Birubi Point Interchange

The Stockton Bight coastal landscape extends 30 kilometres along the New South Wales coast, forming the largest living sand dune system in the Southern Hemisphere. This dynamic environment represents one of Australia’s premier environmental resources and serves as a world-class destination for visitors. More significantly, it comprises the Worimi Conservation Lands and Birubi Point Aboriginal Place, Country of the Worimi people who have maintained deep cultural connections to this landscape for 1600 generations. Port Stephens Council engaged McGregor Coxall to address increasing tourism pressures while respecting the site’s cultural significance and environmental sensitivity. Our commission transcended conventional transport interchange planning to develop a comprehensive framework that balances visitor management with cultural heritage preservation and environmental stewardship. This approach responds to the Council’s need for infrastructure solutions that simultaneously prepare for the eventual Worimi custodianship of the Conservation Lands while enhancing the visitor experience through meaningful cultural and environmental engagement.

The Birubi Point Interchange Vision Plan has transformed conventional tourism infrastructure planning into an integrated cultural and environmental framework with significant outcomes. The project has secured additional Council funding based on its demonstrated capacity to address complex site challenges through minimal yet strategic interventions. The masterplan establishes a resilient approach to site management through staged implementation that responds to changing conditions rather than imposing fixed solutions. For visitors, the plan enhances site legibility and experience quality while promoting deeper cultural and environmental understanding. For the Worimi community, the project provides appropriate recognition of cultural heritage and establishes pathways for increased involvement in site management. Environmental benefits include reduced habitat fragmentation through consolidated access points and enhanced dune system resilience through controlled movement patterns. The innovative systems approach has established new benchmarks for Indigenous engagement in landscape planning while successfully addressing practical challenges of tourism management and environmental preservation. This integrated framework ensures the site can evolve naturally while maintaining its cultural and ecological integrity for future generations.