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| List: | Register of the National Estate |
| Class: | Indigenous |
| Legal Status: | Registered (27/10/1998) |
| Place ID: | 100633 |
| Place File No: | 1/15/023/0016 |
| Statement of Significance: |
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Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is a large area with outstanding cultural and natural values. It is very significant as a cultural and natural landscape which demonstrates relationships between the environment and human occupation through time. Its significance is emphasised by its proximity to Sydney, the Nation's largest metropolitan centre.
Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is an integral component of the Woronora Ramp area, stretching south-west from Sydney, together with Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park, the Woronora catchment and O'Hare's Creek Catchment. Major parts of the Woronora Ramp region are included in the Register of the National Estate. This region, together with the other tracts of undeveloped areas to the west and north of the metropolitan area, are essential in defining the character of the broader Sydney region.
In the network of gullies which criss-cross the area, many of the natural values remain undisturbed and the Indigenous heritage is impressively retained. Over 500 Aboriginal sites provide a glimpse of the relationship between people and the land prior to 1788. The sites and the area's long term and more recent connections with Aboriginal people, combine to form a landscape of great significance for its Indigenous heritage. The landscape also provides important illustrations of European settlement, agriculture and Australia's military history. It is unusual to find landscapes in this region so intact. This provides a rare opportunity to understand both the natural and cultural history of the region. It is remarkable that this landscape has survived on the margins of the Nation's earliest and largest urban centre. Indigenous values: The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is highly valued by members of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Dharawal people for its symbolic, cultural, educational and social associations (Criterion G.1). The Aboriginal cultural landscape of the area reflects the past lifestyle of Aboriginal people in this region and its preservation enables Aboriginal people to maintain cultural links to the area. These connections with the past are particularly important, because Aboriginal people in this part of Australia were among the earliest impacted by European settlement of this continent and their culture has since been disrupted by war, disease and urban development. Throughout the environments of the area the Dharawal see evidence of the relationship between their people and the land. The Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council is also concerned about maintaining the area's natural environment. The area contains a large and diverse collection of Aboriginal sites, which represent a complex Aboriginal cultural landscape (Criterion A.3). Over 530 sites are known from the area and a further 509 potential archaeological sites have been documented. It is highly likely that the area contains many hundreds more sites. Sites include rock paintings and drawings, engravings, open scatters of artefacts, grinding grooves and scarred trees. The survival of a significant number of scarred trees within the area is important as this is a rare type of site within the Sydney Basin (Criterion B.2). While rock art sites are well represented in the Sydney Basin, other types of sites are less so. The preservation within the area of scarred trees, open artefact scatters and archaeological sites in particular, offer considerable potential for further developing a picture of day to day activities of Aboriginal people in the Sydney Basin prior to 1788 (Criterion C.2). This large number of sites and the stories they may tell form a landscape in which Aboriginal life prior to 1788 is recorded without the large scale impact of European settlement. There is also a high density of sites in the area. This is particularly important because sites are found in groups or clusters with their relationship to one another largely intact. By examining where they are located in the landscape and their relationship to other types of sites, a more complete picture of the lifestyle of Aboriginal people could be established (Criterion C.2). The Georges River, which bounds the National Estate area on the west and is close to the north, has been identified as an important north-south Aboriginal cultural boundary within the Sydney Basin. The cultural landscape of the National Estate area is representative of the southern social unit of the Sydney Basin (Criterion D.2). This unit has been characterised by the presence of a number of distinctive traits within the art and by complex analyses which show that the art sites of this region are significantly different from those north of the Georges River. The large number of sites, the relatively high site density, the condition of sites and the preservation of the landscape as a whole makes the area important in terms of the further definition of this southern unit. The area also offers considerable research potential in terms of the analysis and interpretation of small scale groups (Criterion C.2). There is evidence to suggest that this area formed the cultural landscape of a single residence group whose territory extended over the Georges River and Williams/Mill Creek drainage basins. In this region, it is uncommon to have such a landscape preserved in this way and particularly important, as knowledge of local groups from enthnohistory is often incomplete and problematic. The rich collection of more than 300 rock art sites within the area is regionally significant as a group in the Sydney Basin and representative of rock art south of the Georges River (Criterion D.2). The rock art sites are diverse in terms of technique (paintings, drawings and engravings) and motifs depicted (Criterion A.3). The art in the area contains a number of motifs which are rare within the Sydney region, such as the engraving of a pregnant woman. The site where this occurs is considered important, as female motifs and gender specific evidence of this kind are relatively rare (Criterion B.2). The long history of recording the rock art sites by voluntary groups and individuals indicates that they are aesthetically important to groups within the broader community (Criteria E.1). The aesthetic value of these sites is enhanced by their excellent condition and lack of graffiti. The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is important as an illustration of a landscape in which changes in the relationship between Aboriginal people and early settlers took place (Criterion A.4). This is a phase in the cultural history of Australia for which traditional documentation is often poor. The area is associated with Governor Macquarie's war against the Aboriginal people of the Liverpool, Campbelltown and Appin areas from April to November 1816. Despite efforts to move Indigenous people away from this country, documentation indicates Aboriginal people were still visiting sites within the area in the 1830s. Within the area, it is the evidence of the strong Aboriginal presence combined with the nineteenth century history and land use without much twentieth century development, which makes this area unusual for the way it can illustrate this period of history. Potential exists for further research to shed light on this era through research relating to exploration, settlements within the area and information about the adjacent Aboriginal reserve (Criterion C.2). Natural values: This area contains a diversity of natural landscapes and vegetation types in a relatively unmodified condition, in an area otherwise greatly altered by urban development. Vegetation communities include plateau forest (covering forest and woodland on both tertiary alluvium soils and on shale), gully forest, woodland/heath complex, riparian forest, sedgeland, heath/swamp complex and melaleuca thickets. The laterite ridgetops are almost entirely intact and are significant reference sites which demonstrate the formation of laterite caps and the occupying vegetation communities (Criterion A.2). Diversity of plant species is high, with more than 400 species recorded in the area. At least seven different plant communities have been distinguished in the area, indicating high community diversity (Criterion A.3). At least eight plant species considered rare nationally occur here: DARWINIA DIMINUTA, D GRANDIFLORA, EUCALYPTUS LUEHMANNIANA, GREVILLEA LONGIFOLIA, HIBBERTIA NITIDA, LOMANDRA FLUVIATILIS, MELALEUCA DEANEI and TETRATHECA NEGLECTA. A rare and undescribed species of greenhood orchid (PTEROSTYLIS sp E) has also been recorded here. The area contains a substantial remnant of Cumberland Plain woodlands, a vegetation type growing mainly on Wianamatta shale. Only 6% of the original area of Cumberland Plain woodlands remains. This community has been listed as an endangered ecological community under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. LEUCOPOGON EXOLASIUS, found here, is listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. Regionally significant plants include E SQUAMOSA, GREVILLEA DIFFUSA and ZORNIA DYCTIOCARPA (Criterion B.1). The broad headed snake (HOPLOCEPHALUS BUNGAROIDES), found in this area, is listed under the Commonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. The koala (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS) population found locally is considered one of the few remaining viable populations in southern NSW. The area also contains a significant population of the spotted tailed quoll (DASYURUS MACULATUS). Both the koala and quoll are listed as vulnerable under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act, together with the giant burrowing frog (HELEIOPORUS AUSTRALIACUS), red crowned toadlet (PSEUDOPHRYNE AUSTRALIS), powerful owl (NINOX STRENUA) and greater broad nosed bat (SCOTEANAX RUEPPELLII), all of which are recorded in the area. The New Holland mouse (PSEUDOMYS NOVAEHOLLANDIAE), considered to be regionally rare, is also found here together with a number of other fauna species of regional or State conservation significance (Criterion B.1). The area has areas of significant aesthetic values, particularly the forested creek gorges (Criterion E.1). Historic values: The settlement sites and transport routes in the area are associated with the history of nineteenth century European settlement and the development of agriculture in the Liverpool region, including the wine industry and subsistence farming in a bushland setting. The Grodno Settlement site is associated with the activities of migrants in the Liverpool region. The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area also provides evidence of transport routes for settlers in the Liverpool, Holsworthy and Campbelltown areas. These demonstrate the transport linkages that connected the nineteenth century settlements, industry and farms to more established regions of Sydney. Holsworthy is also significant for its military associations. It was a training site for Australian troops and horses engaged in World War One battles, including Gallipoli. The Holsworthy Military Training Area is also significant for the training activities of the Australian Army after World War Two (Criterion A.4). The Old Army Internment Camp Group was used to inter Germans and other Europeans, from 1914-19. The internment of migrants in Australia followed Britain's foreign nationals policy during World War One and this site reflects Australia's strong defence links with Britain. It also demonstrates Australia's fear of European immigrants during World War One and reflects concerns that Australia's war effort and National security were threatened by spies and invasion. The Old Army Internment Camp Group also indicates the impact of World War One on Australia's home front when men were interned and their families left to fend for themselves (Criterion A.4). The Old Army Internment Camp Group is associated with the history of Federation. The acquisition of its remaining buildings in 1913 was part of the Commonwealth Government's major program of defence construction for Australia (Criterion A.4). The Old Army Internment Camp Group survives as evidence of the largest internment camp in Australia during World War One. The guard buildings and structures are rare in demonstrating the guards' section of a World War One internment camp in Australia and are also significant because they were constructed by German and other European internees (Criterion B.2). This Group has important associations for those who trained there during World War Two and who more recently undertook National Service Training or permanent Army service there during its use as a military camp. It has similar associations for members of the World War One Light Horse Regiments and their families and descendants. It has strong associations for former internees. It also has important associations for Australians as a reminder of a period of conflict and troubled National identity, involving a deep suspicion of non-British immigrants at that time (Criterion G.1). |
| Official Values: Not Available |
| Description: |
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The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is commonly known as the Holsworthy Military Training Area. Cubbitch Barta means 'people of the river' in the Aboriginal Gurgur language and was chosen as the name for this National Estate place by the nominator.
Holsworthy has been a military training area since the late nineteenth century. It has since become known as the Holsworthy Military Training Area, the Holsworthy Field Firing Range, the Holsworthy Range, or simply The Range.
The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is a large tract of bushland covering plateaux, ridges and rocky creek valleys immediately adjacent to the dense urban development of Sydney's south-west. The bushland has been largely protected from development and public use, due to the area being set aside as a Commonwealth military training area in 1913. The bushland contains hundreds and possibly well over a thousand Aboriginal sites, which reflect a substantial history of Aboriginal occupation. This represents an extensive landscape where Aboriginal life in this region prior to 1788 is recorded without large scale impact of European settlement. A number of European nineteenth century sites in the area are associated with the history of European settlement and the development of agriculture in the Liverpool region. The Holsworthy area was used as a training area for Australian Defence personnel in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century.
The Range comprises the southern area of the National Estate area and is an extensive tract of open countryside, in parts very undulating and not fully accessible to the public, dominated by a thickly wooded incised plateau. Due to the area being used as a firing range by the army, Defence personnel were settled in the area known as the Old Army Internment Camp, on the northern part of the Range. During World War One, there was an internment camp for migrants and prisoners of war here. The Old Army Internment Camp Group is entered in the Interim list for the Register of the National Estate as a place of individual significance (refer to file RR 014223). The landscape: The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area occupies 18, 000ha of the Woronora Plateau, approximately 30km south-west of inner Sydney. It adjoins Heathcote National Park to the south-east and Dharawal State Recreation Area to the south, forming part of an extensive tract of bushland stretching southwards from the Sydney metropolitan area. It also contains part of the Woronora and O'Hare's Creek catchments. The area has soils derived from the interbedded shale and fine to medium grained quartz sandstone of the Mittagong Formation. The landscape is one of crests, ridges, valleys and plateau remnants. The original plateau surface has been eroded by creeks including Harris, Williams and Deadman's Creeks, flowing northwards to join the Georges River, which discharges into Botany Bay. In the southern part, two further creeks, Punchbowl and O'Hares, join the Georges River. The creeks have formed deeply dissected valleys where the underlying Hawkesbury sandstone is revealed and where there are scenic waterfalls and waterholes surrounded by she oaks and tall eucalypts. In other valleys, clear water seeps from wet heaths and collects in the pools on flat sandstone platforms. On these flat rocks are occasionally found Aboriginal engravings. On the sides of many valleys are sandstone overhangs and rock shelters which provide cool, sheltered sites for banks of ferns, mosses and lichens. Aboriginal art such as hand stencils, charcoal sketches and ochre paintings are located in these overhangs. Remnant ridges capped with laterite occur in the area, important as most other laterite caps in the region have been extensively disturbed by mining or suburban development. These elevated areas provide views across the Sydney basin and toward the distant Sydney city skyline. The area contains a wide range of vegetation, varying from dry woodland/heath complex, to plateau forest and woodland, gully forest, riparian forest, sedgeland, heath/swamp complex and melaleuca thickets. The major vegetation types are dry woodland (approximately 50% of the vegetation cover) and gully forest. The southern ridge tops support a dry open woodland similar to that found in nearby Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park and the O'Hares Creek catchment area, with the most common tree species being red bloodwood (E GUMMIFERA), yertchuk (E CONSIDENIANA) and narrow leaved stringybark (E OBLONGA). The ridge tops towards the north of the area consist of sandstone or laterite over sandstone and support woodland dominated by Sydney red gum (ANGOPHORA COSTATA), scribbly gum (E HAEMASTOMA/E RACEMOSA) and red blood wood (E GUMMIFERA). Plateau forest and woodland fall into two main subgroups: tertiary alluvium dominated by ironbarks (E CREBRA and E FIBROSA); and shale dominated by Sydney red gum (ANGOPHORA COSTATA, E PUNCTATA, E SPARSIFOLIA and E GUMMIFERA). Both subgroups have a grassy understorey with THEMEDA AUSTRALIS, ENTOLASIA STRICTA and LOMANDRA sp among the common plant species encountered. A substantial remnant (approximately 1,650ha) of Cumberland Plain woodland, consisting mainly of grey box (E MOLUCCANA) and forest red gum (E TERETICORNIS), is located between the Georges River and Harris Creek in the north-west. Only 6% of the original area of this woodland is thought to survive in the Sydney Basin and it is listed as an endangered community under NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. Gully forest covers about 40% of the area, with dominant trees including Sydney red gum (ANGOPHORA COSTATA), Sydney peppermint (E PIPERITA), red blood wood (E GUMMIFERA) and blackbutt (E PILULARIS). The shrub layer includes saw tooth banksia (BANKSIA SERRATA) and Christmas bush (CERATOPETALUM GUMMIFERUM). The spectacular gymea lily (DORANTHES EXCELSA) nears its southern limit here. Small sections of river fringing forest in the area are dominated by coach wood (CERATOPETALUM APETALUM) and river gum (TRISTANIOPSIS LAURINA). Patches of sedgeland and wet heaths are restricted mainly to the southern part around perched swamps on the Woronora Plateau. The sedgelands differ from the heath/swamp complex in lacking a shrub layer. Common species are LEPTOCARPUS TENAX, SCHOENUS BREVIFOLIUS and SPRENGELIA INCARNATA. In the heath/swamp complex, dominant shrubs are fern leaved banksia (BANKSIA OBLONGIFOLIA), heath leaved banksia (B ERICIFOLIA) and dagger bush (HAKEA TERETIFOLIA). Ground cover plants include PTILOTHRIX DEUSTA, LEPYRODIA SCARIOSA, LEPTOCARPUS TENAX and CYATHOCHAETA DIANDRA. Very small areas of melaleuca thickets occur in the north and are dominated by snow in summer (MELALEUCA LINARIFOLIA), together with bangalay (E BOTRYOIDES) and Sydney blue gum (E SALIGNA). Many of the vegetation types within the area contain rare plant species. Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area contains a population of spotted tailed quolls (DASYURUS MACULATUS), a cat sized carnivorous marsupial considered uncommon to rare on mainland Australia and which has declined dramatically this century. It has significant populations of koalas (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS) and is considered prime koala habitat. Evidence suggests that the area provides a connecting corridor between the Campbelltown area and Heathcote and Royal National Parks, along which koalas may have been moving for thousands of years. More than ninety bird species have been recorded here, including some usually found much further west. Species recorded include the turquoise parrot NEOPHEMA PULCHELLA and the powerful owl NINOX STRENUA. Common reptiles include the bearded dragon (POGONA BARBATA), blind snake (RAMPHOTYPHLOPS NIGRESCENS), Lesueur's velvet gecko (OEDURA LESUEURII) and yellow faced whip snake (DEMANSIA PSAMMOPHIS). Thirty-six reptiles and amphibians are known to occur here. Freycinet's frog (LITORIA FREYCINETI), the giant burrowing frog (HELEIOPORUS AUSTRALIACUS) and Haswell's frog (PARACRINIA HASWELLI), are some of the amphibians noted from the area. The Aboriginal landscape: The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area contains more than 530 Aboriginal sites spread throughout the plateaux and Rocky Creek valley terrain. These include rock shelters with painted and drawn art, engravings on open rock platforms, camping places, grinding grooves and scarred trees on the older trees of the forests and woodlands. The area contains an important collection of sites which are relatively undisturbed in their landscape setting. While many Aboriginal sites have been recorded within the area, only a portion of the area has been systematically surveyed and there are likely to be many hundreds more sites to be recognised and documented. According to most sources, the area falls mostly or wholly within the boundaries of the Dharawal people. The Dharawal's boundary with their northern neighbours is generally considered to be the Georges River and in the north-west they shared a boundary with the Dharug which may have taken in a small part of the western side of the National Estate area. In the nineteenth century, Aboriginal sites were first noted within the boundaries of this area by R Etheridge. Etheridge's informant stated that his father visited rock art sites around Harris Creek with Aboriginal people around 1838. Many of the sites within the area were recorded during the 1970s, through the activity of the Sydney Prehistory Group. Additional sites were recorded by Corporal Robert Thompson in the 1980s. These recordings were reassessed in 1995 within the Holsworthy Training Area Environmental Audit. Up to this point, 295 sites had been recorded in the area, with recordings heavily biased toward sites containing rock art (235) and grinding grooves (sixty-nine). In late 1996, a systematic archaeological survey of parts of the area was conducted as part of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for two options proposed for the Second Sydney Airport. This survey recorded a further 240 sites and revealed a broader range of sites than previously known. These included: 128 rockshelters with drawn or painted rock art, sixteen sites with engraved art, sixty-four sites with grinding grooves, forty-seven scarred trees, thirty-seven isolated finds and eighteen open scatters of artefacts. Currently more than 530 sites are recorded within the area. This includes over 300 rock art sites. The EIS study also documented 509 potential archaeological deposits. These are places (usually rockshelters) where it is highly likely that archaeological material will be found under the surface. No archaeological excavations have taken place within the area and the length of association of Aboriginal people and the Cubbitch Barta National Estate area is unknown. The recent survey work indicates considerable potential for future archaeological investigations. The rock art found within the area represents a significant collection of Aboriginal imagery, created using a diverse range of techniques (engravings, pigment applied wet, pigment applied dry) and reflecting a wide variety of subject matter. This collection of art is distinct in its combination of features from other bodies of rock art in the Sydney basin. Dominant motifs in the painted and drawn area include macropods, hand stencils, fish and eels, with emus, wombats, echidnas and koalas. The colour most frequently used is black (charcoal) with red and white also common. A combination of colours was used in a small proportion of sites. Many sites contain ten figures or less and the largest site has more than sixty figures. Fewer engraving sites exist within the area compared with other areas in the Sydney Basin and the number of figures per site is generally small (not more than six). They do however contain different motifs and appear to form compositions. Engraved motifs include large footprints, emu tracks, eels, fish, macropods, koalas, human like figures and one engraving apparently of a pregnant female. This last motif appears to be unique in this area. Small engraved channels have also been found on flat rocks within creeks and in association with engraving sites. These grooves may have been used to channel water from the surrounding spongy heath into deeper rock pools. Archaeological work in the Sydney basin has confirmed north-south differences in the art of the basin, with the Georges River most often identified as the boundary between the two regions. Differences between these regions have been established by complex analyses of the art (both pigment and engraving sites). Fewer engraving sites exist south of the Georges River and there are also a number of differences in the way motifs are depicted. This large body of sites has been generally protected from the impact of the surrounding urban development and remains in excellent condition. It represents a large and important sample of Aboriginal sites in the southern Sydney basin. In many comparable areas, sites have been flooded behind dams, such as the adjacent Woronora dam and the Cataract, Cordeaux and Avon catchments further to the south. Similarly, as coal mining has not occurred under the area, the rockshelters here have not been affected by subsidence which has been documented affecting sites in catchments to the south. The area has also not been commercially logged since the turn of the century, an important factor in the survival of a significant number of scarred trees. The nineteenth century European settlement sites in the area illustrate the story of settlement in the Liverpool region and the way it affected Aboriginal people. Early colonial farms were established to the north and west of the area from 1800-20 and some of the conflicts that occurred within the first half of the nineteenth century, most notably Governor Macquarie's proclaimed war on Aborigines in 1816, were played out in and around the area. The Aboriginal landscape of this historic period is well represented by the landscapes of the area, containing isolated homesteads, roads, farms and a small town settlement. Etheridge's account indicates that Aboriginal people were still visiting sites within the area in the 1830s. One of the earliest Aboriginal reserves in the Sydney area is thought to have been located immediately adjacent to the area in the north east, around Sandy Point on the Georges River. This reserve was occupied at a time in the late nineteenth century when the settlement of Eckersley was established within the area, along with a number of farms and vineyards. While the relationship between Aboriginal people on the reserve and the area is not currently known, they may have visited the area to obtain bush foods or to maintain other social or spiritual connections. Since the establishment of the military facility in 1913, Aboriginal people have had only limited access to the area. Connections have been maintained, to some extent, through Aboriginal people in the Army. More recently, the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council has assumed a custodial role for the Training Area and in 1993, negotiated with the Army to look after the area's cultural heritage sites. In late 1996, Tharawal representatives visited many of the sites in the area as part of their role in the cultural heritage surveys associated with the Sydney second airport environmental impact statement. The Australian Army has been cooperating with the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council to protect Aboriginal sites in the area by providing access for Aboriginal people, assisting in documenting places and taking steps to avoid sites during military activities. European settlement and agriculture: From 1798 to 1805 the NSW Colonial Government issued land grants to early settlers in the Liverpool region including Thomas Moore, Captain Thomas Rowley and Thomas Laycock. The first land grants for European settlement were made in the Holsworthy area from 1805-13. In 1835, the rugged sandstone gorges of the area were surveyed and proclaimed as the Parish of Eckersley. The Old Coach Road, Old Illawarra Road and New Illawarra Road provided transport routes for settlers in the Liverpool, Holsworthy and Campbelltown regions. Evidence suggests that the Old Illawarra Road and the Old Coach Road were constructed earlier than attributed and this warrants further investigation. During the 1880s the land south of the Georges River in Eckersley was opened to farmers. Many European vignerons grew olives, almonds and grapes and experimented with wine production in the sandy soils. The first settlers to take up an official selection with the parish were Frank and Harry Etchells in 1889. They built a stone cottage, grew fruit and vegetables, raised poultry and bees and distilled rum inside the rock ledges at waterfalls along the river. They transported their rum by pack horse to Bulli and sold it to miners. Other settlers included Nathanial George Bull, a one time Mayor of Liverpool, who also built a dwelling. The Freres brothers established a vineyard in the area in association with Charles Kelso. By 1891, the Eckersley area supported over thirty small farms and a post office was built providing a mail service to Liverpool twice a week. Isaac Himmelhoch established the substantial Grodno vineyard with the intention of producing high quality wines. By 1901 the 640 acre selection grew Hermitage and Malbec grapes. By 1911 Eckersley had declined after settlers encountered difficulties growing vines in the sandy soil. Most of the vines were affected by phylloxera. The selections were abandoned to make way for the proposed military reserve and the Grodno vineyard was destroyed following the Army's arrival. Military history: In the late 1880s the NSW Volunteer Soldiers conducted training exercises and manoeuvres between the Royal National Park and the Georges River at Liverpool. The Army held manoeuvres in the Holsworthy Range in 1906, 1907 and 1910. As part of the new Commonwealth Government's major program of defence construction, it acquired 833 acres to establish a remount depot and veterinary hospital in 1912 and in 1913 a further 16,868 acres at the site now known as Old Army Camp. Eighty thousand acres of land were finally acquired for a military barracks, a training area and an artillery range. At the time of acquisition, the land contained both large and small holdings, many of which were still undeveloped. The site chosen for the barracks was a large orchard surrounded by thick bush and scrub. The remount depot located here was used to prepare 47,000 horses for overseas service in World War One and various Light Horse Divisions trained here before embarking for Gallipoli and other theatres of war. During World War One, Holsworthy Barracks was used as an Internment Camp. Those interned included German, Austrian, Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, Bulgarian and Turkish people from Australia, as well as internees from the South Pacific and Asia. The main compound housed German and Australian civilians. However, there were some prisoners of war including survivors of the German cruiser Emden which was beached at Cocos on 9 November, 1914. A further three compounds held other prisoners. This was the largest internment camp in Australia during World War One, holding over 6 000 internees. At its peak there were more than 210 buildings on site. The German section was closed in mid-1919 with the last man leaving on 5 May, 1920. It appears that almost all of the buildings associated with the World War One internees were razed when hostilities ceased. The only evidence of the camp exists in the three stone buildings (sergeants' mess/corporals' club, burnt-out recreation hall and jail/powder magazine) in the former guards' camp, north of Artillery Road, in the railway siding and its associated permanent way and in some of the road and kerbing surrounding the former parade ground, a flat grassed area. All other existing fabric on the site dates from the period after 1930. After World War One, the former internment camp was used for militia camps and a new ordnance depot was built. The stone buildings erected by the internees were used for permanent army units. (For more information about the internment camp area, see related file: Old Army Internment Camp Group, Holsworthy, RR 014223). In 1938 a further 33,860 acres were added to the Holsworthy Range. From 1939 a prisoner of war camp was established and 6,780 Australians, mostly of Italian origin, were interned. It is unknown if any structures remain from this phase. In 1942 an armoured fighting vehicle school replaced the remount depot. In 1950 the remount site was taken over for National Service personnel. In 1958 the Holsworthy Range became the home of the 1st Infantry Brigade Group. The Range has been used extensively for training soldiers in the use of small firearms, tanks and artillery. Although the Range has been used for military training, the natural features of the landscape remain relatively undisturbed. With the exception of the Holsworthy Barracks, the airfield and small weapons ranges, there have been a limited number of other developments over the area, mainly the small network of roads, demolition areas and vehicle staging areas. After World War Two, the consolidation of military bases increased the demand for housing to accommodate its personnel. Holsworthy Village, established in 1952, exemplifies this process. The village featured rows of modest fibro-cement cottages of similar architectural form set in wide, tree lined streets. The houses have recently been comprehensively refurbished with modern cladding and aluminium windows, effectively destroying their significance as a post war housing group. The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area comprises the following historic elements which are significant in the Liverpool region and are important elements in the cultural landscape : old Illawarra Road, c 1850s. This gravel road linked Liverpool to Darkes Forest; old Coach Road, c 1880s. This gravel road links with the old Illawarra Road near Darkes Forest and features stone culverts; new Illawarra Road, c 1870s. This is a gravel road linking the Liverpool/old Illawarra Road at Eckersley; Grodno settlement site, c 1890s. This includes cleared former vineyard grounds, cellar remains, wells, irrigation channels, stone culverts and a long dry stone wall of stones; Eckersley Post Office site, c 1890s. This site includes the remains of structures covered by overgrowth; Eckersley House site, c 1890s. This includes the remains of a stone and mud dwelling, with cellar; other homestead remains, c 1890s. The site features several other unidentified homestead remains, some with wells and some with chimneys, which are likely to relate to the Grodno and Eckersley settlements. The recent past and area today: The area continues to be used as a Military Training Area for small arms training, navigation, unit manoeuvres and demolition training. Training has taken place here for both National Service and regular units which have seen active service in Korea, Malaya and Vietnam. Units which continue to have a strong presence at Holsworthy include military engineers and Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. There is increasingly widespread community recognition of the existence of a diverse range of heritage values within the area, encompassing natural, indigenous and historic values. In March 1997, the Liverpool Regional Museum put together an exhibition of the Aboriginal, European, military and environmental heritage of Holsworthy area. In 1997 the community has shown considerable interest in the heritage of the area, largely as a response to suggestions the area could be used as a location for the second Sydney Airport. |
| History: Not Available |
| Condition and Integrity: |
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The Cubbitch Barta National Estate Area is a large undeveloped area of bushland, surrounded on the north and west by major growth areas of south-west Sydney. Since the turn of the century, public access to the area has been restricted through its use for Commonwealth military activities, mostly training exercises. It is largely because of its military status and the Australian Army's management regime, that the National Estate area has remained in a relatively natural condition and that National Estate values have been maintained. Much of the bushland, valleys and waterways remained undisturbed, despite military activity.
Impacts from military activities have included localised infrastructure construction (airfields, roads, bridges and small buildings), localised ground disturbance and impact damage from ordinance, concentrated impacts within army demolition and target areas, increased bushfire rates caused by exploding ordinance and impacts from vehicle and troop movements. Most of this military activity has been restricted to ridge tops and to a large extent, the topography of the area has played a role in protecting sensitive areas and Aboriginal sites. Target and demolition areas, where the highest impacts occur, are relatively small, defined areas on ridge tops which are repeatedly used. A large number of Aboriginal sites, in particular rock art sites and rock shelters, occur within valleys where they are relatively sheltered from direct impacts. Most Aboriginal sites appear to have escaped significant damage. Specific impacts of military operations on Aboriginal sites have been discussed in the Army's environmental audit. Identified impacts include: 1)
damage to art sites from artillery fire (either from ricochet or direct hit);
2)
the impact of exploding mortars on sandstone expanses on which engravings are found (although no engravings have been damaged to date);
3) the impact of heavy vehicles whose tracks have been found on sandstone expanses which contain engravings (although again no engravings appear to have been directly affected to date);
4)
the potential threat to at least one archaeological deposit from the presence of a live mortar bomb located within the floor area.
Obviously other shelters may be similarly at risk;
5) graffiti on art sites, although this was not frequently observed;
6) the encroachment of sediments on the largest set of axe grinding grooves which may be partly caused by increased siltation due to firing. The environmental audit considered the body of sites within the Military Training Area to have considerable integrity and that their protection should be a high priority. Some Aboriginal sites have been affected by public visitation, particularly those located near the boundary of the area along the Georges River; however most sites in the restricted access areas are in excellent condition. The presence of unexploded ordinance including bullets, hand grenades, mortars and rockets continues to restrict public movement in the area. The majority of the landscape and vegetation communities in the area are in remarkably good condition. There are few weeds in much of the bushland, although clumps of pampas grass occur along the roads and patches of prickly pear are found near the Grodno settlement site. The area has not been farmed or logged since the 1900s and the creeks and rivers have high water quality. Introduced animals recorded from the area including the fox (VULPES VULPES), dog (CANIS FAMILIARIS), cat (FELIS CATUS), hare (LEPUS CAPENSIS), rabbit (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS), house mouse (MUS DOMESTICUS) and black rat (RATTUS RATTUS). The high frequency of fire in the area, induced by the military's live firing activity, may lead to a loss of native species diversity in the plateau forest areas. In 1997, the known condition of historic elements within the Cubbitch Barta National Estate area is as follows: the gravel roads; old Illawarra Road; the Old Coach Road; and New Illawarra Road. are in good condition. The Grodno settlement site, Eckersley Post Office Site, Eckersley House Site and other homestead sites have low level remains above the ground and building fragments. The sites are reported as having been cleared by the Department of Defence in 1913. The archaeological potential of these sites has not been assessed. The condition of the Old Army Internment Camp Group's elements is as follows: the former powder magazine/gaol is generally in good condition and is still being used. The mess (former corporals' club) is externally in good condition having recently been renovated by the Army, but the interior is somewhat dilapidated. The recreation hall comprises burnt out remains of wall footings but with a small portion of the lower storey of the main wing substantially intact. Much of the pedestrian bridge's original fabric has been removed, but concrete piers and iron fixings remain. The former parade ground and some tree plantings survive from the internment period. While the area currently receives protection from its military status (and associated public safety concerns), the area is under increasing pressure from new urban developments occurring around its margins. The area is surrounded by natural buffer zones of protected areas in the south and east and by its western boundary along the Georges River. The Australian Army is still, however, concerned about unauthorised public access into the area, as evidenced by warnings advertised in the press. (July 1997) |
| Location: |
| About 18,000ha, at Holsworthy, comprising the following areas: 1) the Holsworthy Range area as shown on the Holsworthy Range Special map published in the Holsworthy Training Area Environmental Audit Main Report for the Department of Defence (AXIS Environmental/AMBS Consulting, 1995); and 2) an area bounded by the easterly alignment of Kota Bahru Road in the north, Illawarra Road in the west and the Holsworthy Range boundary in the south and east. Excluded are Lot 1 DP817692 and Lot 6a DP752034. |
| Bibliography: |
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AXIS Environmental/AMBS Consulting (1995) Holsworthy Training Area Environmental Audit: Main report and appendices. Report to the Department of Defence, Sydney. Benson, D.H. (1992) The natural vegetation of the Penrith 1:100 000 map sheet. Cunninghamiana Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 541-596. Benson, D. & Howell, J. (1990) Taken for granted - the bushland of Sydney and its suburbs. Kangaroo Press in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Briggs, J.D. & Leigh, J.H. (1996) Rare or threatened Australian plants. CSIRO, Melbourne. Close, R. (1997) Comments on nomination of the Wedderburn/Holsworthy koala population, Letter to Dr Chris Dickman, Chairman, NSW Scientific Committee, 7 May 1997, (on file). Doak, F. (1988) Australian Defence Heritage, The Fairfax Library. Etheridge, R. (1889) Report on supposed caves, with Aboriginal drawings, on Harris' Creek, and George's River, near Liverpool, Records of the Geological Survey of New South Wales, Vol.1, part 2, pp. 147-149. Godden Mackay (1995) First Field Hospital Site Holsworthy, Vol.1-3, Peddle Thorp. Greer, S. (1997) Documentation of indigenous heritage values, Holsworthy Military Training Area, Unpublished report to the Australian Heritage Commission and Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council, Canberra. Keating, C. (1996) On the frontier - a social history of Liverpool, Hale & Iremonger, Sydney. Kohen, J. (1993) The Darug and their neighbours: The traditional Aboriginal owners of the Sydney region, Daruk Link in association with Blacktown and District Historical Society. Liston, C. (1988a) Campbelltown: The Bicentennial history, Allen and Unwin, Sydney. Liston, C. (1988b) The Dharawal and Gandangara in colonial Campbelltown, New South Wales, 1788-1830, Aboriginal History, Vol.12, No. 1, pp. 49-62. Liverpool City Council, State Heritage Inventory Public Presentation Report, Ref. nos. LP0068-LP0072. Liverpool City Council, Liverpool. Liverpool Regional Museum (1997) Plane Talking: The impact of an airport at Holsworthy on our Aboriginal, European, military and environmental heritage, Information sheets accompanying exhibition, 9 March - 13 September 1997. McDonald, J. (1990) Sydney Basin Aboriginal Heritage Study: Engravings and shelter art sites stage III, Volume 1&2, Report to New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney. McDonald, J. (1994) Deamtime Superhighway: An analysis of Sydney Basin rock art and prehistoric information exchange, Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Prehistory and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra. National Trust of Australia (NSW) (1996) Holsworthy Landscape Conservation Area (Unpublished citation). National Trust of Australia (NSW), Sydney. Navin Officer Heritage Consultants (1997) Proposed Holsworthy MTA Second Sydney Airport Site, Archaeological Survey Results Information Sheet, February 1997. Neustein and Associates (1992), Liverpool Heritage Study Parts 1&2, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool. Officer, K. (1984) From Tuggerah to Dharawal: variation and function within a regional art style. BA (Hons) thesis, Dept of Prehistory and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra. O'Keefe, B. and Pearson, M. (1996) Federation: a national survey of heritage places, Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra. Organ, M. (1990) A documentary history of the Illawarra and South coast Aborigines 1770 - 1850 including a chronological bibliography 1770 - 1990, Aboriginal Education Unit, Wollongong University. Peterson, M. (1997) Personal Communication, Marina Peterson, Environmental Officer, Base Administrative Support Centre, Department of Defence, Liverpool. Phillips, S. and Callaghan, J. (1996) Koala habitat atlas, Project no. 5: Campbelltown Local Government Area. Draft Report for Campbelltown City Council by the Australian Koala Foundation, Sydney, August 1996. Quint, G. (1996) Holsworthy: National heritage threatened. National Trust Quarterly, October 1996, pp.4-5. Sefton, C. (1988) Site and artefact patterns on the Woronora Plateau, Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Sydney, Sydney. Sefton, C. (1990) 1989-1990 archaeological survey of the Cordeaux River and Woronora River by the Illawarra Prehistory Group, Report for the Australian institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra. Sefton, C. (1993) Stencil art on the Woronora Plateau, Rock Art Research, Vol. 10, No.1, pp. 61-64. Sheppard, J. (1996) Holsworthy: airport or national park? National Parks Journal, Vol. 40, No. 5, 14-16. Strahan, R. (ed.) (1995) The mammals of Australia. Australian Museum/Reed Books, Sydney. Sydney Prehistory Group (1983) In search of the Cobrakall: a survey for Aboriginal sites in the Campbelltown area south of Sydney. Parts 1 & 2, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney. |
Report Produced: Wed Feb 10 02:42:12 2010