
By Carmelina Bilotta

‘The Lungs of The City’
Sydney’s Royal National Park is the second
oldest in the world, and the first to use the
term ‘National Park’. The ‘Royal’ was added
in 1955, the year Elizabeth II passed by in
the train during her continent tour.
Sydney’s royal national park is 151sqkm,
located in the Australian state of New South
Wales, on Dharawal country.
The Royal National Park is inland from the
eastern coastline of Australia, just 30km
south of the Sydney’s bustling central
business district. One of the parks unique
qualities, is its close proximity to the city.
Often people from sydney’s CBD don’t get
to experience rural landscapes like those
offered by the royal nation park.
Hence, one of the aims of this publication is
to highlight the amazing landscapes which
are so close to the metropolitan.

This protected Australian national heritage
listing (added in 2006) is is characterised
by coastal cliffs, secluded beaches and
eucalyptus-rich bushland. Trails crisscross
the park, with over 150 km of walking tracks.
You can expect to see magnificent clifftop
views, a diversity of habitats, including
heath, rainforests, open woodlands and
estuarine systems and historic landscapes.
Through the process of creating this book
I uncovered a deep appreciation for the
beauty and historical significance of the
royal national park. Not only was I in awe
of the spectacular landscapes, but I felt the
need to bring to light this unique and
important land mark which often goes
unnoticed by many in NSW. Aside from the
picturesque settings, the park is a historical
icon of NSW which tells the stories of the
Aboriginal people of Dharawal country and
early settlement in NSW.
Founded in 1879 by Sir John Robertson,
five-time premiere of New South Wales,
the decision to reserve such a large tract
of land so close to Sydney CBD came from
increasing public health concerns in
the late 1870s.
Many citizens were criticising the
government at the time, as overcrowding
and pollution were degrading the city’s
grade of sanitation. Urban reformer John
Lucas addressed the Legislative Assembly
in 1879 demanding that “the health of the
people should be one of the first objects
of all good Governments, and to insure a
healthy, and consequently a vigorous and
intelligent community, it is necessary that all
cities, towns, villages, and such other
centres of populations, should possess
parks and pleasure grounds as places of
public recreation.”
Lucas campaigned for the area to be
dedicated exclusively for the purpose of
public recreation – literal “breathing room”.
Lucas was especially concerned by the
long-term effects the absence of “sufficient
fresh air to allow for a healthy and vigorous
constitution.”
In the present context of the 2020 global
pandemic, I believe these arguments remain
relevant. Given the current travel restrictions
in place, people feel isolated and confined.
These living conditions have already been
reported to have detrimental effects on
people’s mental health, hence the need for
“breathing room” remains. During times
of travel bans and social distancing restrictions,
the park provides a rural escape to
many people within NSW who are wanting
to explore their country.

Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Unspoiled Landscapes
Flora & fauna
Cabin communities

Unspoiled Landscapes
The park offers incredible beauty and natural diversity, characterised by
coastal cliffs, secluded beaches and eucalyptus-rich bushland (Wattamolla,
Garie and Burning Palms are among the most beautiful beaches in Australia).
Trails crisscross the park, with over 150 km of walking tracks to attempt.
Whether you walk the coast for magnificent clifftop views where you can sit
and dangle your feet meters above the surf, or take a scenic bushwalk that
leads to a secluded waterfall where you are free to snorkel, swim or fish with
your family & friends, there is always remarkable geological formations along
the way to stop and admire. The jagged sandstones, eroding cliffs and tree
carvings all tell stories of the long history of the land which has been existing
for over thousands of years.

Flora & Fauna
One of the first national parks
established in the world, Royal National
Park is a reserve of outstanding fauna
diversity. Together with the adjoining
Garawarra and Heathcote reserves, the
area currently provides a home or visiting
place for 347 native fauna species of
which 41 are recognised as threatened
species. Since 1914, the National Park
has been seen as a sanctuary for animals,
now inhabited by kookaburras, lyre birds
and echidnas.
In addition, the park also has a range of
species that are typical to the
Sydney basin, such as the Red- crowned
Toadlet that are endemic to the region.
This ranks amongst the most fauna rich
reserve complexes in NSW.
The park is able to home such a rich
variety of species via its diverse range of
habitats, including extensive stands of
sandstone forests, heaths, woodlands,
beaches and rugged rocky ocean shores.
The shoreline and wetlands are amongst
the most distinct habitat types, supporting
a variety of waterbirds that are
restricted to the coastal fringe. Similarly
the rainforests and adjacent tall wet
sclerophyll forests found growing on rich
soils in incised gullies support their own
unique assemblage of species, some of
which are extensions of the more
subtropical NSW north-coast.

Cabin Communities
The Royal National Park coastal cabin
communities of Little Garie, Era and
Burning Palms are of State heritage
significance as the largest and most
intact groups of vernacular coastal
weekender cabins remaining in NSW.
These cabin communities are historically
important in a NSW context as evidence
of the development of life associated
with recreation from the twentieth
century. These communities began in the
1920s, continued during the Depression
period and peaked during the Second
World War, they remain today and are
listed on national heritage listings.
The cabin communities represent a
recreation lifestyle common for many
years ago for past sydney siders wanting
to get away for the weekend. However,
they are now very rare in NSW and even
all of Australia due to changing lifestyles,
architecture styles, conservation
requirements and development pressure.
These communities demonstrate key
phases in the history of Park including
Aboriginal occupation, pastoralism,
agriculture and recreation uses.

The Royal is a rural escape to the Royal National Park
for those yearning for a simpler existence.
The collection of images of the unique & incredible
locations around the royal nation park aim to inspire people
to venture to the park and experience the beauty for
themselves. The breath-taking scenes inside will not only
aspire a sense of awe and appreciation for the beauty of the
land, but will forge a sense of adventure and wanderlust.
During times of travel bans and social distancing
restrictions, the park provides an ultimate visual escape
in a book form to many people within NSW who are
wanting to explore their country.
The Royal
Exploring the Royal National Park