Peter Barrett and Donna Crotty are the owners of North by North West, a property located in Ewingar, approximately 150km northwest of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The property is a weekend residence and dedicated wildlife sanctuary, and the owners intend to secure the property for conservation. Peter and Donna also predict that a residential Development Approval will be established in 2022.
North by North West spans 40.12 hectares of rural land with elevations up to 300 metres. The property features a seasonal creek running through a deep gully, two dams, a rural shed and a greenhouse, which is used to grow vegetables. Though cleared of forest in the 1980s, North by North West is now undergoing regeneration with the current owners planting 160 eucalypt seedlings since purchasing the property. In 2019 a large fire swept through the property, clearing vegetation but germinating pyrophytic seeds which has assisted with reforestation efforts.
Vegetation on the property consists of dry sclerophyll forest dominated by black wattle (Acacia concurrens) and featuring spotted gum (Corymbia maculata), grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata), turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera), lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora) saplings and some mature eucalypts. Ground cover consists of a variety of native grass species and orchids.
A variety of wildlife is present including lace monitors (Varanus varius), green tree snakes (Dendrelaphis punctulata) and red-bellied black snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus).
Birdlife is abundant and includes wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), nankeen kestrels (Falco cenchroides), black-faced cuckoo-shrikes (Coracina novaehollandiae), welcome swallows (Hirundo neoxena), diamond firetails (Stagonopleura guttata), eastern yellow robins (Eopsaltria australis australis), magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), crows (Corvus orru), whipbirds, butcher birds (Cracticus spp.), eastern (Platycercus eximus) and crimson (Platycercus elegans) rosellas, yellow-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus), parrots and several small species of honeyeater.
