Mt Gibraltar Landcare & Bushcare Group
The Mt Gibraltar Landcare & Bushcare group formed in 1993 and has been caring for this unique bushland reserve ever since.
MOUNT GIBRALTAR LANDCARE AND BUSHCARE is a volunteer group . It was appointed by WSC in 1993 to help manage, care and control the MOUNT GIBRALTAR HERITAGE RESERVE. It meets on Thursday mornings from 9-12am to restore the seriously damaged 130h Reserve. The Reserve is half council and half crown land managed by the council. The mountain was quarried for 100 years (1886-1986) to supply Bowral Trachyte, a unique form of microsyenite to the building industry. Many heritage structures were built from the stone. Bowral Councillor Joshua Stokes purchased 66 acres on the summit in 1919 to create a fauna and flora reserve. This was developed in the 1930’s as a recreational reserve and gradually added to by subsequent councils. When the quarries closed it suffered neglect and serious weed invasion. There are four streams of management: regeneration and care of the EEC Mount Gibraltar Forest, nationally called Upland Basalt Eucalypt Forest of the Sydney Basin Bio-region; restoration of the trachyte Heritage listed infrastructure and quarries; care and improvement of the recreational facilities, and potential indigenous participation in the on-going management of the Reserve. In 2007 the Group published a book: ‘The Gib, Mount Gibraltar, Southern Highlands’, now available with updates on wsc.nsw.gov.au/mount-gibraltar-reserve. There is also an information booklet with map available on that web site or the Welcome Centre in Mittagong.
Please note the mapping of the reserve is approximate.