Crown Land Manager Newsletter – May 2025

Message from the Deputy Secretary

Hi everyone,

The year is flying - it is nearly the end of May!

It has been a while since our last newsletter and much has happened in the intervening months. The days before, during and after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred (TC Alfred) were tense and, although the severity at landfall was less than anticipated, the NSW North Coast still experienced severe flooding, with significant damage to infrastructure and coastal erosion. 

The recovery phase continues, with our North Coast regional team providing on the ground support to volunteer Crown land managers in the area. It has underscored the importance of the strong working relationships we have built and the role of collaboration throughout the response and on the path to recovery.

A big thanks goes out to everyone who has played a role to date.

While Crown Lands will be unable to address all issues immediately, public safety is our highest priority. Read on for more information about the ongoing recovery efforts on Crown reserves.

On a lighter note, later this month, during National Volunteer Week around 140 individuals will receive a Crown Lands Service Recognition Award to acknowledge their decades of volunteer service on a land manager board. Thank you to our Crown land managers across NSW for your dedication in managing Crown reserves for your communities.

Take care,

Melanie Hawyes 
Deputy Secretary, Crown Lands and Public Spaces

Crown Lands response to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred

In the aftermath of ex-TC Alfred, Crown Lands activated its Emergency Management arrangements on 5 March 2025, shifting focus from routine land and tenure management to dedicated disaster response.

Building on lessons from the 2022 NSW Northern Rivers floods and 2019 bushfires, Crown Lands worked with other agencies to protect public land, assets and communities after ex-TC Alfred. The above photo shows damage to the embankment of the Clarence River, just metres away from buildings on Copmanhurst Recreation Reserve, showing ex-TC Alfred also affected inland Crown land as well as coastal areas.

As we transition from emergency response to long-term recovery, we remain focused on protecting public assets and supporting our land managers and affected communities.

For further assistance, please contact your Crown Lands regional office.

Changes to the annual reporting process

We are enhancing the annual reporting process to make it easier for our Crown land managers.

After feedback from land managers, the annual reporting process has been reviewed. We are moving away from a standard reporting template for all land managers and introducing a tailored reporting system based on activities carried out on the reserve.

For many land managers who look after reserves with low to little opportunity to generate revenue, or that have minimal assets to manage, the reporting requirements have been greatly simplified.

These changes are designed to support a more efficient and user-friendly reporting experience, reducing the time and effort required.

To assist with the transition, guidance information will be sent to all Statutory Land Managers and Commons Trusts in the coming weeks.

West Albury Memorial Hall revived

West Albury Memorial Hall, located in the Murray region, has served its local community for almost 80 years. The hall was slated for demolition a few years ago, until it was ‘discovered’ by the Albury Wodonga Community Chest (the Chest) led by Annette and Peter Challis.

The Chest is a community organisation that raises funds to support local charities and causes. A primary source of their fundraising is from staging performances. Annette and Peter saw the possibilities of the hall as a community space and also a performance space. The community hall was saved, and members of the Chest were appointed as land managers in 2022.

Three years later, with grant funding and a lot of volunteer effort, the hall was officially reopened on 14 March 2025. Sadly, Annette did not see the culmination of her dream, as she passed away in April 2024.

At the reopening ceremony, Crown Lands Area Manager Southwest, Grant Marsden, paid tribute to Annette’s vision to revive this community hall, honouring her with a posthumous Crown Lands Service Recognition Award which was received by her son Jesse.
Read more about the revived community hall.

Fossicking on Crown reserves

Fossicking is a popular recreational activity involving the small-scale search for, and collection of minerals, gemstones or mineral bearing material with hand-held implements. Information about fossicking on Crown land is available here.

If someone contacts you as the Crown land manager to request permission to access a reserve for fossicking, you may decide whether to grant access. If you do grant access, this should be authorised as a short-term licence. If authorisation is granted, remind fossickers to comply with the requirements of the Mining Act 1992 and the restrictions set out in the Fossicking: A guide to fossicking in NSW (PDF, 1.03 MB).

Crown Lands regional staff farewelled

Many Crown land managers across the state will have crossed paths over the decades with our Crown Lands’ regional staff.

In recent months, we have farewelled and thanked 2 colleagues for their many years of dedicated service in support of land managers.

We send “best wishes for your retirement” to:  

• Joe Endean, Senior Property Manager at the Grafton office retired after 40 years with the Department, with the majority of time working in Crown Lands.
• Grant Maginness, Property Management Project Officer at the Wagga Wagga office retired after around 40 years, including some time working in the Tamworth office.

Upcoming changes to Reserve Manager website

We are excited to announce the re-designed Reserve Manager website will be launching on 22 May 2025.

This new website will provide a better experience for land managers, with streamlined content and improved navigation.

All the information you currently access, such as the Reserve Manager Portal and grants information (CRIF), will still be available on the more accessible, mobile-friendly and secure new website.

Please remember to update any favourite links you have saved on your computer, as redirects from the current website will expire later this year.

Contact

If you have any questions, feedback or stories to share, please reach out to the team by email at: [email protected].