Sherwood Nature Reserve is a protected

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

located near

Woolgoolga Woolgoolga is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Pacific Highway, approximately 550 km north of Sydney and 365 km south of Brisbane. The closest city to Woolgoolga is Coffs Harbour, which lies 24 ...

in the north coast region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. 92 tree species have been recorded in the sub tropical

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

at Woolgoolga Creek. Significant tree species include blue quandong, white booyong,

hoop pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of ''Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist a ...

, blush bloodwood, strangler fig, red carabeen,

bangalow palm ''Archontophoenix cunninghamiana'' – commonly known as Bangalow palm, king palm, Illawarra palm or ''piccabeen palm'' – is a tree in the palm family Arecaceae, which is endemic to the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. ...

, sugarbark, grey myrtle, coachwood and maiden's blush. The rainforest at Woolgoolga Creek is a known habitat of the rare mottled tree snail. The bird life here is amazing, so this place is a mecca for bird watchers. 50 species of native animals have also found refuge, such as: brush-tailed rock wallaby,

powerful owl The powerful owl (''Ninox strenua''), a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, is the largest owl on the continent. It is found in coastal areas and in the Great Dividing Range, rarely more than inland. The IUCN Red List ...

, leaf-tailed gecko, giant barred and

long-nosed potoroo The long-nosed potoroo (''Potorous tridactylus'') is a small, hopping mammal native to forests and shrubland of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. A member of the potoroo and bettong family (Potoroidae), it lives alone and digs at night for fun ...

. The reserve incorporates the former Woolgoolga Creek Flora Reserve, originally dedicated in 1917 as part of Wedding Bells State Forest and subsequently gazetted as a flora reserve in 1971. The area was intensively logged during the early 1900s when a tramway to Woolgoolga was in operation. Rainforest logging ceased in 1917 and hardwood logging ceased in the 1940s. The eastern end of the reserve includes areas cleared for hardwood plantation during the 1960s. Flooded gum was the most common species planted with some trial planting of

Bunya pine ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine (), banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural range is southeast Queensland with two ver ...

. This section of reserve also previously had several banana plantations, which were established in the early 1900s. The banana plantations were in operation until the late 1960s, when they were replaced with hardwood plantations.

References

Forests of New South Wales Nature reserves in New South Wales {{MidCoastCouncil-geo-stub

See also

References