Biamanga National Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney and north of Bega. The park forms part of the

Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area The Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area comprises a strip of coastal and subcoastal land stretching along the southern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. It is an important site for swift parrots. Description The 2100 km2 Im ...

because of its importance for

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor''), also known by the palawa kani name swift waylitja, is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south ...

s. Its name derives from Yuin elder Biamanga, aka "King Jack Mumbulla", after whom Mumbulla Mountain was also named. It is an important Aboriginal site for the

Yuin people The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-group ...

and a prominent landmark that can be seen from across the

Bega Valley The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire, wit ...

, also known as Biamanga. Proclaimed in 1994 and extended in 1997, the park covers . It is seen by the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

as "part of a single cultural landscape" with the

Gulaga National Park Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga (formerly Mount Dromedary). The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Go ...

, and also has cultural links to

Umbarra Umbarra, or King Merriman (died 1904) was an Aboriginal elder, elder of the Djirringanj/Yuin people of the Bermagui, New South Wales, Bermagui area on what has become called the Sapphire Coast since European Colonial settlement of far-southern ...

(Merriman Island),

Barunguba Barunguba / Montague Island is a continental island contained within the Montague Island Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve that is located offshore from the South Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The nearest town ...

(Montague Island), and Dithol (Pigeon House Mountain). In November 2021 Mumballa Mountain was ascribed the

dual name Dual naming is the adoption of an official place name that combines two earlier names, or uses both names, often to resolve a disagreement over which of the two individual names is more appropriate. In some cases, the reasons are political. Some ...

of Biamanga.

Geology

The mountain is the remnants an ancient

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...

, and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

rock formations and

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

s are visible along the course of Mumbulla Creek.

History

The park lies in the lands of one of the

Yuin The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, ...

peoples, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.

20th century

Extensive

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksWIN-4 WIN is a television station serving southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is the flagship station of the WIN Television network. History Television Wollongong Transmission Limited (TWT) was incorporated on 4 Octobe ...

was built on the mountain. After concerns had been raised by local people, the NSW Government set up an advisory committee in 1977 to investigate the

woodchipping Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw materia ...

industry and in the same year 1977

Guboo Ted Thomas Edwin "Guboo" Ted Thomas (29 January 1909 – 19 May 2002), a Yuin man, was a prominent Aboriginal leader. He toured Australia with a gumleaf orchestra during the Great Depression of the 1930s, played rugby league and became a respected eld ...

, a Yuin elder, led a protest against the destruction of the forest on Mumbulla Mountain. On 15 July 1980, the

government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

declared an area of around an "

Aboriginal place The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales; fostering public appreciation, und ...

" and a "Protected Archaeological Area" under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales; fostering public appreciation, und ...

'' (NSW). The park was proclaimed in 1994 and extended in 1997.

21st century

Further protests against logging activities took place in 2010. On 30 November 2021 Mumballa Mountain was ascribed the

of Biamanga.
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.

Description

The park covers . It is seen by the

as "part of a single cultural landscape" with the Gulaga National Park.

Flora and fauna

There are

monkey gum ''Eucalyptus cypellocarpa'', commonly known as mountain grey gum, mountain gum, monkey gum or spotted mountain grey gum, is a species of straight, smooth-barked forest tree that is endemic to southeastern Australia. It has relatively large, lance ...

s and ribbon gum along the creeks, and the park is home to chef's cap correa, an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. The park forms part of the

, identified as such by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because of its importance for

Azure kingfisher The azure kingfisher (''Ceyx azureus'') is a small kingfisher in the river kingfisher subfamily, Alcedininae.Pizzey, Graham and Doyle, Roy. (1980) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.'' Collins Publishers, Sydney. Description The azure ...

s and

superb fairywren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of se ...

s abound in the park.

Management

Biamanga has been jointly managed by the traditional owners and the

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land ac ...

NSW since 2006. The traditional custodians are represented by two

Local Aboriginal Land Council The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New ...

s, the Merrimans and Bega LALCs, which own the title to the land and lease it back to the

for use as a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Aboriginal significance and sites

The mountain and surrounds have important cultural links to

(Merriman Island),

(Montague Island), and Dithol (Pigeon House Mountain). The mountain is of particular significance to the people of

Wallaga Lake Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui, New South Wales, Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath ...

. The park contains important Aboriginal sites, in particular Biamanga, also known as Mumbulla Mountain, which is part a large

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

and cultural track on the South Coast of New South Wales that includes other

Aboriginal sacred site An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status i ...

s of particular importance to the

peoples. The mountain was named after Yuin leader

King Jack Mumbulla The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-groupi ...

, aka Jack Mumbler, whose "tribal" name was Biamanga. King Jack would spend time communing with the ancestor spirits on the highest peak of the mountain and send

smoke signal The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area. ...

s for his people to see. Initiation ceremonies were held by Yuin people at various spots on the mountain, with the last recorded one held there in 1918. It has been described as a "men's law mountain". Independent evidence of the sacredness of the site was provided in 1964 by linguist

Luise Hercus Luise Anna Hercus , , (16 January 1926 – 15 April 2018) was a German-born linguist who lived in Australia from 1954. After significant early work on Middle Indo-Aryan dialects (Prakrits) she had specialised in Australian Aboriginal languages si ...

and by musician and linguist

Janet Mathews Janet Elizabeth Mathews, née Russell, (18 January 1914 – 1 January 1992) was an Australian pianist, music teacher, and documenter of Aboriginal music, language and culture in New South Wales, who added greatly to the Australian Institute o ...

, but only made publicly available in the late 1970s; as well as by notes made much earlier by

Alfred William Howitt Alfred William Howitt (17 April 1830 – 7 March 1908), also known by author abbreviation A. W. Howitt, was an Australian anthropologist, explorer and naturalist. He was known for leading the Victorian Relief Expedition, which set out to est ...

, an ethnologist who attended a Yuin initiation ceremony in 1883. The Biamanga protest site is of additional significance both to Yuin and to all other

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, "as a representation of embodying the Australian Aboriginal campaign for land rights and

Aboriginal self-determination Indigenous Australian self-determination, also known as Aboriginal Australian self-determination, is the power relating to self-governance by Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. It is the right of ...

References

{{Authority control National parks of New South Wales South Coast (New South Wales) Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in Australia Important Bird Areas of New South Wales Bega Valley Shire Australian Aboriginal freehold title Australian Aboriginal culture