Coorong National 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
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 ...
about south-east 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 ...
, that predominantly covers a
coastal lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
ecosystem officially known as The Coorong and the
Younghusband Peninsula
Younghusband Peninsula is a long narrow peninsula in South Australia. It separates the Coorong Channel, the Tauwitchere Channel and the Coorong which are part of the estuary of the River Murray from the Southern Ocean which including water bod ...
on the Coorong's southern side. The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the
Murray Mouth
Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. At times of greater river flow ...
near
Hindmarsh Island
Hindmarsh Island (Ngarrindjeri: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia, Goolwa, South Australia.
The island is a tourist destination, which has increased in popularity si ...
and the
Sir Richard Peninsula
Sir Richard Peninsula is a narrow peninsula consisting of sand which extends from Goolwa, South Australia to the Murray Mouth. It separates the Goolwa Channel, which is part of the estuary of the River Murray, from Encounter Bay. It is approx ...
, and it extends about south-eastwards. Road access is from
Meningie. The beach on the coastal side of the peninsula, the longest in Australia, is also commonly called The Coorong.
The Coorong lies within the traditional lands of the
Ngarrindjeri
The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...
people, an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
group. Notable locations within the park include
Salt Creek, Policeman's Point, Jack Point, and Woods Well.
Etymology
Its name is thought to be a corruption of the
Ngarrindjeri
The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...
word ''kurangk'', also written ''Kurangh'', meaning a long or narrow lagoon or neck
History
The Coorong National Park was proclaimed on 9 November 1967 under the ''National Parks Act 1966'' in respect to land in sections 17 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the
Hundred of Glyde
The County of Cardwell is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed by Governor Dominick Daly in 1864 and named for Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell, who was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies in t ...
and section 6 in the
Hundred of Santo
The Hundred of Santo is a cadastral hundred of the County of Cardwell (South Australia), centred on the rural locality of Salt Creek, South Australia. It was proclaimed by Governor Dominick Daly in 1864 and named for Philip Santo, a member of ...
.
At the commencement of 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 27 April 1972, the national park consisted of land in sections 17, 59 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Glyde and sections 6, 43 and 52 in the Hundred of Santo.
The Coorong Game Reserve which was purchased by the Government of South Australia in 1968 was abolished on 14 January 1993 and its lands was added to the national park.
The game reserve occupied part of the Coorong lagoon to the immediate west of
Salt Creek and had an area of as of May 1982.
In February 2013, a lifeboat from ''
MS Oliva
The MS ''Oliva'' was a bulk carrier launched in 2009. On 16 March 2011, due to the risky navigation of trying to achieve the minimal allowed clearance of Nightingale Island of 10 nmi, and due to human error in navigation reducing the actual ...
'', a ship that foundered in the
South Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
during 2011, washed up on a beach in the national park.
Description
The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the
Murray Mouth
Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. At times of greater river flow ...
near
Hindmarsh Island
Hindmarsh Island (Ngarrindjeri: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia, Goolwa, South Australia.
The island is a tourist destination, which has increased in popularity si ...
and the
Sir Richard Peninsula
Sir Richard Peninsula is a narrow peninsula consisting of sand which extends from Goolwa, South Australia to the Murray Mouth. It separates the Goolwa Channel, which is part of the estuary of the River Murray, from Encounter Bay. It is approx ...
, and it extends about south-east. The national park area includes the Coorong itself, and Younghusband Peninsula which separates the Coorong from
Gulf St Vincent
Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...
in the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
. The Coorong has been cut off from
Lake Alexandrina by the construction of the
Goolwa Barrages
The Goolwa Barrages comprise five barrage structures in the channels separating Lake Alexandrina from the sea at the mouth of the River Murray and the Coorong in South Australia. They were constructed principally to reduce salinity levels in ...
(weirs) from Goolwa to Pelican Point during the late 1930s.
The national park was formed in 1967 as a sanctuary for many species of birds, animals and fish. It attracts many migratory species. It provides refuge for these animals during some of Australia's regular droughts. The also supports coastal dune systems, lagoons and coastal vegetation.
[Coorong National Park]
– ''Things to see and do'', Accessed 30/7/9
One of the unique aspects of the Coorong is the interaction of water along its length, with sea water and
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...
water meeting rainfall and groundwater. The freshwater supports the fauna (animal) of the area while the sea water is the habitat for much of the birdlife.
Notable locations within the park include Salt Creek, Policeman's Point, Jack Point, and Woods Well.
The waters of the Coorong are a popular venue for recreational and commercial fishers.
Coorong mullet,
mulloway
''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a silvery to bronze-green colored fish, a member of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length. It is known as Japanese meagre (FAO), mulloway or jewfish on the east coast of Australia, butterfish in South ...
and
bream
Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...
are the main species.
[
]
Beach
The long sandy beach running down the outer side of the Younghusband Peninsula and commonly referred to as The Coorong, is the longest beach in Australia. It runs from the Murray mouth to Cape Jaffa
Cape Jaffa is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located at the south end of Lacepede Bay on the state's south east coast about south west of the town centre of Kingston SE. The cape is described as being "a low sandy point" ...
.
Cultural significance
The Coorong is of great cultural significance to the Ngarrindjeri people, who have songline
A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...
s relating to creation stories
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
associated with the area as well as a long history of living sustainably and looking after the complex environment.[
]
Camp Coorong
Camp Coorong is a place of cultural learning, where visitors can learn about Ngarrindjeri culture, history, arts and crafts, including basket-weaving. It is owned and run by Ngarrindjeri people, and situated about south of Meningie.[ The centre was founded by brothers Tom and George Trevorrow in 1985, with the aim of creating a place where the local community could have camps, younger members of the community might find employment, and Ngarrindjeri culture could be shared. It was officially closed to the public in 2018.][
Ngarrindjeri elder and well-known weaver Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, who is Tom's widow, works from one of the rooms at the camp, along with artist and academic Jelina Haines, who was born in the Philippines. Their work has been commissioned for the recently refurbished ]Department for Infrastructure and Transport
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT), formerly the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), is a large department of the government of South Australia. The website was renamed , but without a formal announce ...
offices in Pirie Street
Pirie Street is a road on the east side of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It runs east–west, between East Terrace and King William Street. After crossing King William Street, it continues as Waymouth Street. It forms the souther ...
.
Ecology
The wetlands within the part of the national park containing the Coorong Lagoon form a complex ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
of freshwater, estuarine
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
, and hypersaline
A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ).
Specific microbial species can thrive in h ...
waterbodies with a unique diversity of habitats for plants and animals. The coastal lagoons are considered critically endangered due to the loss of freshwater flows, local extinction of characteristic submerged plants and subsequent loss of habitat diversity.
In December 2018, the Australian and South Australian Government
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
s announced a new environmental management
Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims ...
program called "Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin". Ongoing , the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation is working with the Department for Environment and Water
The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is a department of the Government of South Australia. Created on 1 July 2012 by the merger of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department for Water as the Department of ...
to share their knowledge of landcare practices, which will be incorporated in a new database.
Flora and fauna
The Coorong is an area of huge natural biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
.[
]
Birds
The Coorong National Park has been recognised by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
. It has supported the chestnut teal
The chestnut teal (''Anas castanea'') is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
Taxonomy
The chestnut teal was described by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838 under ...
, Australian shelduck
The Australian shelduck (''Tadorna tadornoides''), also known as the chestnut-breasted shelduck or mountain duck, is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like ducks part of the bird family Anatidae. The genus name ''Tadorna'' comes from Celtic root ...
, sharp-tailed sandpiper
The sharp-tailed sandpiper (''Calidris acuminata'') (but see below) is a small wader.
Taxonomy
A review of data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus ''Philomachus''
– as ''P. acuminatus'' – which now ...
, red-necked stint
The red-necked stint (''Calidris ruficollis'') is a small migratory wader. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''ruficollis'' is from La ...
, banded stilt
The banded stilt (''Cladorhynchus leucocephalus'') is a nomadic wader of the stilt and avocet family, Recurvirostridae, native to Australia. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Cladorhynchus''. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band fo ...
, red-necked avocet
The red-necked avocet (''Recurvirostra novaehollandiae'') also known as the Australian avocet, cobbler, cobbler's awl, and painted lady, is a wader of the family Recurvirostridae that is endemic to Australia and is fairly common and widespread th ...
, pied oystercatcher
The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. ...
and red-capped plover
The red-capped plover (''Charadrius ruficapillus''), also known as the red-capped dotterel, is a small species of plover.
It breeds in Australia. This species is closely related to (and sometimes considered conspecific with) the Kentish plover, ...
. Australasian bittern
The Australasian bittern (''Botaurus poiciloptilus''), also known as the brown bittern or matuku hūrepo, and also nicknamed the "bunyip bird", is a large bird in the heron family Ardeidae. A secretive bird with a distinctive booming call, it is ...
s have been recorded. It has also supported significant numbers of orange-bellied parrot
The orange-bellied parrot (''Neophema chrysogaster'') is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around long, it exhibits sex ...
s, fairy tern
The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is " Critically Endangered".
There are three subspecies:
* Australian f ...
s and hooded plover
The hooded dotterel or hooded plover (''Thinornis cucullatus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. There are two recognised subspecies whic ...
s, although their usage of the site has declined from reduced freshwater inflows.
The largest pelican rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds.
Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals (true seals and sea lions), and ev ...
in Australia is at Jack Point, just off the Princes Highway
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
and about north of Salt Creek.[ The pelicans also breed on North Pelican Island.][ The Australian pelican ('']Pelecanus conspicillatus
The Australian pelican (''Pelecanus conspicillatus'') is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. ...
'') is the largest species of pelican, and breeds from August until January.[
]
Marine life
As mentioned above, Coorong mullet, mulloway
''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a silvery to bronze-green colored fish, a member of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length. It is known as Japanese meagre (FAO), mulloway or jewfish on the east coast of Australia, butterfish in South ...
and bream
Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...
are the main species caught for human consumption in the Coorong.[
]
In the arts
The park was the setting of the popular 1976 film '' Storm Boy'', as well as its 2019 remake. Both films are based on the 1964 novel by Colin Thiele
Colin Milton Thiele AC (; 16 November 1920 – 4 September 2006) was an Australian author and educator. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels '' Storm Boy'', ''Blue Fin'', the ''Sun on the Stubble'' s ...
of the same name set on the Coorong that portrays the bond of a young boy who rescues and raises an extraordinary orphaned pelican which he names Mr Percival.[
]Lucy Treloar
Lucy Treloar is an Australian novelist. Her first novel, ''Salt Creek'', won the 2016 Dobbie Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2016 Miles Franklin Award and the 2016 Walter Scott Prize. Her second novel, ''Wolfe Island'', won the 2020 ...
's award-winning novel, ''Salt Creek'' (2015), is set in the Coorong, specifically the area around Salt Creek, in 1855.
See also
* Protected areas of South Australia
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 separ ...
* List of islands within the Murray River in South Australia
List of islands within the Murray River in South Australia is a list of islands located within the watercourse of the Murray River within the Australian state of South Australia from the mouth of the river at Encounter Bay in the south to the ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{authority control
National parks of South Australia
Protected areas established in 1967
1967 establishments in Australia
Murray River
Murray Mallee
Limestone Coast
Ramsar sites in Australia
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems