Management of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve from 1967 to 1999

Introduction

This paper had its genesis in the late 1980s in a potential special bulletin of CALMScience on the natural history of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve edited by Angas Hopkins and Graeme Smith. The various papers that were to be published in the special bulletin were subjected to peer review, revised, accepted, and laid out for publication. The bulletin was never published. Recently, a decision was made to resurrect the papers destined for the bulletin, bring them up to date where appropriate, and publish them in this special collection of Pacific Conservation Biology (Hopkins et al. 2024). We (AD and AAB) have revised the paper ‘Management of the Reserve’ written by Neil Coy, Andrew Burbidge, Alan Danks, Graeme Folley, and Ron Sokolowski that addressed management of the Reserve during the period 1967 to the late 1980s. We also cover the period to 1999, after which time we were less involved in management of the Reserve.

1961 was a notable year for conservation. Nationally, Leadbeater’s possum Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867, believed to be extinct, was rediscovered in Victoria (Wilkinson 1961) and Djimaalup/noisy scrub-bird Atrichornis clamosus (Gould, 1844) (Noongar names from various sources including Knapp et al. (2024) are given first) also believed by many to be extinct, was rediscovered at Two Peoples Bay on the south coast of Western Australia (Webster 1962) (Fig. 1). Internationally, it was the year World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded and began a serious campaign to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of threatened species. The noisy scrub-bird’s precarious situation and long history of scientific interest inspired concerted action by local and international conservationists to establish a reserve dedicated to the protection of the species and its habitat (Chatfield and Saunders 2024). Two Peoples Bay was also home to other rare species: Booderitj/western bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris (Gould, 1841) had been rediscovered there 16 years earlier (Buller 1945); and the presence of Tarding/western whipbird Psophodes nigrogularis (Gould, 1844) was confirmed in July 1962 (Webster 1966).

Fig. 1.

Male Djimaalup/noisy scrub-bird in temporary captivity at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve during translocation project (photograph Alan Danks).

In April 1966, after four and a half years of public discussion and debate, the Western Australian government delighted conservationists by cancelling the townsite proposed for establishment at Two Peoples Bay, and proclaimed the establishment of Reserve 27956 for the conservation of flora and fauna. The reserve was vested in the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee. A year later, in April 1967, the Government Gazette announced the consolidation of a number of parcels of land into a single reserve (No. 27956) and expanded the size of the reserve to protect the last stronghold of the noisy scrub-bird and other rare birds. The new reserve, 4638 ha in area, amalgamated all government reserves in the Two Peoples Bay area and incorporated all known noisy scrub-bird habitat (Fig. 2). Its diverse topography includes three lakes and their associated streams and wetlands, and the granite peninsula dominated by Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner (408 m asl) at the southern end of Two Peoples Bay (Figs 3, 4, 5 and 6). The protected area was vested in the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee and would be managed by the Department of Fisheries and Fauna (Chatfield and Saunders 2024).

Fig. 2.

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve (outlined in red) and locations mentioned in the text. Noongar names are from Knapp et al. (2024). Map base provided by Sarah Comer, WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Fig. 3.

Tyiurrtmiirit^y/Gardner Lake and the Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner headland in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve (photograph Alan Danks).

Fig. 4.

Little Beach and Boyanup/Tidal Pool at Two Peoples Bay (photograph Alan Danks).

Fig. 5.

Sheoak woodland at Tick Flat on the north-western slope of Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner (photograph Alan Danks).

Fig. 6.

Tyiurrtmiirit^y/Gardner Creek flows through dunes parallel to the beach before emptying into Two Peoples Bay (photograph Alan Danks).

Creating this sanctuary for the noisy scrub-bird set a conservation precedent in Western Australia when the conservation ethic was still alien to most people. Two months later, two reserves were gazetted in the Perth metropolitan region to protect the habitat of the western swamp tortoise Pseudemydura umbrina Siebenrock, 1901, which had been rediscovered in 1953 (Burbidge et al. 2010). The rediscovery in 1967 of the small marsupial carnivore known as the dibbler (Parantechinus apicalis (J. E. Gray, 1842), Woolley 1971), another ‘thought to be extinct’ species, resulted in a small nature reserve being set aside at Cheynes Beach, east of Albany.

Cancelling the proposed townsite and establishing Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve were major accomplishments in conserving the noisy scrub-bird, removing one of the immediate threats and assuring protection of the bird’s habitat in the long term. However, on-ground management of the Reserve (fire management in particular) would require resources, equipment, facilities and, most importantly, on-site staff. These practical measures would take a few more years to implement but could only happen after the Reserve was gazetted.

The first tentative management steps

At first, the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Fauna was not in a strong position to manage the newly declared Reserve. Four Fauna Wardens (now known as Wildlife Officers) covered the whole state, and only one of these was based outside the Perth metropolitan area. The sole graduate fauna research officer employed by the Department was fully occupied on waterfowl conservation. The Department depended largely on advice from the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee because the Department had limited expertise and experience in managing nature conservation reserves. In 1966 an additional warden, Mr Malcolm MacDonald, was stationed at Albany to patrol a large area along the south coast that extended inland to Kojonup, 182 km north-west of Two Peoples Bay. He was also tasked with managing the new Reserve.

Removing the shacks

The first management problem to be addressed concerned the 15 squatters’ shacks in and around the present picnic area (Chatfield and Saunders 2024). Following the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee’s decision to exclude residential development and camping activities on the Reserve, the Department of Fisheries and Fauna wrote to the owners of the shacks in June 1966, directing them to remove their constructions and materials by 31 December 1966.

Early in 1967, the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee considered objections to the eviction notices and resolved that Mr C. Wilson, who fished Two Peoples Bay professionally, be granted a small lease to establish sheds for his equipment. The lease (Plantagenet Location 7132) would expire if salmon catches became unviable. Another shack owner (N. O. Reeves) approached the Department of Fisheries and Fauna to see if it was interested in buying his cottage for A$1000 on a ‘walk-in walk-out’ basis. The two-room building was well constructed, and the Department agreed to purchase it. With progressive modifications, Reeve’s cottage served as a residence for the first on-site ranger, accommodation for relieving rangers and many mobile rangers, visiting scientists and volunteers. For many years it also housed the Reserve office. It is still in use as accommodation today.

Management policies

Once the immediate threats were removed and the noisy scrub-bird’s habitat protected within the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee turned its attention to management of longer-term threats. There had been a number of fires in the Two Peoples Bay area since the rediscovery of the noisy scrub-bird, and fire control would become a central management issue for the Reserve. This was dramatically highlighted on 20 December 1966 when a large tract of land west of Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner was burnt; much of it by back-burns lit by volunteer members of the Lower Kalgan Bushfire Brigade. Although the fire was primarily outside the cancelled Casuarina townsite reserve, it burnt a considerable portion of the area then under consideration for the enlarged Reserve. Early in 1967, Department officers discussed fire control with the captain of the brigade and agreed on a system of bulldozed firebreaks.

Prior to the declaration of the Reserve, Two Peoples Bay had a history of recreational use and some commercial fishing (Chatfield and Saunders 2024). The Fauna Protection Advisory Committee decided that the Reserve should be open to public use where that did not compromise the main purpose of the Reserve, i.e. the protection of the noisy scrub-bird and other species of animals and plants. It was also decided that public use should be as day visits only. Camping and the parking of caravans were not to be permitted. The policy of ‘day use only’ and no campfires would help limit a potential source of wildfire ignition. The Fauna Protection Advisory Committee also resolved to commence a census of the flora and fauna of the Reserve.

In October 1968, the Department of Fisheries and Fauna appointed its first two staff to work mainly on reserve management research across the state. One of these was Dr Andrew Burbidge, who was primarily responsible for developing and administering policies at Two Peoples Bay Reserve until 1985.

Noisy scrub-bird research

At the time of its rediscovery, very little was known about the noisy scrub-bird. Effective management of the Reserve, however, would require an understanding of the bird’s life history and ecology. In August 1968, the Western Australian Wildlife Authority, which had replaced the Fauna Protection Advisory Committee, requested a report from Norm Robinson (CSIRO Wildlife Research) who was studying the songs of male noisy scrub-birds, to assist in developing a management program for the Reserve. Information on the history of the area, particularly relating to fire, was sought from H. O. (Hargreaves or ‘Harley’) Webster, who was also conducting research on the species. N. F. Robinson (unpubl. data) considered that a much greater effort over a longer time would be needed to obtain a useful life history of the noisy scrub-bird. Both reports stipulated that a total ban on fires was needed as well as the closure of some tracks, especially those eroding badly on steep terrain.

The Wildlife Authority asked CSIRO Wildlife Research to expand its work on the noisy scrub-bird at Two Peoples Bay and in April 1969, CSIRO proposed a study which would include the inter-relations of the noisy scrub-bird with other species, particularly the western whipbird and western bristlebird.

The broad-based research proposal was accepted, and CSIRO appointed Research Scientist Dr G. T. (Graeme) Smith to lead the project. Smith commenced work in April 1970. He and his research assistant Les Moore would spend many months each year at Two Peoples Bay until the late-1970s. In the summer of 1970/1971, an A-frame hut was built at ‘Tick Flat’. The field station was named ‘Jeemuluk’, the Minang Noongar word for the noisy scrub-bird recorded by John Gilbert (Serventy and Whittell 1976). Beginning with the 1970 breeding season, annual counts of territorial male noisy scrub-birds were conducted to monitor population trends within the Reserve (Smith and Forrester 1981). The results of these regular surveys reflect management effectiveness and have been continued to the present.

Just prior to Smith’s appointment, a biological survey of the vertebrate fauna on the Reserve (excluding birds), was carried out under the leadership of Dr J. L. Bannister of the Western Australian Museum (J. L. Bannister, unpubl. data). Andrew Burbidge from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife also took part in the survey. This survey together with the work of CSIRO established the basic fauna inventory. Reserve staff, volunteers and researchers would continue to expand and add to this catalogue over the following decades.

Gathering momentum

Management and research policies for the Reserve were put in place in the early 1970s and finances made available to both upgrade and construct facilities, and to employ the State’s first resident Reserve Officer. The need for a resident officer was highlighted in March 1970 when two wildfires burnt a large area in the western part of the reserve. Mr R. J. (Dick) Grayson was appointed Reserve Officer in August 1970. An ex-police officer and well-known local identity, he was also an experienced part-time builder. He added two rooms and a toilet to Reeves Cottage, a bore was sunk to provide a reliable water supply, and a 240-volt generator installed to replace the old 32-volt DC (direct current) supply. Grayson also constructed a public toilet and shower facility at the picnic area.

The Reserve’s first Draft Management Plan was developed by Andrew Burbidge and Trevor Evans in 1970. It aimed to manage the three main threats to the Reserve at that time: fire, public use, and the proliferation of vehicle tracks. The Management Plan approved by the then Minister for Fisheries and Fauna, the Hon. Ron Davies, MLA, and the classification of parts of the Reserve into ‘Prohibited Area’, ‘Limited Access Area’, and ‘Unlimited Access Area’ was published in the Government Gazette on 25 June 1971.

As proposed in the Management Plan, the section of Two Peoples Bay Road within the Reserve and Valliant Road to Little Beach were upgraded from rough sand tracks into gravel roads by the Shire of Albany in October and November 1971, financed by State Government funds for tourist roads. The original tracks were re-routed in several places to direct traffic away from the environmentally sensitive Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner area, which then housed almost the entire noisy scrub-bird population. The Shire of Albany agreed to the imposition of a 40 km/h (then 25 miles/h) speed limit on these roads to increase public safety and reduce road maintenance costs.

On 26 January 1972, Two Peoples Bay Fauna Reserve was officially declared a Wildlife Sanctuary and gazetted on 5 December 1975. This terminology was later changed after the Fauna Conservation Act 1950 was amended to the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 in 1975. The Department of Fisheries and Fauna was renamed Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuaries were renamed Nature Reserves.

Change of personnel

In 1972, Grayson was promoted to the position of Fauna Warden at Albany and local farmer R. (Ron) E. S. Sokolowski was appointed as Reserve Officer at the Two Peoples Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in August 1972. Ron Sokolowski was to become well-known through his rapport with visitors to the Reserve. During his 6 years as Reserve Officer, he also assisted the noisy scrub-bird research program as he had special interests in ornithology and herbarium collections. He established biological and botanical study areas within the Reserve and at Gull Rock National Park, for students from the Albany Senior High School.

Public facilities were further upgraded in 1973 when direction and courtesy signs were erected in the Reserve. In the picnic area, change rooms were built, with freshwater showers and three wood-fired barbecues. A display board was installed, which included a tape recording of noisy scrub-bird song and a commentary by Smith. The recording was designed for educational use by visitors, but many years later it sometimes stimulated territorial song from a noisy scrub-bird in the swamp adjacent to the picnic area.

His Royal Highness Prince Philip’s visit

His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had made a significant contribution toward the creation of Reserve as Patron of WWF and in personal lobbying of the WA Government of the day (Chatfield and Saunders 2024). His visit to the Reserve in 1974 was one of the highlights of the Reserve’s history. Keen to see a noisy scrub-bird, he arrived at Two Peoples Bay early on the morning of 7 March 1974. Accompanied by Graeme Smith, Prince Philip spent several hours in thick scrub near Tick Flat. Although they heard noisy scrub-bird calls from four different observation points, the bird remained hidden.

After driving down from the mist-shrouded Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner, the party was treated to morning tea prepared by the Lower Kalgan Branch of the Country Women’s Association underneath a large canopy set up outside the Ranger’s residence. Prince Philip met local dignitaries, Reserve neighbours, and other persons associated with the Reserve, including Webster. Although naturally disappointed at not seeing a noisy scrub-bird, Prince Philip was enthusiastic about the experience. The visit boosted the Reserve’s standing with the local community and gave greater credibility to the conservation ideals it represents.

Setbacks and adjustments

In response to repeated requests from the public to have the Two Peoples Bay Road bituminised, the Albany Shire Council passed a resolution in January 1975 to seal the road from the Nanarup turn-off to the Reserve boundary. Discussions in April, between representatives from the Wildlife Authority and the Shire, resulted in a reversal of this decision on the basis that the expected increase in visitors to the Reserve would overtax the available facilities. The Shire also vigorously challenged the lack of prescribed burning and complained that the Reserve was a fire hazard over which the Shire had no control. In November, Sokolowski addressed the Council and explained the revised fire control policies designed to protect the rare fauna on the Reserve.

Improving management and facilities

As the Reserve gathered popularity with visitors there was a pressing need to improve facilities for management, research, and the visiting public. In 1975 a house was purchased from the Education Department and transported from the Albany Primary School to the Reserve, to become a residence for the Reserve Officer and family.

The system of firebreaks was improved by creating a strategic, fuel-reduced zone in the isthmus between the Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner headland and the rest of the Reserve. This was designed to reduce the likelihood of a fire from the west affecting the noisy scrub-bird population on the headland, or vice versa. Fuel reduction would be achieved by regularly burning parts of this buffer zone. The first two segments of this 12-section firebreak were burnt in September 1976.

To provide water for light vehicle firefighting units, water tanks with catchment roofs were placed on management tracks in the 1970s. Later, additional larger tanks of a more appropriate size for heavy duty units were added. An overhead fast-fill tank at the residence (filled from the residence bore) was installed and firefighting equipment upgraded in the early 1980s.

A new Reserve Officer

In January 1979, Sokolowski was transferred by the Department to Karratha. He was replaced as Reserve Officer in October 1979 by Mr Graeme Folley. A former cartographer with the Department of Mines, Folley was a keen naturalist who subsequently helped to pioneer relocation of noisy scrub-birds to other reserves along the South Coast.

During Folley’s first summer at Two Peoples Bay a wildfire raged across Yilberup/Mt Manypeaks. Visible across the bay, the fire was a spectacular introduction to one of the Reserve’s major management issues. Folley’s 7 years at Two Peoples Bay were to see great changes, during which time pressures on him as the only Reserve Officer increased tremendously. One of his early tasks was to assist in establishing the first section of a self-guiding nature trail, designed by Andrew Burbidge and illustrated by Merilyn Burbidge. The trail was later extended to become the Baie Des Deux Peuples Heritage Trail. In 1980, Folley designed new gas barbecues which were installed to replace the wood-fired ones in the picnic area and the Shire of Albany subsequently adopted the design for other reserves in region. He also initiated biology camps for secondary school students, who camped on a nearby farm and commuted to the Reserve each day.

Research extended

From the early 1980s, research into various biogeographical aspects of the Reserve was actively encouraged by the Department. This work would add to Webster’s and CSIRO’s studies of the rare birds, the Bannister fauna survey, and the preliminary field studies on fire ecology begun by Angas Hopkins (Department of Fisheries and Wildlife) in 1976. Scientific research teams from government departments, academic institutions, and several private consultants were invited to participate in the detailed surveys and gathering of data on the Reserve. These included the Department’s Western Australian Wildlife Research Centre, CSIRO, Department of Mines, and the University of Western Australia.

Firebreaks

The effectiveness of the low fuel buffer zone across the isthmus was being undermined due to overgrazing by western grey kangaroos Macropus fuliginosus (Desmarest, 1817), which were attracted to the post-fire regrowth. The altered plant community, consisted mainly of unpalatable shrubs of Agonis flexuosa (Willd.) Sweet, was difficult to burn under controlled fire conditions. To counter this, Folley fenced recently burned sections with electric fencing. However, this measure proved only partially effective.

It also became apparent in the early 1980s that annual ploughing of firebreaks in the light sandy soils of the Reserve was exacerbating erosion. Some firebreaks were abandoned at this time and rehabilitated. Later, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, slashing became the preferred method for maintaining low fuel firebreaks and reducing vegetation along the edges of tracks. On the low fuel buffer zone, broad-scale slashing replaced regular burning. The importance of the low fuel buffer zone was demonstrated in December 2000 when it prevented a fire, which burnt most of the western part of the Reserve, from reaching the Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner area and the Reserve’s management and visitor facilities.

Interventions: captive breeding and translocation of noisy scrub-birds

In the early 1970s, the noisy scrub-bird population at Two Peoples Bay was stable, but not increasing (Smith and Forrester 1981). The apparent lack of breeding success and the realisation that habitat for scrub-birds in the Reserve was limited, prompted the development of a captive breeding project. If noisy scrub-birds could be bred successfully in captivity, the progeny might be used as the nucleus of a new population. Although much was learned about noisy scrub-bird behaviour during the project, it did not produce sufficient birds for reintroduction in the wild. The program was terminated in 1981 (Smith et al. 1983).

Fortunately, the noisy scrub-bird population at Two Peoples Bay had begun to increase, reaching 114 singing males by 1982. The absence of wildfire from the headland allowed the scrub-birds to occupy more marginal habitat. Nevertheless, the Reserve would not support a population large enough to ensure the continued viability of the species. Establishing additional populations by translocation of noisy scrub-birds from Two Peoples Bay would allow for much greater growth in numbers and reduce the vulnerability of a single isolated population, particularly to wildfire. In 1983, the Department undertook a trial translocation project to test the practicality of capturing and transferring noisy scrub-birds to nearby Yilberup/Mt Manypeaks (Burbidge et al. 1986). The success of this project led to the development of a program of near-annual translocations which, despite some failures, successfully established noisy scrub-birds at four additional locations east of Two Peoples Bay by 1998 (Danks 1997).

The 100-year storm

Wave action during a severe storm in early August 1984 removed much of the beach sand at Two Peoples Bay. Large quantities of sea grass were uprooted from the bay and dumped along the foreshore in front of the picnic area. This was the only launching place in the Reserve and it was now inaccessible (Hopkins et al. 2024). The outflow of Gardner Creek was also blocked and water draining from the catchment was pooling behind the sea grass wall. A large, tracked excavator was called in to clear the creek mouth, but sea grass continued to block the launching area. By the time the summer tourist season began, there were numerous complaints from visitors and fishers. On advice from Public Works Department the weed from the beach was pushed landwards off the beach to rebuild the fore dunes. The boat launching area was re-opened in April 1985.

Other pressures on the Reserve during this time included further requests by the Shire of Albany and the Public Works Department to seal and realign the road and to build a two-lane bridge over Gardner Creek. The prolonged debates on both these issues reflected the continuing conflict of attitudes between the Department and some other authorities on the amount of public use that was desirable in the Reserve.

Management under a new Department

In March 1985, the Wildlife sections of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife were amalgamated with the Forest Department and the National Parks Authority to form the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). The Reserve was now vested in the new National Parks and Nature Conservation Authority and managed as part of CALM’s Albany District within the South Coast Region alongside major national parks such as Stirling Range, Fitzgerald River, and Cape Arid National Parks, as well as many nature reserves. The Reserve Officer at Two Peoples Bay became a member of the Albany District team and reported to the District Manager. The new arrangement meant greater resources would be available for management of the Reserve (although initially the Reserve was better equipped than most national parks). Importantly for wildfire suppression, fire management resources were closer at hand. The Western Australian Wildlife Research Centre at Woodvale, however, remained a major point of contact for the Reserve Officer and Woodvale-based scientists continued their research projects at Two Peoples Bay.

For the new department there were several emerging uncertainties concerning the Reserve that needed addressing. The Shire of Albany intended upgrading the road to the northern end of the Bay and developing a camping area there. This was likely to lead to increased use of the Two Peoples Bay beach by off-road vehicles, increasing conflict with other beach activities. Other points of concern included use of the Bay as a base for professional fishermen. The possibility of amalgamating the Goodga River and Gull Rock National Park reserves within Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve was also being raised. These issues, combined with the restructuring of procedures and personnel within the new Department, and conducting noisy scrub-bird translocations, meant demanding times for the staff at Two Peoples Bay and highlighted the urgency of formulating new management plans for the Reserve.

Reserve Management Officer

In April 1986, Reserve Officer Folley resigned. His assistant Andrej Molan also left. Ian Wheeler from the CALM Manjimup office was appointed temporary caretaker of the Reserve until a new manager was appointed. Alan Danks was the successful applicant for the newly created position of Reserve Management Officer at Two Peoples Bay. He and his family moved into the manager’s residence in September 1986. The job description for the new position specified responsibility for both the noisy scrub-bird program and the management of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. This was familiar territory for the new Reserve manager after experiencing the intensive hands-on work of three translocation projects, as well as day-to-day management of the Reserve as a Relieving Ranger over the previous 6 years.

During summer holiday seasons, visitors were drawn to the beaches at Two Peoples Bay for fishing, swimming and boating. Much of the Manager’s time, and that of National Park Ranger Neil Scott, who replaced Wheeler as caretaker of the Reserve, were taken up with maintaining visitor facilities, and ensuring visitors adhered to regulations about pets, camping, and campfires. There were fewer visitors in the cooler months when the work program was dominated by firebreak maintenance, noisy scrub-bird translocation, and population monitoring. But the presence of the three rare and challenging bird species; noisy scrub-bird, western bristlebird, and western whipbird, was a drawcard for birdwatchers and ornithologists from across the country and internationally. These more specialised tourists constituted a steady stream of enquiries to the Reserve office throughout the year.

Extending the Reserve and improving the main road

CALM applied to extend the Reserve boundary to the low water mark in April 1986. When proclaimed in the Government Gazette on 13 November 1987, the additional land and the inclusion of Boyanbelokup/Rock Dunder extended the Reserve area to 4744.7 ha, an increase of about 100 ha over the area originally reserved in June 1967. Extending the Reserve to the low water mark enabled restrictions on vehicle access along the main beach. The Rocky Point track, which had been badly damaged in places by off-road vehicles, and the creation of ad hoc tracks to fishing spots, became a ‘management vehicles only’ track.

The debate about the Gardner Creek bridge was temporarily resolved in 1987 when Main Roads Department raised the bridge by 30 cm and erected wooden rails. The extra height allowed a little more flexibility about the timing of opening the bar at the creek mouth. More discussions about Two Peoples Bay Road occurred in April 1987 when a 323-signature petition was submitted to the Council of the Shire of Albany supporting an all-weather surface. The petition originated with residents living along Two Peoples Bay Road and was supported by the Albany Tourist Bureau. Sealing the road would result in higher visitor numbers with serious implications for management of the Reserve. However, CALM accepted that the road would eventually be sealed and, in 1992, the Shire began sealing the 16 km from the Nanarup Rd turn-off in stages. The final section to Gardner Creek bridge was completed in 1997.

Baie des Deux Peuples Heritage Trail

The walk trail from the picnic area to a lookout above the Main Beach had been extended in February 1985 when Danks and Molan constructed steps down the steep slope at Fairy Rocks to make a circuit back to the picnic area via the beach. In January 1987 the trail was renamed Baie des Deux Peuples Heritage Trail to honour the meeting of French Midshipman Ransonnet from the Baudin expedition and American sealer, Captain Pendleton, in the bay in February 1801 which gave rise to the name Two Peoples Bay (Chatfield and Saunders 2024). The booklet describing the nature trail was revised by botanist Libby Sandiford. The trail was extended further in December 1987 by a team of volunteers from the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers (now Australian Conservation Volunteers) supervised by Simon B. Cool. In September 1990, Soroptimist International of Albany agreed to take on the maintenance of the trail as a club project. In April 1995, the Soroptimists obtained a A$5000 grant from Gordon Reid Foundation to complete the extension to Little Beach via the Tidal Pool.

Wildfires

Between 1970 and 1988, there were no wildfires within the Reserve boundaries, although the surrounding district saw many. In April 1988, lightning started a wildfire in peppermint Agonis flexuosa country west of the low fuel buffer zone but within the Reserve. The fire was easily visible from the high country to the north and John Edwards, manager of Tandara farm, alerted the Kalgan Volunteer Bushfire Brigade and CALM Albany. A joint operation by CALM and the brigade limited the fire’s footprint to approximately 70 ha.

Another lightning strike started a fire on Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner in December 1989. This fire was reported by fishermen at sea in the evening of 15 December. The steep terrain and deep gullies on the south side of the mountain had precluded construction of tracks or firebreaks and the location of the fire was only accessible on foot. All noisy scrub-bird habitat on the headland was at risk if the fire could not be contained. Early next morning a team from the CALM Walpole office, led by Alan Hatfield, arrived on site while the fire was still small. The crew were experienced in the use of hand tools in forest fires and successfully confined the fire to a small area between granite exposures. It was extinguished by 09:00 hours.

On days when the forecast weather conditions were likely to result in dangerous fire behaviour, Extreme Fire Danger days were declared. On such days it is important that District firefighting resources are available for any fire emergency. The Reserve was closed to all visitors for the first time on 6 March 1990 due to a fire danger rating of ‘extreme’ and it became standard practice to close the Reserve on days when the fire danger was rated as ‘extreme’. At these times neighbours were informed, signs warning of closures erected on the main road near the turn-off from Nanarup Road, and information broadcast over local radio. Between 1990 and 1998, the reserve was closed once or twice each summer; except for 1993 when no closure occurred, and in the summer of 1997 when it was closed four times.

Commercial fishing

In January 1986, the salmon fishing lease, Plantagenet Location 7132, was cancelled and the huts associated with the lease were removed from the beach front the following November. Salmon catches at Two Peoples Bay had fallen and the Wilson brothers, who had taken over the lease from their father, had transferred their salmon fishing licence to Bremer Bay (185 km north-west of Two Peoples Bay).

Two Peoples Bay, however, remained a ‘Fishing Zone’ as proclaimed under the Fisheries Act in 1975. From 1986 until the mid-1990s, commercial pilchard fishing boats operated out of Two Peoples Bay. The pilchard catch was almost entirely destined for cat food; a disturbing contradiction for a nature reserve dedicated to bird conservation. The fishing boats were moored near Anchorage Rock; the beach at the end of the road used for launching and storing dinghies, parking trucks and other vehicles, and off-loading catches for transport to the processor in Albany. All this activity in the confined stretch of beach at the end of the road conflicted with recreational use of the same area. The number of pilchard boats using Two Peoples Bay increased to eight before the fishery collapsed due to a virus which devastated pilchard populations along the Western Australian south coast in 1995, and again in 1999 (Gaughan et al. 2000).

Commercial harvesting of the marine gastropod Haliotis roei Gray, 1826 occurred at Sinker Reef on the southern coast of the Reserve. Commercial abalone fishers accessed the reef via Rocky Point Track. When the reserve boundary was extended to the low water mark in 1987, the taking of shellfish (for commercial and recreational fishers) was restricted to the flat reef below low water.

Marroning at Kaiupgidjukgidj/Moates Lake

In Western Australia, fishing for the freshwater crayfish smooth marron Cherax cainii (Austin and Ryan 2002) is a popular recreational activity. The marron fishing season of December 1986 saw increased activity at Kaiupgidjukgidj/Moates Lake within Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, with a rise in illegal vehicle entries, campfires, litter, and dogs. As part of the Reserve, the lake is not available for fishing. Nevertheless, taking marron had been allowed for some years as a recreational activity. It was clear however, that increased numbers of fishers, especially with dogs and cooking fires, represented a threat to the conservation values of the Reserve. Marroning in Kaiupgidjukgidj/Moates Lake would be an on-going issue for many years until CALM clarified that this activity was incompatible with the conservation goals of the Reserve.

Nature Reserve Assistant

A Nature Reserve Assistant was appointed to Two Peoples Bay in April 1988 after several National Park Rangers had served in temporary roles since 1985. The new role focused on interaction with the visiting public and professional fishermen as well as managing facilities and maintaining firebreaks. In December 1988, a link to the past was reforged when Dave Wilson took up the new position. He was the youngest of the three Wilson brothers who had fished the Bay professionally with their father, Charlie Wilson. He had spent much of his childhood at Two Peoples Bay and was familiar with the south coast fishing industry.

Whaling days

The late 1980s were notable for heavy winter rains and a severe storm on 15 June 1989 again washed away much of the Two Peoples Bay beach and damaged the beach dunes at Little Beach. The storm also brought ashore old ship timbers. Mike McCarthy, Inspector of Wrecks with the Western Australian Museum, suggested that these could have come from the whaling ship Avis, wrecked in Two Peoples Bay in 1842. In August 1990, remains of an old ‘try works’ became evident at the southern end of the Bay. It was probably connected with 19th century bay whaling operations (Chatfield and Saunders 2024).

In the winter of 1979, the presence of a southern right whale Eubalaena australis Desmoulins, 1822 in Two Peoples Bay was an exciting event; it was the first time this species had been recorded in the bay since protection from commercial whaling in 1937. Over ensuing years, southern right whales became regular winter visitors; usually females with calves spending days to weeks in the protected waters. From 1990, humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) also began to be seen regularly along the south coast. The historic change from exploitation of cetaceans to conservation was highlighted in September 1989 when Wilson single-handedly rescued a southern minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis Burmeister, 1867 which had stranded on the beach near the boat launching area.

Fox control

During the 1980s noisy scrub-birds colonised habitat along Gardner Creek and around Tyiurrtmiirit^y/Gardner Lake and Kaiupgidjukgidj/Moates Lake within the Reserve, occupying vegetation on the fringes of wetlands. By 1987 ‘The Lakes’ sub-population had grown to include 64 singing males; a third of the total number on the Reserve at that time. During the 1988 breeding season however, routine counting of singing males showed that the Lakes area sub-population had dramatically dropped. Predation by European red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) was considered a likely cause, although fox numbers were also high in the Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner area where no decline in scrub-birds was apparent. Feral cats (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) were another suspect.

Dr Jack Kinnear (CALM Wildlife Research Centre) had shown that reducing fox numbers had positive effects on populations of black-flanked rock wallabies (Petrogale lateralis lateralis Gould, 1840) near Kellerberrin in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia (462 km north of Two Peoples Bay) (Kinnear et al. 1988). Dr Tony Friend (CALM Wildlife Research Centre) also saw the benefit of fox control for numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, 1836) at Dryandra Woodland (314 km north-north-west of Two Peoples Bay) (Friend 1990).

Fox baiting, initially using sodium flouroacetate (1080)-impregnated chicken eggs, began in the Reserve in August 1988. At first, baiting was focused in the Lakes area, but later expanded to include Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner. The treated eggs were buried at 200 m intervals along tracks and firebreaks in autumn and early spring, aiming to reduce fox numbers during the noisy scrub-bird breeding and chick-rearing season. Brian Dickerson (Agriculture Protection Board) and Wilson carried out most of this work.

The effects of reducing fox numbers soon became clear: fewer fox scats and prints were seen on tracks and firebreaks within the Reserve; there were increased sightings of quenda Isoodon fusciventer (J.E. Grey, 1841), and areas of intense digging activity by these soil cultivators became more common. Tunnels through dense vegetation made by quokka Setonix brachyurus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830) were routinely seen on Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner, as were their distinctive droppings. Observations of western ringtail possums Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Thomas, 1888), heath monitors Varanus rosenbergi (Mertens, 1957), brush bronzewing Phaps elegans (Temminck, 1809), and other species also became more frequent. However, despite this apparent reduction in fox activity, the number of singing male noisy scrub-birds in the Lakes area continued to decline.

In 1996, twice-yearly aerial baiting of the Reserve, supplemented with opportunistic ground baiting, began under CALM’s Western Shield program (Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 2024). The extension of aerial baiting to neighbouring Angove Reserve, Mt Manypeaks Nature Reserve, and Waychinicup National Park further improved fox control measures.

Phytophthora dieback – a threat to the vegetation

The plant disease Phytophthora dieback, caused by the water mould Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands, affects more than 40% of Western Australia’s plant species (Shearer et al. 2004). It was first detected on the Reserve in December 1980 when Hopkins and Folley gathered soil samples from around dying banksias near the access track to Kaiupgidjukgidj/Moates Lake (Hart et al. 2024). Because vehicles are the main means of spreading P. cinnamomi, vehicular access to the lake was banned, although, at that time, marron-fishers and other members of the public were still permitted pedestrian access around the shores of the lake and the sand dunes to the south. This discovery resulted in the western third of the Reserve, which was largely free of the fungus, being gazetted as a ‘Limited Access Area’ on 4 December 1981.

Limiting the spread of the disease required an understanding of infection boundaries and, beginning in 1989, dieback interpreters from the CALM Manjimup office regularly visited the Reserve to conduct dieback mapping. Keeping management and research vehicles clean was also a critical aspect of hygienic operations. Two Peoples Bay acquired a trailer-mounted washdown unit and in 1994 a washdown ramp was installed. Where possible, fire management, noisy scrub-bird and research activities would be conducted under dry soil conditions. At this time, Two Peoples Bay Road still had a gravel surface. Sealing the road, which progressed during the 1990s, reduced the amount of potentially infected soil transported by vehicles entering the Reserve.

Presentation to the Duke of Edinburgh

In April 1990, artist Carole O’Connor was commissioned to make a painting of the noisy scrub-bird for presentation to His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in recognition of his role in establishing Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve and his interest in conservation of the noisy scrub-bird. In preparation for her painting, Carole visited the Reserve during the 1990 translocation project and was able to study a noisy scrub-bird in the holding aviary. The resulting artwork, a detailed portrait of a male noisy scrub-bird, was presented to Prince Phillip in Perth in November 1990. According to a 1994 English newspaper report about Prince Phillip’s art collection at Sandringham, Carole O’Connor’s noisy scrub-bird painting was one of his favourites.

Technical assistant

Commonwealth funding (Australian Nature Conservation Agency/Endangered Species Program) was available to the noisy scrub-bird project from early 1992. The funding allowed a technical assistant to be employed. Technical Officer Leigh Whisson began work at Two Peoples Bay in April 1993. Whisson’s assistance to the noisy scrub-bird program over the next 5 years was invaluable, and together Danks and Whisson organised and led translocation teams to help with the labour-intensive tasks of capturing, transporting, and releasing noisy scrub-birds.

Two Peoples Bay research station

From 1970 to 1975, Reeve’s cottage had served as a residence for the Reserve Officer. It also incorporated a small office. After 1975 the cottage, now referred to as the Quarters, accommodated visiting researchers and departmental staff, small groups of volunteers involved in noisy scrub-bird translocations and department staff. In 1993, a new bathroom with showers and toilet were added to the Quarters and a new Reserve office constructed. As well as space for Reserve staff, the office also provided a small reception area for public enquiries. The enclosed veranda of the cottage that had functioned as the Reserve office for 23 years was then converted to a work room where captured birds could be processed, and equipment stored. Later, in 1994, Whisson constructed a small room in the workshop to house insect colonies in a constant temperature/humidity environment to provide food supplies for captive noisy scrub-birds. The noisy scrub-bird holding aviaries had been expanded to four compartments in 1987 and were later added to again and the compartments subdivided allowing up to 10 birds to be housed.

Two Peoples Bay Management Plan

Much had changed on the Reserve since the original management plan was written in 1970 and the development of a new plan was an urgent priority. In February 1992, CALM’s Planning Branch appointed Kate Orr as a coordinator for a planning team consisting of Orr, Kelly Gillen and Danks. By 1993, annual visitor numbers at Two Peoples Bay had risen to 40,000 and CALM Corporate Executive felt strongly that the Reserve should become a national park. The proposed change of tenure (and purpose) became the major issue for the plan. In June 1993, a Draft Two Peoples Bay Management Plan was released for public comments.

The release of the draft attracted considerable publicity and generated many public submissions. The proposed change of tenure was particularly controversial and drew comment locally, and internationally. Well-known English botanist Dr David Bellamy weighed in and the Duke of Edinburgh requested advice (from the Noisy Scrub-bird Recovery Team). Public submissions were overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the nature reserve status; 77 submissions opposed the proposed change of status with only two responding favourably.

The final version of the Two Peoples Bay Management Plan was presented to CALM’s Corporate Executive in September 1994. The plan acknowledged that ‘Two Peoples Bay reserve meets the criteria for national parks’ and indicated that changing the purpose to national park was one of the principal management directions. A primary goal for the Reserve would remain conservation of the noisy scrub-bird, western bristlebird, and western whipbird. Other goals included research and monitoring of threatened species and the promotion of the reserve’s natural and cultural values (Orr et al. 1995).

Meanwhile, an important event occurred at Two Peoples Bay, which would underscore the high biological values of the Reserve and require amendments to both the management plan and the recently completed recovery plan for the noisy scrub-bird (Danks et al. 1996). Once updated, both plans were released by the Minister for the Environment, Peter Foss in June 1996. The Two Peoples Bay Management Plan was gazetted in March 2000 with the Minister approving the recommendation for the change in purpose of the nature reserve to national park.

Rediscovery of Gilbert’s potoroo

In 1840 John Gilbert had collected a small marsupial in the Albany area, which became known as Ngilgaitch/Gilbert’s potoroo Potorous gilbertii (Gould, 1841) (Fig. 7). After the 1880s the species was not reported and was presumed to be extinct. During 1994, University of Western Australia graduate student Elizabeth Sinclair trapped a female rabbit-sized marsupial with a young at heel while conducting field work on quokkas in the Reserve. The animals were identified as Gilbert’s potoroo (Sinclair et al. 1996).

Fig. 7.

Ngilgaitch/Gilbert’s potoroo rediscovered in 1994 at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve (photograph Alan Danks).

Sinclair’s rediscovery of Gilbert’s potoroo at Two Peoples Bay highlighted the broader conservation values of the Reserve, which had been set aside and managed primarily for a particular threatened species: the noisy scrub-bird. The potoroo’s survival and probable increase in numbers allowing detection, was most likely due to management of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, particularly the absence of wildfires and the reduction in the number of foxes within the Reserve (Start et al. 1995). Gilbert’s potoroo is a specialised fungivore eating a wide variety of underground-fruiting fungi (Nguyen et al. 2005) and its rediscovery at Two Peoples Bay fostered further research into the Reserve’s fungal flora.

Power to the Reserve

After 30 years of contending with old and troublesome diesel-powered generators that increasingly failed to meet demand, Two Peoples Bay was connected to the state power grid in August 1997. The cable was laid underground within the Reserve to reduce the danger of fire from overhead cables. This singular event at once removed some of the difficulties and inconveniences of living and working on the Reserve. It provided power to the manager’s residence and the potoroo pens as well as the research station and quarters, the office complex, and the workshop. A reliable electricity supply allowed expansion of the office computer equipment, which had now become essential. A mains supply was also required for the Two Peoples Bay Visitor Centre, construction of which was about to begin.

Visitor centre

Late in 1984 the Department contracted biological and landscape consultant Mrs M. I. (Marion) Blackwell to compile a report on a ‘Recreation Management and Interpretive Strategy’ for the Reserve. The report’s major recommendation for interpretation and recreation at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve was: ‘That this area be treated primarily as an Education and Conservation resource (as is the purpose for the setting aside of Nature Reserves), and that measures be taken to convey this function (as well as its value) to the public.’ (Blackwell and Associates 1985).

The original information board installed in the Two Peoples Bay picnic area in the 1970s had been upgraded in 1990. However, given the progress with noisy scrub-bird conservation and the rediscovery of Gilbert’s potoroo, a major upgrade in visitor information was needed. This was recognised in the Two Peoples Bay Management Plan (1995–2005) which called for ‘provision of a facility for visitor information and education’.

A visitor centre was envisaged that would provide information about the Reserve’s history, its plants and animals, and the noisy scrub-bird and Gilbert’ potoroo recovery programs. A grant from the Commonwealth Endangered Species Program early in 1996 enabled the visitor centre project to proceed. The building was designed by Albany architect David Heaver. Interpretation officer Corrin Hine designed the displays and interpretation panels.

Public access to the reserve was improved at the same time by completion of the sealing of Two Peoples Bay Road. Within the Reserve the main road from Gardner bridge to the picnic area was also sealed. Two Peoples Bay Visitor Centre was completed in 1998 and officially opened by Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes in January 1999.

Changing of the guard

In March 1996, Dr Jackie Courtenay was appointed as the Gilbert’s Potoroo Project leader. In March 1998, Tania Butler began work at Two Peoples Bay as the Potoroo Technical Officer assisting Courtenay. As well as assisting with field work, Butler’s major role would be in feeding and caring for the captive potoroos, relieving the Reserve staff of this requirement.

After some years as the Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve Assistant, Wilson expressed a desire to become a national park ranger. He continued his duties at Two Peoples Bay (and Waychinicup and Gull Rock), but from 1993 was supervised by Albany District Senior Ranger Martin Lloyd and would concentrate on visitor interactions and facilities maintenance while Whisson fulfilled the role of assistant to the noisy scrub-bird project.

In 1998, Danks made a successful application for the position of South Coast Regional Leader Nature Conservation (RLNC), which required a move to Albany in July that year. His 12 years as the resident Reserve Manager, plus 6 years as an annual Relieving Ranger, added up to an 18-year involvement at Two Peoples Bay. As RLNC he would be responsible for threatened species recovery work across the south coast region and continued to play a leading role in scrub-bird conservation.

This move allowed the Two Peoples Bay Reserve Management Officer position to be reformulated as a District Ecologist whose major role was to lead the noisy scrub-bird recovery project. Sarah Comer was appointed to the District Ecologist position in February 1999 as a member of the CALM Albany nature conservation team supervised by Danks.

Neil Scott, one-time mobile ranger and assistant to the Reserve Manager (in 1985), began duties as the first Ranger-in-Charge at Two Peoples Bay early in 1999. Scott’s appointment reflected a changed approach to managing the Reserve. Henceforth, management of the Reserve and maintenance of public facilities, would be carried out by a resident national park ranger as directed by the Albany Senior Ranger and Albany District Manager.

Both Whisson and Courtenay left Two Peoples Bay in July 1998. In December, Wildlife Research Centre scientist Dr Tony Friend became Project Leader for Gilbert’s potoroo recovery program, replacing Courtenay. Friend moved to Albany and began working at Two Peoples Bay assisted by Potoroo Technical Officer Butler.

Conclusion

At the time of its rediscovery in 1961, the noisy scrub-bird was perched precariously on the edge of extinction. The population would have numbered little more than 100 individuals, was confined to Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner, and faced an existential threat from the imminent development of a townsite on its doorstep. In a far-sighted decision, and amid controversy, the Western Australian government cancelled the development project and established Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in 1967 to conserve the noisy scrub-bird and two other rare bird species. This was an unusual case of nature conservation over-ruling development.

Keeping the Reserve free of wildfire was an important part of managing the noisy scrub-bird, particularly while this area contained the major population and all the genetic diversity of the species. However, there are practical limits to a ‘fire exclusion’ policy. As the vegetation ages the intensity of a wildfire increases, with a consequent increase in suppression difficulty. In the longer term, translocated populations are an effective conservation measure.

The practical conservation benefit of the noisy scrub-bird translocation program of the 1980s and 1990s was demonstrated when major wildfires occurred at Yilberup/Mt Manypeaks in 2005 and at Maardjitup Gurlin/Mt Gardner in 2018. The existence of translocated noisy scrub-bird populations allowed the species to survive these otherwise catastrophic events.

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve was established primarily to protect the habitat of the noisy scrub-bird; research and management efforts have mostly focused on this species. However, the Reserve contains significant populations of other threatened south-west endemics such as western bristlebirds, western whipbirds, quokkas, and western ringtail possums. The serendipitous rediscovery of Gilbert’s potoroo in 1994 highlighted these broader fauna conservation values. The Reserve also conserves a wide variety of other species. Hopper et al. (2024) report that three species of threatened flora and 20 conservation priority species, as well as short-range endemics, old clades and natural plant hybrids, occur within Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve.

Two Peoples Bay was a popular coastal recreation site before the Reserve was established and, although access is restricted and managed within the Reserve, the number of visitors has increased. Visitor numbers will continue to rise as Albany, and the south coast generally, become even more popular as tourist destinations. The Two Peoples Bay visitor centre provides information and context to enrich the visitors’ experience.

The sequence of events leading up to the present day, as described in this paper and Chatfield and Saunders (2024), allows an appreciation of the fortuitous circumstances that brought the noisy scrub-bird back from the verge of extinction. Since then, the course of events has required courageous decisions, and much hard work and determination by many people, to bring the species back to a position of greater security than at any time in the past 100 years. Much remains to be done and there are many challenges ahead, not least of which is the continuance of a high standard of management in times of dwindling resources.