Images of 2025

/ Friends of Lee Point / By

 

Greetings Friends,

A special thanks to; PLan – Planning Action Network, Environment Centre of the NT (ECNT), Larrakia, Birdlife Top End, Biodiversity Watch, NT Field Naturalists, Land Care NT, and the many people who worked to save Lee Point/Binybara in 2025.

 

Images of 2025 are presented in these sections;

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 EVENTS

  • Art and markets
  • Government and gatherings
  • Migratory shorebirds
  • Events at Lee Point/Binybara

3.0 BIODIVERSITY

  • Old-growth trees
  • Sightings from Lee Point
  • Conserving Lee Point

         

        1.0 Introduction

        The Lee Point Biodiversity Corridor was severely disrupted by Defence Housing Australia (DHA) in 2024.

         
        Fig 1. Lee Point peninsula, red outline shows extent of DHA housing with Stage 1, 2 and 3 cleared. Stage 2 and 3 were cleared May 2024.

        A senior traditional owner for the Larrakia Danggalaba Kulumbirigin clan, Tibby Quall, challenged the NT Heritage Council on cultural matters and clearing works were halted in June 2025. The matter is to be heard in court 2026.

         

        2.0 Events

        Friends of Lee Point (FLP) supported or helped organise these public events in 2025 to help raise community awareness on saving Lee Point.

        • Mar 25 – Friends of Casuarina Coastal Reserve Bioblitz
        • Apr 25- Ellyane Wall’s art exhibition “Binybara Bear Witness”
        • Apr 25 – Lee Point/Binyara – food, music and community
        • Apr 25 – Birdlife Top End – Farewell to Shorebirds event
        • May 25- Nightcliff Sea Breeze Festival stall with PLan
        • June 25 – Lee Point Street Party at Binybara
        • Aug 25 – Protest at 2CRU gates
        • Sept 25 – Birdlife Top End – Welcome to Shorebirds event
        • Oct 25 – Sanctuary Summit Exhibition on Save Lee Point art
        • Nov 25 – Lee Point Public forum
        • Nov 25 – New Nature Law Reform rally
        • Dec 25 – Save Lee Point motions

         

        2.1 Art and markets

         
        Fig 2.  Ellyanne Wall’s exhibition – Apr

         

        Sanctuary Summit exhibition – Save Lee Point groups took part in this exhibition that included international, interstate and local artists. It was held at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Arts in Parap.

         
        Fig 3. FLP’s artwork. Photo by Jack Bullen – Oct

         

         
        Fig 4. Front cover of the 2026 calendar showing birdwatchers at Lee Point beach

         

        Nightcliff Markets – FLP ran a stall most Sunday mornings selling or providing art-based merchandise to the public.

         
        Fig 5. Paintathlon art workshop

        Gayle Laidlaw (front right) organised several Paintathlons throughout the year to produce Gouldian art and the stall at Sunday’s Nightcliff Markets.

         

        2.2 Government and gatherings

         
        Fig 6. Morning “Rush Hour Wave” at Bagot Road, Milner – April

        Several Rush Hour Waves were held around elections. All election candidates were surveyed on Lee Point, results at:

        FLP started a Petition in Sept 2025 calling on City of Darwin not to accept further subdivisions at Lee Point and organised a Lee Point forum in Nov.

         
        Fig 7. Lee Point forum at Casuarina Library – Nov

         
        Fig 8. Councillor Julie Fraser at Nightcliff Market – Nov

        Councillor Julie Fraser tabled motions in Dec 2025 on Lee Point. One resolution was that representatives from Save Lee Point and DHA be invited to present to council in 2026.

         
        Fig 9. Nature Law Reform rally outside Senator Malarndirri McCarthy’s office – Nov

         

        2.3 Migratory shorebirds

        Lee Point beach is an internationally significant shorebird site and the most important site in Greater Darwin.

        Typically, adult migratory shorebirds spend 5 months away from Darwin, leaving Mar/April and returning Aug/Sept. Only birds of breeding age (and fit enough) make the ~20,000km round trip to the northern hemisphere to breed.

         
        Fig 10. Migratory shorebirds (that did not migrate) early morning at Lee Point beach – Jun

         
        Fig 11 Birdlife Top End’s “Welcome Shorebirds” event – Sept

         

        2.4 Events at Lee Point/Binybara

        Bioblitz – Friends of Casuarina Coastal Reserve organised the inaugural Bioblitz for Casuarina Coastal Reserve (CCR) in March 2025. A BioBlitz helps the community to better understand and protect biodiversity.

         

         
        Fig 12. Celebrations at Lee Point/Binybara (after court decision) – June

         
        Fig 13. The band, Tarnished Brass, at Lee Point/Binybara – Jun

         

         
        Fig 14. Protest over unnecessary DHA mulching works in Stage 2 at main 2CRU gate – Aug

         

        ECNT challenged the May 2024 clearing of stage 2. This resulted in DHA being fined $18,750 in May 2025 for unlawful clearing.

        Development Consent Authority (DCA) did not take any action when DHA ignored NT Government land clearing approvals. FLP will be challenging the DCA decision (not to investigate DHA) in a NTCAT court hearing in Feb 2026.

         

        Wilderness Walks

        FLP ran Wilderness Walks on most Sunday afternoons. The 1-2 hour self-guided walks recorded between 25-50 bird species, refer to ebird for latest sightings.

         
        Fig 15. Scarlet Bloodroot – Feb

         

         
        Fig 16. Gouldian Finch – Aug

         

         

        Fig 17. Wilderness Walk group – Aug 

         

         
        Fig 18. Brown Quail – Nov

         

         
        Fig 19. Greens Senator Steph Hodgin-May (on right) with Amy Mya – Nov

        Greens Senator David Shoebridge and MLA Kat Mc Namara joined FLP on a walk in Feb 2025. In 2024, five senators went on the walk.

        Labor’s EPBC Act reforms were passed late Nov 2025 after the Greens negotiated significant amendments in the senate.

        FLP was happy to see the offset hierarchy principal (offsets are only used as a last resort) included in the new EPBC Act.

         

        3.0 Biodiversity

        Biodiversity is the variety of living things.

         

        3.1 Old-growth trees

        Protecting the rare old-growth stands of savanna trees at Lee Point is about protecting Darwin’s last wildlife corridor, Darwin’s biodiversity, and ultimately Darwin’s quality of life for future generations.

        As old-growth trees disappear in the Darwin-Palmerston area so will tree hollows. Without tree hollows certain Top End native species will not breed ….read more

         

        Fig 20. Map of Darwin-Palmerston study area (yellow) and Darwin Wildlife Corridor (green)

         

        Fig 21. Old-growth trees (part of Stage 2) before they were cleared in 2024.

         

        3.2 Sightings from Lee Point

        Fig 22. Fungi – Jan

        Fig 23. Sundew – Feb

        Fig 24. Blue Argus Butterfly – Mar

        Fig 25. White-breasted Woodswallows – May

        Fig 26. Black-shouldered Kite – Aug

        Fig 27. Gouldian Finch – photo Matt Campbell Sept

         

        3.3 Conserving Lee Point

        Dr Jane Goodall, the renowned conservationist, described the destruction of the old-growth forest at Lee Point/Binybara “…as simply unacceptable”. She died this year aged 91, her memory will live on.

        FLP are hoping that government will listen to Jane Goodall and the many hundreds of scientists that want Lee Point/Binybara conserved.

        The consequence of continuing to destroy Lee Point/Binybara is a further loss of trust in government and Darwin’s future.

         

        Enjoy Lee Point/Binybara

         

        More images are at; Images from Lee Point Biodiversity Corridor