IUCN Management Category II (National Park)

Biogeographical Province 6.04.06 (Western Sclerophyll)

Geographical Location Situated on the south-west coast of Western Australia, the park lies adjacent to the town of Cervantes in the Central Region. Namburg is located to the south of Jurien Bay, 244km north-west of Perth. 30°35'S, 115°09'E

Date and History of Establishment Established under state legislation as a national park on 9 August 1968. Land was first set aside to protect the caves in 1956 but the pinnacle desert area and present park were not included until 1968.

Area 17,491ha: 20% A class, 80% C class

Land Tenure State; ca. 5% private property

Altitude Sea-level to 130m

Physical Features The park includes coastal sand beaches, dune systems and deserts, along with an unique series of limestone columns or pinnacles. In the 'pinnacle desert' are thousands of limestone pillars up to five metres high and two metres thick at the base. Scattered between them are slender limestone 'twigs' of ca. one cm thickness. They were formed thousands of years ago, as a result of a drop in sea level, beach sand was blown inland in vast quantities to form dunes. After some 25,000 years of water leaching, depositions of lime formed hard calcite channels along plant root systems in the dunes. Subsequent erosion turned the dunes to loose sand whilst the harder calcite columns were exposed to the air. In the vicinity of the pinnacles, wind has blown northwards and a succession of sand dunes developed parallel to the coast. These lime-rich dunes, formed from wind-blown beach sand, mark ancient shorelines on the Swan coastal plain.

Climate Lying in the northern region of the Swan coastal plain, the climate is a typical western sclerophyll mediterranean bioclimate, warm to hot summers and cool winters, ameliorated by sea breezes. The annual rainfall is 600mm, the majority of which falls between May and September.

Vegetation There are four main vegetation community types which depend upon the different aged dune systems; foredune system, quindalup system, spearwood system and the bassendean system (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979). The species such as Arctotheca populifolia, Scaevola crassifolia, Carpobrotus australis and Spinifex grasses abound on the dunes. The quindalup system on the lime-rich sands are represented by Olearia axillaris and various Acacia species. The older spearwood dune system consists of tuart Eucalyptus gomphocephala woodland and heathland of Casuarina and Banksia prionotes (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979). The silica-rich sands on the bassendean dune system include an open woodland of Banksia menziesii and B. attenuata along with shrubs of the Proteaceae, Myrtaceae and Fabaceae (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979).

Fauna The wildlife is represented by the southern range limit of the Irwin faunal community. Over 90 species of bird have been recorded. The emu, nankeen kestrels, swans and several species of duck abound. White-winged wrens and mallee fowl also occur in the scrub heathland. There are numerous reptiles, including notably bob-tailed lizard Trachydosaurus rugosus and many snakes. Western grey kangaroos Macropus spp. and brush-tailed wallabies occur in the thickets and there are records of several species of small mammal (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979).

Cultural Heritage The recorded history of the area dates back to 1658 when the sand dunes were surveyed by Dutch navigators (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979). Various explorers passed through the area including George Grey in 1839, A. C. Gregory in 1848 and R. Brockman in 1854 (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979).

Local Human Population In 1908, the Minister for Agriculture initiated steps to have all caves along the coast reserved for a bat guano fertilizer industry. The project subsequently failed (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979).

Visitors and Visitor Facilities Camping sites are available at Cervantes and there is vehicle access throughout the park. Tours of the pinnacle desert are organised by the Western Australia Government travel centre. Brochures and maps are available from the hotels and information centres. A 500m loop trail exists through the pinnacle area.

Scientific Research and Facilities No information

Conservation Value No information

Conservation Management All native plants and wildlife are protected; firearms and domestic dogs are prohibited from being brought into the park. A number of caves in the area are kept sealed to protect them from vandalism. In the early 1900s, the caves were exploited for bat guano by the local farmers (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1979). The offshore islands of Green, Buller and Wittell have all been designated as nature reserves where permits are required for fishing and landing boats.

Management Constraints No information

Staff Two rangers based at Cervantes Townsite (National Parks Authority of Western Australia, 1984).

Budget No information

Local Addresses

National Parks Authority of Western Australia, Hackett Drive, Nedlands 6009

References

National Parks Authority if Western Australia (1979). Nambung National Park, Western Australia. Pamphlet published by the National Parks Authority of Western Australia, Western Australia.

National Parks Authority of Western Australia (1984). National Parks of Western Australia, general information. National Parks Authority of Western Australia, Nedlands.

Date February 1989

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