The Julian Rocks Nguthungulli Nature Reserve is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

nature reserve that is located on the Julian Rocks in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The reserve comprise two small islands, situated in the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean, approximately northeast of .

Features

According to indigenous folklore from the Bundjalung people, a jealous husband threw his spear at the canoe of his wife and her lover. The canoe broke in two and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Only the back and the front of the boat stuck out of the water. The islands were sighted by Captain James Cook when he passed through the area in 1770. However, he did not name them. The rocks are referred to as the Juan and Julia Rocks in Staff Commander Howard’s 1883 survey report of ''Cape Byron Bay'' and in his sketch of Byron Bay. The origin of this name is unknown. In 1982, after pressure from locals, the area surrounding the rocks was established as a marine reserve, with all fishing and commercial exploitation banned for a range around the rocks. The area is home to large numbers of marine species, including leopard sharks, grey nurse sharks, wobbegong, a variety of nudibranchs. It's one of about a dozen critical habitats for the grey nurse shark in NSW.

Scuba Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...

divers identify the site as one of the top sites in

for its wide variety of marine life. From May to September, humpback whales are commonly spotted traveling between the rocks and the mainland and are a common sighting on the short boat trip between the mainland and the rocks. The

Cape Byron Marine Park Cape Byron Marine Park is one of four marine parks in New South Wales, Australia, and is the most recently sanctioned.Marine Parks Authority. 2003. Background resource working paper for the Cape Byron Marine Park. Marine Parks Authority, Sydney ...

, declared in 2002, surrounds the reserve. A sanctuary zone within the marine park was declared in 2006.

References

{{Northern Rivers region Nature reserves in New South Wales Islands of New South Wales Northern Rivers 1961 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 1961 Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Shire

Features

See also

References