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The Benambra National Park is a protected national park that is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-east of Albury, 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of Culcairn, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Holbrook, New South Wales, in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia.[2] The park is almost entirely surrounded by private land, however access can be gained by contacting the National Parks & Wildlife Service.

Benambra National Park New South Wales
IUCN category II (national park)
Benambra National Park
Nearest town or city	Holbrook
Coordinates	35°46′50.1″S 147°05′54.6″E
Established	January 2001 (2001-01)[1]
Area	13.99 km2 (5.4 sq mi)[2]
Managing authorities	NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Website	Benambra National Park
See also	Protected areas of New South Wales

History

Benambra National Park was initially declared a forest reserve in 1879, and in 1918 it was reclassified as state forest.[2] The national park was gazetted in 2001, to protect remnant areas of White Box and Red Box woodlands, which have been extensively cleared across New South Wales.[1] The park has a history of use for grazing and small scale timber harvesting for firewood and fencing.[2]

In 1985 the entire park was burnt, after a lightning strike started a fire north-west of the reserve, which then burnt through park and stopped on a property adjacent to the eastern boundary of the park.[2]

Features

Benambra National Park is situated at the northern end of the Great Yambla Range, a prominent 23 kilometres (14 mi) long outcrop of cliff faces and flat-topped peaks, which forms part of the Lachlan Fold Belt.[2] The park has an altitudinal range between 328 metres (1,076 ft) and 646 metres (2,119 ft) above sea level, covering steeply sloping hills, with only the north-eastern section of the national park being on relatively flat, low-lying country.[2]

A large cave known as 'Morgan's Cave' exists within the park, which was reputedly used in the 1860s as a refuge by the notorious bushranger Dan Morgan.[2]

Access

The park is almost entirely surrounded by private land.[2] There is no public vehicle access to the park, however access to the park for activities such as bushwalking and birdwatching, can be gained by contacting the National Parks & Wildlife Service office in Tumut.[2][1]

Flora

The park comprises several vegetation communities.[3] Red Box-White Box-Dry Shrub Open Forest makes up 69 percent of the park, Red Box-Long-leaved Box Grassy Forest makes up 8 percent, Red Box Swampy Flat Woodland makes up 7 percent, Dwyer's Red Gum-Black Cypress Pine Grass Woodland makes up 5 percent, and 2 percent is Currawang Wattle-Drooping She-oak Shrubland.[3] Woolly ragwort, listed as Vulnerable in NSW under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016,[4] occurs within Benambra National Park.[2][3]

Invasive plants found in the park include St. John's wort, Paterson's curse and Tree of Heaven.[2]

Fauna

Threatened birds recorded in the park include Black-chinned honeyeater, Regent honeyeater, Grey-crowned babbler, Hooded robin, Diamond firetail, Painted honeyeater, Swift parrot, Turquoise parrot, Brown treecreeper, and Speckled warbler.[2][3] Threatened mammals recorded in the park include Southeastern long-eared bat, Squirrel glider, Eastern pygmy possum and Yellow-footed antechinus.[2][3] Reptiles found in the park include the Yellow-faced whipsnake.[5]

Several introduced pest species occur, including the European fox, feral goat, feral cat and European rabbit.[2]

See also

• Protected areas of New South Wales
• List of national parks of Australia

References

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