Julian Rocks
Encyclopedia
Julian Rocks is a pair of small islands, surrounded by marine reserve 2.5 kilometers offshore from Byron Bay.
According to a story from the Bundjalung people, a jealous husband threw his spear at the canoe of his wife and her lover. The canoe broke in two and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Only the back and the front of the boat stuck out of the water.
The islands were named by Captain Cook when he passed through the area in 1770, naming the two main peaks after his nephew and niece, Juan and Julia.
In 1982, after pressure from locals, the area surrounding the rocks was established as a marine reserve, with all fishing and commercial exploitation banned for a 500m range around the rocks. The area is home to large numbers of marine species, including leopard sharks
, grey nurse shark
s, wobbegong
, a variety of nudibranch
s. It's one of about a dozen critical habitats for the grey nurse shark in NSW. Scuba
divers identify the site as one of the top sites in Australia
for its wide variety of marine life.
From May to September, humpback whale
s are commonly spotted travelling between the rocks and the mainland and are a common sighting on the short boat trip between the mainland and the rocks. Mating whales are encouraged to take their business elsewhere.
According to a story from the Bundjalung people, a jealous husband threw his spear at the canoe of his wife and her lover. The canoe broke in two and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Only the back and the front of the boat stuck out of the water.
The islands were named by Captain Cook when he passed through the area in 1770, naming the two main peaks after his nephew and niece, Juan and Julia.
In 1982, after pressure from locals, the area surrounding the rocks was established as a marine reserve, with all fishing and commercial exploitation banned for a 500m range around the rocks. The area is home to large numbers of marine species, including leopard sharks
Zebra shark
The zebra shark is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m...
, grey nurse shark
Grey nurse shark
The sand tiger shark or grey nurse shark is a species of shark that inhabits coastal waters worldwide. It lives very close to the shorelines and beaches of North America, hence the name, sand tiger shark. Despite a fearsome appearance and strong swimming abilities, it is a relatively placid and...
s, wobbegong
Wobbegong
Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species occurs as far north as Japan...
, a variety of nudibranch
Nudibranch
A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...
s. It's one of about a dozen critical habitats for the grey nurse shark in NSW. Scuba
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
divers identify the site as one of the top sites in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for its wide variety of marine life.
From May to September, humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
s are commonly spotted travelling between the rocks and the mainland and are a common sighting on the short boat trip between the mainland and the rocks. Mating whales are encouraged to take their business elsewhere.