Judbarra / Gregory National Park

Judbarra National Park, formerly Gregory National Park, is a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia, 359 km south of Darwin.

Judbarra National Park
Northern Territory
Judbarra/Gregory National Park
Nearest town or cityKatherine
Established1990
Area13,004.12 km2 (5,020.9 sq mi)[1]
Managing authorities
WebsiteJudbarra National Park
See alsoProtected areas of the Northern Territory
Judbarra / Gregory National Park, 2010

The park is the second largest national park in the Northern Territory, after Kakadu National Park, with an area of 13,000 km2 (1.3 million ha).[2]

The park was formerly known as Gregory National Park, but on 21 October 2011, it was announced that under a joint management plan with the traditional owners, the park would be dual-named "Judbarra" for a period of ten years. Beginning in 2021, its official name will be Judbarra National Park.[3]

The park consists of two geographically disjoint sections. The larger section lies to the southwest of the smaller northeastern section.

Indigenous people and culture

The park includes traditional lands of several Indigenous Australian groups, including Ngarinyman, Karrangpurru, Malngin, Wardaman, Ngaliwurru, Nungali, Bilinara, Gurindji and Jaminjung, and spans the boundary between two major Australian language families, Pama Nyungan and Non-Pama-Nyungan (Northern).[2]

The rock shelters and caves in Judbarra / Gregory contain an extensive amount of rock art, variously created by painting, stencilling, drawing, printing, and "pecking and pounding". The human figure is the most common motif; the park is "one of the most prolific sites in Australia" for composite engraved and painted human figures. The rock art of the Judbarra region is considered to represent a distinct art province.[2]

Ecology

Ecologically, the park is in the transition between tropical and semi-arid zones.[3]

The park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports much of the eastern subspecies of the white-quilled rock-pigeon and small numbers of the endangered Gouldian finch, as well as populations of the chestnut-backed buttonquail, partridge pigeon, yellow-rumped mannikin and several other near-threatened or savanna-biome-restricted species.[4]

A plant that is only known to the park, Solanum scalarium, also known as Garrarnawun bush tomato, was collected near Garrarnawun Lookout in 2018 and formally described in 2022.[5][6]

See also

References
  1. "CAPAD 2012 Northern Territory Summary (see 'DETAIL' tab)". CAPAD 2012. Australian Government - Department of the Environment. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory (June 2011), Judbarra / Gregory National Park and Gregory’s Tree Historical Reserve Joint Management Plan (PDF), Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2012
  3. NRETAS Judburra/Gregory National Park Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Territory Government
  4. "IBA: Gregory National Park". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. "Solanum scalarium". International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. Robinson, Lee (7 January 2023). "Scientists stumble on strange bush tomato while hiking in national park". ABC News. Retrieved 13 February 2023.

15°36′58″S 131°07′38″E



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