The Mutawintji National Park, formerly the Mootwingee National Park, 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 ...

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 ...

that is located in the Far West 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The national park is situated approximately west 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 ...

and about north-east of .

Features and location

The rugged, mulga-clad Byngnano Range is dissected by colourful gorges, rockpools and creek beds lined with red gums. Scattered among the caves and overhangs are Aboriginal rock art and engravings. In 1979, the

Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is an Australian not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation that was incorporated on 29 June 1970. Its purpose is to foster the protection of Australia's native plants, animals and cultural heritag ...

purchased and fenced , in the Coturaundee Ranges, now part of Mutawintji National Park, for the conservation and protection of the

yellow-footed rock wallaby The yellow-footed rock-wallaby (''Petrogale xanthopus''), formerly known as the ring-tailed rock-wallaby, is a member of the macropod family (the marsupial family that includes the kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, and wallaroos). Descripti ...

. Follow-up funding of fox eradication in the reserve ensured the survival of this last population of yellow-footed rock-wallabies in New South Wales. Of the wild animals,

wedge-tailed eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

, short-billed correllas, zebra finches,

budgerigars The budgerigar ( ; ''Melopsittacus undulatus''), also known as the common parakeet or shell parakeet, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot usually nicknamed the budgie ( ), or in American English, the parakeet. Budgies are the only spe ...

, apostle birds and

magpies Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

can also be found here. The park also protects Mutawintji Historic Site, containing one of the best collections of

Australian Aboriginal 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 ...

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

References

Gallery

File:Hand stencils. Mootwingee. 1976.jpg, Hand stencils. Mootwingee. File:Etched rock figures. Mutawintji National Park.jpg, Etched rock figures. Mutawintji National Park File:Waterhole, Mootwingee.jpg, Waterhole, Mootwingee File:Rock etchings. Mootwingee.jpg, Rock etchings. Mootwingee File:Hand stencil in rock overhang, Mootwingi.jpg, Hand stencils in rock overhang, Mootwingee File:Mootwingee waterhole.jpg, Mootwingee waterhole File:Ancient rock etchings. Mootwinjee.jpg, Ancient rock etchings. Mootwinjee File:Etched human-like figures. Mootwingee.jpg, Etched human-like figures. Mootwingee File:Kangaroos etched on rocks. Mootwingee.jpg, Kangaroos etched on rocks. Mootwingee

External links

* * * ''The Archaeology of Mootwingee,Western New South Wales'' by F. D. McCarthy and N. W. G. Macintosh. Records of the Australian Museum, VOL. XXV, No. 13, 1962, pp. 249–298. National parks of New South Wales Protected areas established in 1998 Rock art in Australia 1998 establishments in Australia Far West (New South Wales) {{NewSouthWales-protected-area-stub

Features and location

See also

References

Gallery

External links