Rainforests of the Illawarra

Subtropical rainforest is the most restricted and complex forest ecosystem in the Illawarra. These forest communities support a specialised endemic or native flora which contains many plant species at the southern limit of their range. Although no longer of commercial value as a timber source the local rainforests are of immense recreational, educational, and scientific value in a district where most of the natural forest has been replaced by agricultural, urban and industrial development.