Nilpena Ediacara National Park

For other uses, see Ediacara.

Nilpena Ediacara National Park
South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[1]
Nilpena Ediacara National Park is located in South Australia
Nilpena Ediacara National Park
Nilpena Ediacara National Park
Nearest town or cityLeigh Creek
Coordinates30°48′20.52″S 138°8′5.28″E / 30.8057000°S 138.1348000°E / -30.8057000; 138.1348000[1]
Established11 November 1993 (1993-11-11)[2]
Managing authoritiesDepartment for Environment and Water
WebsiteNilpena Ediacara National Park
See alsoProtected areas of South Australia

Nilpena Ediacara National Park, which includes the former Ediacara Conservation Park, is a protected area located in the northern Flinders Ranges, in the state of South Australia. It is located about around 551 km (342 mi) north of the city of Adelaide, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-west of the town of Leigh Creek in the state's Far North.

The national park, which includes the Ediacara Hills and covers 60,617 hectares (149,790 acres), was proclaimed in June 2021, and opened in April 2023. It is famous for its fossil beds, and of major significance to the bid for UNESCO World Heritage Listing for the Flinders Ranges.

History

Fossils

A great number of Dickinsonia fossils can be observed in situ within the park

Geologist Reg Sprigg discovered fossils in the Ediacara Hills in 1946. The first evidence of an animal with a head was among these fossils, and is unique to the Flinders Ranges. It was named Spriggina, after Sprigg.[4]

There is a theory that Ediacara is derived from the Adnyamathanha language name "Ithiaka-na-danha, where Ithi means zebra finch and aka – na-danha means "to come out", which is used as the name for the area in which the conservation park was located.[3]: 2  However, there are also other theories as to its origin.

American palaeontologist Mary L. Droser and her family have travelled frequently from their home near Los Angeles to study the fossils on property that was part of Nilpena Station, from around 2001 onwards. South Australian Museum palaeontologist Diego Garcia-Bellido and his team has also been studying the fossils, and hopes that cores extracted by them will reveal the exact age of the fossils by around 2026.[4]

The fossils are of international significance, being the most extensive examples of Ediacaran fossils in the world, although others exist in other places, including Namibia and Russia.[4]

While it is possible to observe these fossils on site, this can only be done through a guided "Fossil Field Exploration Tour", which runs several days a week during the cooler months of the year.[5]

Conservation park

The Ediacara Conservation Park was proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 on 26 April 2007 over land previously declared as a conservation reserve under the Crown Lands Act 1929 in 1993 and as a fossil reserve in 1958.[6][2][7][8][3]: ii [9]

In 2016, the Government of South Australia purchased two-thirds of Nilpena Station from the Fargher family. It is on this land that some valuable fossils were found.[4]

National park

On 28 March 2019, the government purchased 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of adjacent land, to enlarge the conservation park by ten times.[10][11] The land, formerly owned by the Nilpena Pastoral Company, extends as far as Lake Torrens National Park.[12]

The entire area was reclassified and proclaimed as Nilpena Ediacara National Park on 17 June 2021.[13] A visitor hub and Ediacara Fossil experience were planned and development started in 2021.[12][14]

The national park was opened on 27 April 2023.[4]

Description

Fossil bed at Nilpena Ediacara National Park

The national park lies around 551 km (342 mi) north of the city of Adelaide,[15] to the east of Lake Torrens National Park,[14] about 30 kilometres (19 miles) and south-west of the town of Leigh Creek.[3]: 5 

The conservation park was originally created to protect and conserve an "assemblage of fossilised Ediacaran soft-bodied marine organisms of international importance," "places of significance" to the Adnyamathanha people, "remnants of mining history associated with the Ediacara mineral field," and an "important chenopod habitat."[3]: 4  It was classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.[1] The fossil reserve is also listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[16]

Since its opening as a national park in April 2023, Ross and Jane Fargher, who have been working with Jason Irving, head of the national parks program, for seven years, are acting as caretakers of the fossil beds until a ranger is appointed.[4]

The park is major significance to the bid for World Heritage Listing for the Flinders Ranges, which were placed on the tentative list in April 2021.[15] Research by Droser and Garcia-Bellido will be included in the dossier that will be submitted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage nomination, which will be voted on in 2026.[4]

See also

A fossil bed which has been partially excavated (note the camera in the top left)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (refer 'DETAIL' tab )". CAPAD 2016. Australian Government, Department of the Environment (DoE). 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Protected Areas Information System - reserve list (as of 16 July 2015)" (PDF). Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Ediacara Conservation Park Management Plan 2012" (PDF). The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). 2012. pp. ii, 2, 4, 5 & 7. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Dillon, Meagan (21 April 2023). "Set in stone". ABC News. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Nilpena Ediacara Tours". National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  6. ^ "National Parks and Wildlife (Ediacara Conservation Park) Proclamation 2007". The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. 26 April 2007. p. 1354. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Search result for Ediacara Conservation Park (record id no SA0021938)". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI). 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Search result for Ediacara Conservation Reserve (record id no SA0021939)". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI). 2009a. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Ediacara Reserve, Ediacara Station via Beltana, SA, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate (Place ID 7783)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 October 1980. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  10. ^ MacLennan, Leah (28 March 2019). "Ediacara Conservation Park expanded to protect ancient Flinders Ranges fossils". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  11. ^ Finkel, Elizabeth (29 March 2019). "Saving Fossil Hill". Science. 363 (6434). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 1382–1385. Bibcode:2019Sci...363.1382F. doi:10.1126/science.363.6434.1382. PMID 30923206.
  12. ^ a b "Nilpena Ediacara National Park". National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Nilpena is officially a new national park". Department for Environment and Water. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b Birdjan, Tijana (25 June 2021). "SA gets a new national park the size of Singapore". InDaily. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Nilpena Ediacara National Park". National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Ediacara Fossil Reserve Palaeontological Site, Ediacara Conservation Reserve [Note that National Heritage Place 24300 Ediacara Fossil Site - Nilpena is 20km to the south]". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Nilpena Ediacara National Park.