__NOTOC__ Charleston Conservation Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the locality of Charleston in the Adelaide Hills state government region about east of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and about north of the town centre in

Lobethal Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centre ...

. The conservation park consists of land in section 3943 in the cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Onkaparinga The Hundred of Onkaparinga is a cadastral hundred of the County of Adelaide, South Australia, in the Adelaide Hills. It was proclaimed by Governor Frederick Robe in 1846 and named for the Onkaparinga River valley, which flows from north east to ...

. It was proclaimed under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 sepa ...

'' on 8 April 1976. As of 2016, it covered an area of . In 1980, it was described as follows:

Charleston Conservation Park preserves a pristine remnant representative of the transition between the wetter stringy bark forests on the western side of the Mount Lofty Ranges and the drier mallee woodlands to the east. A large diversity of flora and fauna are represented in the park including at least seventy-six bird species. An area of gently undulating relief featuring three main woodland associations. These being, a '' Casuarina stricta'' association with scattered ''
Eucalyptus leucoxylon ''Eucalyptus leucoxylon'', commonly known as yellow gum, blue gum or white ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth yellowish bark with some rough bark near the bas ...
'' / '' E. viminalis'', a '' E. leucoxylon'' association and a ''
Banksia marginata ''Banksia marginata'', commonly known as the silver banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus ''Banksia'' found throughout much of southeastern Australia. It ranges from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to north of Arm ...
'' association. The understorey is dominated by ''
Acacia pycnantha ''Acacia pycnantha'', most commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of and has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, these ...
'' with occasional thickets of ''
Leptospermum myrsinoides ''Leptospermum myrsinoides'', commonly known as the heath tea-tree or silky tea-tree, is a species of shrub that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth bark on the younger stems, narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrowe ...
'' and ''
Xanthorrhoea semiplana ''Xanthorrhoea semiplana'' is a species of grass tree found in south-eastern Australia. It has two subspecies: * ''Xanthorrhoea semiplana'' ssp. ''semiplana'' – Tufted grass tree, found on the Eyre, Yorke and Fleurieu Peninsulas, south- ...
''. Small, regenerating stands of ''
Acacia melanoxylon ''Acacia melanoxylon'', commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an ''Acacia'' species native in South eastern Australia. The species is also known as Blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belon ...
'' and ''
Callitris preissii ''Callitris preissii'' is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae, endemic to Rottnest Island, Australia. Common names include Rottnest Island pine, Murray pine, maroong, southern cypress pine, or slender cypress pine. The Noongar peop ...
'' are of interest. Charleston Conservation Park is in a near pristine condition despite its cultural surrounds, having never been grazed…

The conservation park is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Category III protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

References

External links

Charleston Conservation Park webpage on the Protected Planet websiteCharleston Conservation Park webpage on the BirdsSA website
{{Protected areas of South Australia, state=collapsed Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1976 1976 establishments in Australia Adelaide Hills South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

See also

References

External links