Broughton Island wonderland

“I HAVE just returned from a fantastic overseas holiday where the weather was perfect and the fishing excellent. Magnificent scenery and a fascinating local history. Travel time by boat around about 40 minutes from the entrance to Port Stephens. 

“Broughton Island is an absolute wonderland with high peaks rolling down to long golden beaches. The bird life is abundant with the mighty sea eagle being the top of the food chain.”

No fishing book written about Port Stephens, the local beaches, islands and reefs can be complete without a focus on Broughton Island.

Once a little-known NSW island, Broughton has become a ‘must visit’ destination for fishermen, boaties and day trippers. Over recent years the island has changed socially, for the better, with an influx of families rather than a domination of fishermen. Bird watching, hiking, photography, snorkelling and of course fishing are all part of the island experience.

I have been fortunate to have been a regular visitor to the island since my first trip in 1978 on board the “Waranah” with the late Col Jenkins. It is pleasing to report that the fishing, on and around the island, remains excellent. The fishing is red hot however there is far more to Broughton with whales, seals, turtles, giant sting rays and dolphins cruising through the opal blue water.

Eight nautical miles (14km) north from the heads and two kilometres off the coast sits Broughton Island, three kilometres long and two kms wide. The island was named by Captain James Cook after his mate Captain William Broughton.

The history of Broughton Island is rich and colorful, which I discovered while researching my book “Broughton Islanders” back in 2013.

The first to arrive were Worimi folk. Ample evidence indicates the presence of Aboriginal people who may well have walked onto the “island” before the ice caps melted.

European lobstermen were recorded back as far as the 1880s along with the Chinese who, after failing to find gold out west, moved to the coast.

On the island the Chinese caught fish, trapped lobsters and collected muttonfish (abalone), which were salted and sent either to their countrymen, still at the diggings, or transported back to China.

In the 1890s Italians were dropped off on the island by passing coastal traders to trap lobsters and were picked up, with their catch, on the return journey to Sydney.

It is recorded that they set up to 900 pots around the island.

The Italians never ventured onto the mainland.

It was 1906 when French Scientist Dr Danzig, the nephew of Louis Pasteur, arrived on the island with his entourage of assistants and researchers.

A plague of rampaging rabbits was causing havoc in the pastures of sheep farmers in New South Wales, turning green fields into deserts.

The aim of the French involvement was to introduce rabbits onto the island, as part of a controlled study, then inject them with a virus in the hope that it would spread from one rabbit to another.

Unfortunately, the experiment failed miserably so the French team left the island – but the rabbits did not.

The rabbits remained until 2009 when they were eradicated by National Parks and Wildlife. With the rabbits went the rats and cockroaches, resulting in a return of natural vegetation and an increase in the bird population from the tiny cisticolas, shorebirds, oystercatchers and quails to the apex predator, the sea eagle.

Sometime around 1920 a small Greek settlement was established behind the first line of dunes on the northern aspect of the island, referred to as North Harbour. This was a semi-permanent community of lobstermen which was abandoned following a second fire in the late 1930s.

A small gathering of privately owned huts, along with a National Parks and Wildlife Service building, remain nestled out of the conditions in Esmeralda Cove, known as East Harbour.

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is – where can I catch a fish around Broughton Island?

The beaches around the island are spectacular with excellent fishing for whiting and flathead in the summer months. It is the surrounding reef system that provides ideal habitat for snapper, mulloway, teraglin, a growing population of pearl perch and kingfish that gets the recreational fishers very excited.

There are literally hundreds of spots to drop the anchor or drift around the island. It all depends on the direction of the current, the wind direction and strength and the size and direction of the swell. There is no X marks the spot.

Generally speaking, in a strong southerly wind, target the north side of the island and the opposite applies. Island GPS marks are freely available on the internet.

I do prefer to chase snapper in a solid north-easterly breeze on the extensive reef system south off Cod Rock. I anchor, berley heavily and float an unweighted king prawn, fillet of bonito or slimy mackerel down, just on sundown. Rarely do I go home empty handed.

I’m sure if you drifted and tossed plastics you would have equal success. Maybe do better. Give it a shot.

Another spot I would suggest is to drift along the inner wall on East Head working plastics close in to the rock face.

Other spots I have had success are the Gutz, North Island and The Sisters. Ask your local Bait and Tackle outlet to identify these spots. Like I said, there are hundreds of spots where snapper can be caught – in the right conditions.

It must be realised that Broughton Island is part of the Port Stephens – Great Lakes Marine Park and a significant area has been classified as Sanctuary Zone.

As mentioned, the restrictions and zonings within the marine park are currently being reviewed. Maps are available throughout Port Stephens.

If you are considering visiting the island there are a few precautions to consider. Firstly, a boat that can handle the conditions, preferably over 16 foot.

Contact Marine Rescue on your departure and arrival at the island.

There are shallow reefs that need to be avoided and of course you must also be prepared for a change in weather conditions.

Basic, but adequate, camping facilities are provided by NPWS, who you will need to contact if you intend staying overnight as a camping fee does apply.

Travelling by private boat will require an understanding of the shallow reef system and the availability of mooring facilities.

Running up onto the beach also requires thought. A dinghy would be recommended to ferry supplies from the moored boat onto the island.

Keep in close contact with Port Stephens Marine Rescue and be aware of changes in the weather patterns.

Broughton Island is a wonderland however it can become quite inhospitable if the weather turns. An alternative is to engage one of the charter vessels based in Nelson Bay to ferry you to the island and to pick you up at the end of your stay.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE