Berry Island Reserve, Wollstonecraft. NSW. Australia.
S 33° 50.420 E 151° 11.330
56H E 332419 N 6254072
Throughout the 19th century, Berry Island was known as a fishing, hunting and camping site for Aboriginal tribes.
Waymark Code: WMVDEV
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 04/04/2017
Views: 5
Berry Island was known to be a fishing, hunting and camping site for Aboriginal communities in the 19th century. Evidence of the Aboriginal way of life including shell middens and axe grindings are still visible today.
In the early 19th century, Edward Wollstonecraft attached the small island to the mainland by constructing a stone causeway over the mud flats. After he died the property passed to his sister and her husband Alexander Berry. Public protests saw that the island was dedicated as a nature reserve for public recreation in 1926, along with Balls Head Reserve. In the 1960s the mudflats were filled in to create the attractive grassed area that exists today.
Located at the southern end of Shirley Road, Wollstonecraft, Berry Island Reserve is a 10 minute walk from Wollstonecraft railway station. Limited on-street parking is available in Shirley Road.
Extract from Weekend Notes: (
visit link)
Throughout the 19th century, Berry Island was known as a fishing, hunting and camping site for Aboriginal tribes. Then, in the early 19th century, a stone causeway was constructed over mudflats to connect this small bushland island to the mainland. In 1926, the island was decreed a nature reserve for public recreation, and it's been a favourite spot for Sydneysiders ever since.
The best way to explore the island is along the Gadyan Track, a 20-minute bushwalking loop that explores the island's Aboriginal history. The Gadyan Bush Track is a short bushwalk that offers some insight into the lives of the Cammeraigal people who lived here in the 19th century. Plenty of remnants of Aboriginal life remain today, including shell middens, axe grindings and even a large rock engraving.
Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive)
Class Indigenous
Legal Status Registered (01/11/1983)
Place ID 2925
Place File No 1/13/027/0038
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