Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve

Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife 35km east of Albany, Western Australia. The area is accessible by 2WD vehicles. The bay itself, including two small secluded beaches, faces due east and is protected from the Southern Ocean by a headland formed by the granite massif of Mount Gardiner. The nature reserve was established in 1967 to protect the threatened noisy scrub-bird and its habitat.HistoryThe name "Two Peoples Bay" is from an incident in 1803 when an American whaling ship used the sheltered waters to lay anchor at the same time as a French vessel that was exploring the coastline east of Albany.John Gilbert, a naturalist, surveyed the area in the 1840s giving his name to the Gilbert's potoroo and discovering the noisy scrub-bird. Two Peoples Bay was declared a nature reserve in 1967.A bush fire broke out on private land near the reserve on 12 October 2012 and a team of about 20 fire-fighters arrived to combat the blaze. Following a sudden change in wind direction a truck carrying two of the fire crew was engulfed in flames. The two DEC firefighters, both female, received terrible burns. One, 45 years old, received burns to 60% of her body and was admitted to hospital in critical condition; the other, 24 years old, had burns to 40% of her body and was also critical. Both were transferred from Albany via the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Perth. Three other fire crew were injured, a second truck was burnt out and over 1000ha of bushland were burnt before the fire was contained later the same day. The older woman, Wendy Bearfoot, died in Royal Perth Hospital on 1 November as a result of her injuries. WorkSafe launched an investigation into the circumstances.