Wildlife Land Trust / Sanctuaries / NSW / Possumwood

Steve and Rosemary Garlick are the owners of Possumwood, a property located 75km southwest of Goulburn, New South Wales.  The property is a dedicated wildlife sanctuary and recovery centre for severely injured and sick wildlife, with an emphasis on mammals (macropod, wombat and possum). Research into the emotional behavior of wildlife and the ethics of wildlife welfare is also carried out on Possumwood, with the intention to further upgrade facilities (enclosures, treatment rooms) and to embark on another program of extensive tree and shrub planting in areas of grassland previously denuded of trees due to sheep farming by previous owners. Approximately 150 new animals are taken in each year for treatment and recovery before being released on a different wildlife sanctuary. These rehabilitation and research works are completely self-funded and have become well known for the expertise and success in wildlife recovery.

The sanctuary covers 16.5 high elevation (approximately 1,000 metres) hilly hectares, with extensive lake and mountain views.  Partially wooded with remnant vegetation and partly temperate grassland, Possumwood is unfenced internally and on two sides and features a 0.5 megalitre dam. It has only been grazed by wildlife in the nearly 20 years Steve and Rosemary have had had ownership.  Examples of vegetation species found on the sanctuary include: weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides), wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia caespitosa), kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), bottle brush (Callistemon spp.), silver wattle (Acacia dealbata), yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora), red box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), stringy bark (Eucalyptus obliqua), scribbly gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma) and brittle gum (Eucalyptus mannifera).

Wildlife is abundant on the sanctuary, with species known to be present including red-necked (Macropus rufogriseus) and swamp (Wallabia bicolor) wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) possums, sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps), short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), and a wide variety of bird species such as pied currawongs (Strepera graculina), white-winged choughs (Corcorax melanorhamphos), wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), tawny frogmouths (Podargus strigoides), superb parrots (Polytelis swainsonii), glossy-black (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and sulphur-crested (Cacatua galerita) cockatoos, and galahs (Cacatua roseicapilla).