to Asian immigrants or seamen who arrived in Australia and were retained at the Station. Many of these internees made their permanent home in Australia. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Aboriginal heritage Aboriginal people have occupied the Sydney basin for at least 20,000 years. The Harbour has been a focus for Aboriginal habitation since its occupation over 6000 years ago. So much of the physical evidence of Aboriginal people's occupation of North Head is either undiscovered or lies outside the immediate North Head Quarantine Station Study Area. Many of the known sites have limited potential to yield new information due to the nature or state of physical preservation. However, given the limited capacity in this study for thorough archaeological assessment. It is possible that some sites or as yet undetected sites exist that might have greater potential to yield information that contributes to our understanding of Aboriginal occupation of the area. European/Asian heritage The surviving fabric of the place, both through its elements, components and sub-surface archaeological evidence, have considerable research value at a State level, with the potential to provide information on the operation of the Quarantine Station and of those in quarantine, and so to add to our knowledge of its history. The station is significant for its ability to educate the general public in its history. Natural heritage The area of North Head including the Quarantine Station is a remnant fragment containing once highly common vegetation types in the Sydney region. Many of these vegetation types and the wildlife they support are confined to disturbed remnants with the original vegetation having been cleared for urban and industrial development. Over 450 species of plants are found on North Head. Ninety species of native birds have been recorded in the Quarantine area including some species covered by international migratory bird agreements. The long period of "isolation" of North Head as a "tied island" initially allowed the species of flora and terrestrial fauna on the Head to evolve independently from those found elsewhere in the Sydney Basin. Although no longer tied, and now subject to the introduction of exotic flora and fauna, this early isolation has enhanced the value to science of the biodiversity on North Head. The response of plants and animals to periodic burning and periods without burning has potential