Camooweal Caves National Park

Protected area in Queensland, Australia

20°3′0″S 138°11′4″E / 20.05000°S 138.18444°E / -20.05000; 138.18444Established1988Area138 km² (53.3 sq mi)WebsiteCamooweal Caves National ParkSee alsoProtected areas of Queensland

Camooweal Caves is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 15 km southeast of Camooweal and 1720 km northwest of Brisbane.^[1]

The traditional name of this place is Wiliyan-ngurru National Park.^[2] The average elevation of the terrain is 242 metres.^[3]

Description

The national park consists of 13,800 hectares of eucalypt woodland, spinifex, wattle and Mitchell grass. Accessible to the public are two sinkholes that formed over 500 million years by water seepage through beds of dolomite. A picnic table is provided at Nowranie waterhole.^[4] Various bird species can be found here, including waterbirds and woodland species.^[5]

History

The wider Camooweal area was inhabited by the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu People for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans in 1860s. The aboriginal people utilised the park area and the Georgina River for trade with their tribal neighbours. Till date, the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu People believe that the route is traversed by Dreamings, the routes covered by ancestral spirits who shaped the landscape. The Dreamings have created various sites of significance to the Indjalandji-Dhidhanu People in the park.^[6]

References

^ Hema, Maps (2007). Australia Road and 4WD Atlas (Map). Eight Mile Plains Queensland: Hema Maps. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-86500-456-3.
^ "'National treasure' officially regains traditional Indigenous name". ABC News. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ "Camooweal Caves National Park topographic map, elevation, relief". topographic-map.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ "Queensland Government National Parks, Sport and Racing". Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
^ "Camooweal Caves National Park". 26 October 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
^ "Culture and history". Parks and Forests Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019.