Chowilla floodplain

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The Chowilla floodplain is a floodplain adjacent to the Murray River, upstream of Renmark, South Australia. The floodplain includes the Chowilla Game Reserve and Chowilla Regional Reserve, and also extends across the state border into New South Wales.

Contents

History

Aboriginal Australians occupied the area before British colonisation of South Australia. [1] [2] European pastoralists first occupied the region in the 1840s. Among the first pioneers was Fred Handcock, who overlanded livestock from New South Wales, and lost his life there in 1847. [3]

The Chowilla Dam was proposed to be built across the floodplain in the 1960s, and if it had been built, much of the floodplain that is now protected would have been permanently flooded.[ citation needed ]

After significant drought and low water flows in the Murray River around 2009-2010, the flood plains were under significant stress due to lack of water. As a response to this, additional regulators were installed to enable artificial floods across parts of the wetland to ensure the health of the trees by simulating the natural floods that would have occurred before the river was regulated by the locks and weirs and upstream dams. [4]

Ramsar wetland

The Chowilla floodplain is protected as part of the Riverland Ramsar site, [5] designated by the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. [6]

Lake Limbra project

The area includes several lakes and wetland areas which provide habitat for native flora and fauna, but since the area has been affected by drought and the use of water from the Murray regulated, much of the plain has remained dry for long periods. Lake Limbra, situated at the northern end of the Chowilla Regional Reserve, is regarded as a sacred site by the local Aboriginal peoples, who used it as a burial site. The lake's geographical location on the eastern end of the floodplain as well as its low-lying altitude meant that in the past, it was first to be filed during flood events. [7]

In March 2021, a three-month project to pump water into Lake Limbra from the Murray River was undertaken by the state Department for Environment and Water, SA Water and a group of First Nations people, using a system of water pumps and cranes. By June, much wildlife was observed in and around the lake, including wetland birds such as ducks, and also shield shrimp, a tiny crustacean adapted to living in desert areas and was able to cope with periodic drying of muddy lakes. [7]

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Chowilla Regional Reserve is protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Chowilla about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north-east of the state capital of Adelaide.

Chowilla Game Reserve is a protected area covering the floodplain on the north side of the River Murray in South Australia from about 8 kilometres north-east of Renmark to the New South Wales border. It was proclaimed 8 April 1993 in conjunction with the Chowilla Regional Reserve, after a community consultation process which recommended that "hunting of waterfowl be a permitted activity in selected areas of the Chowilla floodplain". The game reserve is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.

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Chowilla is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located on the northern side of the Murray River about 250 kilometres to the north-east of the capital city of Adelaide and about 40 kilometres to the north-east of the town of Renmark, and which is bounded by the border with New South Wales in the east.

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Calperum Station, also known as Calperum Reserve, is a nature reserve located in the east of the Australian state of South Australia about 10 kilometres north-west of the town of Renmark and about 250 kilometres east of the state capital of Adelaide. Calperum Station consists of three separate pastoral leases - Calperum, Calperum Road and Yubalia.

References

  1. ↑ Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS . Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Bradbrook, Sam (2 June 2021). "Chowilla Regional Reserve water, native wildlife returns to important site for First Nations people". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Local News". The South Australian . Vol. X, no. 895. South Australia. 7 December 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 14 November 2016– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Chowilla Floodplain". Murray Darling Basin Authority. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Riverland Ramsar site". Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia . 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "New partnership to restore Riverland Ramsar site (Commonwealth Environmental Water Office media release)". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australia. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 Bradbrook, Sam (1 June 2021). "Chowilla Regional Reserve water, native wildlife returns to important site for First Nations people". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 20 June 2021.

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