A national park on the western fringes of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges will expand by 26,000 hectares after the state government acquired a nearby station.
Nilpena Ediacara National Park, which is treasured for its collection of fossils, only officially opened in April 2023 and is South Australia’s newest park.
The fossil bed known as ‘Alice’s Restaurant Bed’ is the focal point of a visit there, and showcases multicellular animal life that lived 560 million to 542 million years ago.
As well as the impressive fossil beds, the Nilpena Ediacara National Park is known to support native species such as dunnarts, quolls, snakes and lizards.
The Nilpena Ediacara National Park is expanding. PIC: SA Government
Jason Irving, Director National Parks Programs National Parks and Wildlife Service said the acquisition of Nilpena Station brings greater possibilities for conservation work, including the potential re-introduction of the bilby and to protect thick-billed grasswrens.
The land also includes a homestead, dwellings and outbuildings which will be used by NPWS staff to facilitate caring for the park and its operations.
“The built assets will improve park management across the park and the region more broadly,” Mr Irving said. “Visitors to Nilpena Ediacara National Park can book guided tours of the Ediacaran fossil fields and the restored Blacksmith Shop where visitors are immersed in an audio-visual display that brings Earth’s earliest complex animal life back to life.”
The Nilpena Station land has been carefully managed by its previous owners and now, under NPWS management, its biodiversity values will be protected in perpetuity.
The addition will bring the total area of the park to around 86,000 hectares, boosting the national target to protect and conserve 30% of Australia’s landmass by 2030.
The expansion of Nilpena Ediacara National Park also represents a continuation of efforts to see the Flinders Ranges granted World Heritage listing.
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