Dry Stone Walls on the Federal National Heritage List
(note: the Register of the National Estate (RNE) was replaced with the National Heritage List under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act)
- Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Ngunnhu). Long before Europeans came to Australia, Aboriginal communities were applying advanced knowledge of engineering, physics, water ecology and animal migration to catch large numbers of fish in traps. The Brewarrina fish traps continue to be visible in the Darling River today and were included in the National Heritage List on 3 June 2005.
- Batavia Shipwreck Site and Survivor Camps Area 1629 – Houtman Abrolhos. Two ruined stone huts found on West Wallabi Island, thought to have been built by Wiebbe Hayes and his soldiers, are believed to be the oldest structures built by Europeans on the Australian continent.
- Budj Bim National Heritage Landscapes; Mt Eccles Lake Condah and Tyrendarra Area – Today the descendants of the Gunditjmara peoples of southwest Victoria are active in preserving the ingenious fish and eel traps and stone huts at Lake Condah including the nearby Heritage listed Bessiebelle sheepwash. Here the Gundjitmara lived in permanent settlements, dispelling the myth that Australia’s Indigenous people were all nomadic. As at August 2015, it is expected that the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscapes of Mt Eccles, Lake Condah and Tyrendarra Areas will be nominated by the Federal Government for World Heritage listing.
Other dry stone walls of national significance
- Tuggeranong Boundary Wall, Athillon Drive, Greenway, ACT was listed on the RNE as a rare and substantial example of a nineteenth century dry stone wall, built between 1867 and 1875 to mark part of the boundary between Lanyon and Yarralumla properties.
- Dry stone walls along the Princes Highway in Kiama were listed as an indicative place on the RNE meaning data provided to the Federal Heritage Division was entered into the database. However, formal nomination was not been made and no data was received for assessment.
- Dry stone walls, amongst other homestead structures at Point Wilson Farm Complex, Lara, Victoria, were listed on the RNE as an Indicative Place.