Graham Beston and Julie Newton are the owners of Killawarra Nature Sanctuary, a property located approximately 20km west of Taree. The property is a residence and wildlife-friendly sanctuary that has been undergoing vegetation rehabilitation for approximately 30 years. It is Graham and Julie’s intent for the property to remain for these purposes and to protect the property’s biodiversity values in-perpetuity.
The property covers 4.3 undulating hectares with creek frontage and four dams that act as a year-round water source for wildlife. Vegetation is predominantly dry sclerophyll forest, with floral species occurring including spotted gums (Corymbia maculata), blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus), cheese trees (Glochidion ferdinandi), brushbox (Lophostemon confertus), wattles (Acacia spp.), desert bloodwoods (Corymbia opaca), grey ironbarks (Eucalyptus paniculata), sandpaper (Ficus coronata) and Morton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla), common lilly pillys (Syzygium smithii), flame trees (Brachychiton acerifolius), silky oaks (Grevillea robusta), and red (Toona ciliata) and white cedars (Melia azedarach).
Wildlife species known to inhabit the sanctuary include flying-foxes, squirrel (Petaurus norfolcensis) and sugar (Petaurus breviceps) gliders, lace monitors (Varanus varius), dingoes (Canis dingo), koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) possums, tiger quolls (Dasyurus maculatus), swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), several snake species, and a wide range of birdlife (more than 100 recorded species) such as wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), azure kingfishers (Alcedo azurea), glossy black-cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami), Wonga pigeons (Leucosarcia melanoleuca), and yellow-throated scrubwrens (Sericornis citreogularis).
