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Woman's Christian Temperance Union

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." It plays an influential role in the temperance movement. Originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement, the organization supported the 18th Amendment and was also influential in social reform issues that came to prominence in the progressive era.

The WCTU was originally organized on December 23, 1873, in Hillsboro, Ohio, and starting on December 26 Matilda Gilruth Carpenter led a successful campaign to close saloons in Washington Court House, Ohio. WCTU was officially declared at a national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874. It operated at an international level and in the context of religion and reform, including missionary work and women's suffrage. Two years after its founding, the American WCTU sponsored an international conference at which the International Women's Christian Temperance Union was formed. The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded in 1883 and became the international arm of the organization, which has now affiliates in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union conducts a White Ribbon Recruit (WRR) ceremony, in which babies are dedicated to the cause of temperance through a white ribbon being tied to their wrists, with their adult sponsors pledging to help the child live a life free from alcohol and other drugs.

Establishment
At its founding in 1874, the stated purpose of the WCTU was to create a "sober and pure world" by abstinence, purity, and evangelical Christianity. Annie Wittenmyer was its first president. Wittenmyer was conservative in her goals for the movement focusing only on the question of alcohol consumption and avoiding involvement in politics. The constitution of the WCTU called for "the entire prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage."

Frances Willard, a noted feminist, was elected the WCTU's second president in 1879 and Willard grew the organization to be the largest organization of women in the world by 1890. She remained president until her death in 1898.

Its members were inspired by the Greek writer Xenophon, who defined temperance as "moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful." In other words, should something be good, it should not be indulged in to excess; should something be bad for you, it should be avoided altogether — thus their attempts to rid society of what they saw (and still see) as the dangers of alcohol.

The WCTU perceived alcohol as a cause and consequence of larger social problems rather than as a personal weakness or failing. The WCTU also advocated against tobacco. The American WCTU formed a "Department for the Overthrow of the Tobacco Habit" as early as 1885 and frequently published anti-tobacco articles in the 1880s. Agitation against tobacco continued through to the 1950s.

Policy interests
As a consequence of its stated purposes, the WCTU was also very interested in a number of social reform issues, including labor, prostitution, public health, sanitation, and international peace. As the movement grew in numbers and strength, members of the WCTU also focused on suffrage. The WCTU was instrumental in organizing woman's suffrage leaders and in helping more women become involved in American politics. Local chapters, known as "unions", were largely autonomous, though linked to state and national headquarters. Willard pushed for the "Home Protection" ballot, arguing that women, being the morally superior sex, needed the vote in order to act as "citizen-mothers" and protect their homes and cure society's ills. At a time when suffragists were viewed as radicals and alienated most American women, the WCTU offered a more traditionally feminine and "appropriate" organization for women to join.

Home Protection interests also extended to Labor rights, and an openness to Socialism. WCTU had a close association with the Knights of Labor, sharing goals for class harmony, sober and disciplined workers, and a day of rest. Concern for workers' conditions and the effect on family life led many members to also critique the exploitation of capital, as well as demand a living wage.

Although the WCTU had chapters throughout North America with hundreds of thousands of members, the "Christian" in its title was largely limited to those with an evangelical Protestant conviction and the importance of their role has been noted. The goal of evangelizing the world, according to this model, meant that very few Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus were attracted to it, "even though the last three had a pronounced cultural and religious preference for abstinence". As the WCTU grew internationally, it developed various approaches that helped with the inclusion of women of religions other than Christianity. But, it was always primarily, and still is, a Christian women's organization.

The WCTU's work extended across a range of efforts to bring about personal and social moral reform. In the 1880s, it worked on creating legislation to protect working girls from the exploitation of men, including raising Age of Consent laws. It also focused on keeping Sundays as Sabbath days and restrict frivolous activities. In 1901 the WCTU said that golf should not be allowed on Sundays.

The WCTU was also involved with efforts to alleviate poverty by discouraging the purchase of alcohol products. Through journal articles, the WCTU tried to prove that abstinence would help people move up in life. A fictional story in one of their journal articles illustrates this fact:

"Ned has applied for a job, but he is not chosen. He finds that the potential employer has judged him to be like his Uncle Jack. Jack is a kindly man but he spends his money on drink and cigarettes. Ned has also been seen drinking and smoking. The employer thinks that Ned Fisher lacks the necessary traits of industriousness which he associates with abstinence and self-control."

Spread and influence
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union grew rapidly. The WCTU adopted Willard's "Do Everything" philosophy, which meant that the "W.C.T.U. campaigned for local, state, and national prohibition, woman suffrage, protective purity legislation, scientific temperance instruction in the schools, better working conditions for labor, anti-polygamy laws, Americanization, and a variety of other reforms" despite having the image of a gospel temperance organization. The presidential addresses of the WCTU provide excellent insight as to how the organization seamlessly blended issues of grass-roots organizing, temperance, education, immigration and cultural assimilation.

One prominent state chapter was the Minnesota Women's Christian Temperance Union. The Minnesota chapter's origin is rooted in nation's anti-saloon crusades of 1873 and 1874 where women all throughout the United States "joined together outside saloons to pray and harass the customers." In Minnesota there was stiff resistance to this public display and "in Anoka, Minnesota, 'heroic women endured the insults of the saloon-keeper and his wife who poured cold water upon the women from an upper window while they prayed on the sidewalk below. Sometimes beer was thrown on the sidewalk so that they could not kneel there but they prayed.'" As a result, Minnesotan women were motivated and "formed local societies, which soon united to become the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1874. Women from St. Paul, Minneapolis, Red Wing, and Owatonna organized their first local W.C.T.U. clubs between 1875 and 1877. The Minnesota WCTU began in the fall of 1877. From this point the Minnesota WCTU began to expand throughout the state in both size and interests.

The Minnesota WCTU worked hard to extol the values of the WCTU which included converting new immigrants to American culture or "Americanization." Bessie Laythe Scovell, a native New Englander that moved to Minnesota in the 1800s and served as president of the Minnesota WCTU chapter from 1897–1909 delivered her 1900 "President's Address", where she expounded on the methods the Minnesota chapter of the WCTU would utilize to accomplish its variety of goals within the state. Scovell adopted what was at the time a "progressive" approach to the issue of immigrants, particularly German and Scandinavian in Minnesota, indulging in alcohol and stated:

"We must have a regiment of American workers, who will learn the German language, love the German people, work among the German children and young people until we get them to love clear brains better than beer. There must be others who for the love of country and dear humanity will learn the Scandinavian language and be real neighbors to the many people of this nationality who have come to make homes in America. Again others must learn the French and Italian and various dialects, even, that the truths of personal purity and total abstinence be taught to these who dwell among us. We must feel it a duty to teach these people the English language to put them in sympathy with our purposes and our institutions."

For Scovell and the women of the Minnesota WCTU, speaking English and participating in established American institutions were essential to truly become "American" just as abstaining from alcohol was necessary to be virtuous. By linking language to culture and institutions, Scovell and the WCTU recognized that a multicultural approach would be necessary to communicate values to new immigrants, but did not conclude that multiculturalism was a value in itself. The WCTU viewed the foreign European cultures as a corrupter and despoiler of virtue, hence the excessive drinking. That is ultimately why it was paramount the immigrants learned English and assimilated.

WCTU and race
The WCTU, while a predominantly white organisation, did boast a significant black and indigenous membership. In 1901 Eliza Pierce, a Native American woman, started her own New York chapter of the union, which was featured in The Sunday Herald in 1902.

Moreover, there are many references to African American members in the literature surrounding the WCTU, although this is often in passing. Predominant black activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was very active in the union, pushing for WTCU adoption of the anti-lynching cause. However, in the end Willard favoured the desires of white Southern women and this campaign fell to the side-lines.

In 1889 Harper formally requested that "in dealing with colored people... Christian courtesy be shown." The WTCU did receive criticism from black activists, most notably the well-known reformer Ida B. Wells, who condemned Willard for her statements regarding black drunkenness. In general, black women faced similar pressures within the WCTU that they did in wider society, but this did not stop them from contributing to the movement.

Prohibition
In 1893, the WCTU switched focus toward prohibition, which was ultimately successful when the 18th amendment to the US Constitution was passed. After prohibition was instituted, WCTU membership declined.

Over the years, different prohibition and suffrage activists had suspected that brewer associations gave money to anti-suffrage activities. In 1919, there was a Senate investigation that confirmed their suspicions. Some members of the United States Brewers Association were openly against the woman's suffrage movement. One member stated, "We have defeated woman's suffrage at three different times."

Although the WCTU was an explicitly religious organization and worked with religious groups in social reform, it protested wine use in religious ceremonies. During an Episcopal convention, it asked the church to stop using wine in its ceremonies and to use unfermented grape juice instead. A WCTU direct resolution explained its reasoning: wine contained "the narcotic poison, alcohol, which cannot truly represent the blood of Christ."

The WCTU also favored banning tobacco. In 1919, the WCTU expressed to Congress its desire for the total abolition of tobacco within five years.

Under Willard, the WCTU supported the White Life for Two program. Under this program, men would reach women's higher moral standing (and thus become woman's equal) by engaging in lust-free, alcohol-free, tobacco-free marriages. At the time, the organization also fought to ban alcohol use on military bases, in Native American reservations, and within Washington's institutions. Ultimately, Willard succeeded in increasing the political clout of the organization because, unlike Annie Wittenmyer, she strongly believed that the success of the organization would only be achieved through the increased politicization of its platform.

Reach
In the United States, the WCTU was divided along ideological lines. The first president of the organization, Annie Wittenmyer, believed in the singleness of purpose of the organization—that is, that it should not put efforts into woman suffrage, prohibition, etc. This wing of the WCTU was more concerned with how morality played a role during the temperance movement. With that in mind, it sought to save those whom they believed to be of lower moral character. For them, the alcohol problem was one of moral nature and was not caused by the institutions that facilitated access to alcohol.

The second president of the WCTU, Frances Willard, demonstrated a sharp distinction from Wittenmyer. Willard had a much broader interpretation of the social problems at hand. She believed in "a living wage; in an eight-hour day; in courts of conciliation and arbitration; in justice as opposed to greed in gain; in Peace on Earth and Good-Will to Men." This division illustrated two of the ideologies present in the organization at the time, conservatism and progressivism. To some extent, the Eastern Wing of the WCTU supported Wittenmyer and the Western Wing had a tendency to support the more progressive Willard view.

Membership within the WCTU grew greatly every decade until the 1940s. By the 1920s, it was in more than forty countries and had more than 766,000 members paying dues at its peak in 1927.

Classification of WCTU Committee Reports by Period and Interests

Percentages total more than 100 percent due to several interests in some committee reports.
 * Source:Sample of every fifth Annual Report of the WCTU

Current status
The WCTU remains an internationally active organization. In American culture, although "temperance norms have lost a great deal of their power" and there are far fewer dry communities today than before ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, there is still at least one WCTU chapter in almost every U.S. state and in 36 other countries around the world.

Requirements for joining the WCTU include paying membership dues and signing a pledge to abstain from alcohol. The pledge of the Southern Californian WCTU, for example, is "I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all distilled, fermented, and malt liquors, including beer, wine, and hard cider, and to employ all proper means to discourage the use of and traffic in the same." Current issues for the WCTU include alcohol, which the organization considers to be North America's number one drug problem, as well as illegal drugs, and abortion. The WCTU has warned against the dangers of tobacco since 1875. They continue to this day in their fight against those substances they see as harmful to society.

The last edition of the WCTU's quarterly journal, titled The Union Signal, was published in 2015, the main focus of which was current research and information on drugs. Other national organizations also continue to publish.

The WCTU also attempts to encourage young people to avoid substance abuse through participation in three age-divided suborganizations: White Ribbon Recruits for pre-schoolers, the Loyal Temperance Legion (LTL) for elementary school children, and the Youth Temperance Council (YTC) for teenagers.

The White Ribbon Recruits are mothers who will publicly declare their dedication to keeping their babies drug-free. To do this, they participate in the White Ribbon Ceremony, but their children must be under six years of age. The mother pledges "I promise to teach my child the principles of total abstinence and purity", and the child gets a white ribbon tied to its wrist.

The Loyal Temperance Legion (LTL), is another temperance group aimed at children. It is for children aged six to twelve who are willing to pay dues annually to the LTL. Its motto is "That I may give my best service to home and country, I promise, God helping me, Not to buy, drink, sell, or give alcoholic liquors while I live. From other drugs and tobacco I'll abstain, And never take God's name in vain."

The Youth Temperance Council is the final type of group meant for youths and is aimed at teenagers. Its pledge is "I promise, by the help of God, never to use alcoholic beverages, other narcotics, or tobacco, and to encourage everyone else to do the same, fulfilling the command, 'keep thyself pure'."

World's WCTU
The World's WCTU (WWCTU) is one of the most prominent examples of internationalism, evidenced by the circulation of the Union Signal around the globe; the International Conventions that were held with the purpose of focusing "world attention on the temperance and women's questions, and the appointment of "round-the-world missionaries." Examples of international Conventions include the one in 1893 scheduled to coincide with the Chicago World's Fair; the London Convention in 1895;  the 1897 one in Toronto; and the Glasgow one in 1910. The first six round-the-world missionaries were Mary C. Leavitt, Jessie Ackermann, Alice Palmer, Mary Allen West, Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew, and Katharine Bushnell.

The ambition, reach and organizational effort involved in the work undertaken by the World's WCTU leave it open to cynical criticism in the 21st century, but there is little doubt that at the end of the 19th century, "they did believe earnestly in the efficacy of women's temperance as a means for uplifting their sex and transforming the hierarchical relations of gender apparent across a wide range of cultures."

South Africa
Amongst the presidents of the Cape Colony WCTU was Georgiana Solomon, who eventually became a world vice-president.

New Zealand

As early as 6 August 1884, under the leadership of Eliza Ann Palmer Brown in Invercargill, a WCTU branch had started in New Zealand. Arriving in January 1885, a prominent American missionary, Mary Leavitt, traveled to Auckland, New Zealand to spread the message of the WCTU. For the next eight years, Leavitt traveled around New Zealand establishing WCTU branches and advocating for women to, "protect their homes and families from liquor, by claiming their rightful voice" and work to end the over-consumption of alcohol through gaining the vote. Working alongside Leavitt was Anne Ward, a New Zealand social worker and temperance activist, who served as the first national president of the WCTU in New Zealand.

Māori women were also active members of the WCTU in New Zealand. In 1911, during the presidency of Fanny Cole, Hera Stirling Munro, Jean McNeish of Cambridge and Rebecca Smith of Hokianga organised a WCTU convention at Pakipaki specifically by and for Māori. Many Māori women signed WCTU-initiated national franchise petitions. Specifically, the 1892 WCTU petition was signed by Louisa Matahau of Hauraki and Herewaka Poata from Gisborne, and the 1893 petition was also signed by Matilda Ngapua from Napier and four other Māori women using European names instead.

The WCTU played a significant role in New Zealand, because it was the only public organisation in the country that could provide women political and leadership experience and training, and as a result, well over half of suffragists at the time were members of the organisation. One of the most notable New Zealand suffragists was Kate Sheppard, who was the leader of the WCTU's franchise department, and advised women in the WCTU to work closely with members of Parliament in order to get their ideas in political discourse. This eventually led to women winning the right to vote in 1893. Some prominent New Zealand suffragists and WCTU members include Kate Sheppard, Learmonth Dalrymple, Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, Elizabeth Caradus, Kate Milligan Edger, Christina Henderson, Annie Schnackenberg, Anne Ward, and Lily Atkinson.

Canada
The WCTU formed in Canada in 1874, in Owen Sound, Ontario. and spread across Canada. The Newfoundland branch played an important part in campaigning for women's suffrage on the grounds that women were vital in the struggle for prohibition. In 1885 Letitia Youmans founded an organization which was to become the leading women's society in the national temperance movement. Youmans is often credited with spreading the organization across the country. One notable member was Edith Archibald of Nova Scotia. Notable Canadian feminist Nellie McClung was also involved.

Newfoundland
The Newfoundland chapter of the WCTU formed in September 1890. Early supporters included Reverend Mr. A.D. Morton, the Methodist minister of Gower Street Church, and local women such as Emma Peters, Lady Jeanette Thorburn, Jessie Ohman, Maria C. Williams, Elizabeth Neyle, Margaret Chancey, Ceclia Fraser, Rev. Mrs. Morton, Mrs. E.H. Bulley, Tryphenia Duley, Sarah (Rowsell) Wright and Fanny Stowe.

The WCTU agitated for women's suffrage in the Dominion especially in the wake of the sacrifices of WW1, but did not see this realized until 1925.

India
The WCTU formed in India was formed in the 1880s. It publishes Temperance Record and White Ribbon, remaining very active today.

Australia
The first Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Sydney was formed by Euphemia Bridges Bowes in 1882 although other sources credit the start to later visits from Jessie Ackermann in 1889 and 1891; a number of other Christian Temperance and Abstinence Societies existed throughout Australia before that time. Sara Susan Nolan succeeded Euphemia Bridges Bowes as President in Sydney in 1892.

Jessie Ackermann acted as the round the world missionary for the American-based World's WCTU, and became the inaugural president of the federated Australasian WCTU, Australia's largest women's reform group. Maria Elizabeth Kirk was the first secretary. The union were active in the struggle for the extension of the franchise to women through promoting suffrage societies, collecting signatures for petitions and lobbying members of parliament. (See, for example, Women's suffrage in Australia.) After visiting New Zealand, Miss Ackermann came to Hobart in May 1889, then toured the mainland for almost 12 months, stopping in Adelaide, Port Augusta, Clare, Kapunda and Burra in June to August,   Mount Gambier, Brisbane, Sydney, and Bathurst. She returned for a further visit, including Melbourne in 1891.

In Victoria, weekly temperance conferences were held at the East Melbourne home of Margaret McLean, a founding member and coordinator of the Melbourne branch of the WCTU of Victoria; she was president of the organisation for two periods, 1892–93 and 1899–1907. Jessie Mary Lloyd (1883–1960) was the WCTU State President in 1930 when a poll of Victoria returned 43% in favour of a ban on alcohol.

The Queensland chapter established itself by 1928 at Willard House, River Road (now Coronation Drive), North Quay, near the Brisbane River. The state organiser in 1930 was Zara Dare who went on to become one of the first female police officers in Queensland in 1931.

Sweden
The Swedish WCTU, known as Vita Bandet (White Ribbon) was founded by Emilie Rathou in Östermalm in Stockholm in 1900. Rathou was a leading member of the International Organisation of Good Templars, and the pioneer for organizing the WCTU and its local branches in Sweden.

Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
The Woman's Temperance Publishing Association (WPTA) was located in Chicago from 1880 until 1903. It was conceptualized by Matilda B. Carse and established initially in Indianapolis by Zerelda G. Wallace. They thought there was a need for a weekly temperance paper for women of color. The creators wanted the first board of directors to be seven women who had the same vision as Carse.

WCTU

 * 1) 1874, Cleveland, Ohio
 * 2) 1875, Cincinnati, Ohio
 * 3) 1876, Newark, New Jersey
 * 4) 1877, Chicago, Illinois
 * 5) 1878, Baltimore, Maryland
 * 6) 1879, Indianapolis, Indiana
 * 7) 1880, Boston, Massachusetts
 * 8) 1881, Washington, D.C.
 * 9) 1882, Louisville, Kentucky
 * 10) 1883, Detroit, Michigan
 * 11) 1884, St. Louis, Missouri
 * 12) 1885, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * 13) 1886, Minneapolis, Minnesota
 * 14) 1887, Nashville, Tennessee
 * 15) 1888, New York, New York
 * 16) 1889, Chicago, Illinois
 * 17) 1890, Atlanta, Georgia

National WCTU

 * 1) 1891, Boston, Massachusetts
 * 2) 1892, Denver, Colorado
 * 3) 1893, Chicago, Illinois
 * 4) 1894, Cleveland, Ohio
 * 5) 1895, Baltimore, Maryland
 * 6) 1896, St. Louis, Missouri
 * 7) 1897, Buffalo, New York
 * 8) 1898, St. Paul, Minnesota
 * 9) 1899, Seattle, Washington
 * 10) 1900, Washington, D.C.
 * 11) 1901, Fort Worth, Texas
 * 12) 1902, Portland, Maine
 * 13) 1903, Cincinnati, Ohio
 * 14) 1904, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * 15) 1905, Los Angeles, California
 * 16) 1906, Hartford, Connecticut
 * 17) 1907, Nashville, Tennessee
 * 18) 1908, Denver, Colorado
 * 19) 1909, Omaha, Nebraska
 * 20) 1910, Baltimore, Maryland
 * 21) 1911, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
 * 22) 1912, Portland, Oregon
 * 23) 1913, Asbury Park, New Jersey
 * 24) 1914, Atlanta, Georgia
 * 25) 1915, Seattle, Washington
 * 26) 1916, Indianapolis, Indiana
 * 27) 1917, Washington, D. C.
 * 28) 1918, St. Louis, Missouri
 * 29) 1919, St. Louis, Missouri
 * 30) 1920, Washington, D.C.
 * 31) 1921, San Francisco, California
 * 32) 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 * 33) 1923, Columbus, Ohio
 * 34) 1924
 * 35) 1925, Detroit, Michigan
 * 36) 1926
 * 37) 1927
 * 38) 1928, Boston, Massachusetts
 * 150th, 2023, Reno, Nevada

World's WCTU

 * 1891 Boston, U.S.A.
 * 1893 Chicago, U.S.A.
 * 1895 London, England
 * 1897 Toronto, Canada
 * 1900 Edinburgh, Scotland
 * 1903 Geneva, Switzerland
 * 1906 Boston, U.S.A.
 * 1910 Glasgow, Scotland
 * 1913 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
 * 1920 London, England
 * 1922 Philadelphia, U.S.A.
 * 1925 Edinburgh, Scotland
 * 1928 Lausanne, Switzerland
 * 1931 Toronto, Canada
 * 1934 Stockholm, Sweden

Presidents
The presidents of the WCTU and their terms of office are:

 * 1) 1874 - 1879 - Annie Turner Wittenmyer
 * 2) 1879 - 1898 - Frances Willard
 * 3) 1898 - 1914 - Lillian M. N. Stevens
 * 4) 1914 - 1925 - Anna Adams Gordon
 * 5) 1925 - 1933 - Ella A. Boole
 * 6) 1933 - 1944 - Ida B. Wise
 * 7) 1944 - 1953 - Mamie White Colvin
 * 8) 1953 - 1959 - Agnes Dubbs Hays
 * 9) 1959 - 1974 - Ruth Tibbets Tooze
 * 10) 1974 - 1980 - Edith Kirkendall Stanley
 * 11) 1980 - 1988 - Martha Greer Edgar
 * 12) 1988 - 1996 - Rachel Bubar Kelly
 * 13) 1996 - 2006 - Sarah Frances Ward
 * 14) 2006 - 2014 - Rita Kaye Wert
 * 15) 2014 - 2019 - Sarah Frances Ward
 * 16) 2019 - Current - Merry Lee Powell

Frances Willard
In 1874 Willard was elected the new secretary of the WCTU. Five years later, in 1879, she became its president. Willard also started her own organization, called the World's Women Christian Temperance Union, in 1883.

After becoming WCTU's president, Willard broadened the views of the group by including woman's rights reforms, abstinence, and education. As its president for 19 years, she focused on moral reform of prostitutes and prison reform as well as woman's suffrage. With the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Willard's predictions that women voters "would come into government and purify it, into politics and cleanse the Stygian pool" could be tested. Frances Willard died in February 1898 at the age of 58 in New York City. A plaque commemorating Willard's election to president of the WCTU in 1879 by Lorado Taft is in the Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Matilda Bradley Carse
Matilda B. Carse became an activist after her son was killed in 1874 by a drunk wagon driver. She joined the Chicago Central Christian Woman's Temperance Union to try to eliminate alcohol consumption. In 1878 she became the president of the Chicago Central Christian Woman's Temperance Union, and in 1880 she helped organize the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association, selling the stock to rich women. That same year she also started The Signal; three years later it merged with another newspaper to become The Union Signal. It became the most important woman's newspaper and soon sold more copies than any other newspaper. It was Carse who was driving force behind the construction of Chicago's Temperance Temple.

During her time as president, Carse founded many charities and managed to raise approximately $60,000,000 a year to support them. She started the Bethesda Day Nursery for working mothers, two kindergarten schools, the Anchorage Mission for erring girls, two dispensaries, two industrial schools, an employment bureau, Sunday schools, and temperance reading rooms.

Australia and Canada

 * Cook, Sharon Anne. (1995) Through Sunshine and Shadow: The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Evangelicalism, and Reform in Ontario, 1874-1930 (McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 1995), in Canada.
 * Cook, Sharon Anne. " 'Sowing Seed for the Master': The Ontario WCTU and Evangelical Feminism 1874-1930." Journal of Canadian studies 30.3 (1995): 175-194.
 * Hyslop, Anthea. (1976) "Temperance, Christianity and feminism: The woman's Christian temperance union of Victoria, 1887–97." Historical studies 17.66 (1976): 27-49. in Australia. online
 * Sheehan, Nancy M. "Temperance, education and the WCTU in Alberta, 1905-1930." Journal of Educational Thought (JET)/Revue de la Pensée Educative 14.2 (1980): 108-124.
 * Tyrrell, Ian. (1983) "International Aspects of the Woman's Temperance Movement in Australia: The Influence of the American WCTU, 1882–1914." Journal of Religious History 12.3 (1983): 284-304.

title: Woman's Christian Temperance Union


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Belair National Park

Belair National Park (formerly known as the National Park and as Belair Recreation Park) is a protected area in Belair, South Australia, 9 km southeast of Adelaide city centre; it covers an area of 835 ha. It was proclaimed in 1891 and was the first national park in South Australia, second in Australia (after Sydney's Royal National Park which was proclaimed in 1879) and the tenth in the world. The national park lies within the Adelaide Hills and Mitcham council area, and forms part of a chain of protected areas located along the Adelaide Hills Face Zone. The national park is administered by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

Naming
For most of its existence, it has been known as the 'National Park'. Between the years 1972 and 1991 it was known as the 'Belair Recreation Park'. In 1991, the Belair Recreation Park was abolished and the land that it occupied was constituted as a national park and given the name “Belair National Park”.

History
Belair was originally inhabited by the Kaurna Aboriginal people. The area was called Pradli, which means “baldness”, because the appearance of the area when looking south from the Adelaide Plains was “bald like the moon.” The first Europeans to set foot in the area were crewmen from the Coromandel in 1837. The first European to settle in the area was a squatter, E. Nicholas Foott, who in 1839 dug a well and built a stone cottage, spending £500 despite not holding a title to the land. In 1840, South Australian governor George Gawler set the land aside for a government farm, forcing Foott to leave the land, though he was paid £300 for his improvements to the land (he later became a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly).

Governor Grey arrived in May 1841, with a remit to cut Government expenditure and raise revenue, and announced in the Gazette of 15 July of the intended sale by auction of the land. This, however, did not take place, and in the depression of 1841–1842 a dozen or so unemployed men and their families were allowed to settle there temporarily. In June 1844, four sections at the western end (874, 875, 878 and 882) totalling about 400 acres were sold. In 1848 a cottage, long since demolished, was erected alongside the creek as a residence for the farm manager, and for occasional use by the Governor. In 1858 a residence, complete with swimming pool, was built as a "summer house" for the Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell (served 1855–1862), and used by his successors Sir Anthony Musgrave (1873–1877), and Sir William Jervois (1877–1883), until the more imposing edifice at Marble Hill was completed in 1880. Now known as Old Government House, the building is heritage-listed.

From 1874 to 1884 the Government Farm was managed by William Cook (1815–1897), father of Edith Agnes Cook. His eldest daughter Katherine wrote an article on that period of the farm's history for the South Australian Archives. His predecessor was Ebenezer Jarvis (c. 1829–1897), who left to take a post as manager of Government House, Adelaide. Two great bushfires occurred during their time; in 1866/1867 and 1877, when many old trees were destroyed. Proposals in 1881 to sell off parts of small portions of the land were opposed by Walter Gooch, James Page and the Australian Natives Association, which led in 1883 to an Act of Parliament prohibiting its sale. In 1888 further agitation by Gooch, Arthur Falconer Robin (1867–1906) and Samuel Dixon of the Royal Society of South Australia led to a parliamentary decision that the Government Farm be established as a public park, and after some delays the National Park Act received the Governor's assent in January 1892. Another person given partial credit was William Henry Selway of the Field Naturalists' Section of the Royal Society.

A nine-hole golf course was constructed in the southwest corner of the park in 1934 in an attempt by the state government to raise money for the park's maintenance during the Great Depression. The course was expanded to 18 holes in 1941, redeveloped in the 1970's, and sold to a private operator in 1982. The Belair Park Country Club ran the course until it went into administration in January 2018. The state government proposed to repurpose part of the golf course and build a seven-pitch soccer field for the Sturt Lions Football Club, but this proposal met with backlash from the local community during the public consultation period, with more than 8,000 people signing a petition opposing the development. The day after the consultation period ended, Environment Minister David Speirs announced that the plan would not go ahead, and in October 2021, the government announced that high-impact development in the former golf course would be banned and that parts of the land would be re-vegetated and returned to the rest of the park.

In 1985, the Belair National Park was declared as a state heritage area under the South Australian Heritage Act 1978-1980. In 1987, the nearby National Park railway station was closed.

Weed invasion
The first European people traversed the Belair area in 1837. In 1840, Governor Gawler raised a government farm on which sick horses and bullocks from government departments could be agisted. In 1881, a proposal was put forward for small agricultural holdings and also, the national park was dedicated, making it the first National Park in South Australia. Many exotic and non-indigenous plants were introduced and are now found in the park as weeds. Numerous native plants, such as Cootamundra wattle, have become environmental weeds after being introduced into areas outside their natural range.

The Belair National Park has suffered major disturbance to its natural ecosystems and natural vegetation communities through the accidental invasion of non-indigenous plants as well as the deliberate introduction of exotic and non-indigenous plants to certain zones within the park. In spite of these problems, several remnant stands of rare native plant species endemic to the Mt Lofty Ranges can be found there in season, mostly along tracks in less visited areas of the park's walking trail system. Both Donkey Orchids and Spider Orchids are among several diminutive flowers usually seen late winter each year.

A volunteer organisation named Friends of Belair National Park was formed in 1985, aiming to reduce the effect of invasive weeds within the park. The group meets regularly to manually or chemically remove accessible weeds, and also hosts nature walks and other events to increase community engagement with land management.

Geography
Belair National Park is situated 13 km south east of Adelaide city centre in South Australia, in the suburb of Belair, and is one of the few remaining areas of relatively undisturbed native vegetation in the Adelaide Hills.

Walking Trails

A short circuit around Playford Lake. A 3 km circuit walk from the main car park to the Adventure Playground. A 3 km circuit walk to Long Gully. A 4 km circuit departing from near Playford Lake. A 6.5 km circuit that visits the park's waterfalls and travels to the higher areas away from the recreation areas. The first 5 km of the Yurrebilla Trail is in the national park. It begins at the Belair railway station and continues toward the Lower Waterfall before departing the park at the Sheoak Road boundary.
 * Wood Duck Dawdle
 * Lorikeet Loop Walk
 * Valley Loop Walk
 * Microcarpa Walk
 * Waterfall Hike
 * Yurrebilla Trail

Belairs national park signifies South Australia's commitment to preserving the natural areas for both conservation and recreation.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Belair National Park


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Canunda National Park

Canunda National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 350 km southeast of Adelaide, on the coast about 13 km southwest of Millicent. It consists of coastal dunes, limestone cliffs, and natural bushland. The beaches can be dangerous, but are popular for beach fishing and 4WD's.

The national park consists of two parts - the first part being land in the gazetted localities of Southend and Canunda while the second part is located to the south in the gazetted locality of Carpenter Rocks at the headland of Cape Banks.

From as far back as 10,000 years ago, members of the Boandik group of Indigenous Australians lived in temporary camps along the coast during summer, and for the rest of the year they lived near inland swamps in relatively permanent huts (wurlies).

Much of the national park is accessible only to four wheel drive vehicles and walkers. The national park's office is located in the town of Southend at the northernmost end of the park. The northern end of the national park was once part of Mayurra Station. The remnants of Canunda's pastoral history can be seen at Coola Outstation.

title: Canunda National Park


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Coffin Bay National Park

Coffin Bay National Park is a protected area in on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, Australia, which is located about 301 km west of Adelaide and about 46 km west of Port Lincoln. The town of Coffin Bay is near the entrance to the national park. The national park occupies the Coffin Bay Peninsula - a long peninsula with a sheltered bay to its north, coastal dunes, swamps and a coastline which overlooks islands, reefs, limestone cliffs and white surf beaches.

To the east of Point Avoid are Almonta and Gunyah Beaches, used for surfing. Reefs extend out to sea from Point Avoid to Golden Island with Price Island further out. There is a camping area at Yangie Bay with camping fees payable on entry to the National Park. Access to the majority of the park's area north of Yangie Bay is via four wheel drive tracks only.

The historic former Coffin Bay Whaling Site at Point Sir Isaac lies within the national park and is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Wildlife
There is a great variety of wildlife in the national park. Many seabirds can be seen including white-bellied sea eagles and ospreys as well as various albatrosses and petrels.

The volunteer organisation Friends of Coffin Bay Parks have worked to re-introduce native plants and eradicate feral animals and weeds.

Statutory
The waters adjoining the coastline of the national park are within the Thorny Passage Marine Park.

Non-statutory arrangements
The area covered by the national park is also overlapped by the Coffin Bay Important Bird Area, a non-statutory classification determined by BirdLife International. This particular IBA supports over 1% of the world populations of pied and sooty oystercatchers, as well as significant numbers of fairy terns, hooded plovers, western whipbirds, rock parrots and blue-breasted fairy-wrens.

title: Coffin Bay National Park


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Coorong National Park

Coorong National Park is a protected area located in South Australia about 156 km south-east of Adelaide, that predominantly covers a coastal lagoon ecosystem officially known as The Coorong and the Younghusband Peninsula on the Coorong's southern side. The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the Murray Mouth near Hindmarsh Island and the Sir Richard Peninsula, and it extends about 130 km south-eastwards. Road access is from Meningie. The beach on the coastal side of the peninsula, the longest in Australia, is also commonly called The Coorong.

The Coorong lies within the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people, an Aboriginal Australian group. Notable locations within the park include Salt Creek, Policeman's Point, Jack Point, and Woods Well.

Etymology
Its name is thought to be a corruption of the Ngarrindjeri word kurangk, also written Kurangh, meaning a long or narrow lagoon or neck.

History
The Coorong National Park was proclaimed on 9 November 1967 under the National Parks Act 1966 in respect to land in sections 17 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Glyde and section 6 in the Hundred of Santo.

At the commencement of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 on 27 April 1972, the national park consisted of land in sections 17, 59 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Glyde and sections 6, 43 and 52 in the Hundred of Santo.

The Coorong Game Reserve which was purchased by the Government of South Australia in 1968 was abolished on 14 January 1993 and its lands was added to the national park. The game reserve occupied part of the Coorong lagoon to the immediate west of Salt Creek and had an area of 68.4 km2 as of May 1982.

In February 2013, a lifeboat from MS Oliva, a ship that foundered in the South Atlantic during 2011, washed up on a beach in the national park.

Description
The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the Murray Mouth near Hindmarsh Island and the Sir Richard Peninsula, and it extends about 130 km south-east. The national park area includes the Coorong itself, and Younghusband Peninsula which separates the Coorong from Gulf St Vincent in the Southern Ocean. The Coorong has been cut off from Lake Alexandrina by the construction of the Goolwa Barrages (weirs) from Goolwa to Pelican Point during the late 1930s.

The national park was formed in 1967 as a sanctuary for many species of birds, animals and fish. It attracts many migratory species. It provides refuge for these animals during some of Australia's regular droughts. The 467 km2 also supports coastal dune systems, lagoons and coastal vegetation.

One of the unique aspects of the Coorong is the interaction of water along its length, with sea water and Murray River water meeting rainfall and groundwater. The freshwater supports the fauna (animal) of the area while the sea water is the habitat for much of the birdlife.

Notable locations within the park include Salt Creek, Policeman's Point, Jack Point, and Woods Well.

The waters of the Coorong are a popular venue for recreational and commercial fishers. Coorong mullet, mulloway and bream are the main species.

Beach
The 194 km long sandy beach running down the outer side of the Younghusband Peninsula and commonly referred to as The Coorong, is the longest beach in Australia. It runs from the Murray mouth to Cape Jaffa.

Cultural significance
The Coorong is of great cultural significance to the Ngarrindjeri people, who have songlines relating to creation stories associated with the area as well as a long history of living sustainably and looking after the complex environment.

Camp Coorong
Camp Coorong is a place of cultural learning, where visitors can learn about Ngarrindjeri culture, history, arts and crafts, including basket-weaving. It is owned and run by Ngarrindjeri people, and situated about 11 km south of Meningie. The centre was founded by brothers Tom and George Trevorrow in 1985, with the aim of creating a place where the local community could have camps, younger members of the community might find employment, and Ngarrindjeri culture could be shared. It was officially closed to the public in 2018.

Ngarrindjeri elder and well-known weaver Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, who is Tom's widow, works from one of the rooms at the camp, along with artist and academic Jelina Haines, who was born in the Philippines. Their work has been commissioned for the recently refurbished Department for Infrastructure & Transport offices in Pirie Street.

Ecology
The wetlands within the part of the national park containing the Coorong Lagoon form a complex ecosystem of freshwater, estuarine, and hypersaline waterbodies with a unique diversity of habitats for plants and animals. The coastal lagoons are considered critically endangered due to the loss of freshwater flows, local extinction of characteristic submerged plants and subsequent loss of habitat diversity.

In December 2018, the Federal and South Australian governments announced a new environmental management program called "Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin". Ongoing, the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation is working with the Department for Environment & Water to share their knowledge of landcare practices, which will be incorporated in a new database.

Flora and fauna
The Coorong is an area of huge natural biodiversity.

Birds
The Coorong National Park has been recognised by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. It has supported the chestnut teal, Australian shelduck, sharp-tailed sandpiper, red-necked stint, banded stilt, red-necked avocet, pied oystercatcher and red-capped plover. Australasian bitterns have been recorded. It has also supported significant numbers of orange-bellied parrots, fairy terns and hooded plovers, although their usage of the site has declined from reduced freshwater inflows.

The largest pelican rookery in Australia is at Jack Point, just off the Princes Highway and about 7 km north of Salt Creek. The pelicans also breed on North Pelican Island. The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is the largest species of pelican, and breeds from August until January.

Marine life
As mentioned above, Coorong mullet, mulloway and bream are the main species caught for human consumption in the Coorong.

In the arts
The park was the setting of the popular 1976 film Storm Boy, as well as its 2019 remake. Both films are based on the 1964 novel by Colin Thiele of the same name set on the Coorong that portrays the bond of a young boy who rescues and raises an extraordinary orphaned pelican which he names Mr Percival.

Lucy Treloar's award-winning novel, Salt Creek (2015), is set in the Coorong, specifically the area around Salt Creek, in 1855.

title: Coorong National Park


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Flinders Chase National Park

Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about 177 km west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and 110 km west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena. It was the second national park to be declared in South Australia.

Flinders Chase National Park consists of three sections - an area of coastal landscapes around Cape du Couedic in the south west corner of the island, the Gosse Lands in the centre of the west end of the island and the former Cape Borda Lightstation reserve in the north west corner of the island.

Location
Flinders Chase National Park is located at the north-western end of Kangaroo Island in South Australia approximately 110 km west of Kingscote. It is located within the gazetted localities of Flinders Chase, Gosse and Karatta.

Extent
As of 1993, the national park consists of three separate parcels of land:

 * Cape du Couedic which is refers to the main parcel of land within the national park and which is bounded at the north by the West Bay Road and the West Melrose Track, to the east by the West End Highway and an unsealed track called the Sand Dune Track; and the portion of coastline extending from West Bay in the west to Cape du Couedic in the south and to Sanderson Bay in the east. This portion of the national park includes the following islands - Paisley Islet (also known as West Bay Island) at West Bay and the Casuarina Islets immediately south of Cape du Couedic.
 * The Gosse Lands - a parcel of land which is bounded by the Playford Highway to the north and the West End Highway to the west.
 * The former lighthouse reserve at Cape Borda.

Protected area designation
The national park is classified as an IUCN category II protected area.

History
Following a deputation of scientists in 1906, the premier, Tom Price, agreed to set aside the Cape Borda lighthouse reserve of 61 square miles as a nature reserve. and in 1909 the South Australian government converted another 79 square miles of what had been pastoral reserve to a nature reserve, under the control of the Fauna and Flora Board. The board had asked for 300 square miles but the additional properties needed had already been leased, and the lessees, who had yet to make any improvements, demanded £28,000 as compensation for losing what they had been getting for £28 per year Professor Stirling urged that when those leases expired they be turned over to the Board.

The reserve was named Flinders Chase at the suggestion of Samuel Dixon (died 1927). Apart from its intended use as a habitat for koalas and other mammals, it was considered a likely refuge for the lyre bird, "pheasant" (perhaps the malleefowl, [Leipoa ocellata]) and "bush turkey" (perhaps Australian brushturkey, [Alectura lathami]), all threatened on the mainland due to depredations by foxes. The Rocky River was touted as a platypus reserve.

Parts of the national park first acquired protected area status as a 'flora and fauna reserve' declared on 16 October 1919 under the Fauna and Flora Reserve Act 1919, an act whose specific purpose was: "…to establish a Reserve on Kangaroo Island for the Protection, Preservation, and Propagation of Australasian Fauna and Flora, and to provide for the Control of such Reserve, and for other purposes." No funds were made available for fencing or provision of a ranger however, and the laws regarding burning, shooting, poisoning and taking of protected species were unenforceable and broken with impunity. In 1922 the government brought the Chase's total area close to 200 sqmi by the addition of the Rocky River freehold and leases south of Rocky River to the landing reserve by the Cape du Couedic lighthouse. The Chase's eastern boundary was now a straight line running south from the De Mole River mouth to the island's south coast. It also gave the board a couple of cottages for the use of a ranger and visitors.

It was constituted as a national park upon the proclamation of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 on 27 April 1972 which repealed five items of existing legislation including the Fauna and Flora Reserve Act 1919. At proclamation in 1972, it consisted of the following land in the following cadastral units as well as the entirety of the Casuarina Islets - section 11 in the Hundred of Borda, section 64 in the Hundred of Gosse, section 17 in the Hundred of McDonald and section 66 in "South out of Hundreds".

On 15 October 1993, land in section 11 of the Hundred of Borda, section 64 of Hundred of Gosse and Allotments 50 and 52 in DP 38340 and with an area of 416.63 km2 was removed from the national park and constituted under the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 as the Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area.

Sanctuary
Since creation in November 1919, it has become a sanctuary for endangered species, some of them introduced from the mainland in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1940s, 23 additional species were introduced, including koalas (1923) and platypus (1928). Most of these species can still be observed today. Kangaroos, goannas and echidnas are commonly seen in the national park.

Little penguins
Little penguins have been recorded in Flinders Chase in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. It is believed that these colonies have since gone extinct, partly due to the increase of long-nosed fur seal populations after the end of commercial sealing. In 1886, little penguins were seen at Admiral's Arch.

Geological monuments

The national park contains two geological features that have been listed as geological monuments by the Geological Society of Australia: Cape du Couedic and Remarkable Rocks.

Remarkable Rocks are naturally sculptured formations precariously balanced atop a granite outcrop. They remind visitors of the sculptures of Henry Moore.

Fire
Lightning strikes on Thursday 6 December 2007 caused approximately 60000 ha of land in both the national park and the adjoining Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area to be burnt, before being brought under control ten days later. The national park was again damaged during the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, with the Visitor Centre completely destroyed.

title: Flinders Chase National Park


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Talk:Charles Cunningham Boycott

What's the deal with this article? Who is this C. C. Boycott?

title: Talk:Charles Cunningham Boycott


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Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park

The Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park, formerly Flinders Ranges National Park, is a national park situated approximately 430 km north of Adelaide. It lies northeast of the small town of Hawker, in the northern central part of South Australia's largest mountain range, the Flinders Ranges, and covers an area of 95,000 ha between Hawker and Blinman. It is known for the land formation known as Wilpena Pound, while other well-known features include the Heysen Range and the Brachina and Bunyeroo gorges. The Heysen Trail and Mawson Trail pass through the park.

History
For millennia, the Adnyamathanha people have inhabited the Flinders Ranges. On 12 February 2016 the park was renamed to include the Adnyamathanha word, Ikara, "meeting place", referring to the traditional name for Wilpena Pound.

Geology
The Flinders Ranges are largely composed of folded and faulted sediments of the Adelaide Geosyncline. This very thick sequence of sediments were deposited in a large basin during the Neoproterozoic on the passive margin of the ancient continent of Rodinia. During the Cambrian, approximately 540 million years ago, the area underwent the Delamerian orogeny where the geosynclinal sequence was folded and faulted into a large mountain range. Since this time the area has undergone erosion resulting in the relatively low ranges today.

Most of the high ground and ridgetops in the Flinders are sequences of quartzites that outcrop along strike. The high walls of Wilpena Pound are formed by the outcropping beds of the eponymous Pound Quartzite in a synclinal structure. The same formation forms many of the other high parts of the Flinders, including the high plateau of the Gammon Ranges and the Heysen Range. Cuesta forms are also very common in the Flinders.

Features and accessibility
The park lies around 430 km} north of Adelaide city centre, and covers 95,000 ha, between Hawker and Blinman.

The park's most characteristic landmark is Wilpena Pound, a large, sickle-shaped, natural amphitheatre covering nearly 80 km², containing the range's highest peak, St Mary Peak (1170 m). The Heysen Range is within the park. There are many lookouts, scenic vistas, small canyons, and unusual rock formations located in the park, including Brachina Gorge, Bunyeroo Gorge, Arkaroo Rock, Wilkawillina Gorge, and Hucks Lookout. The park has some stone ruins from early European settlement and Aboriginal rock art sites. A rock formation called the Great Wall of China is located just outside the park.

The park centre at Wilpena Pound is accessible by sealed road from Hawker. Other areas in the park can be reached by unsealed roads, which are mostly accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles except in bad weather or after heavy rain. Camping is permitted at many locations in the park.

The park is co-managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, which is part of the Department for Environment and Water, and the Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (since 2011).

Flora and fauna
The flora of the Flinders Ranges is composed largely of species adapted to a semi-arid environment such as cypress-pine, mallee, and black oak. Moister areas near Wilpena Pound support grevilleas, Guinea flowers, lilies and ferns. Reeds and sedges grow near permanent water sources such as springs and waterholes.

Since the eradication of dingos and the establishment of permanent waterholes for stock, the numbers of red kangaroos, western grey kangaroos and euros in the Flinders Ranges have increased. The yellow-footed rock-wallaby, which neared extinction after the arrival of Europeans due to hunting and predation by foxes, has now stabilized. Other endemic marsupials include dunnarts, planigales. Echidnas are the sole monotreme species in the park. Insectivorous bats make up significant proportion of mammals in the area. Reptiles include goannas, snakes, dragon lizards, skinks and geckos. The streambank froglet is an endemic amphibian.

Birds
There are a large number of bird species including various parrots, emus, the wedge-tailed eagles and small numbers of waterbirds. The land within the national park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it contains an apparently sustainable population of the range-restricted short-tailed grasswren.

Heritage listings
There are a number of heritage-listed sites within the national park:
 * Eddie Pumpa Outstation
 * Hayward Homestead Ruins
 * Impact Ejecta Horizon Late Precambrian Shales Geological Site
 * Enorama Mail Station and Rubbish Dump
 * Oraparinna Diapir
 * Wilpena Homestead Complex
 * Wilpena Pound (geological landform)
 * Stromatolites in the Precambrian Trezona Formation, Enorama Creek
 * Wills Homestead Complex Ruins
 * Appealinna Mine Ruins and Miners Hut
 * Wilkawillina Archaeocyathae Geological Site
 * Dingley Dell Homestead Ruins
 * Hill's Cottage, Wilpena Pound
 * Enorama Diapir
 * Oraparinna Station Blacksmith's Shop

title: Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park


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Gawler Ranges National Park

Gawler Ranges National Park is a 1633 km2 protected area lying 350 km north-west of Adelaide in the northern Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. It is known for its spectacular rock formations.

History
The national park originated as the 1200 km2 Paney Station pastoral lease, which was acquired in 2000 by the South Australian Government with assistance from the Australian Government. In 2001 some 420 km2 of the adjacent Scrubby Peak Station was acquired and added to the national park.

Access
The national park is 40 km north of Wudinna, 40 km north-east of Minnipa and is accessible using high ground clearance two wheel drive vehicles via the gravel roads from Kimba, Wudinna or Minnipa.

Camping is permissible and encouraged at several campgrounds. Although some have toilets, there are minimal other facilities and visitors are encouraged to take adequate food, water, fuel and firewood with them.

Features
Historic sites in the national park include the Old Paney Homestead, the Policemans Point precinct, Stone Dam, and Pondanna Outstation, where agriculture was attempted in the early 20th century. Notable landmarks are Paney Bluff, Mount Allalone, Mount Sturt, Conical Hill and Scrubby Peak. Other scenic sites are Kolay Mirica Falls, the Organ Pipes and Yandinga Gorge.

Environment
Some 21 rare and endangered animal and plant species including the yellow-footed rock-wallaby can be found in the national park. Another larger mammal is the southern hairy-nosed wombat. Some 140 species of birds have been recorded in the national park. The area covered by the national park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of the vulnerable malleefowl, the Gawler Ranges subspecies of the short-tailed grasswren, rufous treecreeper, blue-breasted fairy-wren, purple-gaped honeyeater and western yellow robin.

title: Gawler Ranges National Park


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Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park

Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park, formerly Innes National Park, is an IUCN-designated protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southwest tip of Yorke Peninsula about 300 km west of the state capital of Adelaide. It is a popular destination for camping, bushwalking, fishing, surfing and scuba diving.

Prior use of the land
The Narungga people occupied the Yorke Peninsula for thousands of years. They consisted of four clans, the Kurnara of the north, the Windera of the east, the Wari of the West and the Dilpa of the south. They are the traditional owners of the land, and have strong cultural links to it, with some sites having particular spiritual significance.

European colonisation of the area began in 1846 with sheep grazing near Cape Spencer. Crops were grown on a small scale in the 19th and early 20th century. Innes National Park was named after William Innes, who discovered commercial quantities of gypsum in the early 1900s and founded the mining town of Inneston in 1913, which had a population of around 500 at its peak. Gypsum was mined until 1930 when the Great Depression made it uneconomical, and in 1970 the town and surrounding land was sold to the South Australian government, creating Innes National Park. Some gypsum mining still continues at nearby Marion Bay.

National park
The national park was declared on 5 March 1970 under the National Parks Act 1966 as the Innes National Park, to "conserve important habitat for the western whipbird, the mallee fowl and to protect a number of heritage buildings at Inneston". Land was added to the national park in 1977, 1984 and 1993 in order to deal with increased recreational use.

It was renamed as the Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park on 14 November 2020 in recognition of a co-management agreement signed by the Government of South Australia and the Narungga people.

Some of the buildings at Inneston have been restored and are available as basic hire accommodation.

Location
Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park is located on the southern western extremity of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia about 300 km by road from the Adelaide city centre. It is located within the locality officially known as Inneston.

Extent
The national park occupies most of the land on the south-western tip of Yorke Peninsula south west of a line running from Willyama Bay on the south coast of the peninsula near Marion Bay to Gym Beach on the west coast of the peninsula and the following four islands immediately adjoining the coastline (from east to west): Chinamans Hat Island, Middle Island and South Island west of Pondalowie Bay, and Royston Island immediately west of Royston Head.

Within the above area, land excluded from the national park includes the following saline lakes which were associated with gypsum mining at the time of proclamation of the national park - Marion Lake, Snow Lake and Spider Lake.

As of 2014, the national park included the following "no access" areas (from east to west) - a section of coastline between Cape Spencer and Ethel Beach, South and Middle Islands at the entrance to Pondalowie Bay, Royston Island, the coastline between Royston Head and Dolphin Beach, and the coastline between Browns Beach and Gym Beach.

Physical landscape
The coastline extending from Willyama Bay to Cape Spencer consists of a number of bays such as Cable Bay and Stenhouse Bay with some prominent headlands such as Rhino Head and a line of cliffs between Cable Bay and Stenhouse Bay. From Cape Spencer to West Cape, an unbroken line of cliffs ranging in height between 37 m and 79 m with some sandy beaches at their feet make up the south west coast of Yorke Peninsula. From West Cape to Pondalowie Bay, the cliff line is of a relatively lower height. From the south end of Pondalowie Bay to Gym Beach, areas of sand dunes dominate the shoreline and the land immediately adjoining it with the exception of Royston Head and the cliff line extending eastward to Dolphin Beach. The land between the national park's boundary and the road system is dominated in part by a network of saline lakes.

Road system
The national park is serviced by a road connected to the western end of the Yorke Highway which passes through Marion Bay. The road which starts at Stenhouse Bay follows the coastline as a sealed road passing Chinamans Hat Island, Cable Bay and the turn-offs to Cape Spencer, Ethel Beach, West Cape and two camping grounds at Pondalowie Bay. The road concludes as a sealed road at the turn-off to the Pondalowie Surf Break Carpark. It continues as an unsealed road, passing turn-offs to Dolphin Beach and Shell Beach, to terminate at Browns Beach in the north west of the national park. Gym Beach in the extreme north west, while being accessible via the national park's walking trail system can only reached via vehicle from the Marion Bay Road which is located to the east of the national park's boundary.

Protected areas
The national park is classified as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category II protected area.

The waters adjoining the coastline of the national park including the four islands are within a habitat protection zone in the Southern Spencer Gulf Marine Park, a statutory designation.

The national park is within the extent of an Important Bird Area known as the Southern Yorke Peninsula Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of mallee fowl as well as of other threatened bird species such as the western whipbird.

Flora
As of 2003, 333 species of native plants had been recorded in Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park of which 115 species were of conservation significance including 24 scheduled in the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and the following four species listed in the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: annual candles, winter spider-orchid, bead samphire and splendid bush-pea.

Fauna

As of 2003, the following animals were recorded within the park:

 * Native mammals included New Zealand fur seal, western pygmy possum, Gould's wattle bat, chocolate wattled bat, common dolphin, southern right whale, western grey kangaroo, Australian sea lion, short-beaked echidna and bottlenose dolphin.

 * Birds included 111 species of native bird, of which 13 species were scheduled in Australian and state legislation. The following 13 species were listed in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 either as being vulnerable or rare species - chestnut quail-thrush, eastern reef egret, fairy tern, hooded plover, little tern, malleefowl, osprey, painted button-quail, peregrine falcon, rock parrot, shy heathwren, western whipbird and white-bellied sea-eagle while the malleefowl was also recognised nationally as a vulnerable species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

 * Reptiles included marbled gecko, mallee snake-eye, painted dragon, barking gecko, yellow-faced whipsnake, black tiger snake, eastern stone gecko, eastern bearded dragon, bull skink, eastern brown snake, four-toed earless skink, peninsula brown snake, southern four-toed slider, common scaly-foot, common dwarf skink, western bluetongue, Adelaide snake-eye, sleepy lizard and prickly dragon.

 * Introduced animals included rock dove, cat, rabbit, house mouse, house sparrow, black rat, common starling and fox.

After steps were taken to eradicate pests and fence off the tip of the Yorke Peninsula in a project initially (2019) called the Great Southern Ark and later Marna Banggara, species reintroduction has begun. Brush-tailed bettongs, or woylies, were the first species reintroduced in the area, with the first 40 individuals translocated from Wedge Island, in June 2021. The woylies were the first of about 20 locally extinct species which are to be moved there by around 2040. In July 2022, another 36 woylies were translocated, this time from Western Australia, with the permission of the Noongar traditional custodians, in a move that will boost genetic diversity.

Natural and cultural heritage
The national park was listed on the former Register of the National Estate because of its natural and European heritage.

Natural heritage
The following three lakes which support a population of stromatolites are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register maintained by the South Australian Government: Deep Lake, Inneston Lake and Marion Lake.

Aboriginal heritage
As of 2003, 21 sites of significance to the Narungga people had been identified. These consisted of "burial sites" and a broad classification known as "archaeological sites".

Mining
The following two sites at Inneston and Stenhouse Bay associated with the mining of gypsum are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register - the "Inneston Gypsum Complex" and the Stenhouse Bay Jetty.

Shipwrecks
At least four shipwrecks which are located within the national park or immediately adjoining its coastal boundary are protected under Australian and state historic shipwrecks legislation, that is the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 (Cwth) and the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981 (SA).

 * SS Marion which run aground to the immediate east of Chinamans Hat Island during 1862.

 * The barque Ethel, which run aground on the coastline between West Cape and Cape Spencer on a beach now known as Ethel Beach during 1904. The remains of the Ethel lie parallel to the shore below the cliff at Ethel Beach. For many years the hull was largely intact, deteriorating gradually with every storm. A severe gale in 1988 caused the hull to completely collapse, leaving the iron frame as the most identifiable feature of the site. The wreck is mostly covered by sand, sometimes revealed more during storms.

 * SS Ferret which run aground in 1920 on what is now Ethel Beach.

 * Hougomont which was scuttled in 1932 to form a breakwater lies close to the coastline near Stenhouse Bay.

Camping
Camping grounds are available at the following locations (from east to west) - Stenhouse Bay, Cable Bay, Pondalowie Bay (three sites including one for caravans and trailers), Shell Beach, Browns Beach and Gym Beach.

Indoor accommodation
Indoor accommodation is available at three locations - a number of restored buildings at Inneston, the Stenhouse Bay hall and a cottage at Shell Beach.

Walking
A system of trails allows visitors to the national park to enjoy views of the coastline and adjoining waters and to observe flora and fauna including species such as southern right whales and dolphins and features such as lighthouses and heritage sites. As of 2014, there are three major walking trails - the Thomson Pfitzner Plaster Trail Hike that connects Stenhouse Bay and Inneston, the Royston Head Hike from Dolphin Beach to Royston Head and the Gym Beach Hike which connects Browns Beach and Gym Beach. A number of minor trails connect the road system to locations such as Cape Spencer, Ethel Beach, West Cape and Pondalowie Bay.

Surfing
The main surf break at Pondalowie is a popular quality wave. It consists of a combination left and right peak that breaks over a reef and sand bottom. The left is good up to about 4 ft. The right starts to become good from between 3 ft and 8 ft plus. A second smaller right-hand reef break known as "Richard's Reef" is located 250 m further north along the beach. It was named in honour of Richard Thomas, a long-time local surfer and resident of the area. Not far from Stenhouse Bay is a break known as "Chinaman's". This is a powerful and hollow left-hand reef break which breaks in shallow water and washes over a rock shelf. It is a high quality wave that is suitable only for skilled surfers, and caution should be used when surfing here.

title: Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park


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Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park (formerly Lake Eyre National Park) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located 697 km north of the state capital of Adelaide within the gazetted locality of Lake Eyre. It contains both the North and South sections of Lake Eyre as well as sections of the Tirari Desert.

The national park protects dry desert landscapes, the nation's largest salt lake and the lowest point on the mainland. As of 2012, the national park has been subject to a co-management agreement between the Arabana aboriginal people and the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). The national park almost encloses Elliot Price Conservation Park, which covers the Hunt Peninsula and Brooks Island, within and around the northern section of the lake. It was established as South Australia's first arid zone conservation zone. It was named after Elliot Price, from the nearby Muloorina Station. There is limited vehicle access to the park.

The national park was renamed as Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park on 14 November 2013.

The national park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.

title: Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre National Park


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Lake Gairdner National Park

Lake Gairdner National Park is a protected area associated with Lake Gairdner in South Australia (Australia), 436 km northwest of Adelaide. It is located just south of the Trans-Australian Railway, Stuart Highway, and the Woomera Prohibited area.

The national park consists of the following salt lakes (from east to west) - Lake Gairdner, Lake Harris and Lake Everard. Ordinarily, the country is totally arid, and devoid of free water, surface or underground. In the summer, it can be extremely hot. In the springtime, however, this country has great attraction for birdwatchers and botanists.

There is generally very limited public access to this park, which is surrounded by pastoral leases. The easiest public access is from the main road running from Yardea to Kingoonya, at The Brothers Well, a concrete catchment at the side of the road at the southern end of Moonaree Station (though the road signs would have you believe that you were on Yardea Station). The road is dirt, but quite good enough for two-wheel drive vehicles unless it is wet, when it is likely that it will be closed by the Highways Dept..

This region is the home country of the Kokatha people, and traces of their occupation may still be found: sacred sites are still visited for ceremonies. The national park also contains the historic Glenloth Gold Battery Site, located at its western end on the shore of Lake Harris, which is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register as a designated place of archaeological significance.

title: Lake Gairdner National Park


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Lake Torrens National Park

Lake Torrens National Park is a protected area located in South Australia about 345 km north of the Adelaide city centre. Material published by the national park's manager reports that: "The stark wilderness and the salt lake that stretches 250km in length make up the Lake Torrens National Park. Lake Torrens is usually a dry salt flat. It has only been filled with water once in the past 150 years. Thunderstorms occasionally provide a small amount of water in the lake, when this occurs the area attracts a variety of birdlife. The park's landscape provides opportunities for photography and studying geology."

The national park is located on land which is listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia under the name Inland Saline Lakes. The national park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.

title: Lake Torrens National Park


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Lincoln National Park

Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 249 km west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 9.5 km south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula and a number of nearby islands. The national park contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.

Description

Lincoln National Park is located on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south-eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia as well as an adjoining portion of Eyre Peninsula and a number of islands adjoining the coastline. The part of the national park located on Jussieu Peninsula is located within the gazetted localities of Lincoln National Park and Sleaford.

Jussieu Peninsula
Lincoln National Park occupies the majority of Jussieu Peninsula. The remainder of the Jussieu Peninsula is occupied by the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area. The western gateway to the national park is via the isthmus which connects the Jussieu Peninsula to the mainland. The Sleaford Mere Conservation Park abuts the western border of the national park. Land-based park entry is made by road at both the northern and southern sides of the isthmus. The south road is 4WD access only.

The northern coastline of the peninsula curls northward to Cape Donington, where the Cape Donington Lighthouse is situated. Cape Donington is the southern point at the mouth of Port Lincoln, the large, sheltered deep water harbor on which the city of Port Lincoln is located. The eastern coast of the national park which faces onto Spencer Gulf extends from Cape Donington to Taylor's Landing (opposite Taylor Island).

The southern boundary of the national park curls southward from Mary Ellis Wreck Beach in the west to the east side of Jussieu Bay in the east. The coastline varies from extensive sand dunes behind Sleaford Bay to limestone cliffs on the east side of Jussieu Bay. The seas in this exposed area are very rough, with dangerous rips leading to numerous drownings.

Islands
Lincoln National Park includes the following islands which are located in the waters adjoining the Jussieu Peninsula:
 * Bicker Isles and Horse Rock in the body of water known as Port Lincoln.
 * Rabbit Island (in Louth Bay), Donington Island, Carcase Rock, an unnamed island in Shag Cove, Owen Island, and an unnamed islet south of Taylor Island in Spencer Gulf.
 * Curta Rocks, Liguanea Island and Albatross Island (immediately south of Thistle Island) in the Great Australian Bight.

Protected area designation
The national park is classified as an IUCN category II protected area

History
On 28 August 1941, land in sections 2, 5, 6, and 13 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Flinders was dedicated under the Crown Lands Act 1929 as a Flora and Fauna Reserve. On 9 November 1967, land in sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 14 in the Hundred of Flinders was proclaimed as the Lincoln National Park under the National Parks Act 1966.

On 27 April 1972, the national park was reconstituted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in respect to the following land - "Hundred Flinders, Section 2, 3, 5, 6, 12-14, Smith Island, Hopkins Island, Lewis Island, Little Island, Owen Island, Albatross Island, Liguanea Island, Rabbit Island (being section 395, North out of Hundreds), Curta Rocks (and) Hundred Flinders, Section 4."

In the years 1972–1992, the national park increased in size by the addition of land at Stamford Hill (whose original Barngarla name was Gaidyaba ), Cape Donington, Wanna and many of the islands adjoining the coast of the Jussieu Peninsula. The Lincoln Conservation Reserve which was proclaimed in 1993 under the Crown Lands Act 1929, was added to the national park's management regime and subsequently removed after the declaration of the reserve as the Lincoln Conservation Park. In June 1999, the boundary of the national park was extended down to Mean Low Water Mark.

In 2004, a parcel of land consisting of land around Memory Cove and the following islands - Hopkins, Lewis, Little, Smith and Williams, was excised from the national park and established as a separate protected area under the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 (SA) and with the name, the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area.

Indigenous use
The Aboriginal tribes of Barngarla and Nauo were the first people to have lived in the region. Archaeological digs have found sites of stone working, including fish traps, and middens throughout the national park.

European discovery
The coastline of Jussieu Peninsula and the adjoining islands was first visited by European explorers in 1802 when the British navigator, Matthew Flinders visited in 1802 followed by the Baudin expedition to Australia later in that year. A stone obelisk monument known as the Flinders Monument was dedicated at Stamford Hill in 1844 by Sir John Franklin in tribute to Flinders' achievements and is listed as a state heritage place on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Early European settlement
Subsequent to the survey by Flinders, the land was settled by a small number of Europeans, mainly along Cape Donington (named after the birthplace of Flinders), where the first grain crop was sown in 1875. Other industries that occurred in the early parts of European settlement were woodcutting, grazing and guano mining. Donington cottage, which still stands and is accessible to the public, is a relic of that era. The Cape Donington Lighthouse was built in 1905. A hexagonal concrete tower, it stands 32 m high and is still in operation. On 5 April 1907 the ketch Mary Ellis, on its way from Port Adelaide to Venus Bay, got caught in a gale and was wrecked on a beach along Sleaford Bay, now named Mary Ellis Wreck Beach. Despite total destruction of the ship, no casualties were recorded.

Flora
The national park is largely covered by coastal mallee eucalypts around outcrops of granite. The sand dunes on the southern coastline have smaller shrub coverage.

Fauna
The national park is home to a number of resident as well as migratory bird and animal species. Numerous kangaroos, wallabies and emus reside in the national park. Feral foxes were once common in the national park, endangering the existence of many native animals, however after an extensive baiting and culling program, their numbers have diminished. With the reduction in fox numbers, a rebound in goanna and bush stone curlew populations have been recorded. Brush-tailed bettongs and malleefowl have been reintroduced in the national park and are now becoming common.

Migratory birds such as stints and sandpipers spend summer in the national park as part of their seasonal migrations from places as distant as the Arctic Circle and Siberia. Southern right whales are visible in the water surrounding the national park during their seasonal migrations between July and November and Australian sea lions can be seen on rocks and small islands off the coast.

Visitor attractions and services

The national park hosts a range of activities including bushwalking, four-wheel driving, camping, snorkelling, scuba diving, swimming and fishing.

Walking trails
As of 2010, a total of 19 bushwalking trails with a length of over 100 km were available within the national park. The trail system is also part of a regional walking trail known as the Investigator Trail which extends outside of both the national park and the Jussieu Peninsula to North Shields via Tulka and Port Lincoln.

Four-wheel drive tracks
Much of the national park is only accessible via four-wheel drive tracks including the Sleaford to Wanna sand dune track.

Accommodation
Accommodation consists of one building at Spalding Cove, four formal camping grounds at Fisherman's Point, September Beach, Surfleet Cove and Taylor's Landing, and eight unserviced camping grounds.

title: Lincoln National Park


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Mount Remarkable National Park

Mount Remarkable National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 238 km north of the state capital of Adelaide and 25 km east of Port Augusta. It is also the name of the highest peak in the park, with a height of 960 m.

On 26 November 2021 a non-contiguous portion of the park to the south of the park, known as the Napperby Block, was combined with several other conservation parks to create the new Wapma Thura–Southern Flinders Ranges National Park.

History
Land associated with the Park at Mambray Creek and Alligator Gorge first obtained protected area status in 1952 as 'national pleasure resorts' declared under the then National Pleasure Resorts Act 1914. They were managed by the South Australian Government Tourist Bureau from 1952 to 1967.

In 1964, the National Parks Commission submitted a proposal to the Government of South Australia for "comprehensive national parks" covering an area larger than that of the existing national pleasure resorts. This resulted in the creation of three separate reserves - the Alligator Gorge Wildlife Reserve, the Mambray Creek Wildlife Reserve and the Mount Remarkable Wildlife Reserve, that were respectively constituted in July 1965, September 1967 and March 1966.

In 1972, the three wildlife reserves were re-proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 as the Mount Remarkable National Park. Between 1972 and 1993, the park doubled in size from an area of 8236 ha by the addition of land including the Black Range Lookout and the Bluff in 1976, and by the addition of an "area west of Alligator Gorge containing The Battery", two parts of the Willowie Forest Reserve, and the Napperby Block in 1993. The Napperby Block consists of 16.72 km2 of land, and is non-contiguous to the park. Instead, it is located on the other (southern) side of the Telowie Gorge Conservation Park, immediately east of the town of Napperby, about 4 km south of Telowie Gorge and about 12 km north-east of the city of Port Pirie.

In 2000, further land was added to the park, which was subsequently named The Warren Bonython Link in honour of Warren Bonython’s "long personal interest in the area" and "his association with the National Parks Foundation". The park had a total area of 18271 ha after this addition.

On 26 November 2021, the Napperby Block was combined with the former Telowie Gorge Conservation Park, Wirrabara Range Conservation Park, Spaniards Gully Conservation, to form the Wapma Thura–Southern Flinders Ranges National Park.

Description
The national park consists of two separate areas. The first is the parcel of land (often called a "block) located immediately west of the town of Melrose and consists of three areas: the Warren Bonython Link, Mambray Creek and Mount Remarkable. This block occupies 165.83 km2.

The second parcel of land is known as the Telowie Block and has an area of 0.35 km2. It is located on the west side of the old Telowie Gorge Conservation Park (now part of Wapma Thura–Southern Flinders Ranges National Park) about 7.5 km east of the town of Port Germein and about 24 km south of the block located at Melrose.

Its area was 183.62 km² including the Napperby Block (that is, until 26 November 2021).

The park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.

Flora and fauna
It is filled with a wide variety of animals and birds such as goannas, emus, echidna and kookaburras, which can be seen walking around the park. Besides these, it is home to 117 native bird species, including Australian ringnecks and wedge-tailed eagles. Unique mixture of arid and temperate flora intermixing within the region makes the Mt. Remarkable a biodiversity hotspot. Temperate trees common in the Great Dividing Range such as White Box, Long Leaved Box, Grey Box and South Australian Blue Gum ( Eucalyptus Leucoxylon Pruinosa) have a presence here. The unique Sugar Gum is a forest forming Eucalypt that is a relict tree of wetter times in South Australia. The Flinders Ranges variety of Sugar Gum is Cladocalyx Petila. Capable of growing to 40 metres tall and along with Long Leaved Box forms the most northerly biome of open forest in South Australia.

Rusty Pods, a bush with beautiful purple flowers, is another unique plant that can only be found in the higher parts of the Great Dividing Range. It can be commonly found only along Mt Remarkable Range; with a few outliers in Wirrabara forest, Mount Brown and Mt Aleck.

The Southern Flinders Ranges also provide a geographical barrier between semi-arid plants between the Eastern and Western halves of Australia.

title: Mount Remarkable National Park


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Murray River National Park

Murray River National Park is a protected area in South Australia located between 180 km and 240 km north east of the Adelaide city centre, lying along the Murray River. The national park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area. the national park comprises more than 14,879 ha, and includes a vast network of Murray River wetlands and floodplains.

The national park was proclaimed on 20 June 1991 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, "to conserve a significant proportion of South Australia’s floodplain environments which are not represented widely in other reserve systems".

The national park originally consisted of the first three sections listed below, with the following three in existence (six in total). All of the sections adjoin the Murray River, extending from near Loxton in the south west to near Renmark in the north-east.
 * Katarapko (9,500 ha), on the north side of the river between Loxton in the south and Berri in the north
 * Lyrup Flats (2,000 ha), on the north side of the river midway between Berri and Loxton
 * Bulyong, or Bulyong Island, on the west side of the river upstream from Renmark, accessible only by boat
 * Paringa Paddock (1,161 ha), including Goat Island, between Renmark and Paringa
 * Gurra Gurra (520.8 ha), just across the river south of Berri, directly opposite Katarapko
 * Kingston-on-Murray (931 ha), next to the township of Kingston-on-Murray

Katarapko section includes the Ngak Indau Wetland trail, with a bird hide;and the Rilli Island, Media Island, and Kapunda Island Conservation Parks are also part of Katarapko.

The protected areas provide for a number recreational activities such as walking, bike riding, canoeing, bird-watching and bush camping. There are parking facilities, designated camping areas with some toilets, walking trails, and a self-guided drive trail.

In 2021, a group of people in the Riverland region started a campaign to rename Goat Island to Ruby Hunter Island to honour the legacy of singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter. As Goat Island is part of the Murray River National Park, the Department for Environment and Water has the final say.

title: Murray River National Park


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Naracoorte Caves National Park

Naracoorte Caves National Park is a national park near Naracoorte in the Limestone Coast tourism region in the south-east of South Australia (Australia). It was officially recognised in 1994 for its extensive fossil record when the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List, along with Riversleigh. The park preserves 6 km2 of remnant vegetation, with 26 caves contained within the 3.05 km2 World Heritage Area. Out of the 28 known caves in the park, only four are open to the public. Other caves are kept away from the public eye as they are important for scientific research and also for the protection of the caves and their contents. Many of the caves contain spectacular stalactites and stalagmites.

European discovery
The caves, which are located within the boundaries of what is now the national park, were first encountered in 1845 with the discovery of Blanche Cave.

Naracoorte Forest Reserve
In 1885, the Department of Woods and Forests appointed a caretaker due to "the popularity of the caves and their vulnerability to vandalism".

First fossil collection
The first recorded collection of Pleistocene megafaunal fossils from the caves was a 1908 collection reported by William Reddan from Specimen Cave. This collection was carried out largely without regard for the stratigraphic context of the fossils, limiting the collections scientific utility.

National Pleasure Resort
In 1916, the control of the portion of the forest reserve which contained many of the caves and which consisted of about 50 acre of land was transferred from the Department of Woods and Forests to the Immigration, Publicity and Tourist Bureau who would manage it as a national pleasure resort under the National Pleasure Resort Act 1914 until 1972. The change of control was gazetted on 1 March 1917. The national pleasure resort's development into "an important regional tourist destination was greatly assisted by the discovery in 1969 in Victoria Cave of the largest known Australian Pleistocene vertebrate fossil cave deposit".

Conservation Park
On 27 April 1972, it was renamed as the  Naracoorte Caves Conservation Park upon the proclamation of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 which repealed the former act along with other statutes concerned with conservation. In 1982, the conservation park was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.

World heritage listing
On 17 December 1994, part of the conservation park, being an area of 300 ha was "inscribed on the World Heritage List" along with the Riversleigh fossil site in Queensland as the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte).

National Park
On 18 January 2001, the Naracoorte Caves Conservation Park was abolished and the land that it occupied was reconstituted as a national park because it was considered to be "of national significance by reason of the natural features of the land" and was assigned the name, Naracoorte Caves National Park.

National heritage listing
On 21 May 2007 The Australian Fossil Mammal Sites was one of 15 World Heritage places to be added to the Australian National Heritage List.

State heritage listing
On 17 May 2017, the extent of the national park was listed as a state heritage place on the South Australian Heritage Register with the name of the Naracoorte Caves Complex.

Visitor attraction
The park is a visitor destination in itself, with a camping ground and caravan park, dormitory accommodation for groups, picnic grounds and a licensed cafe. The range of visitor activities is extensive. Show cave tours are guided by professional interpreters through highly decorated caves with some tours visiting amazing fossil deposits. Modern technology has been utilised to show visitors the normally inaccessible interior of Bat Cave, where thousands of southern bent-wing bats breed each year. Other opportunities include adventure caving, a selection of specialty tours and special events. The Wonambi Fossil Centre, the park's visitor centre, features displays of fossils and bones found in the caves and dioramas of extinct animals.

Structure
The limestone of the area was formed from coral and marine creatures 200 million years ago and again 20 million years ago when the land was below sea level. Ground water since then has dissolved and eroded some of the limestone, creating the caves. The caves, such as the Victoria Fossil Cave and Blanche Cave, are often not far below ground, and holes open up creating traps for the unwary. This is the source of the remarkable collection of fossils. Mammals and other land creatures have fallen into open caves and been unable to escape. The fossil record has been preserved in strata formed from eroded topsoil washed and blown in. In some places, the fossil-bearing silt is up to 20 metres thick. Some of these areas are being preserved for future research when better methods of dating and reconstructing fossil records may have been found. These fossil traps are especially significant for tracing Australian megafauna.

The latest research pushes back the date of the caves' formation to at least 1.34 million years ago.

title: Naracoorte Caves National Park


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Nullarbor National Park

Nullarbor National Park is a protected area  in the Australian state of South Australia located in the locality of Nullarbor about 887 km west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 400 km west of Ceduna.

Founded in 1979, its extent was reduced in 2013 from 5781.27 km2 to 323.10 km2 by the proclamation of the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area. As of 2013, it is bounded to the west by the Western Australia - South Australian state border, the north by the Nullarbor Regional Reserve and to the east and the south by the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area.

It is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.

title: Nullarbor National Park