Healing of Sea Country – Reconnecting Pambula Estuary – Panboola Wetland

The tide is being returned to the Panboola wetlands.

The old horse racecourse built on the Pambula River estuary’s mudflats is now a popular walking track. It acts as a levee/dam, reducing natural tidal flows to a section of the estuary and floodplain.  This is about to change.

Works to restore tidal flows across 3.1ha of the Panboola Wetlands for the first time over a hundred years are set to be completed in May 2026.

There haven’t been tidal flows for 133 years at Panboola wetland and we are looking forward the restoration of the area to something like it would have been before the levee was installed. 

Existing small drainage pipes from the interior of the old racecourse will be replaced with two channels – opening the area to tidal flows and reducing the risk of freshwater flooding during large rainfall events.

This should mean good things for the ecology of the wetlands and visitors to the area.

We are expecting this will both improve water quality and fish passage in the wetlands, as well as increasing ecological diversity of the area.

Parts of the existing walking track will be replaced with 2 small bridges so visitors can still access this beautiful estuarine landscape.

These works will complement the fantastic work by local volunteers to restore the Panboola wetlands already as part of the Pambula Wetlands and Heritage Project.

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries and Forestry) managed Panboola Wetland Rehabilitation project has been funded via the New South Wales Marine Estate Management Strategy, and the NSW Estuary Asset Protection program (part of the Riparian Stabilisation Package co-funded by the Australian and NSW governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements).

Works have been undertaken in collaboration with Pambula Wetlands and Heritage Project Inc, Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council, and New South Wales National Parks Wildlife Service.

On-ground works have been project managed by NSW Soil Conservation Service.

On Saturday 23 May 2026 -starting at 10:00 am Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council will lead a Healing of Sea Country ceremony at the site which will include a Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and dancing. This site is important for the Yuin nation and reconnecting this section of the estuary to the tide is important cultural project. 

Pambula River is known habitat for the Endangered – Australian Grayling Prototroctes maraena

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/threatened-species/what-current/endangered-species2/australian-grayling

The Australian Grayling is endemic to south-eastern Australia, including Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. Rare fish are likely in South Australia. It was once abundant throughout its range but has declined in many areas since European settlement and is now generally patchily distributed. In NSW its most northern limit is now the Clyde River.

Live photos of the site can be seen at:

https://www.marine.nsw.gov.au/projects/coastal-wetland-rehabilitation