Editing Beowa National Park

{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                   = protected
| name                   = Beowa National Park
| state                  = nsw
| iucn_category          = II
| image                  = Ben Boyds Tower.JPG
| image_upright = 0.81
| caption                = Ben Boyd's tower
| image_alt              = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|37|10|43|S|149|58|56|E|display=inline,title}}
| force_national_map     = 
| relief                 = 1
| pushpin_map_caption    = 
| pushpin_label_position = top
| map_alt                = 
| nearest_town_or_city   = 
| area                   = 104.86
| area_footnotes         = <ref name="ParkAreas">{{cite report|title=Department of Environment Climate Change and Water Annual Report 2009-10|publisher=Department of Environment Climate Change and Water|date=November 2010|issn=1838-5958|pages=274–275|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/whoweare/deccwar10.htm}}</ref>
| established            = 1971
| established_footnotes  = 
| visitation_num         = 
| visitation_year        = 
| visitation_footnotes   = 
| managing_authorities   = [[NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]]
| url                    = https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/ben-boyd-national-park}}

'''Beowa National Park''', formerly '''Ben Boyd National Park''', is a national park in [[New South Wales]], Australia, {{convert|578|km|abbr=on}}<ref name=DistfromSyd>{{cite web|url=http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/distancedraw2?rec1=87421&placename=sydney&placetype=0&state=NSW&place1=BEN+BOYD+NATIONAL+PARK&place1long=150.001205&place1lat=-37.165199|title=Great Circle Distance between BEN+BOYD+NATIONAL+PARK and SYDNEY|access-date=11 August 2011|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|work=Geosciences Australia website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020195858/http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/distancedraw2?rec1=87421&placename=sydney&placetype=0&state=NSW&place1=BEN+BOYD+NATIONAL+PARK&place1long=150.001205&place1lat=-37.165199|archive-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> south of [[Sydney]]. It was established in 1971 and officially renamed in 2022 owing to its previous namesake's connection with [[blackbirding]].  ''Beowa'' means "[[orca]]", an animal of significance to the [[traditional owners]], the [[Thaua]] people.

The park forms part of the [[Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area]].

==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.

==Description==
The park consists of two sections, on either side of Twofold Bay and the town of Eden. The smaller northern section is bounded on its western border by the Princes Highway. The geology of this section is mainly sedimentary rock ([[ironstone]] and [[clay]]) laid down in the [[Paleogene]], with some [[quartzite]] outcrops. The main attraction for tourists is the Pinnacles, a multicoloured erosion gully with white sands overlaid by rusty red clay. The southern section coastline is metamorphic and [[Devonian]] in age, with some heavily folded sections at Red Point, near Boyd's tower.<ref name=wright220>Wright, p. 220.</ref><!-- cites previous four sentences -->

The park is fairly flat, with none of the northern section exceeding 100 metres (300 ft) in elevation, and the southern section not much higher; the tallest peak is Haycock Hill at 252 metres (827 ft).<ref name=wright220/> The region is particularly windy, dry and cold, and the headlands are covered in a low ground-hugging heathland community of plants. Further inland, the heath is replaced by open eucalypt woodland, which makes up most of the park's habitat.<ref name=wright223/> The two dominant tree species are silvertop ash (''[[Eucalyptus sieberi]]'') and red bloodwood (''[[Corymbia gummifera]]'').<ref name=wright224>Wright, p. 224.</ref> There are also scattered pockets of [[rainforest]] in gullies and protected areas, with species such as the scentless rosewood (''[[Synoum]] glandulosum'') and smooth mock-olive (''[[Notelaea venosa]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkVegetation.aspx?id=N0003|title=Ben Boyd National Park: Native vegetation |work=Office of Environment & Heritage website|publisher= NSW Government|access-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna ==
The park forms part of the [[Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area]], identified as such by [[BirdLife International]] because of its importance for [[swift parrot]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ulladulla-to-merimbula-iba-australia |title=Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area |publisher=[[BirdLife International]] |access-date=29 November 2020 }}</ref> It was recorded in 1996 that 212 species of bird had been recorded in the park, with the heathlands being home to the [[eastern ground parrot]] and endangered [[eastern bristlebird]],<ref name=wright224/> while the [[little tern]] breeds in the sand dunes and beaches. At the time, the tern was threatened by recreational four-wheel driving.<ref name=wright225>Wright, p. 225.</ref>{{update inline|date=November 2023}} 

Fifty species of mammal had been recorded by 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkWildlife.aspx?id=N0003 |title=Ben Boyd National Park: Native animals|work=Office of Environment & Heritage website|publisher= NSW Government|access-date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Pests recorded include [[feral cats in Australia |cats]] and [[red foxes in Australia |foxes]], occasional feral dogs, and rabbits. Bitou bush (''[[Chrysanthemoides monilifera]]'') was a problem weed north of the Pambula River.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkPestsWeeds.aspx?id=N0003| title=Ben Boyd National Park: Pest animals and weeds|work=Office of Environment & Heritage website|publisher= NSW Government|access-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Cited text===
*{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Peter|title=National Parks of Southern NSW|publisher=Bridge Printery|location=Rosebery, NSW|year=1996|isbn=0-9587590-1-4}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Beowa National Park}}
{{Wikivoyage|Beowa National Park}}
*[https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/beowa-national-park Beowa National Park official website], [[NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service]]


{{National Parks of New South Wales}}
{{South Coast (New South Wales)}}
{{Portal bar|Environment|New South Wales}}

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[[Category:Important Bird Areas of New South Wales]]
[[Category:National parks of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1971]]
[[Category:South Coast (New South Wales)]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in Australia]]