Port Davey Marine Reserve

​The northern shores of Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour were home to Ninene people.  The Needwonnee lived between South West Cape and New River, including the southern shores of Bathurst Channel.  Both groups lived in villages alongside freshwater. They built small dome-shaped huts thatched with grass and lined with tea tree bark.  They hunted wombats, wallabies, possums, reptiles, bird and seals. They also gathered shellfish and dived for crayfish and abalone. 

Canoes were built to cross waterways. Ochre was dug from quarries to adorn their hair, skin and tools.  Both groups travelled hundreds of kilometres along the coast. They met with each other to trade and do rituals.  Little evidence of these groups can be seen today.  The most obvious traces are vast middens.  These contain shells, bones, stone tools and ash, created by the families as they share food and stories around their campfires.

Whalers, sealers and timber cutters first visited the south-west in the early 1800’s.  Within 30 years the Aboriginal population in the south-west has declined from 200 to 300 people to about 60 people. It is believed that they died from influenza and other European diseases.

Bay whaling stations were located at Bramble Cove and Turnbull Island.  Bay whaling involved the capture of whales in sheltered bays where they came to breed in the winter months. 

The timber industry supported three villages Piners Point, Settlement Point and Spring River.  Port Davey was a busy throughfare. Loads of Huon pine was cut on the Davey, Spring and Old rivers and transported to Hobart.  For a short while Port Davey even supported a shipbuilding industry. 

By 1890 with both whales and Huon pine scarce. Port Davey was abandoned save for a few prospector and track cutters.

​Tin was discovered in Cox Bight in 1892 and later at Melaleuca.  Hopeful companies and individuals rushed to the area.

Since the 1900s the area has only seen three long term residents- the Claytons, Kings and Wilsons.  Deny King worked one of the tin miners, but he was also a great artist and naturalist.  He kept meticulous records of the water and wildlife, including the now endangered orange-bellied p​arrot.  

Deny’s wildlife discoveries played a large part in the proclamation of the Southwest National Park and later the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area​.​​​​​