Walawaani Njindiwan Njin Booderee | Welcome everyone, this is Booderee
Welcome to Booderee National Park. This is a significant place for Koori people. Booderee means bay of plenty or plenty of fish in one of our languages, the Dhurga language. Booderee is owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community and we are proud to share our culture and country with you.
About Booderee
Booderee National Park stretches across 6,379 hectares at Jervis Bay on the south coast of New South Wales. The park includes 875 hectares of marine environment. The park is also home to Australia’s only Aboriginal-owned and managed Botanic Gardens which takes up another 80 hectares. First established as a national park in 1992, today Booderee is jointly managed by its traditional owners and Parks Australia.
Culture
The people of Wreck Bay have cared for the land and waters of the Jervis Bay area for many generations. The people of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community are proud of this association - passing on their special and extensive knowledge of natural resources and ancestral and creation stories to their families. Wreck Bay people use the bush as a natural classroom for younger people. The bush is also for collecting foods and medicines, learning stories and interpreting indicators of seasonal and climatic change.
Joint management
In 1995 Jervis Bay National Park and the Jervis Bay Botanic Gardens were conferred on the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council, to be leased back to the Director of National Parks to be jointly managed as a national park and botanic gardens. In 1997 the council renamed the park Booderee.
Today, the park remains well protected by a board of management, which has an Aboriginal majority representing the traditional owners. This arrangement showcases to the world how 'joint management' can combine ancient culture and modern practice.