Sydney Turpentine – Ironbark Forest is precious

You will not find Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest anywhere else in the world except within the Sydney metropolitan area.

When an outpost of the British Empire settled in Sydney some 240 years ago, Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest quickly became sought after for its straight, tall trees and moist, relatively rich soils. The forest was progressively cleared for timber and agriculture, starting in the inner west of Sydney. Removal of the forest accelerated following the expansion of Sydney’s suburbs in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With increasingly dense urban and rural development, Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest was almost squeezed out of existence. Today, only 0.5% of its original area remains in small and scattered patches. With just over 1,000 hectares now left on the entire planet, and under immense pressure, Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest is facing an extremely high risk of extinction.

Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest is listed by the NSW Government and the Australian Government as a critically endangered ecological community. Once it is gone, it cannot be replaced!