Dryandra Woodland National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dryandra Woodland National Park |
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| Noongar: Wilgadjny | |
Entrance to Dryandra Woodland on the Narrogin-Wandering road
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| Location | Wheatbelt, Western Australia |
| Established |
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| Named for | Banksia ser. Dryandra |
| Official name | Dryandra Woodland |
| Type | Natural |
| Designated | 21 March 1978 |
| Reference no. | 9928 |
| Place File Number | 5/06/094/0001 |
The Dryandra Woodland National Park is a special place in Western Australia. It's located about 164 kilometres (102 miles) south-east of Perth. This park is made up of 17 different areas of woodland. These areas are spread out over 50 kilometres (31 miles). They are separated by farms and other cleared land.
The park is managed by the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. It's considered one of the state's most important conservation areas. Even though parts of it were used for logging in the past, many threatened animals are now making a comeback. This is happening because harmful animals like foxes and feral cats are being removed.
The total area of the woodland is about . The different sections range in size from small (87 hectares (0.34 square miles)) to very large (12,283 hectares (47.42 square miles)). Dryandra Woodland became a national park on 17 January 2022. It's also important to the local Noongar people, who have strong cultural ties to the area.
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What is Dryandra Woodland Like?
Dryandra Woodland is in a gently rolling landscape. This area was formed from very old rocks like granite. The soil here is often laterite.
The woodland is on the edge of Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. It's a rare piece of the open eucalypt forests that once covered much of this area. Most of these forests were cleared for farming starting in the 1890s.
Dryandra has a mix of plants found in wetter forests and drier wheatbelt areas. It's famous for its large groups of wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) and powderbark wandoo (E. accedens) trees. These trees provide a safe home for native plants and animals. Much of the land around the park is affected by saltiness.
Other trees like jarrah (E. marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) also grow here. The lower plants include rock sheoak (Allocasuarina huegeliana) and many Banksia ser. Dryandra shrubs. The woodland is named after these Dryandra shrubs. Some types include golden dryandra (Banksia nobilis) and prickly dryandra (B. armata). There's also a special garden called an arboretum with many Australian native plants.
The 17 parts of Dryandra are like islands in a sea of farmland. Sometimes, strips of uncleared land along roads connect these "islands." Some farmers nearby have even planted trees to create more connections between these areas. This helps animals move safely between different parts of the woodland to find food, shelter, and mates.
Amazing Animals of Dryandra
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Dryandra is a safe haven for many native animals. The Barna Mia animal sanctuary within the park gives extra protection to threatened animals. You can even visit Barna Mia at night by appointment to see some of these creatures!
Some of the native marsupials (pouched animals) you might find include:
- The woylie (Bettongia penicillata)
- The bilby (Macrotis lagotis)
- The mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus)
- The boodie (Bettongia lesueur)
- The marl (western barred bandicoot: Perameles bougainville)
The park is also home to many birds, with at least 98 different species. One special bird is the almost flightless malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata).
The weather in Dryandra is like a warm, dry Mediterranean climate. It has about seven to eight dry months each year. The average rainfall is about 500 millimetres (20 in).
Protecting Animals and Plants
Dryandra Woodland is very important for protecting animals that are in danger. Here are some of the threatened animals living in the woodland:
| Common name | Scientific name | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Brush-tailed bettong (also known as woylie) |
Bettongia penicillata | Critically endangered |
| Red-tailed phascogale | Phascogale calura | Near threatened |
| Short-billed black-cockatoo (also known as Carnaby's black cockatoo) |
Calyptorhynchus latirostris | Endangered |
| Numbat | Myrmecobius fasciatus | Vulnerable |
| Chuditch (also known as western quoll) |
Dasyurus geoffroii | Near threatened |
| Malleefowl | Leipoa ocellata | Vulnerable |
Dryandra is especially important because it has large groups of three nationally endangered species: the woylie, the red-tailed phascogale, and over half of all the known numbats in the world!
There's a great success story with the numbats. After efforts to remove feral cats, the number of numbats in Dryandra Woodland grew to 35 by November 2020. This is a big improvement from only 10 in 2019 and 5 in 2018. It's the most numbats recorded since the 1990s!
More than 800 types of native plants have been found in Dryandra Woodland. Fifteen of these are considered "priority species." This means they are rare but have some populations in areas where they are not in immediate danger.
The Story of Mallet Trees
In the early 1900s, a big industry started in Dryandra. People harvested bark from brown mallet trees (Eucalyptus astringens). This bark was special because it had a lot of tannins. Tannins are used to make leather.
By the 1920s, most of the natural mallet trees were gone. So, from 1925 to 1962, new mallet plantations were planted. During the Great Depression, this work gave jobs to many people. They planted about 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of mallet trees.
Trains and a sawmill helped the mallet industry. Two dams, Lol Gray and Old Mill Dam, provided water for the trains and for nearby towns. The mallet bark was ground up and sent overseas. But by the early 1960s, the industry ended because of too much mallet in the world and higher costs.
Today, about 30% of Dryandra (8,300 hectares (21,000 acres)) is replanted forest. Trees are still harvested from these areas for timber. This is done carefully to make sure it doesn't harm the animals or plants.
A local farmer named Arthur Hunter started making tool handles from wandoo and mallet wood in 1960. This small business now makes over 100,000 tool handles every year! Other local jobs come from making fences and cutting firewood.
Noongar People and Dryandra
The Dryandra area is the traditional land of the Wiilman subgroup of the Aboriginal Noongar people. They have strong cultural connections to Dryandra, which they call Wilgadjny.
Five important old sites have been found in the park. These include a special ochre pit. Ochre is a natural pigment used for body decoration and rock art. One Noongar elder born in 1910 said the ochre pit was "a very spirity place" and a place to avoid at night. Other sites include old stone tools and a scarred tree. The woodland has not yet been fully explored for all its Aboriginal sites.
In 1995, local Aboriginal people asked to be allowed to do some cultural activities in the woodland, like hunting and camping. This would help them teach traditional skills to younger generations. If allowed, these activities would be managed carefully to protect the park's conservation goals.
Park History
Most of the land in Dryandra was set aside as a state forest in 1903. This was to protect water sources and grow wandoo and mallet trees.
Over the years, experts recommended that Dryandra be managed to protect its amazing wildlife. They said it should be treated like a nature reserve. These recommendations were officially approved in 1976. Since then, Dryandra has been mainly managed as a nature reserve, but also for some timber production.
In 1995, a plan was made to manage the area. This plan suggested calling the entire area "Dryandra Woodland." This name shows that it's different from the taller, denser forests found elsewhere. The main goals of the plan were:
- To protect nature, allow recreation, and produce timber. In the future, timber production would focus on research.
- To "maintain and restore the natural environment." This includes protecting and helping people learn about the native plants, animals, and important historical sites.
Visiting Dryandra Woodland
About 30,000 people visit Dryandra Woodland every year. Around 5,000 of them stay overnight at the campgrounds or the Lions Dryandra Village. The Lions Village uses old cottages from the 1920s that were once homes for forestry workers. There's also the Currawong Complex, which has buildings that can house up to 60 people in groups. The Lions Clubs started this village in 1972 to provide holiday camps for children who needed them.
You can explore Dryandra on two self-drive tours. These tours are 20 km (12 mi) and 25 km (16 mi) long. You follow a marked trail in your own car. At certain stops, a radio broadcast plays through your car's FM radio. These broadcasts tell you interesting facts about the area. Some are like conversations from early forestry workers, while others explain about plants or animals. For example, one stop talks about the naturally poisonous pea plant (Gastrolobium spp). This plant has a poison that is deadly to introduced animals like foxes, but native animals have developed a tolerance to it. This is why programs like the Western Shield project use this poison to control foxes without harming native wildlife.
You can also go bushwalking on signposted trails. These walks range from 30 minutes to five hours, and from 1 to 12.5 kilometres (0.62 to 7.77 mi) long.
