History and establishment of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve

Abstract

Context This paper sets out the events leading to the establishment of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. Methods This paper is based on research into literature relating to the Albany region, government files and oral accounts relating to the area. Key results Long known to the Noongar peoples, Two Peoples Bay was first mapped by Europeans in 1791 by Captain George Vancouver. The area was rapidly established as a base for the over-exploitation of natural resources. As the region became more developed and human population increased, recreational pressure on the area was such that the Western Australian Government surveyed Two Peoples Bay to establish a townsite. Just before the final surveys for the townsite were completed, the supposedly-extinct noisy scrub-bird (Atrichornis clamosus), was rediscovered there. National and international pressure on the WA Government from the conservation movement resulted in the reversal of the decision to develop a town in the area and led to the establishment of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in 1967. Conclusions The establishment of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in the face of pressure for the development of a town on the bay, provides an interesting example of the needs of nature conservation over-riding real estate development. Implications Although nature conservation values rarely stop real estate development, the Two Peoples Bay example demonstrates that nature conservation may prevail over real estate development, in this case involving the rediscovery of a species believed extinct.