Following the ruling out of Malabar Headland as a site for Sydney’s desalinisation plant, Member for Maroubra and Premier of NSW, Mr Bob Carr today announced that two major parts of the headland had been listed on the State Heritage Register.

The Member for Kingsford Smith, Mr Peter Garrett, joined the Premier at the announcement.

“My Government is doing everything it can to save the Malabar Headland and get it handed over to the people of NSW as public open space as the Commonwealth promised in 1998,” Mr Carr said.

“This heritage listing will see around 54 hectares of bushland on the coastal edge and 15 hectares of the western edge of the headland protected.

“It will also protect the historic Boora Point Battery - built in 1943 - which played a vital role in the coastal defence of Sydney during the World War II.

“It’s an added layer of protection for the heritage values of the headland,” Mr Carr said.

The Battery features:

• A rare example of 6 inch Mark XII gun mountings;
• Underground bunker with gun crew ready rooms;
• Ammunition supply and engine room;
• Small gauge sunken railway and sandstone lined cutting of a tramway; and
• An observation post.

The Premier welcomed the efforts made by the Member for Kingsford Smith, Mr Peter Garrett, in the Federal Parliament.

“I thank Peter for putting this issue right in front of the Government in Canberra.”

Mr Garrett said the headland was one of the few intact remaining areas of native vegetation that show us how the Sydney coastal region looked prior to European occupation.

“The listing will protect sites significant to Aboriginal people - Malabar Headland is associated with the Darug people and Boora Point is derived from the Darug language.

“And only Botany Bay National Park to the south can match this area in the diversity and integrity of its native bushland.

“I applaud the extensive bush regeneration work volunteers have undertaken in the area for the last 15 years.

“The listing is an important step towards Malabar Headland becoming a National Park, an open space for the public,” Mr Garrett said.