This reserve results from the farsighted bequest of John Fensham, who died in 1943, aged 91 years. He made provision for a 9ha block of native forest to be preserved for all time as the "John Fensham Sanctuary for Native Trees and Birds". Now owned by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, the original area has been extended and is more commonly known as Fensham Reserve.
There is a network of well maintained tracks and boardwalks throughout the reserve, not up to wheelchair access, but well graded.