of NSW, Wentworth is a significant colonial figure who developed a substantial estate (of some 13,050 acres, including Bass Point) from 1821-1865. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. Bass Point Reserve has significant natural features and habitats that contribute to its aesthetic value. A prominent headland in the region, Bass Point contains important elements of bush, beach and ocean that create a visually spectacular environment of both land and sea. This key coastal landscape has significant aesthetic value and its general visitation numbers reflects the public's ongoing admiration for the natural beauty of this site. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The social significance of Bass Point Reserve remains strong in contemporary Aboriginal culture. There is a widespread understanding that the Elouera people (a subdivision of the larger Dharawal group) are the traditional occupants of the land of the Illawarra region. The coastal landscape at Bass Point supported the established camp sites of the Aboriginal people and provided a diverse and sustainable natural source of food and fresh water for some 20,000 years prior to European arrival to Australia. Following white settlement, the Aboriginal people continued to use the Bass Point area as a camp site and meeting place. The designation of Bass Point Reserve has ensured that the natural value of the site is conserved and is still available for use by the Aboriginal people of the region today. The site is also widely used by visitors as a tourist and recreational resource. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Bass Point Reserve has state heritage significance for its potential to reveal further information through archaeological research. Although it has been subject to earlier archaeological investigations (in 1969/70 by Dr Sandra Bowdler and again in 1974 by Hughes & Sullivan), there is great potential for further archaeological discoveries, both terrestrial and maritime. Through Dr Bowdler's investigation, it was concluded that there is potential that the individual shell midden sites on the northern shoreline could represent one single and continuous midden. It is also highly probable that there may be unrecorded Aboriginal artefact scatters and burial sites on the reserve