Editing Coorong National Park

{{redirect|Coorong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                   = protected
| name                   = Coorong National Park
| state                  = sa
| iucn_category          = II
| iucn_ref      = <ref name=CAPAD2016SASum>{{cite web|title= Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (refer 'DETAIL' tab ) |url= http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/761994ab-42cc-4f24-952c-c21221861884/files/capad2016sa.xlsx |work=CAPAD 2016|publisher=Australian Government, Department of the Environment (DoE) |access-date=21 February 2018 |date=2016}}</ref>
| image                  = CoorongSaltCreek.jpg
| caption                = The view across the Coorong near [[Salt Creek, South Australia|Salt Creek]]
| image_alt              = 
| image2                 = CoorongMap.jpg
| image2_upright         = 0.9
| caption2               = A map of the Coorong
| image2_alt             = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|36|02|57|S|139|33|13|E|scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}
| relief                 = yes
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| map_alt                = 
| nearest_town_or_city   = [[Goolwa, South Australia|Goolwa]]
| area                   = 490.15
| area_footnotes         = <ref name="ReserveList">{{cite web|title=Protected Areas Information System Reserve List |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/sharedassets/public/park_management/protected-areas-reserve-list-march2018-gen.pdf |publisher=Government of South Australia |access-date=26 April 2018 |date=9 March 2018 }}</ref>
| established            = {{start date|1967|11|09|df=y}}  
| established_footnotes  = <ref name="SAGG-1967">{{cite web|last1= Walsh |first1= Frank |title= NATIONAL PARKS ACT, 1966: VARIOUS NATIONAL PARKS NAMED. |url= http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1967/51/2043.pdf |website=[[South Australian Government Gazette]]|publisher=South Australian Government|access-date=17 March 2018|page= 2043 |date=9 November 1967 }}</ref>
| visitation_num         = 
| visitation_year        = 
| visitation_footnotes   = 
| managing_authorities   = [[Department for Environment & Water]]
| url                    = https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/coorong-national-park
| footnotes              =
{{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Albert Wetland
| designation1_date = 1 November 1985
| designation1_number = 321<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Coorong, Lake Alexandrina & Albert Wetland|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/321|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
}}

'''Coorong National Park''' is a [[protected area]] located in [[South Australia]] about {{convert|156|km}} south-east of [[Adelaide]], that predominantly covers a [[coastal lagoon]] ecosystem officially known as '''The Coorong''' and the [[Younghusband Peninsula]] on the Coorong's southern side. The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the [[Murray Mouth]] near [[Hindmarsh Island]] and the [[Sir Richard Peninsula]], and it extends about {{convert|130|km}} south-eastwards. Road access is from [[Meningie, South Australia|Meningie]]. The beach on the coastal side of the peninsula, the longest in Australia, is also commonly called The Coorong.

The Coorong lies within the traditional lands of the [[Ngarrindjeri]] people, an [[Aboriginal Australian]] group. Notable locations within the park include [[Salt Creek, South Australia|Salt Creek]], '''Policeman's Point''', '''Jack Point''', and '''Woods Well'''.

[[File:The Coorong South Australia.jpg|Sunset over the northern part of The Coorong, approaching the town of [[Meningie, South Australia]].|thumb]]
[[File:Banded Stilts at the Coorong.JPG|Flock of [[banded stilt]]s on sand flats at the Coorong.|thumb]]
[[File:The Coorong.JPG|View of the Coorong and [[Younghusband Peninsula]].|thumb]]
[[File:Entrance to Coorong.JPG|Entrance to The Coorong (mid-distance) looking from [[Hindmarsh Island]].|thumb]]

==Etymology==
Its name is thought to be a corruption of the [[Ngarrindjeri language|Ngarrindjeri]] word ''kurangk'', also written ''Kurangh'', meaning a long or narrow lagoon or neck.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/system/files/media/documents/2020-05/uap-natural-history-cllmm-ebook.pdf| title=Natural History of the Coorong, Lower Lakes, and Murray Mouth Region (yarluwar-ruwe)| editor-first1=Luke |editor-last1=Mosley| editor-first2=Qifeng |editor-last2=Ye| editor-first3=Scoresby |editor-last3=Shepherd| editor-first4=Steve |editor-last4=Hemming| editor-first5=Rob |editor-last5=Fitzpatrick|display-editors=2| publisher= [[University of Adelaide Press]] on behalf of [[Royal Society of South Australia]]| date=2018| page=78| isbn= 978-1-925261-81-3|access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref><ref name=aussietowns>{{cite web | title=Coorong, The, SA | website=Aussie Towns  | url=https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/coorong-the-sa | access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref><ref name=goodliving>{{cite web | title=6 things you might not know about the Coorong | website=Good Living| publisher= [[Department for Environment & Water]]  | url=https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2018/06/coorong-facts | access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref>

==History==
The Coorong National Park was proclaimed on 9 November 1967 under the ''National Parks Act 1966'' in respect to land in sections 17 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the [[Hundred of Glyde]] and section 6 in the [[Hundred of Santo]].<ref name="SAGG-1967"/>

At the commencement of the ''[[National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972]]'' on 27 April 1972, the national park consisted of land in sections 17, 59 and 60 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Glyde and sections 6, 43 and 52 in the Hundred of Santo.<ref name=NPWact>{{cite journal |title= No. 56 of 1972 (National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1972) |journal= The South Australian Government Gazette |date= 27 April 1972 |page= 700 |url= http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/num_act/npawa56o1972293/ |access-date= 20 January 2017 |publisher= Government of South Australia}}</ref>

The '''Coorong Game Reserve''' which was purchased by the Government of South Australia in 1968 was abolished on 14 January 1993 and its lands was added to the national park.<ref name=CGR1993>{{cite journal |title= NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE ACT 1972 PART HI: RECONSTITUTION OF THE COORONG GAME RESERVE AS PART OF THE COORONG NATIONAL PARK |journal= The South Australian Government Gazette |date= 14 January 1993 |page= 170 |url= http://www6.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1993/6/170.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628204316/http://www6.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1993/6/170.pdf |archive-date=2023-06-28 |url-status=live |access-date= 7 January 2018 |publisher= Government of South Australia}}</ref> The game reserve occupied part of the Coorong lagoon to the immediate west of [[Salt Creek, South Australia|Salt Creek]] and had an area of {{convert|68.4|km2}} as of May 1982.<ref name=Ruddock>{{cite report | last = Rudduck | first = Penny |title=EUROPEAN HERITAGE OF THE COORONG, A general survey of the sites of Early European Heritage of the area now comprising the Coorong National Park and Coorong Game Reserve. |date= May 1982 |url= https://data.environment.sa.gov.au/Content/heritage-surveys/2-Coorong-European-Heritage-1982.pdf |access-date= 6 January 2018 |publisher= National Parks and Wildlife Service, Government of South Australia}}</ref>{{rp|79}}

In February 2013, a lifeboat from ''[[MS Oliva]]'', a ship that foundered in the [[South Atlantic]] during 2011, washed up on a beach in the national park.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shipwreck lifeboat washes up in Australia |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-06/shipwreck-lifeboat-washes-up-in-australia/4503618 |website=ABC News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=7 May 2019 |date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

==Description==
The western end of the Coorong lagoon is at the [[Murray Mouth]] near [[Hindmarsh Island]] and the [[Sir Richard Peninsula]], and it extends about {{convert|130|km}} south-east. The national park area includes the Coorong itself, and Younghusband Peninsula which separates the Coorong from [[Gulf St Vincent]] in the [[Southern Ocean]]. The Coorong has been cut off from [[Lake Alexandrina (South Australia)|Lake Alexandrina]] by the construction of the [[Goolwa Barrages]] (weirs) from Goolwa to Pelican Point during the late 1930s.<ref>[http://www.thecoorong.com/map.html# Map of the Coorong] Accessed 3/3/7</ref>

The national park was formed in 1967 as a sanctuary for many species of birds, animals and fish. It attracts many migratory species. It provides refuge for these animals during some of Australia's regular droughts. The {{convert|467|km2}} also supports coastal dune systems, lagoons and coastal vegetation.<ref name=about>[http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/coorong/visit.html Coorong National Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020053446/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/coorong/visit.html |date=20 October 2009 }} – ''Things to see and do'', Accessed 30/7/9</ref>

One of the unique aspects of the Coorong is the interaction of water along its length, with sea water and [[Murray River]] water meeting rainfall and groundwater. The freshwater supports the fauna (animal) of the area while the sea water is the habitat for much of the birdlife.<ref>[http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/coorong/natural.html Coorong National Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021170815/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/coorong/natural.html |date=21 October 2009 }} – ''Natural Attractions'', Accessed 30/7/9</ref>

Notable locations within the park include Salt Creek, Policeman's Point, Jack Point, and Woods Well.<ref name=smh2004>{{cite web | title=Coorong, The | website=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]| date=8 February 2004 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/coorong-the-20040208-gdkqj6.html | access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref>

The waters of the Coorong are a popular venue for recreational and commercial fishers. [[Coorong mullet]], [[mulloway]] and [[bream]] are the main species.<ref name=smh2004/><ref name=aussietowns/>

==Beach==
The {{cvt| 194 |km|adj=on}} long sandy beach running down the outer side of the Younghusband Peninsula and commonly referred to as The Coorong, is the longest beach in Australia. It runs from the Murray mouth to [[Cape Jaffa]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Beach in Policeman Point The Coorong SA | website=SLS Beachsafe | date=2 November 2015 | url=https://beachsafe.org.au/beach/sa/the-coorong/policeman-point/the-coorong | access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref>

==Cultural significance==
The Coorong is of great cultural significance to the [[Ngarrindjeri|Ngarrindjeri people]], who have [[songline]]s relating to [[creation stories]] associated with the area as well as a long history of living sustainably and looking after the complex environment.<ref name=landcare2021/>

===Camp Coorong===
<!---redirect targets this section--->
Camp Coorong is a place of cultural learning, where visitors can learn about Ngarrindjeri culture, history, arts and crafts, including [[basket-weaving]]. It is owned and run by Ngarrindjeri people, and situated about {{cvt|11|km}} south of [[Meningie, South Australia|Meningie]].<ref name=aussietowns/> The centre was founded by brothers Tom and George Trevorrow in 1985, with the aim of creating a place where the local community could have camps, younger members of the community might find employment, and Ngarrindjeri culture could be shared. It was officially closed to the public in 2018.<ref name=marsh2022/>

Ngarrindjeri [[Aboriginal Australian elder|elder]] and well-known weaver Aunty [[Ellen Trevorrow]], who is Tom's widow, works from one of the rooms at the camp, along with artist and academic Jelina Haines, who was born in the Philippines. Their work has been commissioned for the recently refurbished [[Department for Infrastructure & Transport]] offices in [[Pirie Street]].<ref name=marsh2022>{{cite web | title=In the studio with Aunty Ellen Trevorrow | website=[[InDaily]]| date=7 October 2022|first=Walter |last=Marsh | url=https://indaily.com.au/inreview/visual-art/2022/10/07/in-the-studio-with-aunty-ellen-trevorrow/ | access-date=9 October 2022}}</ref>

== Ecology ==
The wetlands within the part of the national park containing the Coorong Lagoon form a complex [[ecosystem]] of freshwater, [[estuarine]], and [[hypersaline]] waterbodies with a unique diversity of habitats for plants and animals. The coastal lagoons are considered [[IUCN Red List of Ecosystems#Critically endangered (CR)|critically endangered]] due to the loss of freshwater flows, local extinction of characteristic submerged plants and subsequent loss of habitat diversity.<ref name='Foundations'>{{cite journal|last1=Keith|first1=DA|last2=Rodríguez|first2=J.P.|last3=Rodríguez-Clark|first3=K.M.|last4=Aapala|first4=K.|last5=Alonso|first5=A.|last6=Asmussen|first6=M.|last7=Bachman|first7=S.|last8=Bassett|first8=A.|last9=Barrow|first9=E.G.|last10=Benson|first10=J.S.|last11=Bishop|first11=M.J.|last12=Bonifacio|first12=R.|last13=Brooks|first13=T.M.|last14=Burgman|first14=M.A.|last15=Comer|first15=P.|last16=Comín|first16=F.A.|last17=Essl|first17=F.|last18=Faber-Langendoen|first18=D.|last19=Fairweather|first19=P.G.|last20=Holdaway|first20=R.J.|last21=Jennings|first21=M.|last22=Kingsford|first22=R.T.|last23=Lester|first23=R.E.|last24=Mac Nally|first24=R.|last25=McCarthy|first25=M.A.|last26=Moat|first26=J.|last27=Nicholson|first27=E.|last28=Oliveira-Miranda|first28=M.A.|last29=Pisanu|first29=P.|last30=Poulin|first30=B.|last31=Riecken|first31=U.|last32=Spalding|first32=M.D.|last33=Zambrano-Martínez|first33=S.|title=Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems|display-authors=2|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2013|volume=8|issue=5|page=e62111|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0062111|pmid=23667454|pmc=3648534|bibcode=2013PLoSO...862111K|url=https://iucnrle.org/resources/key-documents/|access-date=8 September 2018|doi-access=free|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028130727/https://iucnrle.org/resources/key-documents/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In December 2018, the [[Government of Australia|Federal]] and [[Government of South Australia|South Australian]] governments announced a new [[environmental management]] program called "Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin".<ref>{{cite web | title=Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin | website=Department for Environment & Water  | url=https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/coorong/healthy-coorong-healthy-basin | access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref> Ongoing {{as of|lc=yes|2021}}, the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation is working with the [[Department for Environment & Water]] to share their knowledge of [[landcare in Australia|landcare]] practices, which will be incorporated in a new database.<ref name=landcare2021>{{cite web | last=Green | first=Selina | title=Coorong Landcare project embraces Ngarrindjeri knowledge, cultural connection  | website=ABC News| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=2 August 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-02/coorong-landcare-partnership-sharing-indigenous-knowledge/100342052 | access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
The Coorong is an area of huge natural [[biodiversity]].<ref name=landcare2021/>

===Birds===
The Coorong National Park has been recognised by [[BirdLife International]] as an [[Important Bird Area]]. It has supported the [[chestnut teal]], [[Australian shelduck]], [[sharp-tailed sandpiper]], [[red-necked stint]], [[banded stilt]], [[red-necked avocet]], [[pied oystercatcher]] and [[red-capped plover]]. [[Australasian bittern]]s have been recorded.  It has also supported significant numbers of [[orange-bellied parrot]]s, [[fairy tern]]s and [[hooded plover]]s, although their usage of the site has declined from reduced freshwater inflows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/23939 |title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Coorong |access-date=3 December 2016 |publisher=BirdLife International |date=2016 }}</ref>

The largest pelican [[rookery]] in Australia is at Jack Point, just off the [[Princes Highway]] and about {{cvt|7|km}} north of Salt Creek.<ref name=aussietowns/> The pelicans also breed on North Pelican Island.<ref name=landcare2021/> The Australian pelican (''[[Pelecanus conspicillatus]]'') is the largest species of pelican, and breeds from August until January.<ref name=aussietowns/>

===Marine life===
As mentioned above, [[Coorong mullet]], [[mulloway]] and [[bream]] are the main species caught for human consumption in the Coorong.<ref name=smh2004/><ref name=aussietowns/>

==In the arts==
The park was the setting of the popular 1976 film ''[[Storm Boy (1976 film)|Storm Boy]]'',<ref name=sbremake>{{cite web | title=Storm Boy remake planned 40 years after original award-winning film | website=ABC News |publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=18 November 2016 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-18/storm-boy-remake-40th-anniversary/8038216 | access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref> as well as its [[Storm Boy (2019 film)|2019 remake]]. Both films are based on [[Storm Boy (novel)|the 1964 novel]] by [[Colin Thiele]] of the same name set on the Coorong that portrays the bond of a young boy who rescues and raises an extraordinary orphaned pelican which he names Mr Percival.<ref>{{cite web |title=IMDB - Storm Boy (2019) |website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3340446/}}</ref><ref name=sbremake/>

[[Lucy Treloar]]'s award-winning novel, ''Salt Creek'' (2015), is set in the Coorong, specifically the area around [[Salt Creek, South Australia|Salt Creek]], in 1855.<ref>{{cite web | last=Treloar | first=Lucy | title=Salt Creek | website=[[Macmillan Publishers|Pan Macmillan]]| date=18 August 2020 | url=https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760550950 | access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|South Australia}}
*[[Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre]], a research centre situated in Goolwa
* [[Protected areas of South Australia]]
* [[List of islands within the Murray River in South Australia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/system/files/media/documents/2020-05/uap-natural-history-cllmm-ebook.pdf| title=Natural History of the Coorong, Lower Lakes, and Murray Mouth Region (yarluwar-ruwe)| editor-first1=Luke |editor-last1=Mosley| editor-first2=Qifeng |editor-last2=Ye| editor-first3=Scoresby |editor-last3=Shepherd| editor-first4=Steve |editor-last4=Hemming| editor-first5=Rob |editor-last5=Fitzpatrick|display-editors=2| publisher= [[University of Adelaide Press]] on behalf of [[Royal Society of South Australia]]| date=2018| isbn= 978-1-925261-81-3}}

==External links==
*{{cite web | title=Coorong National Park | website=National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia |publisher=[[Department for Environment & Water]]| url=https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/parks/coorong-national-park}}
*{{cite web| url=https://coorongcountry.com.au/coorong-national-park/| title=Coorong National Park| website=Coorong Country}}

{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Protected areas of South Australia|state=collapsed}}
{{Limestone Coast}}
{{Ramsar sites in Australia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:National parks of South Australia]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1967]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Murray River]]
[[Category:Murray Mallee]]
[[Category:Limestone Coast]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Australia]]
[[Category:IUCN Red List of Ecosystems]]