Yellagonga Regional Park is in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, in the

City of Wanneroo The City of Wanneroo is a local government area with city status in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It is centred approximately north of Perth's central business district and forms part of the northern boundary of the Perth ...

and the

City of Joondalup The City of Joondalup is a local government area in Perth, Western Australia. Its central business district is located in the suburb Joondalup, and it includes the town centres of Hillarys and Warwick. History Prior to the 1970s, the region n ...

. The park was established in 1989 by the Western Australian government and protects of land, including of

Wanneroo wetlands The Wanneroo wetlands are a series of wetlands, swamps and lakes that occur on the Swan Coastal Plain of Perth, Western Australia. They are linked very closely to the Gnangara Mound. They are in part, incorporated into the Yellagonga Regiona ...

– including

Lake Joondalup Lake Joondalup is a medium-sized freshwater lake in Perth, Western Australia. It is in the Perth northern suburbs of Joondalup, Wanneroo, and Edgewater. It is a nature reserve and part of the Yellagonga Regional Park. Description Lake Joondal ...

, Beenup Swamp, Walluburnup Swamp and Lake Goollelal. The park contains heritage buildings, including Perry's Cottage, Cockman House and Luisini Winery, and recreation areas such as

Neil Hawkins Park Neil Hawkins Park is a park located in Joondalup, Western Australia. It is beside Lake Joondalup, and part of the Yellagonga Regional Park. The park was named for Neil Campbell Hawkins CBE JP, a chairman of the former Metropolitan Regional Pl ...

. It is named after

Yellagonga Yellagonga (d. 1843) was a leader of the Whadjuk Noongar on the north side of the Swan River. Colonists saw Yellagonga as the owner of this area. However, land rights were also traced through women of the group. Yellagonga could hunt on wetlands ...

, leader of the

Mooro The Mooro are a Nyungar Aboriginal clan, a subgroup of the Whadjuk. Their territory stretches from the Swan River in Perth north to the Moore River beyond the northern limits of metropolitan Perth and east to Ellen Brook. Evidence of Aborigi ...

people.

History

Under the Perth

Metropolitan Region Scheme The Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) provides the legal basis for land use planning within the Perth metropolitan region. It classifies land into broad zones and reservations and is administered by the Western Australian Planning Commission. I ...

, much of the park's area was reserved in 1975. The park was named Yellagonga Regional Park in 1990, in honour of the regional

Whadjuk Whadjuk, alternatively Witjari, are Noongar (Aboriginal Australian) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain. Name The ethnonym appears to derive from ''whad'', the Whadjuk word for "no". Countr ...

Noongar leader during European settlement,

. For local

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

the area forms part of their Dreaming. The site also has historical significance related to the development of the

Geography and species

Yellagonga Regional Park consists of high elevation sloping dunes, separated by interdunal swales that contain the park's lakes and wetlands. The western side of the park is quite steep, with a central plateau of up to elevation. The eastern and southern parts of the park have a gentler slope towards Lake Goollelal and Walluburnup Swamp. In 1996, the Department of Environmental Protection identified 217 species of flora, including 103 introduced species. The park has no recorded species of Declared Rare Flora but does have significant species, such as '' Jacksonia sericea'', ''

Conostylis bracteata ''Conostylis'' is a genus of perennial herbs in the Haemodoraceae family, commonly known as cone flowers. All species are endemic to the south west of Western Australia. Taxonomy The genus is the most speciose of the Haemodoraceae family, and ...

'', ''

Hibbertia cuneiformis ''Hibbertia cuneiformis'', commonly known as cut-leaf hibbertia, is species of erect or sprawling shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It grows to between tall and has yellow flowers which appear from January to March o ...

'', ''

Amyema miquelii ''Amyema miquelii'', also known as box mistletoe, is a species of flowering plant, an epiphytic hemiparasitic plant of the family Loranthaceae, found attached to several species of Australian eucalypt and occasionally on some species of Acacia. ...

'', ''

Lechenaultia linarioides ''Lechenaultia linarioides'', commonly named yellow leschenaultia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas in the west of Western Australia. It is a sprawling subshrub with many tangled bra ...

'' and ''

Ricinocarpus glaucus ''Acalypha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole genus of the subtribe Acalyphinae. It is one of the largest euphorb genera, with approximately 450 to 462 species. The genus name ''Acalypha'' is from the ...

''.

Over 120 bird species have been recorded in the park, with 18 species using the park for breeding grounds. A number of the recorded species are migratory birds recognised under international agreements. Three species of birds found in the park ( Carnaby's cockatoo,

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 ...

and

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 ...

) are protected under the ''

Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...

''. The impact of humans on Yellagonga National Park is extensive in areas. Many areas were previously used for farming and these are still being rehabilitated. The grassed parkland areas have led to the invasion of natural areas by aggressive introduced grass species, and weeds are also an issue. Development of roads, utilities (such as power lines and drainage outlets) and service corridors has degraded the natural landscape. Erosion is also a problem in areas, caused by tracks and pathways created by pedestrians in unsuitable locations such as slopes.

Historical significance

The park contains three locations listed on the Western Australian Heritage Register: Perry's Paddock, Cockman House and Luisini Winery. Two

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

claims have also been made on areas of the park by

Aboriginal Australians 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 ...

Perry's Paddock, at Lot 1 Ocean Reef Road, is a registered heritage site. Land tenure is held by the

Western Australian Planning Commission The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural and regional land use. The authori ...

and it is part of the

. Perry's Paddock is notable because it is the location of

Wanneroo Wanneroo is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo. Geography As it is on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Wanneroo wetlands stretch parallel to the coastline and to the north and south of the suburb. Education W ...

's first land grant, surveyed in 1838, and Picnic Race Days were held at the site in the 1920s. Perry's Cottage was built around 1850 and is an example of a building based on an English design adapted to local conditions. The cottage was restored in 2012. The paddock used to contain the original Wanneroo Primary School building. This was moved to the site by the City of Wanneroo in 1992 as part of a planned historical village that did not go ahead. In 2007 the City of Wanneroo approved moving the school building to Neville Park at a cost of approximately $250,000, after concerns about bushfires at Yellagonga Regional Park. The move was completed on 10 March 2009. Cockman House is a house built for settler James Cockman around 1870, and it is the oldest residence in Wanneroo. Luisini Winery, located on Lakeway Drive in Kingsley, was built in 1929. There are two heritage trails within Yellagonga Regional Park, the Lake Joondalup Trail and the Yaberoo-Budjara Heritage Trail. The Lake Joondalup Trail explores the development of Wanneroo, and the Yaberoo-Budjara Trail between Lake Joondalup and

Yanchep National Park Yanchep is a national park in Western Australia, north of Perth adjacent to the locality of the same name Yanchep. The park is noted for its caves, native bush and koala colonies. It also offers cultural educational programmes offered in partne ...

explores areas of significance to Aboriginal Australians and European settlement.

Development

There have been ongoing proposals for developments in Yellagonga Regional Park. The City of Joondalup and the City of Wanneroo commissioned a feasibility study for an environment centre at the park in 2007. The study recommended the environment centre's placement at Lot 1 Lakeside Drive, Joondalup or Scenic Drive, Wanneroo. The City of Joondalup called for additional consultation and studies in March 2008, particularly on the financing the construction and running of the environment centre and its education programs. The

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

has proposed redeveloping Luisini Winery to create a museum of early winemaking and wine appreciation. Their proposal, which also includes a restaurant, environment centre and car park, was approved by the City of Joondalup on 27 March 2007. The park was allocated funds by the Department of Environment and Conservation in September 2008 to build roads, a shelter, and bicycle and pedestrian paths.

References

External links

* Parks and Wildlife Service
Yellagonga Regional Park
{{Authority control Heritage places of Western Australia Joondalup Wanneroo wetlands 1989 establishments in Australia Parks in Perth, Western Australia Regional parks in Western Australia