Tom Fink, Conny Harris, Grahame Douglas and Helen Wilson
Some of us enjoyed an interesting field trip after the last State Council in Sydney in November. The Sydney Branch organised a visit to some land in Cromer on the Northern Beaches with a mysterious connection to NPA. We met at Little Willandra Rd.
The land isn’t obvious or well signposted and is behind a residential area. A fire had been through recently so it wasn’t at its best. There wasn’t a clear track. Nevertheless, walking through was a journey of discovery about the ecology of a secluded gully. It is mostly Sydney Coastal Sandstone Gully Forest with a small pocket of Illawarra Warm Temperate Forest. We were surprised to find Coachwoods here. Even more interesting was the story of its ownership and role in NPA.
An early owner, Dorothy Phillips, ran a nudist colony and to ensure privacy, she had planted bamboo along its perimeter. This worked very well. Many locals knew there was a nudist colony in the area but nobody seemed to know where it was. In 1970, when she couldn’t afford the cost of its upkeep any longer, she offered the land to the National Trust, which declined it because the former use “did not accord with the views” of its more conservative members.
Natural Areas Ltd
The land was then bought by Natural Areas Ltd (NAL), recently set up by forward-looking conservationists to buy environmentally sensitive land. Their first aim was to buy some land at Myall Lakes which was threatened by mining. However, the government bought that land and NAL decided to spend $10,000 on this five-hectare block at Cromer. Tom Fink, NPA secretary 1987-97, explained that NPA Sydney Branch was among the 66 shareholders in this company from its inception in 1971.
For the first 20 years of the company’s existence, NPA’s minority shareholding was reported in the annual accounts of Sydney Branch but there was no active involvement. Other shares were held by a number of NPA members and other interested parties. During this time maintenance and insurance costs were funded by capital raised by the issue of more shares to one of the shareholders whose family eventually moved to a majority position.
In 1992 there appeared to be moves to develop the land. This would have resulted in a windfall profit to NPA from the sale of its diluted, but still significant 25% shareholding. Tom was approached by Jim Sommerville and Peter Prineas, who were appalled at the prospect of development. They insisted that NPA assert its rights as a shareholder and ensure that we were shown the annual accounts, notice of meetings etc. NPA took this advice and, while the capital dilution was not undone, we were able to send John Clarke to represent us at meetings. Soon enough amicable relations were restored and he was invited to join the NAL board.
Eventually the Beswick family shareholding came to be managed by Maria Manning. She was keen to see the area preserved but was concerned that the cost of commercial maintenance and insurance were depleting the company’s limited cash reserve. She approached Bush Heritage Australia to take the land but they would not do so without a substantial endowment.
A bigger picture
Enter NPA member Judith Bennett, who saw a bigger picture in which the land could be part of a belt of reserved land including Garigal National Park. When Maria offered to donate her shares to NPA Judith was keen to show how NPA could afford to manage the land. NPA agreed to accept the shares, and then approached the remaining shareholders who eventually agreed to donate their shares to us. Meanwhile Judith had organised volunteer bush regeneration, mainly bamboo removal. She established good relations with the residents of the adjacent seniors living village and several of these people have been active volunteers. One of them, NPA member Stephen Banks, is now one of three directors of the company.
NPA member and champion of restoration in the area, Conny Harris, spoke to Judith prior to our visit and gratefully received her archive, including a 2001 article from the Manly Daily (Marj Belessis,’Site offer for park link’, 1 February). This states that the owners were hoping the land would become part of the green link that Warringah Council was investigating, and would be transferred to NPWS.
Although the NSW Government would not make this brave commitment to reserve a green belt, it did agree in 2002 to a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with Natural Areas Ltd. This protects the land for posterity and has the practical effect of granting exemption from Land Tax and council rates. Judith arranged the necessary vegetation survey and helped get support from all parties: NPA, Warringah Council, NPWS and the remaining shareholders. She continued with bush regeneration on the lower lying part of the block of land until a few years ago. Judith also took over the role of unpaid company secretary and successfully applied for various small grants for work beyond the capacity of volunteers.
Rethinking the company
As the company’s finances had finally become sustainable, in 2020 the board decided that as NAL now had only one shareholder, NPA, and that the regulatory burden of running a not-for-profit public company was increasing, we would convert it to a simple proprietary company with the NPA finance officer as company secretary. We also registered as a charity so we could receive tax-deductible donations should we wish to acquire other strategic natural land in the future.
Once the new management structure was in place Judith and the other directors of the company felt it would be an appropriate act of good will to recognise the contribution of Maria Manning and the Beswick family to the preservation of the land. They arranged for a suitable plaque to be made and secured to a rock face near the end of the track to the waterfall. In 2023 there was some local movement of the ground, and the face of the cliff split off and rolled onto the path, effectively closing it. In centuries to come some archaeologist might make a surprising discovery!
NPA President and NAL board member Grahame Douglas says the company gives us a vehicle for making other acquisitions, but they may need to come with a guarantee of funds for maintenance. For example, a developer involved in a community title development with a residual but substantial conservation area would find it more feasible to hand the land to NAL rather than having an ongoing liability for community members. A key to funding though arises from seeking members or benefactors share portfolios. NPA has trouble managing shares, however, NAL can manage the shares in other companies, whilst also not competing directly with NPA for vital funds.
Bushcare restarts
Following the revelations of our site visit, Conny has re-initiated bushcare there. The potential for restoration is at its best after fire, and the burned landscape also offers good overall inspection. We could see from the row of houses at the top that many garden escapes are creeping down. However, the vegetation is still of high conservation value and other adjoining sites are also good quality bushland, so our efforts will have a real impact.
The bush regeneration sessions are for now on Friday 7.30-9.30am but we can happily add a Saturday session. The site is steep but there are also flat areas, and any help will be very much appreciated. Please contact Conny