Kroombit Tops National Park
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Kroombit Tops is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is between Monto and Calliope. It is two parts. The largest part is within the localities of Tablelands, Valentine Plains, Cania and Boyne Valley, while the smaller part is in the locality of Mount Alma.<ref name="globe">Template:Queensland Globe</ref> It is 399 km northwest of Brisbane. Cania Gorge National Park is located approximately 25 km to the south.
In February 1945, an American Liberator Bomber, "Beautiful Betsy", crashed into what is now Kroombit Tops National Park.<ref name="Dunn">Template:Cite web</ref> The wreckage was discovered on 2 August 1994.<ref name="Dunn" />
Recreational activities conducted in the park include birdwatching, off-road driving and bushwalking.<ref name="qh"/> Camping is permitted.
Fauna
[edit]The park provides refuge for the Kroombit tinker frog, which has only been found within the park.<ref name="qh">Template:Cite web</ref> The species is so rare that estimates of their number only range in the hundreds;<ref name="skt">Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, it was estimated fewer than 200 remained in the wild, all in various discrete areas in the rainforest. However, in the same month, the first froglet of this species was bred in captivity at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, raising hopes that it may be saved from extinction.<ref name=abc2020>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2013, a new species of marsupial, the silver-headed antechinus, was described, also only found in the national park.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
A small population of brumbies roams the park; they are sometimes mustered to reduce numbers.<ref name="mdbsp">Template:Cite news</ref>
Abundant in the park is the Kroombit Tops Assassin Spider (Austrarchaea alani).<ref>Template:Cite Q</ref>
Crash site
[edit]On 2 August 1994, the wreckage of a United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24D Liberator, Beautiful Betsy, was discovered in the park. The aircraft had gone missing in stormy weather on 26 February 1945 while on a "Fat Cat" run from Darwin to Brisbane - transporting men and supplies as part of a regular flight.<ref>Michael V. Nelmes Tocumwal to Tarakan : Australians and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator Belconnen. Banner Books, 1994.</ref> Eight servicemen lost their lives; six of the men were American aviators and two were British Royal Air Force Spitfire pilots. The crash site is well-presented, with a plaque erected by National Parks (approx Template:Coord).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:-
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Kroombit Mud Map at boynevalley.org.au
- Kroombit and "Beautiful Betsy"
- Beautiful Betsy – A Liberator Lost, John Oxley Library blog. State Library of Queensland
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