Kinglake National Park
Encyclopedia
Kinglake is a national park in Victoria
, Australia
, 50 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The park includes tracks (some with wheelchair access), and camping facilities.
The national park includes Masons Falls, a picnic area with falls and natural flora. Layered sediment forms the valley, containing fossils from when the area was once covered by the sea. Natural fauna includes wallaby
, kangaroo
, wombat
, possum
and echidna
. It also includes varieties of birds including cockatoos (Sulphur-crested
, black and red-headed), king parrots
, the rosella
and the lyrebird
.
Prior to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the park was renowned for being home to the tallest tree in Victoria. The specimen of Eucalyptus regnans
(Common Name: Mountain Ash) stood 91.6m tall in 2002 and was suspected to have originated after the 1851 Black Thursday bushfires. It was located in the Wallaby Creek closed catchment area in the north-west regions of the park.
In January 2006, parts of the park to the north of the Kinglake township were devastated by a bushfire started by lightning during a severe thunderstorm. The blaze threatened to engulf the town, advancing to within a few hundred metres of the northern fringe. The town was saved by further thunderstorms, along with Country Fire Authority
volunteers.
In 2009 98% of the national park was severely burnt by the devastating Black Saturday bushfires. Much of the town of Kinglake
was destroyed and nearly a hundred lives were lost. As of 2010, rehabilitation work is continuing and sections of the park gradually being reopened.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 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...
, 50 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The park includes tracks (some with wheelchair access), and camping facilities.
The national park includes Masons Falls, a picnic area with falls and natural flora. Layered sediment forms the valley, containing fossils from when the area was once covered by the sea. Natural fauna includes wallaby
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
, kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
, wombat
Wombat
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
, possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
and echidna
Echidna
Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...
. It also includes varieties of birds including cockatoos (Sulphur-crested
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita, is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests...
, black and red-headed), king parrots
Australian King Parrot
The Australian King Parrot is endemic to eastern Australia. It is found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas in and directly adjacent to subtropical and temperate rainforest...
, the rosella
Rosella
A rosella is one of five to eight species of colorful Australian parrots in the genus Platycercus. Platycercus means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe...
and the lyrebird
Lyrebird
A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured...
.
Prior to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the park was renowned for being home to the tallest tree in Victoria. The specimen of Eucalyptus regnans
Eucalyptus regnans
Eucalyptus regnans, known variously by the common names Mountain Ash, Victorian Ash, Swamp Gum, Tasmanian Oak or Stringy Gum, is a species of Eucalyptus native to southeastern Australia, in Tasmania and Victoria...
(Common Name: Mountain Ash) stood 91.6m tall in 2002 and was suspected to have originated after the 1851 Black Thursday bushfires. It was located in the Wallaby Creek closed catchment area in the north-west regions of the park.
History
The area was logged in the early part of the 20th century, and some remnants of logging remain (such as scars on some trees and a sawdust dump).In January 2006, parts of the park to the north of the Kinglake township were devastated by a bushfire started by lightning during a severe thunderstorm. The blaze threatened to engulf the town, advancing to within a few hundred metres of the northern fringe. The town was saved by further thunderstorms, along with Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
volunteers.
In 2009 98% of the national park was severely burnt by the devastating Black Saturday bushfires. Much of the town of Kinglake
Kinglake, Victoria
Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia situated in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. At the 2006 Census, Kinglake had a population of 1482...
was destroyed and nearly a hundred lives were lost. As of 2010, rehabilitation work is continuing and sections of the park gradually being reopened.
See also
- Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. It contains 1966 separate Protected Areas with a total land area of 33,780 km² . Of these, 36 are National parks, totalling 25,774 km² ....
- Disappointment Reference AreaDisappointment Reference AreaDisappointment Reference Area is a scientific reference area within the Wallaby Creek section of Kinglake National Park. It is located in the Central Highlands of the Victoria, Australia, 50 kilometres northeast of Melbourne....
- Toorourrong ReservoirToorourrong ReservoirToorourrong Reservoir is a small reservoir located on the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range approximately north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is operated by Melbourne Water and forms part of the Melbourne water supply system...