Pilungah Reserve, formerly Cravens Peak Reserve, is a

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 ...

in Central West Queensland, Australia, south-west of

Boulia Boulia () is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia. In the , Boulia had a population of 301 people. Boulia is the administrative centre of the Boulia Shire, population approximately 600, which covers an area ...

and south of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

. It lies at the northern end of the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The desert ...

and includes parts of the bioregions known as the Simpson-Strezlecki Dunefields and Channel Country. Its western boundary borders the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is owned by

Bush Heritage Australia Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It's vision is: Heal ...

(BHA).

History

Pilungah contains fish

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

period. The

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of Pilungah are the Wangkamadla (also spelt Wanggamala, Wangkamahdla, Wongkamala) people. The area was at the heart of the trade route stretching from the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

in the north right down to  South Australia along which the local narcotic plant,

pituri Pituri, also known as mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant (or, after extended use, a depressant) by Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered from any of several specie ...

, was exchanged for stone knives, seashells, and

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

s made out of the tusks of dugongs.

Rock painting 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 ...

s and significant sites exist in the reserve. It later became a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

that was operated as a beef cattle station until acquisition by BHA, and named Cravens Peak Reserve. It has been owned and managed by

(BHA) since 2005, when they purchased it using a bequest by Gay Bell. A reason for acquisition of the property was the need to help conserve the

Mulligan River The Mulligan River is a tributary of Eyre Creek in the Channel Country region of southwest Queensland. It is in the Lake Eyre Basin. The river rises in Glenormiston Station and flows generally south through Marion Downs Station into Eyre Cree ...

catchment. The reserve lies adjacent to Ethabuka Reserve, acquired by BHA in 2004. Len and Joanna Rule were the Bush Heritage managers from 2006 to 2008.BHA: Cravens Peak Reserve
/ref> BHA have nurtured and developed relationships with the Wangkamadla people since 2009, and in 2014 signed a Cultural Heritage Management Agreement with them. In October 2021, the reserve was renamed Pilungah Reserve, the name taken from a

freshwater spring A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

that was culturally significant to the Wangkamadla people, the

of the land, before it was destroyed by a former owner of the property. In July 2021, the Wangkamahdla people won native title rights to over west and southwest of Boulia, stretching from around

Bedourie, Queensland Bedourie is a town and a locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bedourie had a population of 122 people. Geography Bedourie is located in the Channel Country of Central West Queensland, Australia, lying on Eyre ...

, across to the

border, including Cravens Peak and part of the

Munga-Thirri National Park Munga-Thirri National Park, formerly known as the Simpson Desert National Park, is the largest national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,495 km west of Brisbane. The park covers an area of in the Simpson Desert surrounding Poeppel Corner i ...

Landscape and ecology

Pilungah is composed of rocky hills and plains, with the Toomba Range of the western section being the highest and most rugged, and the eastern section dominated by

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

fields and the associated swales, with gibber plains in the south. There are ephemeral claypans and waterholes in the catchment of the Mulligan River. Management needs to address previous

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

, control of introduced herbivores and predators, as well as fire ecology.

Flora and fauna

The relatively moist environment provides an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

and retreat for desert animals when it is too dry for them. Vegetation communities include

Mitchell grass ''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass afte ...

plains; coolabah and gidgee woodlands; mallee; and hummock ( spinifex) and

plains. The reserve is part of the

Simpson Desert Important Bird Area The Simpson Desert Important Bird Area comprises some 22,848 km2 of land within the Simpson Desert in south-western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia. It consists of five large contiguous reserves subject to little grazing p ...

(IBA), 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 ...

for its importance in conserving suitable habitat for

Eyrean grasswren The Eyrean grasswren (''Amytornis goyderi'') is a small grasswren from the Passerine family Maluridae. This is a cryptically plumaged and uncommon bird endemic to arid regions of Central Australia. The species was discovered by F.W. Andrews i ...

s. Other birds include the

grey falcon The grey falcon (''Falco hypoleucos'') is a medium-sized falcon native to Australia, possibly the rarest. It is uncommon throughout its range and is currently classified as Vulnerable. Taxonomy The description of the species was published by ...

painted finch The painted finch (''Emblema pictum'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. The painted finch acquired its name due to the red and white spotted and mottled underparts of both males and females. The binomial comes from embl ...

, Australian bustard, and

spinifex pigeon The spinifex pigeon (''Geophaps plumifera''), also known as the plumed-pigeon or gannaway pigeon, is one of four endemic Australian bird species within the genus ''Geophaps''. It occurs within a broader group known as bronzewing pigeons. This sp ...

. The claypans and waterholes are important for

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

conservation. The reserve is also home to an abundance of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, including the rare

Woma python The woma python (''Aspidites ramsayi''), also known commonly as Ramsay's python, the sand python,O'Connor F (2008)Western Australian Reptile Species.Birding Western Australia. Accessed 20 September 2007.Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of th ...

, Ariadna's ctenotus (a rare

skink Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...

), and the

ridge-tailed monitor The spiny-tailed monitor (''Varanus acanthurus''), also known as the Australian spiny-tailed monitor, the ridge-tailed monitor the Ackie's dwarf monitor, and colloquially simply ackie monitor, is an Australian species of lizard belonging to the ...

, as well as the

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

s such as the vulnerable nocturnal

mulgara Mulgaras are the two small rat-sized species in the genus ''Dasycercus''. They are marsupial carnivores, closely related to the Tasmanian devil and the quolls, that live in deserts and spinifex grasslands of arid Australia. They are nocturnal, ...

and the tiny inland ningaui.

References

External links

Bush Heritage Australia
* {{BHA Reserves Bush Heritage Australia reserves Nature reserves in Queensland 2005 establishments in Australia Important Bird Areas of Queensland