Booderee National Park
Booderee wins two tourism awards
13 August 2009
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Booderee National Park is now officially recognised as one of the prime tourism destinations on the south coast of NSW.
The park won awards for Indigenous Tourism and Best Tourist Attraction at the 2009 South Coast Regional Tourism Awards for Business Excellence, held in Wollongong last night.
Booderee National Park is owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and jointly managed by Wreck Bay and the Australian Government. The awards recognise Booderee's role in drawing over 450,000 visitors to the region each year, educating visitors about south coast Aboriginal culture, and providing a diverse range of camping and recreational opportunities.
Wreck Bay Community members Bernie McLeod, Lorraine Ardler and Julie Freeman, who are all Booderee National Park staff, accepted the awards last night.
"Today is one of the proudest days of my life. It makes me so proud of what Wreck Bay community people have achieved," Julie Freeman said.
"It is a great honour for us all to be recognised in this way. We have been building up our involvement in the tourist industry for the past 30 years so this is an honour for all our people, both past and present, who have worked so hard to protect this beautiful land of ours and to keep our culture alive.
"We are south coast people. We love to share our knowledge, our history and our culture with visitors and it's all here for visitors to see, learn about and enjoy," she said.
"The park is delighted and thrilled to get this recognition, which also included an endorsement of our business and management excellence," Booderee's Visitor Services Manager, John Harvey said.
"We believe that our visitors value these natural and cultural areas very highly and that Booderee embodies all the best that the Jervis Bay region has to offer - a vibrant Aboriginal culture for all to enjoy, white sandy beaches, clear coastal waters, magnificent bushland and wildlife, an Aboriginal owned Botanic Garden and a chance to stay and camp amongst it all," he said.
For more information on Booderee National Park visit the Booderee website