Wilsons Prom Community Newsletter

Spring 2023

Wilsons Promontory is an Aboriginal cultural landscape. Parks Victoria respects the deep and continuing connection that Traditional Owners have to these lands and waters and will continue to work together with them to care for Country. 

This newsletter includes information about a rebuild for the Sealers Cove boardwalk, funding for the Wilsons Promontory Lightstation, and updates on other projects including the Wilsons Prom Landscape Management Plan, Prom Sanctuary and Wilsons Prom Revitalisation. 

Please share it and sign up to the email list here. Stay up to date with community engagement via Engage Victoria. 

Rebuild for Sealers Cove boardwalk 

In fantastic news for the park, the popular Sealers Cove boardwalk in Wilsons Promontory National Park has received funding so it can be rebuilt and upgraded. 

The $4.8 million investment will allow the two-kilometre boardwalk to be rebuilt, returning access from Tidal River to the stunning beach of Sealers Cove. 

The boardwalk, which extends over an otherwise impassable swamp, was severely damaged by three successive storms that hit the Prom in 2021. 

Parks Victoria District Manager Andy Davies says a rebuild is the best option for the boardwalk and will restore one of the most popular hikes in Victoria. 

“We’ve investigated different options after the storms, but a total rebuild is the best way to make sure the boardwalk is reinstated and has a long life,” says Andy. 

“The Sealers Cove track is 11km long and very popular with visitors to the Prom. Without the boardwalk, you have to take a 26km detour through Refuge Cove to get to Sealers.”

Above: Parks Victoria rangers assess flood damage on the Sealers Cove boardwalk.  

The new boardwalk will be made of fibre-reinforced plastic to ensure it is low-maintenance and can stand up to the Prom’s wild weather. 

“This kind of fibre-reinforced plastic has been used for boardwalks at Lilly Pilly Gully and Waterloo Bay and we know it can stand up to the wild weather the Prom experiences,” adds Andy. 

Planning, design, and approvals for the project are well progressed to make sure the significant cultural and environmental landscape of the Prom is protected during works. 

Projects in remote and sensitive areas like Wilsons Prom have complex environmental factors to consider, are labour-intensive and take time. Parks Victoria will continue to keep the community updated as this project progresses. 

Conservation works for heritage lightstation

A new program of investment will ensure the Wilsons Promontory Lightstation remains a special place to visit. 

Built in 1859 from local granite, the lightstation and its cottages were once home to lightkeepers and their families. These people had the important job of guiding ships through Bass Strait. 

Today, visitors can get a taste of that experience by visiting the dramatic location and also staying in cottages next to the lighthouse.  

To keep this experience alive, funding for restoration works at the lightstation has been provided as part of the Victorian Government’s $16.5 million Heritage Icons program.  

The program will deliver repair works to the exteriors and interiors of buildings, and complete an evaluation of the lightkeepers’ cottages. 

Elsewhere in Victoria, the Heritage Icons program will deliver upgrades to the lightstations at Cape Otway and Cape Schanck; the Werribee Mansion; the lighthouse at Point Hicks; and the historic forts at Point Nepean.   

Life at the Wilsons Promontory Lightstation was a solitary one. The only contact with the outside world for those who lived there came from the signals of passing ships, or when supply ship Lady Loch visited. 

While the Lightstation remains remote and is only accessible on foot, it’s now visited by thousands every year. Hikers climb through eucalypt forests and sandy, coastal tee-tree scrub, and traverse the granite-strewn landscape to experience this historical place and take in its magnificent views. 

Given the heritage nature and remote location of the lightstation, the project will be a complex one. For more information, visit the project page. 

• Visit our website for more information about visiting the Wilsons Prom Lightstation 

Summer camping at the Prom

We look forward to welcoming everyone with camping and accommodation bookings over the summer peak season to the Prom.  

Remember that changeover days for bookings are different this year:  

• Friday: check-in and check-out for Tidal River campground and cabins. 

• Thursday: check-in and check-out for lodges, units and huts. 

This arrangement will help avoid extra traffic in the national park on weekends, which can be extremely busy with day visitors over summer. Please check the details in your booking confirmation email that includes your camping permit. 

The Prom is now fully booked for the summer peak season from 19 December to 26 January so expect the park to be busy. Be prepared and enjoy your stay in nature! 

Prom management plan update

The first stage of public consultation on a new management plan for the Prom landscape wrapped up in July. 

During this stage, we sought early ideas on topics such as how we respond to climate change, visitor demand at the Prom, and how to balance recreation with conservation. 

Through online and in-person workshops, stakeholder meetings and an online survey, we had productive conversations and received great feedback. This information is now being worked through as we look towards developing a draft plan. 

If you didn’t get a chance to contribute, don’t worry. There’ll be further opportunities, including next year when that draft plan is prepared for further consultation with the community. 

It’s an important time to be developing a new management plan. The increasing risk and intensity of storms, bushfires and coastal erosion will affect how the Prom’s environment, park infrastructure, cultural heritage places, and emergency responses are managed. 

Similarly, increasing visitor numbers and interests requires an updated management approach.   

To be developed with Traditional Owners, the Wilsons Prom Landscape Management Plan will outline how the national park and surrounding marine areas should be protected, visited and celebrated for the next 15 years. 

To find out more – including information on future consultation stages – visit the Engage Victoria website.  

Prom Sanctuary project

Through the Prom Sanctuary project, Wilsons Promontory National Park will become a 50,000-hectare climate change safe haven. 

An exclusion fence designed to prevent introduced animals entering the park, and conservation programs like invasive species control, habitat restoration and threatened species recovery programs, will help native plants and animals thrive. 

In an exciting step for the project, six endangered mice - called Pookila – were recently released into the park to help boost population numbers. 

The Pookila is a similar size to the common House Mouse. It has thick fur, large eyes and a two-toned tail of pink and brown. Across Victoria, the mouse is under threat from feral animals, fragmented habitat and the impacts of climate change.  

The Prom is one area where small numbers currently exist. It’s hoped the six females released into the park will find mates and help strengthen the local population.

Image: courtesy Zoos Victoria

The release was a joint project between Zoos Victoria, the Moonlit Sanctuary – a wildlife park south-east of Melbourne – and Parks Victoria.  

The mice were raised at Melbourne Zoo and Moonlit Sanctuary as part of the Victorian Pookila Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Program, which has bred more than 60 pups since 2022. 

The release of Pookila follows a similar introduction of critically endangered Eastern Bristlebirds. 

For more information about the Prom Sanctuary project visit the Parks Victoria website and read a recent article in The Age. 

Wilsons Prom Revitalisation project

The $23 million Wilsons Prom Revitalisation project will improve park facilities so people can visit, stay and learn about the Prom in a more accessible and enjoyable way. 

Parks assessments for this major project are ramping up during spring as we continue to plan and prepare for future construction stages. 

From late September and through October this includes conducting Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and geotechnical assessments. The Cultural Heritage assessments will identify the nature and extent of Tangible Cultural Heritage in areas of the park, while geotechnical assessments will examine the ground conditions. Both types of assessment are essential before considering any on-ground works, such as building the Prom Sanctuary exclusion fence. 

Planning continues on the fence project, which will be designed to stop animals like foxes, feral cats and deer entering the park. This will be a critical piece of the puzzle to turning the park into a sanctuary where native animals and plants can thrive. Investigations are currently underway into the type of material to be used, including by looking at other exclusion fences that have been built in Australia and overseas. Hydrology assessments have also been recently undertaken along the planned path of the fence. 

In addition to the fence, progress continues on track and trail upgrades. A landscape design tender is being evaluated for the planned upgrade of the Wildlife Walk, while a consultant is being sought to assess of the proposed route of the new Telegraph Saddle trail. 

We’ve also appointed UWOOD Projects to design and build some new cabins at Tidal River, as part of accommodation improvements. To be situated on the former site of the Parks Victoria depot, the cabins will be ideal for families and small groups looking to spend more time exploring the Prom. 

We’ll continue to keep you updated about this major investment, with the majority of on-ground works expected to commence during 2024 and 2025, subject to on-ground conditions and assessments. 

Check the Prom Revitalisation Project page on the Parks Victoria website for the latest updates and information. 

Stay up to date and involved

To learn more about what's going on at the Prom, visit www.parks.vic.gov.au/projects call 13 1963 or email engage@park.vic.gov.au. Register for emails here