__NOTOC__ Myponga Conservation Park (formerly the Myponga National Park) 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 Myponga about south 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-south-west of the town of Myponga. The conservation park consists of land in the sections 269 and 270 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Myponga. The land first received protected area status as the ''Myponga National Park'' proclaimed on 24 February 1972 under the ''National Parks Act 1966''. On 27 April 1972, the national park was reconstituted under 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 the ''Myponga Conservation Park''. As of 2018, it covered an area of . The

Heysen Trail The Heysen Trail is a long distance walking trail in South Australia. It runs from Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges via the Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is approximately in length. Route summary From ...

, the long-distance walking trail, enters from the south at the south-east corner of section 269 and passes through and along the west side of the section. In 1980, the conservation park was described as follows:

Myponga Conservation Park preserves an area with a diverse and interesting flora that supports a mammalian and avian fauna representative of that of the Fleurieu Peninsula of particular note is the presence of the locally endangered short-nosed bandicoot (''
Isoodon obesulus The southern brown bandicoot (''Isoodon obesulus'') is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. A subspecies in Western Australia is also known as the quenda in Southwest Australia, South Western Australia ...
'') and the rare plants '' Casuarina striata'' and '' Cheiranthera cyanea''… This park which occupies hilly terrain typical of the Fleurieu Peninsula, contains a diverse flora that falls into three main structural forms. The areas of better soils near creeks and along ridges have a low open forest of ''
Eucalyptus leucoxylon ''Eucalyptus leucoxylon'', commonly known as yellow gum, blue gum or white ironbark, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth yellowish bark with some rough bark near the bas ...
'' and '' obliqua''. Open scrub of '' E. cosmophylla'' with depauperate '' E. fasciculosa'' and ''E. leucoxylon'' over a dense understorey of ''
Hakea ''Hakea'' ( ) is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family ''Proteaceae'', endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are s ...
'', ''
Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'' and ''
Xanthorrhoea ''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of Succulent plant, succulent flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae. They are Endemism, endemic to Australia. Common names for the plants include grasstree, grass gum-tree (for resin-yie ...
'' series covers the hill slope areas with patches of closed heath of the same species… Myponga Conservation Park is substantially undisturbed although surrounded by cultural environments.

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

Myponga Conservation Park webpage on the Protected Planet websiteMyponga Conservation Park webpage on the BirdsSA website
{{Protected areas of South Australia, state=collapsed Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1972 1972 establishments in Australia South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

See also

References

External links