Freshwater 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 ...

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_ ...

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 ...

, 34 km north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The park is west of Redcliffe, near Deception Bay, within

Caboolture Shire The Shire of Caboolture was a local government area located in the Australian state of Queensland on the northern urban fringe of the capital, Brisbane, and south of the Sunshine Coast. The Shire covered an area of , of which approximately o ...

. The park's vegetation is a remnant of the Open

Sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...

Woodland which was once common in this area. The dominant

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s are ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' species, notably scribbly gum - ''

Eucalyptus racemosa ''Eucalyptus racemosa'', commonly known as snappy gum or narrow-leaved scribbly gum, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved or egg-shaped adult leaves, ...

'' with smooth white trunks, and some ''

Angophora ''Angophora'' is a genus of nine species of trees and shrubs in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Endemic to eastern Australia, they differ from other eucalypts in having juvenile and adult leaves arranged in opposite pairs, sepals reduced to projec ...

'' species, while the

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

layer varies from an Open Heath area dominated by low grasstrees in the south of the park, to dense ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

'' stands, and small

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y areas with paperbark trees (''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' sp.). A small

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

runs through the north end of the park. Sighted in the Open Heath area are low growing plants such as the fringed lilly '' Thysanotus tuberosus'', tall sundew ''

Drosera peltata ''Drosera peltata'', commonly called the shield sundewSalmon, Bruce. 2001. ''Carnivorous Plants of New Zealand''. Ecosphere Publications. or pale sundew,Erickson, Rica. 1968. ''Plants of Prey in Australia''. Lamb Paterson Pty. Ltd.: Osborne Park, ...

'', which is a carnivorous plant, flat-stemmed cord rush '' Eurychorda complanata'' and Wallum grevillea '' Grevillea leiophylla'', which is a delicate pink flowered grevillea growing to only about 30 cm. This is only a small selection of the numerous beautiful plants to be found in this park. This park is one of the few protected places of Open Woodland/Low Heathland in the area. Much of this type of vegetation has been cleared for development. Though very small, and surrounded by development, roads and a highway, the park is rich with wildlife. In spring it teams with birds, most noticeable being the many species of

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

s. Australian

fairywren The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...

s such as the beautiful blue

variegated fairywren The variegated fairywren (''Malurus lamberti'') is a fairywren that lives in eastern Australia. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non ...

and the brilliant red and black

red-backed fairywren The red-backed fairywren (''Malurus melanocephalus'') is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines ...

both occur here. In a very large old

gum tree Gum tree is a common name for smooth-barked trees and shrubs in several genera: *Eucalypteae, particularly: **''Eucalyptus'', which includes the majority of species of gum trees. **''Corymbia'', which includes the ghost gums and spotted gums. **''A ...

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 ...

s have made a nest, and the adults are often seen soaring over the park. Calls from

white-throated gerygone The white-throated gerygone (''Gerygone olivacea'') is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), offici ...

spangled drongo The spangled drongo (''Dicrurus bracteatus'') is a bird of the family Dicruridae. It is the only drongo to be found in Australia, where it can be recognised by its black, iridescent plumage and its characteristic forked tail. It feeds on insect ...

s and rainbow bee-eaters make a pleasant background sound in the park. The

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

fauna is rich, with many species of dragonflies and

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

being quite obvious in summer. The magnificent large dragonfly '' Hemianax papuensis'' hawks through the park all year long, while in summer the beautiful '' Rhyothemis graphiptera'', with wings barred with glistening dark purple, waft slowly along the tracks, and deep red ''

Diplacodes bipunctata '' Diplacodes bipunctata'' (''Māori: tiemiemi)'' is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, known as the wandering percher or red percher dragonfly. Description ''Diplacodes bipunctata'' is a small to medium-sized dragonfly with a win ...

'' males sun themselves on twigs low to the ground.

References

National parks of South East Queensland Protected areas established in 1973 1973 establishments in Australia {{Queensland-national-park-stub

See also

References