Witjira National Park

Witjira National Park
South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[1]
Dalhousie Springs in Witjira National Park
Witjira National Park is located in South Australia
Witjira National Park
Witjira National Park
Nearest town or cityFinke
Coordinates26°20′20″S 135°40′30″E / 26.3388494009999°S 135.675051581°E / -26.3388494009999; 135.675051581[1]
Established21 November 1985 (1985-11-21)[2]
Area7,726.73 km2 (2,983.3 sq mi)[3]
Visitation15,000 (in 2009)[4]
Managing authoritiesDepartment for Environment and Water
Witjira Co-management Board
WebsiteWitjira National Park
See alsoProtected areas of South Australia

Witjira National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia about 987 kilometres (613 miles) north of the state capital of Adelaide.[4]

Acacia cyperophylla, growing along 3 O'Clock Creek in Witjira National Park

History

The national park was proclaimed on 21 November 1985 to "protect Australia’s largest array of artesian springs: the nationally significant Dalhousie Mound Springs complex".[2][4] In 2007, it became the first protected area in South Australia to have formal joint management arrangements between its traditional owners and the Government of South Australia.[4]

The extent of land occupied by the national park was gazetted as a locality in April 2013 under the name "Witjira".[5]

On 26 November 2021, the government changed the conditions of the park, to forever exclude mining in the Dalhousie Springs National Heritage Area.[6]

Description

As of 2018, it covered an area of 7,726.73 square kilometres (2,983.31 sq mi).[3]

The national park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.[1] It was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate during or after 1998.[7]

The historic Dalhousie Homestead Ruins, from the former Dalhousie Station, lie within the national park and are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[8]

See also

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 Hopgood, D.J. (21 November 1985). "NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE ACT, 1972: SECTIONS 28 and 43: CONSTITUTION OF WITJIRA NATIONAL PARK" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. South Australian Government. p. 1544. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Protected Areas Information System Reserve List" (PDF). Government of South Australia. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Witjira National Park Management Plan 2009" (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage. May 2009. pp. I, 1 & 55. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Search result for "Witjira (LOCB)" (Record no SA0067224) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and " Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  6. ^ Speirs, David (26 November 2021). "SA now home to Australia's biggest national park". Premier of South Australia. Retrieved 22 December 2021. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence.
  7. ^ "Place ID {{{1}}}". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Dalhousie Homestead Ruins, Witjira National Park". South Australian Heritage Register. Retrieved 12 February 2016.