Aboriginal Australian people long lived over the area ofJervis Bay.[9] The area underwent significant change 18,000 to 7,500 years ago when the sea level rose, displacing inhabitants of previously coastal areas, resulting in dramatic population redistribution. TheYuin people have a continuing connection to the Jervis Bay area and in December 2016, applied for recognition of theirnative title.[10]
Negotiations for theFederation of Australia reached three major agreements for proposed federal territories.
First, a federal capital, a new, purpose-built city, should be located within the borders of New South Wales (NSW).
Second, to help ensure such location did not give NSW too much influence on federal politics, that the new city and surrounds would beexclaved from NSW, as a separate federal territory.
The site of the capital city was not decided until 1908. All of the seriously considered sites were substantial distances inland. Therefore, the capital and the port would be separate. Ownership ofCrown land in the Jervis Bay area was transferred from the NSW government to the federal government in 1909 (at the same time that ownership of the site of Canberra and the surrounding area was also relinquished by NSW).[14] In 1915, jurisdiction over the Jervis Bay Territory was transferred from the state of New South Wales to the federal Commonwealth of Australia.[7] To reduce the practical difficulties presented by the physical separation of the two territories,the government of NSW also agreed, in principle, that the federal government could build and take full control of a proposed rail corridor between Canberra and Jervis Bay,[citation needed] but this was never implemented.
The territory has been administered by various federal government's departments over the years, in turn:
Murrays Beach carpark, originally cleared for the Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant project.
In 1969, Jervis Bay Territory was proposed as the site for anuclear power plant but the proposal was cancelled in 1971. An access road had been constructed to the site, on the southeast corner of the bay nearMurray's Beach and the site excavated and levelled. The levelled site is now the car park for Murrays Beach and its adjacent boat ramp.[15][16]
Enlargeable, detailed map of the Jervis Bay TerritoryCave Beach and surrounding cliff faces,Booderee National Park
Having 67.8 km2 (26 sq mi) of land and 8.9 km2 (3 sq mi) marine reserve,[17] Jervis Bay Territory is the smallest of all the mainland states and territories of Australia. Jervis Bay is a natural harbour 16 km (10 mi) north to south and 10 km (6 mi) east to west, opening to the east onto thePacific Ocean. The bay is situated on the southern coast ofNew South Wales about 198 km (123 mi) south of Sydney. The nearest major town isNowra, about 40 km (25 mi) north, on theShoalhaven River.
The majority of Jervis Bay embayment is part ofJervis Bay Marine Park (NSW State) while the waters within Jervis Bay Territory are part ofBooderee National Park, formerly Jervis Bay National Park, (Commonwealth). Booderee means 'bay of plenty' or 'plenty of fish' in the local Aboriginal language.[9] The park itself encompasses approximately 90% of the territory of Jervis Bay and covers the overlap between Australia's northern and southern climatic zones. There are three small lakes within the territory: Lake Windermere, the largest, with an area of 31 ha (77 acres); Lake Mckenzie, 7 ha (17 acres); as well as Blacks Waterhole measuring 1.4 ha (3.5 acres). Ancient sand dunes overlay the sedimentary bedrock formations formed from upheaval of the surroundingmarine environment 280–225 million years ago. Bowen Island, at the entrance to the bay 230 m (750 ft) north of Governors Head, is 51 ha (130 acres) in area. It hasrookeries for thelittle penguinEudyptula minor.
A wide variety of flora and fauna are native to the territory, with approximately 206 species of birds, 27 species of mammals, 15 species of amphibians, 23 species of reptiles and 180 species of fish native to the area.[18]
At the2021 census, 310 people lived in the territory, the majority working and living at theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN) base,HMAS ''Creswell''.[19]Vincentia in NSW is the nearest town, roughly 3 km (2 mi) north of the border. All of Jervis Bay is covered within the postcode 2540.[20]
The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council owns approximately 68 km2 (26 sq mi), about 90% of the territory and exercises certain governance and representation functions for its community under theAboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986[21] The rest is managed by theDepartment of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities.
There are two villages in the Jervis Bay Territory:
There are several private leasehold properties in the Jervis Bay Territory within but not part ofBooderee National Park. A group of buildings on the eastern foreshore ofSussex Inlet, known as the Christian's Minde Settlement, comprises six separate parcels of land, four of which are leaseholds. The historical, heritage-listed Christian's Minde (Block 14) was founded in the mid-1880s by the Ellmoos family from Denmark.[24][25] Christian's Minde was promoted as the first guesthouse on the NSW south coast between Port Hacking and Twofold Bay when it was established in the 1890s. Pamir (Block 12) is also part of Christian's Minde Settlement. Descendants of the Ellmoos family lived at Christian's Minde (Block 14), Ellmoos (Block 9) and Ardath (Block 11) for over 130 years, and continue to live at Kullindi (Block 10) today. Members of the extended family are buried in a cemetery, surrounded by dense bush, which is managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.[26][27][28]
Other leaseholds in Jervis Bay Territory are the Railway, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) Holiday Park (Block 37)[29] and The Cove (former Bay of Plenty Lodges) (Block 28).[30][31][32]
The administrative border betweenNew South Wales and the Jervis Bay Territory
Jervis Bay Territory voters are represented in theSenate together with those of theACT and it forms part of theDivision of Fenner (also with the ACT) forHouse of Representatives elections[33] but it is not part of the ACT.
Jervis Bay Territory does not have its own elected local council. Although they are subject to ACT law and some services are contracted by the Commonwealth government to nearby councils in New South Wales, Jervis Bay Territory residents do not vote in either ACT or New South Wales elections. Aboriginal persons who are registered members of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council have voting rights in the council's meetings and elect the council's executive.
Section 61 of theDefence Force Discipline Act (DFDA) makes all Australian defence force members and "Defence Civilians" subject to the criminal laws of the Jervis Bay Territory regardless of where the offence occurred. This is a legal mechanism that makes defence personnel subject to theCrimes Act 1914 (Cth), theCriminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and offences against the criminal law of the ACT, as military law, even if the offence is committed elsewhere outside Australia.
^"Seat of Government Surrender Act (NSW) Act 9 of 1915".Museum of Australian Democracy.Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved17 January 2013.This Act provided for the transfer of 28 square miles of land at Jervis Bay to the Commonwealth, in addition to the areas surrendered under the Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 and the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909.
^"Documenting A Democracy".Museum of Australian Democracy.Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved17 January 2013.A portion of land at Jervis Bay was included in the Federal Capital Territory to provide a seaport for Australia's only inland capital.
^ab"Our Culture".Parks Australia.Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved13 October 2017.
^Glenday, James; Kennedy, Adam (21 May 2021)."A 'risky operation', a group of dead quolls and a plan for the future of Aussie predators". Australia: ABC News.Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved23 May 2021.Ironically, for a marsupial devastated by European colonisation, one small group did well near the isolated, historic Christian's Minde site – one of the first settlements on this stretch of NSW coast.
^"Christians Minde".Christiansmindejervisbay. Christiansmindejervisbay.com. 17 July 2016. Archived fromthe original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved12 March 2012.
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