Bass Point Reserve

Bass Point Reserve, also known as Long Point, is a heritage-listed former cedar timber industry, Aboriginal camping and meeting place, pastoral property, and basalt mine.

It is now a nature conservation and passive recreation area located in Shell Cove, New South Wales, Australia. The Reserve is owned by the Department of the Environment and Shellharbour City Council and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 January 2013.

The traditional custodians of the land, the Elouera people, occupied Bass Point for thousands of years before European settlement. It served as a hunting and gathering site and is considered one of the most significant Aboriginal archaeological sites in New South Wales. Bass Point also had associations with Captain James Cook, George Bass, and Matthew Flinders, who made note of the region during their explorations.

Bass Point Reserve is a 4-kilometre-long natural promontory with rocky shorelines and sandy embayments. It supports diverse headland vegetation, significant littoral rainforest, and a variety of rare and endangered fauna and flora species. The reserve is also home to a fragile Sea Grass Habitat that provides shelter and breeding grounds for aquatic animals.

The reserve holds significant Aboriginal and European heritage value, with archaeological evidence of long-standing Aboriginal occupation and sites of European historical associations. It is highly regarded for its biodiversity and the pristine condition of its environment, particularly the Bass Point Marine Area, which is critical habitat for the endangered Grey Nurse Shark. Bass Point Reserve remains of exceptional significance to the Aboriginal people of New South Wales and is a suitable site for passive recreation for visitors of all ages.