Beecroft Peninsula

Beecroft Peninsula is the spectacular northern headland of Jervis Bay. On the western and southern sides of the peninsula steep sandstone cliffs rise dramatically out of the ocean, up to 91m at its southernmost point, Point Perpendicular. White sandy beaches are found along the northern, eastern and southern sides interspersed with numerous intertidal reefs.

Beecroft Peninsula encompasses an area of about 5250ha south of the town of Currarong, approximately 200 km south of Sydney, New South Wales.

The historic Point Perpendicular lighthouse (and its grounds) constructed in 1899 at Point Perpendicular,is the southern tip of the peninsula and at the northern entrance to Jervis Bay.

A large part of the peninsula, approximately 4200ha, is under the administration of the Royal Australian Navy for use as a live-firing range and is known as Beecroft Weapon Range. Access to the weapons range is restricted to the public at certain times. The public enjoy the peninsula for its stunning views, camping at Honeymoon Bay, walking, fishing, boating, and rockclimbing.

The whole peninsula is within New South Wales in the state electorate of South Coast, and the federal electorate of Gilmore.

Ownership of crown land in the southern coastal strip of the peninsula was transferred from New South Wales to the Commonwealth in 1909 by the same act that transferred ownership of the future Jervis Bay Territory on the southern side of the bay and surrendered jurisdiction of the Australian Capital Territory. In 1915, jurisdiction over the Jervis Bay Territory was transferred to the Commonwealth but the region on the Beecroft Peninsula was excluded from the transfer and it remains a part of New South Wales. Most of the remaining land on the peninsula has subsequently been purchased by the Commonwealth and is used by The Royal Australian Navy.

Because of the association with the nearby Jervis Bay Territory and because it is occupied by the Navy, there is sometimes the mistaken belief that the southern strip of the peninsula is a part of the ACT or a separate Commonwealth territory.

Beecroft Peninsula is the best example of a Permian cliffed coast in New South Wales. The peninsula is a remnant of a Permian sandstone and siltstone plateau, overlain with a patchy veneer of Tertiary and Quaternary sand and gravel deposits. The eastern coast consists of almost continuous cliffs, rising up to 91 m at Point Perpendicular and erosion processes have created caves, blowholes, small peninsulas, clefts, arches, and stacks such as the Drum and Drumsticks. The western coast dips gently into the bay with several low cliffs and sandy beaches. The peninsula is connected to the mainland at its northern end by the Carama Isthmus, a sand swamp, which is 211m wide, at its narrowest width, at low-water mark.

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