The Gamilaroi Nature Reserve is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, part of the southern

Brigalow Belt The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland, Australia. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides the ...

, that is located in the

North West Slopes The North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, refers generally to the area west of the Northern Tablelands, to the north of the Central West region and to the east of the Far West region. Despite its name, the region is in north- ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in eastern Australia. The reserve is situated southeast of , and about south of , at an elevation of above sea level. The reserve is one of seven sites in the state where ooline occurs naturally. For this reason, the reserve is not promoted for recreation; and visits are not encouraged.

Etymology

The name ''Gamilaroi'' is the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

name for the local

Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

people which inhabited the area.

Features

The primary objective of the reserve is the conservation of the rare ooline tree. Other interesting plant species occurring here are the wilga, white box, belah and

mock olive Mock olive is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Large mock-olive * Privet mock olive * Veined mock olive See also * Mock (disambiguation) Mock is an imitation, usually of lesser quality Mock may refer to: Names *Mock (surna ...

. The shrub layer has affinities with coastal rainforests in the east. But other plants are usually seen in the drier western woodlands. Rainfall is around per year, soils are a sandy red clay, derived from a re-crystallised

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

ferruginous The adjective ferruginous may mean: * Containing iron, applied to water, oil, and other non-metals * Having rust on the surface * With the rust (color) See also * Ferrous, containing iron (for metals and alloys) or iron(II) cations * Ferric, cont ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. The rare

grey-crowned babbler The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lo ...

is recorded here. Animals recorded in the reserve include the eastern grey kangaroo,

red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been ...

swamp wallaby The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Q ...

and the common dunnart. Threats to the reserve include clearing of vegetation, fire, weeds, genetic decline of the ooline, as well as damage and browsing by feral pigs and goats. The area was once part of a travelling stock route and was used for grazing.

References

Nature reserves in New South Wales North West Slopes 1994 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 1994 {{NewSouthWales-protected-area-stub