![Muehlenbeckia Lignum swamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Muehlenbeckia_Lignum_swamp.jpg)
The Narran Wetlands, also known as the Narran Lakes, contained within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve, comprise a series of
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 ...
ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
lakes and swamps fed by the
Narran River
Narran River, a watercourse of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Southern Downs district of Queensland and Orana district of New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises south west of Dirranbandi, as a ...
in the
north-west
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
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 ...
,
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 reserve is located approximately east of .
An area contained within the reserve is protected under the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...
as a
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 ...
of international importance. It is internationally important because of its rarity and naturalness; its significance for waterbirds, supporting large colonial waterbird breeding events of
ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
,
spoonbill
Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...
s and
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s; and its importance as a drought refuge for
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 ...
s.
The vegetation and the waterbird colonies are at risk from reduced flooding caused by upstream
water abstraction
Water extraction (or water withdrawal) is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently, for flood control or to obtain water for, for example, irrigation. The extracted water could also be used as drinking wate ...
for agriculture in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
Description
The wetland complex formed by the Narran floodplain is the terminal system of the Narran River, the easternmost
distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
of the
Balonne River
The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia.
Course and features
The river is a continuation of the Condamine River. After flowing th ...
, and lies between the towns of Brewarrina and
Walgett
Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145.
In the 2 ...
, in the
Murray-Darling Basin. The floodplain contains three areas of open water, Clear Lake and Back Lake (with Long Arm) in the north, and Narran Lake (also known as Terewah) in the south, connected by expanses of vegetation subject to flooding. The wetland supports extensive and dense stands of
lignum with, in places, an
overstorey of
river red gums or
belalie. The vegetation constitutes the substrate on which the waterbird breeding colonies depend and which require regular flooding for their survival. The average annual rainfall is . The surrounding region is part of the
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
zone used mainly for grazing cattle and sheep.
[
]
Birds
The wetlands have been identified 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 ...
because they support large numbers of nesting 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 ...
s when flooded. Birds include the largest colony of straw-necked ibises (with up to 200,000 pairs), over 1% of the world populations of Australian pelican
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 ...
s and black-fronted dotterel
The black-fronted dotterel (''Elseyornis melanops'') is a small plover wader in the Charadriidae family.
Description
This shorebird is easily recognizable with its distinct black face mask, forehead and v-shaped band across the chest. Dorsall ...
s, and small numbers of endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
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. Other birds which have been recorded in relatively large numbers include pied
A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...
, little black and great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
s, freckled and pink-eared duck
The pink-eared duck (''Malacorhynchus membranaceus'') is a species of duck found in Australia. It has a large spatulate bill like the Australasian shoveler, but is smaller at 38–40 cm length. Its brown back and crown, black and white barr ...
s, black swan
The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...
s, glossy ibis
The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...
es, whiskered tern
The whiskered tern (''Chlidonias hybrida'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khelidonios'', "swallow-like", from ''khelidon'', "swallow". The specific ''hybridus'' is Latin for ''hybrid''; Peter Simon Palla ...
s, royal spoonbill
The royal spoonbill (''Platalea regia'') also known as the black-billed spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New Z ...
s and darter
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...
s.[
]
History
Yuwaalayaay (also known as ''Uallaroi'', ''Yuwalyai, Euahlayi, Yuwaaliyaay, Gamilaraay, Kamilaroi, Yuwaaliyaayi'') is an Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
spoken on Yuwaalaraay
The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales.
Name and language
The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...
country. It is closely related to the Gamilaraay
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 ...
and Yuwaalaraay
The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales.
Name and language
The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...
languages. The Yuwaalayaay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Shire of Balonne
The Shire of Balonne is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia, over from the state capital, Brisbane. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1879. It is headquartered in its main town, S ...
, including the town of Dirranbandi
Dirranbandi is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the border of Queensland with New South Wales. In the , Dirranbandi had a population of 640 people.
Geography
Dirranbandi is on the ...
as well as the border town of Goodooga
Goodooga is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales in Brewarrina Shire on the eastern bank of the Bokhara River. It is near Brewarrina and Lightning Ridge, its closest neighbour. The town lies south of the Queensland border, and th ...
extending to Walgett
Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145.
In the 2 ...
and the Narran Lakes in New South Wales.'
Archaeological evidence in the form of stone artefacts has dated human occupation in the region to at least 30,000 years. A flat grindstone embedded with plant tissue was used to grind bulrush tubers over 28,000 years ago. ''Giiguradjin'' (the northern Narran Lake area) was once the site of large gatherings (or ''yuurrma-y'' in the Uallaroi language) of Aboriginal people. It is a place where several Dreaming Tracks
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 ...
converge. The lake's creation story is linked to Baayami and relates a struggle between crocodiles. While crocodiles are no longer found in the area, excavations at a paleontological site at nearby Cuddie Springs
Cuddie Springs is a notable archaeological and paleontological site in the semi-arid zone of central northern New South Wales, Australia, near Carinda in Walgett Shire. Cuddie Springs is an open site, with the fossil deposits preserved in a cl ...
that was once a lake during the arid glacial period shows extinct giant kangaroos, the marsupial lion
''Thylacoleo'' ("pouch lion") is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (2 million to 46 thousand years ago). Some of these marsupial lions were the largest mammalian pred ...
, the diprotodon
''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most speci ...
(giant wombat) and at least two species of crocodiles were present.
The explorer Thomas Mitchell is the first known European to visit the Narran Lakes area in 1846. He was guided through the area by local Aboriginal people, and recorded following "well-beaten paths of the natives" as well as "pure water in great abundance" and "most excellent grass". Mitchell recorded that Indigenous people made a paste or bread out of harvested seeds of the Panicum laevinode grasses.
See also
* Protected areas of New South Wales
The Protected areas of New South Wales include both terrestrial and marine protected areas. there are 225 national parks in New South Wales.
Based on the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD) 2020 data there are 2136 separat ...
* Wetlands in New South Wales
References
External links
*
*
{{Lakes of New South Wales , state=autocollapse
Important Bird Areas of New South Wales
Murray-Darling basin
Ramsar sites in Australia
Lakes of New South Wales
North West Slopes
Protected areas established in 1988
1988 establishments in Australia