Mummel Gulf National Park
Encyclopedia
Mummel Gulf is a national park in New South Wales
(Australia
), about 487 kilometres by road north of Sydney
. It is situated approximately 50 km southeast of Walcha
on the unsealed Enfield Forest Road and 12 km south of the Oxley Highway
.
The Mummel River has formed the deep 'V' shaped gorge of the Mummel Gulf, which exceeds 400 m in the head of this gorge.
forest and snow gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora
) forest in the higher parts of the park, around Porters Camp. Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua
) and less commonly Mountain Ribbon Gum (Eucalyptus nobilis) dominate old-growth forests in this area which drops from 1,450 metres down to 470 m. Other trees in the region include silvertop stringybark
(Eucalyptus laevopinea), blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna
), diehard stringybark (Eucalyptus cameronii) and New England blackbutt (Eucalyptus andrewsii). Broad-leaved pepperbush (Tasmannia
purpurascenes) is at its northern limit in the area. Many species of shrubs flower here during spring and summer.
Bushwalkers accessing the remote central and southern sections of the park's moist subtropical rainforest will find a mix of corkwood, sassafras (Doryphora sassafras
), large tree ferns (Dicksonia) and silver sycamore (Cryptocarya glaucescens).
The park also protects threatened species such as the koala
, tiger quoll
, sugar glider, yellow-bellied glider, superb lyrebird, boobook owl, sooty owl, powerful owl, tawny frogmouth and parma wallaby.
The explorer John Oxley
passed by the Apsley Falls
in September 1818 and travelled eastwards through this area en route to Port Macquarie. Timber-getters and illegal settlers soon followed. The Wool Road (now the Oxley Highway), was built through here in 1842 with convict labour to link the wool-growing settlement of Walcha with Port Macquarie. Some of the park has been logged, although only small sections of the park have been cleared. Some areas have also been used for cattle grazing and for small-scale manganese
mining.
In the 1970s Enfield and Riamukka State Forests were expanded over former Crown lands to include the steep areas of the Mummel River catchment.
The Bicentennial National Trail
which was first used in the 1970s follows the Mummel Forest Road to the east of the park.
Porters (Camp) air navigation facility and Country Energy towers are situated at 1,448 metres in the northern portion of the park.
In 1992 North-East Forest Alliance Forest (NEFA) protesters set up a camp in what is now Mummel Gulf National Park. NEFA protested against logging here and won an agreement to delay logging to allow a joint study by NEFA and the state Forestry Commission. Mummel Gulf National Park was created in 1999, as part of the national regional forest agreement process.
Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora
) and blackberry
(Rubus fruticosus) are the main weeds of concern in the park.
(4WD) in wet conditions. The Panhandle Fire Trail is a 9.5 km four-wheel drive trail located within the park.
New Country Swamp has a basic camping area with toilets, picnic tables and barbecues situated 13 km from the highway and inside the National Park. Campsites are suitable for camper trailers or camping beside ones vehicle. Not suitable for caravans.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), about 487 kilometres by road north of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. It is situated approximately 50 km southeast of Walcha
Walcha, New South Wales
Walcha is a parish and town at the south-eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia.The town serves as the seat of Walcha Shire. Walcha is located 425 kilometres by road from Sydney at the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way...
on the unsealed Enfield Forest Road and 12 km south of the Oxley Highway
Oxley Highway
The Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia. It starts at Nevertire where it joins the Mitchell Highway. It links Warren, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah, Carroll, Tamworth, Bendemeer, Walcha, Yarrowitch, Ellenborough, Long Flat, Wauchope and ends at Port Macquarie on the...
.
The Mummel River has formed the deep 'V' shaped gorge of the Mummel Gulf, which exceeds 400 m in the head of this gorge.
Flora and fauna
The Mummel Gulf National Park protects tall, open eucalypt forest on the south-eastern escarpment of the New England region. The park communities also include wet sclerophyllSclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forest and snow gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora
Eucalyptus pauciflora
The Snow Gum is a small tree or large shrub native to eastern Australia.-Habitat:It is usually found in the subalpine habitats of eastern Australia. Snow Gums also grow in lowland habitats where they can reach heights of up to 20 metres. Lowland Snow Gum is sometimes known as White Sallee, Cabbage...
) forest in the higher parts of the park, around Porters Camp. Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua
Eucalyptus obliqua
Eucalyptus obliqua, commonly known as Australian Oak, Brown Top, Brown Top Stringbark, Messmate, Messmate Stringybark, Stringybark and Tasmanian Oak, is a hardwood tree native to south-eastern Australia....
) and less commonly Mountain Ribbon Gum (Eucalyptus nobilis) dominate old-growth forests in this area which drops from 1,450 metres down to 470 m. Other trees in the region include silvertop stringybark
Stringybark
A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...
(Eucalyptus laevopinea), blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna
Eucalyptus saligna, known as the Sydney Blue Gum, is a large Australian hardwood tree common along the New South Wales seaboard and into Queensland, reaching about 65 metres in height...
), diehard stringybark (Eucalyptus cameronii) and New England blackbutt (Eucalyptus andrewsii). Broad-leaved pepperbush (Tasmannia
Tasmannia
Tasmannia is a genus of woody, evergreen flowering plants of the family Winteraceae. There are 40 species of Tasmannia native to Australia, New Guinea, Celebes, Borneo, and Philippines. The Winteraceae are magnoliids, and are associated with the humid Antarctic flora of the southern hemisphere...
purpurascenes) is at its northern limit in the area. Many species of shrubs flower here during spring and summer.
Bushwalkers accessing the remote central and southern sections of the park's moist subtropical rainforest will find a mix of corkwood, sassafras (Doryphora sassafras
Doryphora sassafras
Doryphora sassafras, commonly known as Sassafras, Yellow-, Canary- or Golden sassafras, or Golden Deal, is a species of evergreen tree of the family Atherospermataceae native to the subtropical and temperate rainforests of eastern New South Wales and Queensland, Australia...
), large tree ferns (Dicksonia) and silver sycamore (Cryptocarya glaucescens).
The park also protects threatened species such as the koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
, tiger quoll
Quoll
The quoll, or native cat, is a carnivorous marsupial native to mainland Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. It is primarily nocturnal and spends most of the day in its den. There are six species of quoll; four are found in Australia and two in New Guinea...
, sugar glider, yellow-bellied glider, superb lyrebird, boobook owl, sooty owl, powerful owl, tawny frogmouth and parma wallaby.
History
This region and its escarpment served as the boundary between the Nganyaywana people of the Northern Tablelands and the Danggati who had the hinterland valleys leading up to the tableland.The explorer John Oxley
John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of English colonisation.October 1802 he was engaged in coastal survey work including an expedition to Western Port in 1804-05...
passed by the Apsley Falls
Apsley Falls
The Apsley Falls are two waterfalls on the Apsley River on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. The falls are located about east of Walcha, and 1 kilometre off the Oxley Highway in a deep gorge, that is part of the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park...
in September 1818 and travelled eastwards through this area en route to Port Macquarie. Timber-getters and illegal settlers soon followed. The Wool Road (now the Oxley Highway), was built through here in 1842 with convict labour to link the wool-growing settlement of Walcha with Port Macquarie. Some of the park has been logged, although only small sections of the park have been cleared. Some areas have also been used for cattle grazing and for small-scale manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
mining.
In the 1970s Enfield and Riamukka State Forests were expanded over former Crown lands to include the steep areas of the Mummel River catchment.
The Bicentennial National Trail
Bicentennial National Trail
The Bicentennial National Trail , formerly known as the National Horse Trail is the longest marked multi-use trail in the world, stretching 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown, through New South Wales to Healesville, 60 km north-east of Melbourne...
which was first used in the 1970s follows the Mummel Forest Road to the east of the park.
Porters (Camp) air navigation facility and Country Energy towers are situated at 1,448 metres in the northern portion of the park.
In 1992 North-East Forest Alliance Forest (NEFA) protesters set up a camp in what is now Mummel Gulf National Park. NEFA protested against logging here and won an agreement to delay logging to allow a joint study by NEFA and the state Forestry Commission. Mummel Gulf National Park was created in 1999, as part of the national regional forest agreement process.
Pest animals and weeds
Some wild pigs and wild dogs live in the park. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) staff conduct pig trapping and shooting programs. A ground-baiting program is run in conjunction with Forests NSW and private landholders to help control wild dogs.Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora
Ageratina adenophora
Ageratina adenophora is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by many common names, including eupatory, sticky snakeroot, crofton weed, and Mexican devil.- Description :...
) and blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
(Rubus fruticosus) are the main weeds of concern in the park.
Access and facilities
The gravel road is accessible by all vehicles but it would be advisable to have a four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
(4WD) in wet conditions. The Panhandle Fire Trail is a 9.5 km four-wheel drive trail located within the park.
New Country Swamp has a basic camping area with toilets, picnic tables and barbecues situated 13 km from the highway and inside the National Park. Campsites are suitable for camper trailers or camping beside ones vehicle. Not suitable for caravans.