Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Lorraine and Diane’s Refuge

Lorraine Bell and Diane Hinton are the owners of a rural residential property located in approximately 15km east of Queanbeyan. The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary and home, and features enclosures for the rehabilitation of injured or orphaned native wildlife. Lorraine and Diane are both registered wildlife rehabilitators, and it is their intent to improve wildlife habitat present and extend wildlife corridors established by other residents by undertaking revegetation. The property is also registered with the Land for Wildlife program.

The sanctuary covers 5 hectares with examples of vegetation species present including an upper-canopy of silver wattle (Acacia dealbata), red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha), yellow box (E. melliodora) and red box (E. polyanthemos), herbaceous plants such as native carrot (Daucus glochidiatus) and two-flowered knawel (Scleranthus biflorus), shrubs including Boronia nana. var. hyssopifolia and burgan (Kunzea ericoides), and native grasses including wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia spp.), kangaroo grass (Themeda australis) and river tussock (Poa labillardierei).

An abundance of wildlife species are known to occur on the property, including eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), common wallaroos (Macropus robustus), and a variety of skinks, snakes, lizards, frogs and toads.