As the community gathered this week to mark 30 years since Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay was returned to its traditional owners, a significant announcement was made.
Within two years, the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council intends to assume sole management of the park, ending its joint arrangement with Parks Australia.
Booderee National Park in southern NSW, alongside Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kakadu national parks in the Northern Territory, is one of only three Commonwealth parks in Australia that are Aboriginal-owned and jointly managed.
Joint management refers to a partnership in which traditional owners and Parks Australia share responsibility for caring for Country.
Uluru marked 40 years of joint management last year, while Kakadu is now in its 43rd year.
“We refer to ourselves as brother and sister parks,” said Beverley Ardler, chair of the Booderee Joint Board.
Speaking at the park’s 30th anniversary handback celebrations at Green Patch on Saturday, she confirmed that from May 2028, the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council will take full control of Booderee, without Parks Australia’s involvement.
If achieved, Booderee would become the first of the three jointly managed parks to transition to sole Aboriginal management.
“We as Wreck Bay people are saying enough’s enough. We’re not waiting another 60 years — we’re taking it right here, right now,” she said. “In two years, our people will be running and managing this park.”
Director of Parks Australia, Djungan man Ricky Archer, said the agency would support the transition. “I want to reiterate Parks Australia’s strong support for working with the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council to realise what sole management looks like and to develop a clear pathway to get there,” he said.