Conjola National Park covers 11,060 hectares and lies on the mid south coast of
New South Wales, Australia, between
Sussex Inlet
Sussex Inlet is a town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the west bank of the waterway called Sussex Inlet, which divides New South Wales from the Jervis Bay Territory. The town lies within the City of Sh ...
and
Lake Conjola, 165 km southwest of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Flora
Conjola National Park is home to 18 distinct plant communities including 4 that are endangered due to urban development on the East coast of Australia. The national park is listed as being a
biodiversity hotspot containing 429 species although this number is likely to rise due to further surveying of the area. Of these species 5 are threatened they include the
endangered Wilsonia rotundifolia, vulnerable
Wilsonia backhousia,
Syzygium paniculatum,
Cryptostylis hunteriana and
Galium australe which was believed to be extinct in NSW. A further 8 significant species occur in the park, along with
Grevillea macleayana and
Pultenaea villifera which are on the national register of rare or threatened Australian plants. 'At least thirty-five terrestrial and epiphytic orchid species occur in the park.'
Fauna
Due to the great diversity of the plant world, many species of birds and wild animals can be found here. Eastern grey kangaroos and echidnas are common, but the favourite resident of park visitors is the noisy
yellow-tailed black cockatoo (''Zanda funerea'').
Geology
The underlying geology of the park is mainly composed of the
Permian Conjola formation
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleozo ...
, a series of
sandstone and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
units. This is overlain by large areas of Wandrawandian Siltstone around Swan Lake. There is areas of sandstone that outcrop around Berringer Lake and West of the park. There is a sandstone shelf located approximately 30 cm under the surface of the water in Berringer lake that extenders approximately 1 metre under the surface before dropping to a depth of 8–15 metres.
Aboriginal heritage
Conjola National Park has been home to both the Budawang and Yunin people for approximately 6000 years.
Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
artefacts in the area include rock shelters,
midden
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
and campsite. In the middens mussels and oysters can be found. Axe grinding grooves can be found in sandstone outcrops.
See also
*
Protected areas of New South Wales
References
National parks of New South Wales
South Coast (New South Wales)
Protected areas established in 1994
1994 establishments in Australia
Parks established in the 1990s
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