Cunninghamia 1 (1): 35-57 (1981) 
35 
VEGETATION OF THE AGNES BANKS SAND DEPOSIT, 
RICHMOND, NEW SOUTH WALES 
D. H. Benson 
(Accepted for publication 1.5.1980) 
ABSTRACT 
Benson, D. H. (National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, 
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000) 1981. Vegetation of the Agnes Banks sand 
deposit, Richmond, New South Wales. Cunninghamia 1 (1): 35-57. The vegetation 
of an isolated deposit of Pliocene-Pleistocene sand, at Agnes Banks (lat. 33° 37' S, long. 
1 so- 41' E) 55 km northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, which hasfloristic and struc¬ 
tural affinities with both coastal heath vegetation and Hawkesbury Sandstone vegetation, 
was mapped and described. Low open-forest of Baitksia serrata and Angophora bakeri 
was confined to the well-drained crests of the large dunes, woodland of Eucalyptus 
scleropltylla, A. bakeri and B. serrata was on well-drained and moderately well-drained 
positions, woodland of E. scleropltylla, E. parramattensis and 11. serratifolia was on 
shallow sand, low open-woodland of E. parramattensis was confined to poorly-drained 
situations and sedgeland of Lepidosperma longitudinale was in depressions where drainage 
was severelv impeded. Classification and ordination analyses indicate that species 
distribution is dominated primarily by a moisture drainage factor which produces a 
continuum of species. Projective canopy cover and fire also influence the distribution of 
the vegetation. 
INTRODUCTION 
Just southeast of the village of Agnes Banks (lat. 33° 37' S, long. 150° 41' E), 
5 km southwest of Richmond, New South Wales, large Scribbly Gums {Eucalyptus 
scleropltylla), twisted Angophoras {Angophora bakeri), tall Banksias {Banksia spp.) 
and a host of coastal dune species flourish on an expanse of gently undulating white 
sand. The whole site is in many ways similar to coastal sand dune vegetation, such 
as that of Myall Lakes (Osborne & Robertson, 1939). Agnes Banks, however, is 
55 km from the present coast and on the western margin of the Cumberland Plain, 
an undulating to flat area of heavy clay soils supporting a grassy woodland quite 
unlike that on the sand deposit. Average annual rainfall at Richmond is 790 mm 
(Bureau of Meteorology, 1979), which is similar to that of the Cumberland Plain 
but much lower than on the coast (average annual rainfall at Sydney is 1 209 mm). 
About half the original sand area had been cleared or quarried by 1972 and most 
of the remainder committed for future sand extraction. Only a small area at the 
southern end will be preserved. Such an unusual area of vegetation warrants study. 
The description given here provides information on the structure of the vegetation 
and species composition, which will be useful for comparative studies, management 
of the remaining area and possible restoration of adjacent mined areas. 
General Description of the Area 
The sand at Agnes Banks was first mentioned by Maze (1942) and described 
in detail by Simonett (1950). The deposit is of white sand and originally covered 
an area of some 600 ha. The sand forms a series of low, stable, longitudinal dunes 
aligned east-west, with maximum amplitude of 6 m, though 3 to 4 m is mere common. 
To the south the dunes fade into undulations. Drainage in the centre of the dune 
area is internal, swamps being formed in swales between the main dunes. The sand 
has been strongly podsolized, with a hardpan close to the surface in the swales, but 
discontinuous or absent from the dune crests. Sand extraction has now removed 
the larger dunes and disturbed much of the original drainage pattern. 
Gobert (1978) described the “Agnes Banks Sand” as a stratigraphic unit of 
Pliocene or Pleistocene age, and probably a fluvial deposit which has been redistri¬ 
buted by westerly winds. Lateritized Tertiary alluvial deposits, mainly clays 
and silts, surround and underlie the sand, these in turn overlying the extensive 
Triassic Wianamatta Group which makes up the Cumberland Plain to the south and 
