Julie and Mark Smith are the owners of Wombalong, a property situated in Mount Fairy, approximately 35km northwest of Braidwood, New South Wales. The property is a wildlife sanctuary also used for wildlife rehabilitation, and though the property contains a small cabin, Julie and Mark have dedicated the rest of the land for restoration and conservation. They are currently in the process of managing invasive plants and feral species to improve habitat for native species.
The property spans approximately 44 hectares and contains a range of ecological communities, primarily snow gum woodland (Eucalyptus pauciflora). The property is also home to sub-alpine native grassland, with dry sclerophyll scribbly gum communities on ridges and banksias on sand dunes. The property also features swamp gum (E. ovata) communities with an understory of Lomandra, tea tree and native grasslands, and thickets of ribbon gum (E. viminalis) along the creekline. Also present are yellow box (E. melliodora) and brittle gum (E. mannifera), as well as stringybarks, she-oaks (Allocasuarina spp.), acacia, narrow-leaved peppermint (E. radiata) and candlebark (E. rubidia). Black gum (E. aggregata), which is critically endangered, has also been confirmed on the property.
A vast array of native wildlife is present including bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), swamp (Wallabia bicolor) and red-necked (Macropus rufogriseus) wallabies, short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus), brushtail (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) possums, gliders, microbats and possibly brush-tailed rock wallabies (Petrogale penicillata). A variety of reptiles including tiger (Notechis scutatus), eastern brown (Pseudonaja textilis) and red-bellied black (Pseudechis porphyriacus) snakes are present, as well as shingleback lizards (Tiliqua rugosa).
Birdlife is abundant on the property and includes wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), white-bellied sea eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster), yellow-tailed (Calyptorhynchus funereus) and glossy (Calyptorhynchus lathami) black cockatoos, pardalotes, wrens, finches, common bronzewings (Phaps chalcoptera), quails, bowerbirds and various honeyeaters.
