Ewens Ponds

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Ewens Ponds
South East Drainage, Ewen Ponds showing row boat with two men(GN11011).jpg
Ewens Ponds, ca. 1945
Australia South Australia relief location map.png
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Ewens Ponds
Location in South Australia
Location South Australia
Coordinates 38°01′36″S140°47′26″E / 38.02667°S 140.79056°E / -38.02667; 140.79056
Type Cenotes
Primary outflows Eight Mile Creek
Catchment area spring-fed water body
Basin  countriesAustralia
Max. lengthPond 1 - 50 metres (160 feet)
Pond 2 - 38 metres (125 feet)
Pond 3 - 19 metres (62 feet) [1]
Max. widthPond 1 - 32 metres (105 feet)
Pond 2 - 38 metres (125 feet)
Pond 3 - 28 metres (92 feet) [1]
Average depthPond 1 - 9 metres (30 feet)
Pond 2 - 9 metres (30 feet)
Pond 3 - 13 metres (43 feet) [1]
Max. depth13 metres (43 feet) [1]
Water volumePond 1 - 28,000 cubic metres (990,000 cubic feet)
Pond 2 - 212,000 cubic metres (7,500,000 cubic feet)
Pond 3 - 4,400 cubic metres (160,000 cubic feet) [1]
Residence time Pond 1 - 6 hours
Pond 2 - 3 hours
Pond 3 - 1.5 hours [1]

Ewens Ponds is a series of three water-filled limestone sinkholes in the state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Eight Mile Creek, on the watercourse of Eight Mile Creek about 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of Mount Gambier and 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles) east of Port MacDonnell. [2] The ponds are popular with recreational divers due to their excellent underwater visibility. It has a small fish population including the endangered golden pygmy perch. Ewens Ponds has been part of the Ewens Ponds Conservation Park since 1976.

Contents

History

The original inhabitants of the land are the Boandik group, of the Bungandidj people of Aboriginal people who lived in what is now south-eastern South Australia. [3] The first European identified with the area was Thomas Ewens, whose dog chased a kangaroo into one of the ponds [4] while he was hunting geese. Ewens reported his discovery of the ponds to the survey department and they became known as Thomas Ewens Spring Ponds. [5]

The land surrounding the ponds was gradually cleared for agriculture and dairy farming and a drainage system built to draw water from the ponds for land sold for soldier settlement programs post-World War II. [4]

In 1978 a trout farm was established utilising the waters flowing through Ewens Ponds. Although the ponds themselves are now part of a conservation park, the farm continues to operate. [4] Water for the farm is drawn from the second pond, and wastewater discharged back into Eight Mile Creek downstream from the pond system. [6]

Geography

Each pond is a basin-shaped limestone doline approximately 9 metres (30 feet) deep and connected to the others by shallow watercourses called "races". [7] The beds are covered with a fine silt layer and the floor of the third pond also contains a natural shallow cave. [8] The ponds are located in a narrow band of native bush land, surrounded by cleared terrain. The landscape is characteristic of karst topography, shaped by the gradual dissolution of soluble limestone to form hollows and small caves, [9] along with numerous large and relatively deep sinkholes (true cenotes).

The ponds contain extremely clear, high quality freshwater in which snorkellers and scuba divers can enjoy the wonder of swimming in a giant 'underwater garden', where the prolific plant life can easily be seen on the far side of each pond, more than 80 metres (260 feet) away in some areas. [10] [ failed verification ] The clarity of the water also allows sufficient sunlight to penetrate that plant growth on the pond beds can reach up to 6 metres (20 feet) in height. The ponds are also occasionally affected by outbreaks of blue-green and other algae, [11] though testing has found no evidence of health risks. [12] In 2007 the South Australian Environmental Protection Agency suggested the algal blooms may be a result of continued concentrations of soluble nitrogen in both the ponds and the adjoining Eight Mile Creek, arising from infiltration of the groundwater by fertilisers, animal waste or wastewater. [13]

Fauna

The ponds are one of only three recorded locations for the golden pygmy perch (Nannoperca variegata). [14] Other fish life includes schools of short-finned eel, river blackfish, pouched lampreys, mullet and common galaxias. [15] The ponds are also home to populations of flatworms, freshwater crayfish and mussels, and the larva of the carnivorous caddis fly. [16]

Recreational activities

The ponds are owned and managed as a conservation park by the Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). [17] Plant and animal species in the ponds are protected and may not be removed.

High underwater visibility, the presence of rare and interesting fish, invertebrates and plants and the ponds' unique photographic potential have made them popular with scuba divers. [18] Of particular interest in these clear waters is the actual observation of photosynthesis - aquatic plants can be seen releasing thin trails of bubbles as they convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. However divers are prohibited from entering caves or crevices on the pond beds and strongly discouraged from disturbing the silt layer as the resulting turbidity may harm plant life. [19] [ failed verification ] Divers enter at the First Pond, drift with the current through the First Race to the Second Pond, and then continue through the Second Race to the Third Pond before exiting the water via a ladder there. However, some divers (especially snorkellers) occasionally attempt to vigorously swim upstream through the races to return to Ponds One or Two, thereby disturbing the water plants lining the races, and this practice is strongly discouraged by the diving community.[ failed verification ] The general water temperature of the ponds is around 15 °C (60 °F). [19]

Protected area status

Ewens Ponds and some adjoining land has enjoyed protected area status since 1976 when proclaimed as a conservation park under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 . [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected areas of South Australia</span> Areas protected by legislation in South Australia

Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separate protected areas declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, the Crown Land Management Act 2009 and the Wilderness Protection Act 1992. Together, they cover a total land area of 211,387.48 km2 (81,617.16 sq mi) or 21.5% of the state's area.

Deep Creek National Park, formerly the Deep Creek Conservation Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern coast of Fleurieu Peninsula in the gazetted localities of Deep Creek and Delamere about 11 kilometres east of Cape Jervis.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talisker Conservation Park</span> Protected area in South Australia

Talisker Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western area of the Fleurieu Peninsula near the town of Cape Jervis and adjacent to Deep Creek Conservation Park. The conservation park covers 211 ha including areas of thick scrub, some steep walking tracks and the heritage-listed remains of a nineteenth century silver and lead mine.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park</span> Protected area near Mount Gambier in South Australia

Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park, formerly the Piccaninnie Ponds National Park, is a protected area of 862 hectares located in southeastern South Australia near Mount Gambier.

The Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) is a cave diving organisation which was formed in September 1973 to represent the interests of recreational scuba divers who dive in water-filled caves and sinkholes principally in the Lower South East of South Australia (SA) and secondly in other parts of Australia. Its formation occurred after a series of diving fatalities in waterfilled caves and sinkholes in the Mount Gambier region between 1969 and 1973 and in parallel to a Government of South Australia inquiry into these deaths. The CDAA's major achievement has been the dramatic reduction of fatalities via the introduction of a site rating scheme and an associated testing system which was brought in during the mid-1970s. While its major area of operation is in the Limestone Coast region of SA, it administers and supports cave diving activity in other parts of Australia including the Nullarbor Plain and Wellington, New South Wales.

Beyeria Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island in the gazetted locality of Haines, about 16 kilometres south of Kingscote on the northern edge of the MacGillivray Plain.

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Ewens Ponds Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia consisting of the Ewens Ponds and some adjoining land in the gazetted locality of Eight Mile Creek about 8.4 kilometres east of Port MacDonnell in South Australia and about 25 kilometres south of Mount Gambier. The conservation park was proclaimed in 1976 under National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. The conservation park was proclaimed for the following reasons:

The conservation park contains remnants of the terrestrial and aquatic vegetation communities which existed prior to clearing and development. The fauna within the conservation park is also relatively unique within South Australia and the physical features of the ponds are unique within Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Labatt</span> Place in South Australia

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Beachport Conservation Park, formerly the Beachport National Park, is a protected area located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia about 80 kilometres north-west of Mount Gambier and immediately north of the township of Beachport.

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Whyalla Conservation Park is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia about 10 kilometres north of the centre of city of Whyalla immediately adjoining the Lincoln Highway.

Eight Mile Creek is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south-east coast overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. It is about 399 kilometres south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 24 kilometres south of the municipal seat of Mount Gambier in the south-east of the state.

Penambol Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east in the gazetted locality of Caroline about 22 kilometres (14 mi) south-east of the city centre in Mount Gambier.

Gower Conservation Park is a protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia in the locality of Tantanoola about 353 kilometres (219 mi) south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) north west of the regional city of Mount Gambier.

The 1973 Mount Gambier cave diving accident was a scuba diving incident on 28 May 1973 at a flooded sinkhole known as "The Shaft" near Mount Gambier in South Australia. The incident claimed the lives of four recreational scuba divers: siblings Stephen and Christine M. Millott, Gordon G. Roberts, and John H. Bockerman. The four divers explored beyond their own planned limits, without the use of a guideline, and subsequently became lost, eventually exhausting their breathing air and drowning, with their bodies all recovered over the next year. To date, they are the only known fatalities at the site. Four other divers from the same group survived.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lewis, I; Stace, P. (1982). Cave Diving in Australia (Revised ed.). Adelaide: Ian Lewis & Peter Stace. pp. 60–61. ISBN   0959496300.
  2. ↑ "Search result for "Eight Mile Creek (Locality Bounded)" (Record no SA0002703) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities", "Place names (gazetteer)" "Local Government Areas" and "Development Plan Layers"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Foster, Donna. "Culture & History". Discover Mount Gambier. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife SA, South East Region, Heritage and Biodiversity division of the Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. (February 1999). Ewens Ponds Conservation Park Management Plan (PDF). Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia. p. 5. ISBN   0-7308-5847-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "How Ewens Ponds Were Named". Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA : 1861 - 1954). 11 November 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  6. ↑ prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife SA, South East Region, Heritage and Biodiversity division of the Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. (February 1999). Ewens Ponds Conservation Park Management Plan (PDF). Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia. p. 8. ISBN   0-7308-5847-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Ewen Ponds Conservation Park". Department of Environment and Heritage, South Australia. June 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  8. ↑ "Piccaninnie Ponds". Getaway, Nine Network. September 2000. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  9. ↑ prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife SA, South East Region, Heritage and Biodiversity division of the Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. (February 1999). Ewens Ponds Conservation Park Management Plan (PDF). Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia. p. 3. ISBN   0-7308-5847-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Ewen Ponds Conservation Park". AboutAustralia Pty Ltd. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  11. ↑ "EPA probes possible Ewens Ponds algae outbreak". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  12. ↑ "Ewens Ponds algae no risk to public" (PDF) (Press release). Department of Environment and Heritage, South Australia. 18 February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  13. ↑ "Eight Mile Creek: Archived water quality assessments". Environmental Protection Agency, South Australia. September 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  14. ↑ "Nannoperca variegata in Species Profile and Threats Database". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australia. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  15. ↑ prepared by the National Parks and Wildlife SA, South East Region, Heritage and Biodiversity division of the Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. (February 1999). Ewens Ponds Conservation Park Management Plan (PDF). Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia. p. 10. ISBN   0-7308-5847-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Ewens Ponds". Australian Network. February 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  17. ↑ Tedder, G. (19 May 1984). "Management of Piccaninnie Ponds and Ewens Ponds". Australian Society for Limnology Congress. Caulfield East: Australian Society for Limnology. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  18. ↑ "Scuba Diving in South Australia". Outdoors SA. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  19. 1 2 "Guidelines for SCUBA Diving and Snorkelling in Ewens Ponds" (PDF). Department of Environment and Heritage, South Australia. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  20. ↑ National Parks and Wildlife SA, South East Region, Heritage and Biodiversity division of the Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. (February 1999). Ewens Ponds Conservation Park Management Plan (PDF). Department for Environment, Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia. p. 8. ISBN   0-7308-5847-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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