Description
On 11 July 1960 the Council resolved that approval be given to immediate action being taken with a view to the acquisition by the university of the following areas for biological field stations: i) an area of Crown land on the south side of Smith Lake, which is 180 road miles from Sydney and 15 miles south of Forster, having a half mile frontage to the Pacific Ocean with a depth of one and a half miles to Smith Lake, together with an island in the lake; ii) two adjacent twenty-acre plots of rain forest and sclerophyll forest, respectively, which are located in the Wallangat State Forest and are accessible to and within easy distance of the main Smith Lake area. These initial requirements were altered slightly and following negotiations with the NSW Government, in Gazette No. 97 of 9 September 1966, the NSW Governor appointed the university as trustee of Reserve No. 85,893 at Smith's Lake, parish of Forster, county of Gloucester, notified 22nd July, 1966, for Promotion of the Study and the Preservation of Native Flora and Fauna. On 6 July 1966 the Associate Bursar had provided a file note indicating that all university research stations should be called 'field stations', prefaced in each case by the locality name. Thus the station at Smith's Lake officially became known as Smith's Lake Field Station (file 00014498). Shortly afterwards, the erection of a small Laboratory building was commenced, which was completed by early December. The Field Station appears to have been operated by the Department of Zoology (file 00371027). On 8 July 1968 Council approved the creation of the Faculty of Biological Science effective from 1 July 1968 (resolution 68/108). At the same time the Department of Zoology was redesignated the School of Zoology and so the Field Station came under the remit of this school. Under Government Gazette No. 10, published on 25 January 1980, an area of land surrounding and including the Field Station was added to the Myall Lakes National Park. As a result the land was no longer under the trusteeship of the university and had instead reverted to the Minister for Lands. On 15 September 1980 A. J. Foster, the Regional Secretary for the Central Region, National Parks and Wildlife Service, wrote to the university indicating that the Service would wish to commence discussions on the future use, and occupancy, of the research station by the university with a view to determining the need to execute formal leasing/licensing agreements (file 00371030). On 20 January 1990 a lease agreement with the National Parks & Wildlife Service was executed under seal for the university's use of the land for the Field Station until 13 October 2006 (file 00019789). At the 13/21 July 1987 meetings of Council, the amalgamation of the schools of Botany and Zoology to form the School of Biological Science was approved, to be effective from 1 January 1988, and the Field Station thus became managed by this school. At the 2 December 1996 meeting of Council the Faculty of Biological & Behavioural Sciences was disestablished effective 1 July 1997 (resolution CL96/88/4). As a result, from this date the School of Biological Science was transferred to the Faculty of Life Sciences. On 18 Jun, 2001 Council resolved to disestablish the Faculty of Life Sciences and create a new single model Faculty of Science effective from 1 July, 2001- including the School of Biological Science (resolution CL001/49). The School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES) was formed by Council on 8 October 2001 within the Faculty of Science effective from 1 January 2002 as a result of the disestablishment of the former schools of Biological Science, Geology and Geography (resolution CL001/84). The Field Station therefore became a part of this new school from this date. A renewal of the Smith's Lake lease agreement with the National Parks & Wildlife Service appears to have been signed during 2006 (files 910996 and 2003/2114). In 2009 the Field Station remains a part of the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. Controlling Organisation: UNSW - c. 22/07/1966-