Editing Beowa National Park (section)

==History==
The park was established in 1971 covering {{cvt|8,900 |ha}} and was originally named after [[Benjamin Boyd]].<ref name=ParkAreas/><ref name=wright223>Wright, p. 223.</ref> Boyd was a wealthy pastoralist and businessman in the 1840s, with interests in shipping (including [[whaling]]),<ref>{{cite book|last = Wellings|first= H. P. M.|url = http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/152332|title = Benjamin Boyd in Australia (1842–1849) Shipping Magnate; Merchant; Banker; Pastoralist and Station Owner; Member of the Legislative Council; Town Planner; Whaler|publisher = D S Ford|year = 1940|via = [[State Library of Victoria]]|pages = 29}}</ref><ref name = ADB>{{cite AuDB|id2 = boyd-benjamin-ben-1815|title = Boyd, Benjamin (1801–1851)|last = Walsh|first = G. P.|year = 1966|pages = 140–142|access-date = 17 June 2020}}</ref> based on the [[South Coast, New South Wales|South Coast]] of NSW.  At the time, the area was part of the [[District of Port Phillip]] and Boyd was [[Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 1843–1851|elected to the NSW Legislative Council]] for the [[electoral district of Port Phillip]].  He was the first in Australia to engage in [[blackbirding]], a practice akin to slavery, when a ship he had commissioned brought 65 [[Melanesians|Melanesian]] labourers to [[Boydtown, New South Wales|Boyd Town]] in 1847.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31751641|title = Exports |newspaper = [[Sydney Chronicle]]|volume = 4|issue = 370|date = 21 April 1847|access-date = 17 June 2019 |page = 2|via = [[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title = Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788–1900) and the Serpent's Legacy|chapter = Benjamin Boyd|pages = 377–384|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0xYF0v8doEgC&pg=PA382|first = Keith R.|last = Binney|publisher = [[Volcanic Productions]]|year = 2005|isbn = 9780646448657}}</ref>{{rp|382}}<ref name = ABC16Jun2020>{{cite news|title = Minister seeks brief on renaming Ben Boyd National Park to address its namesake's blackbirding history|first1 = Simon|last1 = Lauder|first2 = Adriane|last2 = Reardon|date = 16 June 2020|access-date = 17 June 2020|url = https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-16/blackbirder-ben-boyd-renaming-push-renewed/12358978|work = [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> 
[[File:Coloured Pinnacles, Beowa National Park (6754383743).jpg|thumb|The Pinnacles, with white sand overlain by red clay]]
Boyd commissioned the construction of a [[sandstone]] tower overlooking the entrance to the harbour of [[Twofold Bay]] to alert whaling crews of the approach of their prey. The tower was never completed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Searle|first=Garry|title=Ben Boyd Tower| url=http://www.seasidelights.com.au/au/nsw/benboyd.asp?fState=NSW|work=SeaSide Lights| access-date=11 April 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216134702/http://www.seasidelights.com.au/au/nsw/benboyd.asp?fState=NSW|archive-date=16 February 2011}}</ref> 

In the wake of the [[George Floyd protests]] around the world and [[George Floyd protests in Australia|in Australia]] and the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement gaining pace in mid-2020, calls for the national park to be renamed were renewed. [[Matt Kean (politician) |Matt Kean]], the [[Minister for the Environment (New South Wales)|NSW Environment Minister]], promised to seek a briefing about renaming the park and then to consult with local elders and the community.<ref name = ABC16Jun2020 /> In November 2021, Kean announced Ben Boyd National Park would be renamed Beowa Natural Park, after consultations with more than 60 representatives from [[Aboriginal Australian |Aboriginal]] and [[South Sea Islander]] communities. <ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/national/ben-boyd-national-park-to-be-renamed-over-slave-trade-links-20211112-p598io.html Ben Boyd National Park to be renamed (Beowa) over slave trade links] ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' 14 November 2021</ref> In September 2022 it was officially renamed,<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/shocking-legacy-slave-trader-s-name-officially-dumped-from-national-park-s-name-20220929-p5bm2b.html ‘Shocking legacy’: Slave trader officially dumped from national park’s name] ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' 30 September 2022</ref> under new environment minister [[James Griffin (Australian politician)|James Griffin]].<ref name=2EC>{{cite web | last=Fennessy | first=James | title=Ben Boyd National Park renamed Beowa | website=2EC | date=3 October 2022 | url=https://www.2ec.com.au/local-news/ben-boyd-national-park-renamed-beowa/ | access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref> On 11 November 2023, [[Thaua]] and South Sea Islander [[Indigenous Australian elder|elders]] conducted a ceremony together to mark the park's name change. The name ''Beowa'' had been selected in honour of the [[orca]], which is significant to the Thaua people.<ref name =mcd/> According to their mythology, their ancestors are orcas,<ref name=2EC/> and when one of them dies they are [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] as an orca.<ref name =mcd>{{cite web | last=McDonald | first=Alasdair | title=Beowa National Park name change to remove reference to slaver Ben Boyd part of 'truth telling', elder says | website=ABC News | date=11 November 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-11/beowa-national-park-name-change-ceremony-part-of-truth-telling/103094360  | access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>

The park has been expanded from its original {{cvt|8,900 |ha}} to cover {{cvt|10,486 |ha}} over time.