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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 in South West Queensland, Australia, 828 km west of Brisbane. Part of the mulga lands bioregion this is an area of dry sandy plain with small trees and shrubs. The Paroo River passes through the park.
History
The park contains many Indigenous Australians' 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 purchased two properties, Currawinya and Caiwarro Homestead. Remains of the homestead, machinery and alevee
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.
Environment
Lakes Numalla and Wyara within the park are listed asRamsar 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 a ...
wetland sites of international importance. Lake Numalla is freshwater while Lake Wyara is saline. These provide significant waterbird 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
The Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area is a site comprising the floodplain and the associated wetlands of the Paroo River in north-western New South Wales and south-western Queensland, Australia. It includes extensive areas o ...
, 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 waterbirds.
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, allowingferal cats
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...
into the area. The cats proved difficult to cull 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.See also
*List of Ramsar sites in Australia
This is a list of wetlands in Australia that are designated by the Ramsar Convention as sites of international importance. Under the convention, the wetlands are considered as being of significant value not only for the Australian community, b ...
* Protected areas of Queensland
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