A massive new national park is to be created in outback New South Wales following the state government’s acquisition of Comeroo Station, northwest of Bourke.
The purchase covers more than 37,000 hectares featuring diverse habitat such as alluvial floodplains and swamps with permanent waterholes, ephemeral wetlands, grasslands, woodlands and shrublands.
The acquisition covers Comeroo, Muttawary and Maranoa stations – known collectively as Comeroo – and the area will now be managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
More than one-quarter of the new park stretches across Yantabulla Swamp, which is recognised as an Important Bird Area, which hosts thousands of internationally protected migratory shorebirds as well as up to 50,000 waterbirds.
A new national park will be created at Comeroo Station. PIC: Joshua J Smith Photography / NSW DPE
These include threatened freckled ducks, pink-eared ducks, grey teals, night herons and many other species.
Three ecological communities listed as endangered cover one-third of Comeroo. These are the Coolibah-Blackbox woodland, Brigalow-Gidgee woodland/shrubland and critically endangered artesian springs.
The Government says at least 13 known threatened species will benefit from permanently protecting this area. They include the stripe-faced dunnart, ringed brown snake, black-breasted buzzard, brolga, pink cockatoo, little eagle and Hall’s babbler.
The threatened black-breasted buzzard is one of the species that will benefit from the area being protected. PIC: NSW DPE
When combined with nearby recently reserved Brindingabba National Park and properties Yantabulla and Naree which have agreements with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, this acquisition secures a contiguous area of more than 100,000 hectares for conservation.
Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said the purchase would help protect vital wetlands in the Cuttaburra basin, part of the Paroo and the Warrego floodplains which is some of New South Wales’s and Australia’s best waterbird breeding sites.
“National park management and visitation are an important economic driver for regional New South Wales,” she said. “In time, this will become another must-see national park destination. The construction of visitor experiences and driving tours will help people explore this vast new park.”
The new National Park will be established after the statutory process is completed, and is expected to be named then opened to the public in late 2024.
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That is great news love the outback just another place to visit
Comeroo is a great acquisition as a National Park. It desperately needs to be fenced have the feral pests eliminated by NPWS, with sensible management put in place. It would be a pity for it to become a sanctuary for wild pigs, cats and foxes.
We’ve just been to the Diamantina NP, and the most common animals we saw were cattle, feral pigs and feral cats. I was a bit dismayed.
The wild pigs, feral cats and foxes already exist in this acquisition. I support what I believe to be the intent of your statement and that is that an adequate resourcing of feral and pest plant species must be part and parcel of the management of the new N P which contains very important biodiversity.
Somehow I can see this being another National Park, that after the work has been done , all of a sudden it turns into another sacred site issue and people are not allowed too view this area let alone walk there…
Mark, I have to agree with you. Also, I wonder if I must be a bit dumb as I need a map to see where this new national park is, exactly.
Sorry to rain on your parade for a couple of reasons. Firstly as I travel with a couple of dopey Cavalier’s (Dogs) then I haven’t visited a national park in like over ten years so of no interest to me.
Next bit is that when the successive Governments get a bit short of funds they tend to cut back on the Maintenance and so the weeds and feral animals take up residence. Plenty of introduced species of both animals and weeds living in national parks.
Next bit is the amount of National Parks that seem to suddenly become Sacred Sites and command outrageous entry fees from the indigenous people so when is Enough going to be Enough of this rubbish. I can quote an experience from a coastal area in the South of SA where I had to get a gate key from the information centre in town which cost $10.00 plus a refundable key deposit. I get to the gate and was accosted and demanded to pay $80.00 by the custodians of the land.
That is no good, I would have turned around, and gone else where.
I hope this isn’t a prelude to what might transpose re charges to see & use parts of our beautiful Country. What might happen with a “Yes” vote to the “Voice” ?????.Food for thought.
Although this is an outstanding area I am concerned that NSWNP will lock up large areas of the park and severly restrict access and charge prohibative costs for entry and camping etc. under the guise of enviromental protection like they already do in a number of NSW National Parks.
Here we go again do we need to turn it into a N.P. it’s the natural outback for all to enjoy without fees, toilets and other man made structures. Like other people also think it will probably be a sacred site in the none too distant future, then bigger fees more restrictions.
“Somehow I can see this being another National Park, that after the work has been done, all of a sudden it turns into another sacred site issue and people are not allowed to view this area let alone walk there…”
Couldn’t agree more with this previous comment. I grew up in country SA and have been caravanning since 1984.This is a serious problem that ‘may’ get rectified after the current governments precious ‘Voice’ loses its way with the Australian people! National Parks should be inherently for all of us [including those who are responsible dog owners] and Governments should be about doing the right thing for the ‘collective’ irrespective of the color of a person’s skin. We are going to find out just how far removed from reality the current government is along with the corporate bodies who have recently thrown their support behind the Yes proposal – which no doubt is somewhat about shoring up the support needed to further erode our right to access great swags of the country that belong to us all. Let it be said: these are not the Governments National Parks – they are OURS!!!!!
As a footnote: I too would have refused the extortionist like demands made upon our SA traveler [Allen Lawson]. It’s a disgrace and I feel ashamed that that was your experience, Allen.
The spouse and I, as do many others, travel with the farm dog; good for company and security at night.
Needless say this will be another non-destination for us.
Better to make it a State Park; by observation they are generally better managed:- cutting firewood permitted, feral animal control permitted, fishing permitted, access tracks maIntained etc.