__NOTOC__ Cudlee Creek Conservation Park (formerly Cudlee Creek National Park Reserve) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

located in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

in the locality of Cudlee Creek in the

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

state government region about south-east of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and about south-west of the town centre in

Gumeracha Gumeracha ( ) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. The region relies heavily on gra ...

. The conservation park consists of land in section 57 in the cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Talunga The Hundred of Talunga is a cadastral hundred of the County of Adelaide, South Australia, spanning the Torrens Valley in the Adelaide Hills.

which is bounded to the east by Gorge Road and in part by the

Torrens River The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

whose watercourse is located within the conservation park's boundaries at times. It was proclaimed on 29 April 1971 as the ''Cudlee Creek National Parks Reserve'' under the National Parks Act 1966. It was reconstituted on 27 April 1972 as the '' Cudlee Creek Conservation Park'' upon the proclamation of the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separat ...

''. As of 2016, it covered an area of . In 1980, it was described as follows:

A small park with open forest representative of the Adelaide hills region and containing excellent bird habitat. The River Torrens flows through a portion of the park, where native hydrophyllic species are preserved. … consisting of a steep hillside clothed with ''
Eucalyptus obliqua ''Eucalyptus obliqua'', commonly known as messmate stringybark or messmate, but also known as brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...
'' / '' E. goniocalyx'' / '' E. viminalis'' open forest over an understorey of ''
Pteridium esculentum ''Pteridium esculentum'', commonly known as bracken fern, Austral bracken or simply bracken, is a species of the bracken genus native to a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. ''Esculentum'' means edible. First described as ''Pteris ...
''. On the lower slopes and along the river course '' E. camaldulensis'' open forest over ''
Acacia melanoxylon ''Acacia melanoxylon'', commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an ''Acacia'' species native to south-eastern Australia. The species is also known as blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belon ...
'' and ''
Banksia marginata ''Banksia marginata'', commonly known as the silver banksia, is a species of tree or shrub in the family Proteaceae found throughout much of southeastern Australia. It ranges from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to north of Armidale, New ...
'' occur. The steep slopes are in disturbed natural condition but the lower slopes and riverbank are dominated by an understorey of blackberry (''
Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...
'' sp.) and some gorse (''
Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves ...
'').

The conservation park is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Category III protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

References

External links

Cudlee Creek Conservation Park webpage on the Protected Planet website
{{Protected areas of South Australia, state=collapsed Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1971 1971 establishments in Australia Adelaide Hills South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

See also

References

External links