Shell middens indicate a long Aboriginal occupation of the National Park area
and meals of shellfish and snapper. Members of Aboriginal communities in
Sydney's La Perouse and in Wollongong and along the south coast retain links to
the Royal National Park area and its fishing spots.
1820s
Ex-convict Andrew Byrne ran cattle on a run from Burning Palms to North Era.
Late nineteenth century
Tracks from the railway stations at Waterfall,
Helensburgh, Lilyvale and Otford down to the pastoral holdings on the coast
became popular with bushwalkers and campers. By the late 1880s, timbergetters
working for the railway and the collieries had spread knowledge of the beautiful
beaches at Bulgo, Era, Garie and Burning Palms. These beach areas became
favoured picnic and holiday places for Helensburgh residents. While the Collaery
and Byrne families allowed camping areas at no charge on their properties, other landholders charged rental fees to campers and actively
encouraged camping at Burning Palms and South Era.
1910
Burning Palms was named after bushwalkers set fire to cabbage tree palms
on the headland during their New Year celebrations. This group of bushwalkers founded
the Mountain Trails Club.
From WWI to the 1930s
National Park trustees ran a truck and bus
service from Audley and Waterfall railway station to Garie Beach, north of
Burning Palms. Bushwalking became a popular pastime and railways promoted day
trips to the National Park for bushwalkers. Burning Palms was a popular recreational area for
both bushwalking clubs and for residents of Helensburgh, a nearby mining
community. By 1926, local miners had built a hut at Burning Palms. Farm
families sold food to Sydney-based bushwalkers from the 1930s. The number of shacks increased in the 1930s
Depression.
Before 1934, the Byrne family owned the northern headland of Burning Palms Beach
while the Collaery family had grazing rights over the Crown land behind the
beach. In 1934, all the Crown land from the Byrne land down to Otford Gap was
incorporated in the Garrawarra Park. Bushwalking clubs then developed camps at Burning Palms
Beach and some bushwalkers built shacks.
After a drowning at Era in 1938, surf clubs were established in the shack
communities at Era and Little Garie in 1938 and at Burning Palms in 1939. The
Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs, the Mountain Trails Club and the Coast and
Mountain Walkers agitated in 1949 to have 'primitive areas' set aside for bushwalking and
conservation purposes and in 1950 the former Collaery and Byrne lands covering Little Garie,
Era and Burning Palms, including the shacks, were incorporated into the National
Park. Most of the shacks at Bulgo and Burning Palms had been built on land long
popular for camping and most of
the materials for the shacks had been carried in down long tracks and steep
hills. Officially, no new shacks were to be built, but this policy was not
enforced.
1950s
After Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia in 1954, the National Park was
renamed the Royal National Park.
1967
Passing of the National Parks and
Wildlife Act passed management of the Royal National Park and the Garrawarra
Park from park trustees to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
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