Willandra National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Willandra National ParkNew South Wales |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 Willandra National Park
Location in New South Wales
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| Nearest town or city | Hillston |
| Established | May 1972 |
| Area | 193.86 km2 (74.8 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service |
| Website | Willandra National Park |
| See also | Protected areas of New South Wales |
The Willandra National Park is a special protected area in the Far West of New South Wales, Australia. It is a national park that helps protect nature. This park covers about 19,386 hectares (that's like 19,386 football fields!). It is located about 580 kilometers west of Sydney. The park has flat, grassy plains. To the north, you'll find Willandra Creek, which flows into the Lachlan River.
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Discovering Willandra National Park's Location
Willandra National Park was created in May 1972. It is in a quiet, remote area. The park is about 150 kilometers northwest of Griffith. It is also about 64 kilometers by road from Hillston. The land around the park is mostly used for raising sheep and cattle. Many roads in this area are unsealed dirt roads. They can become very slippery and hard to use after it rains. The weather here is semi-arid. This means it has very hot summers and cold winters. The park sits on the northern edge of the Riverina Plain. This plain is part of the Murray Basin lowlands.
A Journey Through Willandra's History
People have lived in the Willandra area for a very long time. It is thought that Aboriginal people lived here at least 15,000 years ago. Willandra Creek was a natural border. It separated the Wiradjuri people to the south from the Wongaibon people to the north.
Early European Settlement and Changes
Europeans first settled in this area in the 1830s. At first, there were not many settlers. This allowed the Aboriginal people to continue their traditional way of life. But in the 1870s and early 1880s, things changed. Many fences, buildings, and dams were built. This was the first step of permanent European settlement. In 1894, Willandra was taken over by the London Bank of Melbourne. This happened after its previous owners, the Whittingham Brothers, faced financial problems.
Willandra as a Famous Sheep Property
After 1894, Arthur and Frank Laird managed Willandra. Under their care, it became a very famous sheep property. Willandra won many awards for its high-quality Merino sheep. In 1912, the Vickery Partnership bought Willandra. Soon after, the area suffered from a two-year drought. By 1914, the number of sheep had dropped to 10,000. Many animals had to be moved away because of the dry conditions.
The property reached its best as a sheep stud in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1931, they sheared 96,943 sheep. This produced 3,243 bales of wool. The property also grew to cover a huge area of 436,000 acres (about 176,400 hectares). A new main house was built in 1918. This house is still standing today and visitors can stay there. Many other buildings were added over the years. The property even had a tennis court, a croquet lawn, and fruit orchards. It was, and still is, like a green oasis in a dry landscape.
Becoming a National Park
Even with high wool prices in the 1950s, Willandra started to decline as a major farming property. A long drought after the Second World War made things worse. In 1960, the New Zealand and Australian Land Company bought Willandra. Its size then became smaller, about 178,055 acres (72,056 hectares). However, the property became successful again for a while. It had up to 22 staff working there.
In 1969, a company called Dalgety plc bought the property. But they decided not to renew the farming leases when they ended in 1971. When the leases expired, the NSW Government took back the land. Willandra National Park was officially created in 1972. Since then, the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service has managed the park. In the late 1990s, a big project restored the old buildings. They now look as good as new. Some of these buildings are available for people to stay in.
Heritage Sites in Willandra National Park
Willandra National Park has some important places that are protected for their history. These are called heritage-listed sites. One of these is:
Plants and Animals of Willandra
The park is very flat with no tall hills. Most of it is grassland. Trees only grow along the waterways and around the dry lakes. The low woodlands have trees like black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) and River Cooba (Acacia stenophylla). Before Europeans arrived, the plains likely had saltbush, cotton bush, and native grasses. But over 100 years of grazing by farm animals have changed this. The plants and animals here are not exactly the same as they were before European settlement.
Even so, Willandra is an important home for many native animals. These include the emu and the threatened Plains-wanderer bird. You can also find red and grey kangaroos and echidnas. Many types of reptiles live here too. These include Gould's Sand Goanna and the Mulga Brown Snake.
