Orders for South Coast Islands New South Wales by Helen Moody

The South Coast is blessed to have many islands and not much is known about many of these wonderful places - enter Helen Moody.

For three years Helen Moody and Mike Jefferis led walks and kayak trips to the 61 islands of the NSW South Coast.

Now, thanks to their efforts, the first-ever book on the islands is available.

Orders for South Coast Islands New South Wales are now being taken and this remarkable book fits into the labour of love category.

Despite almost 400 pre-orders, as a self-published book the print run will be limited.

So purchase soon to avoid disappointment.

Email your order to southcoastislandsbook@gmail.com with your contact details, including a mailing address.

Pick-up points in Ulladulla and other coastal locations, or postage if requested, can be arranged.

We asked Helen to send Australian Community Media in a teaser of some of the islands - so enjoy this little grab of what the book has to offer.

Fourteen of the estuarine islands featured in the book are in the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers. Almost all of them have an historical association with Alexander Berry, the first white settler granted land in the Shoalhaven area.

The largest of these, Comerong Island, is described as a man-made island. History relates that Berry created the canal that diverted the flow of the Shoalhaven River and created Comerong Island.

In 1822 when Berry arrived to take up land in the area, two crew members of his vessel drowned while attempting to enter the Shoalhaven River.

So the party headed to the Crookhaven River but couldn't get their boat across the sand spit between the two rivers. Berry left explorer Hamilton Hume and three convicts to cut a passage across the sand spit. That passage, known as Berry's Canal, linked the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, creating Comerong Island and altering the flow of the Shoalhaven River.

Geologists argue that the 'canal' was a silted up natural waterway and that there always was one joint delta with two entrances - Crookhaven Heads and the intermittently open mouth at Shoalhaven Heads, and that Comerong was always an island.

The rich river flats on Comerong Island were used by Berry's associates for grazing and cropping, and dairying continues on the island to this day, with 10 private residences and farms on the Western side of the island.

Comerong Island Nature Reserve on the eastern side of the island is administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

It covers Comerong Island and three other islands, and is home to many species of migratory shorebirds. A splendid day trip to the island will take you along the beach and back through a rainforest. See the book for details.

Some mystery and confusion surrounds the naming of Brush Island, which lies 350 meters off Wilfords Point, 23 kilometres south of Ulladulla. Read the book to discover the details.

Brush Island and nearby Belowla Island are nature reserves managed by NPWS.

They are breeding grounds and habitats for a variety of seabirds, and only NPWS staff and researchers can visit them.

Brush Island is home to 2000-3000 breeding pairs of Little Penguins, and both islands host White-faced Storm- Petrels, the smallest burrowing seabird in NSW. Weighing just 50 grams these birds travel annually up to 6000 kilometers to the eastern Pacific, returning here to breed.

Eight South Coast island nature reserves provide habitat for these and other birds because they are free of the predators and human interference that birds would encounter on the mainland.

The imposing pair of islands stand sentinel at the entrance of Batemans Bay. Their jagged cliffs are dramatic when viewed up close, but they are somewhat elusive when viewed from the shore.

Their appearance varies with weather conditions, ocean swell and sea spray, sometimes making them look like a single island. They are a nature reserve, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

There are eight South Coast island nature reserves that are breeding grounds and habitats for a variety of seabirds, and only NPWS staff and researchers can visit them. They are free of the predators and human interference that birds would encounter on the mainland.

Some mystery surrounds the naming of these islands. One was initially named the Toll House by surveyor Robert Hoddle in 1827, but a year later surveyor Thomas Florance renamed them the Tollgate Islands. Yet for a short time they appeared on maps as MacNiven's, with no historian ever offering an explanation. "We think we have one - but you will have to read the book to find it," Helen said.

This beautiful island, six kilometres north of Eden, was our most southerly destination, and one of our favourite islands. Remote and wild, the island is in Beowa National Park (formerly Ben Boyd NP).

It is accessed by a 4WD or walking track and is joined to the mainland by a sand and rock tombolo that you can cross at the right tide. There are indistinct walking tracks across the island, which is densely covered by Bracelet Honey-Myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris).

The island's red rocks, coloured by iron oxide, give it a distinctive appearance.

South Coast Islands New South Wales contains much more details than we could here and the photographs are amazing - so order your copy now.