John and Norma Dwyer are the owners of a property located approximately 10km South of Murwillumbah. The property is a dedicated wildlife refuge and farmlet, and it is John and Norma’s intent to enhance the vegetation on the refuge to encourage and provide for more native wildlife.
The sanctuary covers 2.5 flat hectares within 100 metres of a creek and rainforest, and although it has previously been cleared John and Norma are in the process of replanting with native trees, which are already encouraging a variety of bird life. A eucalypt approximately 25 metres high has been struck by lightning on two occasions and left with several hollow branches, which now house laughing kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae), galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla), sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), and a variety of parrots. There are also masked lapwings (Vanellus miles) that live on the refuge year-round and a variety of smaller bird species. The sanctuary features transient short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), possums and sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), and also has an abundance of frogs.
