The Victoria Park Nature Reserve 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 ...

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 ...

that is located in the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

region in the state 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 sub-tropical jungle remnant is located an undulating high rainfall plain near . The red-brown soil is derived from a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic flow from the nearby

Mount Warning Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located west-south-west of Mu ...

. Of the total land in the reserve, is original

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

; and the other areas are being re-vegetated.

Features and location

Victoria Park with Black Bean & Pademelon

The reserve is one of a few small nature reserves including the Andrew Johnston Big Scrub,

Hayters Hill The Hayters Hill Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in the Northern Rivers region in the state of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The forest remnant is located on high ground some southwest of Byron Bay. Featu ...

, Davis Scrub, Boatharbour and

Wilsons Peak Wilsons Peak ( Aboriginal: ''Jirramen'') is a mountain on the border of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Much of which is covered in rainforest. It marks the intersection of the Great Dividing Range with the McPherson Range in the ...

flora and nature reserves that conserve rainforests typical of the once extensive

Big Scrub The Big Scrub was the largest area of subtropical lowland rainforest in eastern Australia. It was intensively cleared for agricultural use in the 19th century (1801–1900) by settlers. Less than 1% now remains. Located on the North Coast of New ...

. The Big Scrub comprised of lowland subtropical rainforest which was largely cleared for agriculture in the late 19th century. Victoria Park is a popular area for picnics and barbecues. There is wheelchair access, a wooden boardwalk, pit toilets, tables, gas barbecues and information boards. In this small area, a large diversity of flora exists. 82 tree species are included amongst the 152 plant species.Victoria Park Nature Reserve - pamphlet NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service 1998 Many types of vines, smaller plants and fungi grow here. Most of the animals are nocturnal, though

red-legged pademelon The red-legged pademelon (''Thylogale stigmatica'') is a species of small macropod found on the northeastern coast of Australia and in New Guinea. In Australia it has a scattered distribution from the tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to ...

s are sometimes seen on the edges of the grassy area. Rainforest pigeons such as the

wompoo fruit dove The wompoo fruit dove (''Ptilinopus magnificus''), also known as wompoo pigeon, is one of the larger fruit doves native to New Guinea and eastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies There are generally 7-8 recognised subspecies, ...

are often heard, but rarely seen.

Land mullet The land mullet (''Bellatorias major'') is one of the largest members of the skink family ( Scincidae). Description The species may reach total lengths of up to 60 cm (23.6 inches). They are uniform glossy black to brown, with a paler ring ...

s may be heard crawling on the rainforest floor. Significant

tree species include

Moreton Bay fig ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New So ...

strangler fig Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus ''Ficus'', including those that are commonly known as banyans. Some of the more well-known species are: * ''Ficus altissima'' * ''Ficus aurea'', ...

, long jack, black bean,

white booyong ''Argyrodendron trifoliolatum'' is an Australian rainforest tree. It is native to eastern Queensland and northeastern NSW, Australia, where it is known as white booyong. Booyong, New South Wales is named after the tree. It can grow up to 45 met ...

red bean Red bean is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Adzuki bean (''Vigna angularis''), commonly used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine, particularly as red bean paste * Kidney bean, red variety of ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', commo ...

and bumpy ash. Other notable species include

white bean ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its botanical classification, alo ...

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

, yellow kamala and the rare '' Baloghia marmorata''. A tourist attraction in the early 20th century was a giant

, around tall. Allegedly sighted by

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

from HMS ''Endeavour'' in 1770. The tree was damaged by a storm in 1970 and died soon afterwards. Re-vegetation of the previously cleared farmland is under progress. However, the removal of original jungle vegetation has caused a lack of soil nutrients. Despite this,

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

s are slowly being created to link other nearby rainforest remnants.

References

External links

* * {{Northern Rivers region Nature reserves in New South Wales Forests of New South Wales Northern Rivers Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Australia

Features and location

See also

References

External links