Currawinya is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

near

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...

, Australia, 828 km west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Part of the

mulga lands The Mulga Lands are an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion of eastern Australia consisting of dry sandy plains with low mulga (habitat), mulga woodlands and shrublands that are dominated by ''Acacia ...

bioregion this is an area of dry sandy plain with small trees and shrubs. The

Paroo River The Paroo River, a series of waterholes, connected in wet weather as a running stream of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the South West region of Queensland and Far West region of New South Wales, Austra ...

passes through the park.

History

The park contains many

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

' sites of cultural significance, which indicate a long period of Aboriginal occupation and use of the wetlands within the park. The park was previously pastoral land. In 1991, the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

purchased two properties, Currawinya and Caiwarro Homestead. Remains of the homestead, machinery and a

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

bank still exist today. In 2015, the size of the park doubled after the state government acquired three adjoining properties. Mulga Parrot Currawinya

Environment

Lakes Numalla and Wyara within the park are listed as

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

sites of international importance. Lake Numalla is freshwater while Lake Wyara is saline. These provide significant

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

habitats at times of drought and for migrating waders which travel across inland Australia. 200 bird species have been recorded in the park. Most of the park lies within the Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area, identified as such 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 ...

because of its importance, when conditions are suitable, for large numbers of

s. A total of 14 threatened species have been identified within the park.

Bilby enclosure

A feature of the park is a bilby enclosure surrounded by a predator-exclusion fence. The electrified enclosure was opened in 2001. Captive-bred and rehabilitated bilbies once thrived within the safety of the enclosure. The fence was damaged by flooding in late 2011 and early 2012, allowing feral cats into the area. The cats proved difficult to

cull In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...

and there was a temporary hold put on placing newly reared bilbies into the enclosure until feral cats are below detectable levels there. As of July 2015 there were 75 bilbies ready to be released into the enclosure, but with at least six cats remaining after around 30 were culled, release was being held back By December 2021, bilbies from breeding programs elsewhere, such as the Charleville Bilby Experience, were being considered for introduction to the enclosure.

Facilities

Fishing, canoeing and swimming are popular recreational activities in the park.

References

{{Authority control National parks of Queensland Protected areas established in 1991 1991 establishments in Australia Ramsar sites in Australia Important Bird Areas of Queensland South West Queensland

History

Environment

Bilby enclosure

Facilities

See also

References