Endangered Species at the Quarantine Station

History
Immigration

Carvings
on site

Residents
in the past

Harbour foreshores

Birds

Reptiles

Little Penguins

Little Penguins are known to nest on the Sydney Harbour foreshores within the Quarantine Station grounds and north amongst houses towards Manly but nowhere else on the mainland of Australia.

The Manly colony is under constant threat from human activities and from domestic and feral animals. The National Parks and Wildlife Service are protecting this rare colony and trying to keep its location relatively secret. However, on October 28th, 2000, the Manly Daily published the fact that the NPWS have expanded the endangered listing on Manly's penguin population to take in areas of Spring Cove, Store Beach and Cannae Point within the Quarantine Station site.

One local person remembers having Brownie barbecues 50 -60 years ago on Store Beach and Collin's Flat and being inundated with hundreds of Little Penguins returning to their nests, noisily chattering to each other. The whole beach would be a moving mass of penguins who took no notice of the little girls hopping about at their barbecue and playing hide-and-seek in the dusk.

Over at Fairlight where there are rock pools and a swimming pool, very often in stormy weather, fairy penguins would be washed ashore. She remembers collecting injured penguins and taking them to the zoo for treatment.

The Little Penguin pictured in a display prepared
by National Parks and Wildlife Service and
photographed by J. Bennett
during the Open Day 6th June, 1999

Click here to visit a page 
about the little penguins published by the Manly Environment Centre.

NPWS and Charles Sturt University have been making a detailed long term study of Little Penguin behaviour and habitat needs since November 1997 but need to collect more data before publishing their findings.

Long-nosed Bandicoots

Long-nosed bandicoots once were found throughout Sydney but over the years, urbanisation, feral animals and domestic dogs and cats have caused their numbers to decline drastically. People have not liked the way they burrow in suburban lawns and have killed them.

Click here to visit a page 
about the bandicoots published by the Manly Environment Centre.

Harbour foreshores

Birds

Reptiles