Towra Point Nature Reserve

Towra Point Nature Reserve is a 603-hectare (1,490-acre) protected reserve located on the southern shores of Botany Bay, Kurnell in the Sutherland Shire district of Sydney, New South Wales.

The reserve is one of the most significant estuarine wetlands in the Sydney region and is an internationally protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention.

The reserve holds great cultural and environmental significance. The Dharawal people inhabited Kurnell and artefacts from their time remain visible within the reserve, including three middens and one relic. The area was mapped by Captain Cook in 1770 when he landed in Botany Bay, including Towra Point. The land was used for grazing by European settlers before being owned by Thomas Holt, who began oyster farming in the 1870s. A radar station was established during World War II, and a causeway was built. There was then talk of converting the area into a second airport for Sydney, which was eventually ruled out by John Gorton. Despite these disruptions, the area became a nature reserve in 1982, preserving the wetlands.

The nature reserve encompasses a variety of habitats, including salt marshes, mangroves, littoral rainforests, turpentine forests, lagoons and beaches. The diverse habitats of Towra Point offer a range of endangered, vulnerable, and protected species with a home. The endangered green and golden bell frog and the grey-headed flying fox can be found here. Significant bird species include the Eastern Curlew, Little Tern, Grey Plover, and Red Knot. Sheep grazing was disastrous and was stopped due to foot rot.