Barunguba Montague Island Nature Reserve: Mapping Coastal Protected Landscapes in New South Wales

The island has long been central to the cultural and seasonal life of the Walbunja people of the Yuin nation. Known to them as Barunguba, it carried spiritual significance as the eldest son of Gulaga, Mount Dromedary, and featured in Aboriginal mythology alongside Najanuka, Little Dromedary Mountain, the younger son. Walbunja communities paddled to the island by canoe to collect mutton bird (short-tailed shearwater) eggs, and stories passed down within the community describe a tragic 19th-century storm surge that drowned nearly all the men and boys of an entire clan on their return to the mainland.

European contact began in 1770, when James Cook sighted the feature and named it Cape Dromedary, not yet recognising it as an island. It was later formally identified as an island and named by the master of the Second Fleet convict transport Surprize after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, giving it the English name Montague Island. In 1881 a lighthouse designed by colonial architect James Barnet was built on the island; the light was automated in 1986 and the station was de-staffed the following year, with the original Fresnel lens removed and later placed on display at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum.

The formal protection era began in January 1990 with the establishment of the Montague Island Nature Reserve under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. A wave of restoration work followed, targeting kikuyu grass infestations and installing penguin breeding boxes to expand breeding habitat for little penguins. In November 2021, after a period of community consultation that began in mid-2021, the NSW Geographical Names Board officially assigned the dual names Montague Island and Barunguba to the island, with Gulaga and Najanuka / Little Dromedary Mountain dual-named at the same time, marking a major milestone in recognising Indigenous place names alongside colonial-era ones.

Barunguba / Montague Island is a compact continental island of about 81 hectares rising from the Tasman Sea, with a coastal setting that gives it a narrow seasonal and diurnal temperature range typical of strongly oceanic environments. The reserve has a mild oceanic climate with warm summers, mild winters and moderate rainfall through the year, which supports a fairly lush cover of vegetation, including large areas of kikuyu grass on the southern part of the island that has had to be actively managed.

The island's terrain combines grassy slopes, rocky shoreline and exposed headlands, with the northern tip forming a prominent cape that hosts seasonal seal colonies offshore. The lighthouse stands on an elevated point of the island at about 52 metres above sea level, and its light sits roughly 80 metres above the sea, giving the island a recognisable silhouette when viewed from the coast at Narooma, about 9 kilometres to the northwest. From offshore vantage points the island reads as a green, low-relief landmass framed by the open ocean, with weathered cliffs and rock shelves around its perimeter that provide haul-out and nesting habitat for seabirds and seals.

Ecologically, the reserve functions as a species management area focused on maintaining breeding seabird populations and the native vegetation that supports them. Kikuyu grass, introduced in the early 19th century to feed animals kept by lighthouse keepers and their families, has spread across much of the southern island and forms thick swards that can block shearwaters and penguins from reaching burrowing or nesting habitat. NPWS officers manage the grass by treating areas, burning them, and replanting with native species, complemented by aerial spraying in more remote northern and eastern sections where infestations overlap with shearwater breeding sites.

The milder, ocean-moderated climate and the absence of foxes and feral cats create unusually favourable breeding conditions for burrow-nesting seabirds. Native vegetation restoration, combined with predator-free conditions and changes in habitat structure, has supported a substantial recovery of the little penguin colony and a stable presence of several shearwater species. The reserve also provides roosting and haul-out space for marine mammals, particularly around the northern cape, adding a marine ecological dimension to what is otherwise a small island terrestrial system.

Wildlife is the main attraction of Montague Island Nature Reserve, and 49 species of fauna have been recorded on the island by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The dominant and most charismatic presence is the colony of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), now numbering around 12,000 individuals. With no foxes or feral cats, the penguins face few terrestrial predators, and their recovery has been supported by the restoration of native habitat and the provision of dedicated penguin breeding boxes. Chicks generally have better survival in good years, and visitors can watch the penguins come ashore at dusk from a viewing platform near the island jetty.

Shearwaters, locally known as mutton birds, are also significant breeders here. Four species have been recorded nesting on the island: Buller's shearwater (Puffinus bulleri), sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus), wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), and short-tailed shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris). Crested terns (Sterna bergii), with their distinctive bright white body plumage and fully black heads, contribute to the seabird mix and add visual interest to the island's birdlife.

Marine mammals are an important part of the reserve's wildlife profile, although they are more difficult to observe. The northern tip of the island hosts a seasonal seal bachelor colony. Most of the seals are Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), with smaller numbers of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri), subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) also recorded in surrounding waters. Because of remoteness, seal viewing is normally only possible from a boat, distinguishing this wildlife experience from the on-shore penguin encounters.

Conservation management of the reserve centres on maintaining the island's unusually predator-free status, restoring native vegetation, and protecting breeding seabird habitat. The formal IUCN Category IV designation as a habitat and species management area reflects the reserve's purpose of conserving particular species and habitats rather than a broad landscape-scale ecosystem. The absence of foxes and feral cats, combined with the protected-access regime, has been critical for the recovery of the little penguin colony and for the persistence of shearwater breeding populations.

A major ongoing conservation focus is the management of kikuyu grass. Originally introduced as a forage plant for lighthouse-keeper animals in the early 19th century, it now covers large parts of the southern island and threatens seabird breeding habitat by blocking access to burrowing and nesting sites. NPWS uses a combination of targeted poisoning, controlled burning, replanting with native species and aerial spraying in the less accessible northern and eastern areas, often supported by volunteer involvement. The broader ecological importance of the island has also been recognised by the National Trust through its classification of the reserve as a Landscape Conservation Area for scenic, scientific and historical values.

The island is profoundly significant to the Walbunja people of the Yuin Aboriginal nation, who know it as Barunguba. In Yuin cosmology, Barunguba is the eldest son of Gulaga, the mother mountain (Mount Dromedary), while Najanuka, Little Dromedary Mountain, is the younger son who was not allowed to travel far from home. Gulaga is said to be able to see both her sons in the distance from the mainland. The island carries sacred sites and appears in Aboriginal mythology in ways that continue to shape local identity and cultural protocols around visitation.

Walbunja cultural memory also records the practical history of the island: paddling across by canoe to collect mutton bird eggs, and oral traditions about a 19th-century storm surge that drowned almost an entire clan of men and boys as they returned to the mainland. Community consultation beginning in mid-2021 led to the formal dual naming of the island as Barunguba and Montague Island on 30 November 2021, with Barunguba prioritised on signage to reflect the importance of the Dhurga language, history and traditions, and with Gulaga and Najanuka / Little Dromedary Mountain dual-named at the same time. In 2024 the Djaadjawan Dancers premiered a performance titled Baranguba: A Tale of Noorooma at the River of Art festival, telling the story of the storm surge through modern digital technology combined with traditional dance led by Walbunja elders.

Barunguba / Montague Island Nature Reserve combines Indigenous cultural depth, colonial maritime heritage and one of NSW's most accessible seabird viewing experiences in a single small island reserve. Highlights include a thriving colony of approximately 12,000 little penguins, breeding populations of four shearwater species, and seasonal aggregations of Australian fur seals and other seal species around the island's northern tip.

A protected-access regime keeps visitor numbers low and ties the on-island experience closely to NPWS-guided tours, while the official dual naming of the island as Barunguba and Montague Island reflects the long Walbunja cultural connection. The 1881 James Barnet lighthouse, listed on the Register of the National Estate, adds a tangible heritage layer, and the ongoing kikuyu grass restoration programme demonstrates an active, ongoing conservation effort rather than a static protected scene.

Montague Island experiences a mild oceanic climate with warm summers and mild winters, moderate rainfall spread across the year, and temperatures strongly moderated by the ocean. There are about 83 clear days annually, and the seasonal temperature range is narrow, meaning conditions for visiting are workable across much of the year rather than concentrated in a single short window.

Visitors interested in little penguins should plan to be on the island at dusk, when the birds come ashore after feeding at sea, while viewing of the seasonal seal bachelor colony at the northern tip is only feasible from a boat and tends to be favoured during calmer sea conditions. Sea state, daylight length and weather windows along the South Coast will all play a major practical role in shaping an enjoyable visit, and guided tours operated through NPWS partnerships are subject to those conditions.