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Physical features
The Hunter River estuary is located at 151_ 48’ E 32_ 55’S,
Newcastle, 160 km north of Sydney. It is a barrier estuary with
geology made up of conglomerated mud and sand overlay/mix. The estuary
is fed by the Hunter River and its tributaries with tidal influence
reaching 26miles upstream to Maitland and elsewhere along its tributaries.
The climate is subtropical. (Click here
for more details)
Habitats
The Hunter River estuary is a biodiversity hotspot…a mosaic
of habitats made up of mangroves and
saltmarsh in the intertidal
areas, and remnants of lowland floodplain
rainforest, riparian
woodlands,
introduced pasture grasses, and small areas of 'freshwater' wetlands
on some of the low-lying non-tidal areas. Historical records show
that more than 300 plant species are indigenous to Ash Island.
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Grey Mangroves at high
tide. |
Saltmarsh dominate where
tides reach only 25% of the time. |
Sedges and other plants grow in isolated
areas of freshwater |
Pittosporum revolutum in
fruit in
rainforest remnants, Ash Island. |
Animals
The Hunter River estuary supports a rich diversity of animals
species. It is one of the most important sites in New South Wales
for migratory shorebirds, regularly hosting more than 1% of the
world's population of Bar-tailed Godwits and Eastern
Curlews. The estuary is also home to many commercial and
recreational species of fish and decapod crustaceans, particularly
well known is the Hunter school prawn. Less obvious
inhabitants of the estuary are the endangered Green and Golden
Bell Frog and 7 species of threatened insectivorous bats.
A more complete list of animal species recorded here include:
185 birds, (28 are migratory species)
45 fish and decapod
crustaceans, (14 are listed as commercial and
recreational species)
15 frogs, including the endangered Green
and Golden Bell Frog
10 bats,
17 non-marine molluscs
and a variety of terrestrial mammals, reptiles, spiders and insects.
A total of 27 of these species are classified as threatened.
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Eastern Curlew
spend summer in the Hunter
estuary. Photo: Chris
Herbert |
Bream, one of the
popular fish species regularly caught in the Hunter estuary. |
Mud crab are found in the larger tidal
creek at Kooragang Wetlands. |
Green and Golden Bell
Frog found in a variety of habitats on Ash Is.
Photo: Michael Mahony |
Environmental history of the
Hunter River estuary
For thousands of years Aboriginal people have hunted and gathered
food on and around the 20 or so islands and mudflats of the Hunter
River estuary. The various clans of the Worimi
and Awabakal peoples
thrived on the abundant fish, shellfish, water birds and other
animals. The wetlands and rainforest of the Hunter estuary
supplemented this diet, with shoots and tubers of wetland plants
such as cumbungi etc, which are generally non-toxic and quick
growing providing most of the starch in a traditional aboriginal diet.
Fruit, nectar, seeds, nuts and tubers from rainforest plants are
either eaten directly or after treatment to remove toxin. The
wetlands and rainforests also provided much of the material for
medicines, tools, utensils, weapons, shelter, ornaments and
ceremonial objects used in traditional life. (See Mur-rung
Korung brochure for more detail.)
A time
line of dates and occurrences shows that much has changed in the
200 or so years since Europeans discovered the Hunter River.
The effects of these changes on the extent and health of fisheries
and other wildlife habitat in the Hunter River estuary including
historical maps and calculations of changes in various types of
habitat can be found on NSW DPI Fisheries website. In the
eastern part of the Hunter River estuary, lies Stockton Sandspit,
today an important site for migratory wading birds but it wasn't
always so. Click here for details of the history of Stockton
Sandspit.
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