Editing Little Desert National Park

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                   = protected
| name                   = Little Desert National Park
| state                  = vic
| iucn_category          = II
| image                  = LittleDesert.jpg
| caption                = 
| image_alt              = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|36|36|24|S|141|11|19|E|display=inline,title}}
| force_national_map     = 
| relief                 = yes
| pushpin_map_caption    = 
| pushpin_label_position = 
| map_alt                = 
|local_map=yes|zoom=7| nearest_town_or_city   = [[Dimboola]]
| area                   = 1326.47
| area_footnotes         = <ref name=pn>{{cite web|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/315772/Park-note-Little-Desert-National-Park.pdf|type=PDF|title=Little Desert National Park: Visitor Guide|author=Parks Victoria|publisher=Government of Victoria|date=June 2014|access-date=20 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821185941/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/315772/Park-note-Little-Desert-National-Park.pdf|archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref>
| established            = 1988
| established_footnotes  = <ref>Robin, Libby. Defending the Little Desert: The Rise of Ecological Consciousness in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University, 1994</ref><ref name=mgmntplan>{{cite book|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/313337/Little-Desert-National-Park-Management-Plan.pdf|page=2|type=PDF|title=Little Desert National Park Management Plan|author=Parks Victoria|publisher=Government of Victoria|date=June 1996|access-date=20 August 2014|isbn=0-7306-6173-3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821131054/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/313337/Little-Desert-National-Park-Management-Plan.pdf|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}} Note the reference on p. 2 to 1968 should have been December 1969. This was a mistake in the 1996 management plan</ref>
| visitation_num         = 
| visitation_year        = 
| visitation_footnotes   = 
| managing_authorities   = Parks Victoria
| url                    = https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/little-desert-national-park
}}
The '''Little Desert National Park''' is a [[national park]] in the [[Wimmera Mallee]] region of Victoria, Australia. The {{convert|132647|ha|acre|adj=on}}<ref name=Vicparks>{{Cite web|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/little-desert-national-park|title=Little Desert National Park|last=Victoria|first=Parks|website=parkweb.vic.gov.au|language=en|access-date=2017-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616111343/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/little-desert-national-park|archive-date=16 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> national park is situated near [[Dimboola]], approximately {{convert|375|km}} west of Melbourne and extends from the [[Wimmera River]] in the east to the [[South Australia]]n border in the west near {{SAcity|Naracoorte}}.<ref name=westwimmera>{{cite web |title= West Wimmera Shire, Town and Rural District Names and Boundaries |url= http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/218368/West_Wimmera_V45b.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151018013049/http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/218368/West_Wimmera_V45b.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 October 2015 |work= Locality names and boundary maps |publisher= Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, State Government of Victoria |access-date= 21 March 2017 }}</ref>

While the region is surrounded by agricultural land, the area of the Little Desert itself "consists mainly of deep sandy soils with very low fertility, interspersed with small pockets of clay soils. There are occasional rocky, sandstone outcrops and buckshot rises. Average yearly rainfall varies remarkably from the east to the west."<ref name=introp2>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Ian |last2=Goods |first2=Graham |last3=Goods |first3=Maree |date=2014 |title=Birds and Plants of the Little Desert: A photographic Guide |location=Horsham |publisher=I.L. Morgan and G.T. and L.M. Goods |page=2 |isbn=9780646914237 }}</ref> The Little Desert "remains relatively undisturbed by human activity, even though in the earlier years of European settlement it experienced some industry in the way of grazing and woodcutting." Now the desert is a National Park, and is "broken up into three blocks": Western Block, Central Block and Eastern Block; demarcated by two north–south roads, the Nhill-Harrow road and the Kaniva-Edenhope road.<ref name=introp1>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Ian |last2=Goods |first2=Graham |last3=Goods |first3=Maree |date=2014 |title=Birds and Plants of the Little Desert: A photographic Guide |location=Horsham |publisher=I.L. Morgan and G.T. and L.M. Goods |page=1 |isbn=9780646914237 }}</ref>

Today the National Park is an important tourist destination receiving about 50,000 visitors each year.<ref name=History /> [[Parks Victoria]] maintain multiple camping sites, walking tracks, look-outs and four-wheel-driving tracks throughout the park. Although most internal roads within the National Park are only accessible by four-wheel-drive vehicles and some are closed during winter or after wet weather.<ref name=Vicparks />

==History==
===Pre-National Park===
Prior to the establishment of the park, small Aboriginal family groups camped along the Wimmera River. European activity began with grazing from the 1840s but had ceased by the 1960s. During the [[World War II|Second World War]] the Central Block was used as a bombing and gunnery range and the remains of several concrete observation bunkers are still present.<ref name=History>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Ian |last2=Goods |first2=Graham |last3=Goods |first3=Maree |date=2014 |title=Birds and Plants of the Little Desert: A photographic Guide |location=Horsham |publisher=I.L. Morgan and G.T. and L.M. Goods |pages=5–6 |isbn=9780646914237 }}</ref>

===National Park===
The low-nutrient sandy soil combined with low rainfalls made farming difficult. After the Second World War, the State Government considered clearing and selling land in the Little Desert region. Local opposition to selling the land for farming was intense and quickly gathered support around Victoria. The [[Henry Bolte|Bolte Government]] was initially unmoved by environmental concerns. Public outrage over the proposed subdivision resulted in the responsible minister's losing his safe seat in a by-election.  The Little Desert debate galvanised Victoria's conservation movement into forming a peak body, the [[Conservation Council of Victoria]], and the conservative Victorian government of [[Henry Bolte]] to adopt environmental policies, such as establishing the [[Land Conservation Council]] to systematically and independently review all future public land use across the state. The architect of the Land Conservation Council was the newly appointed Minister of Lands, Conservation and Soldier Settlement, [[Bill Borthwick|William Borthwick]], who supported retaining the area as a nature reserve.<ref name=clode>{{cite book|first=Danielle|last=Clode|year=2007|title=As if for a thousand years: A history of Victoria's Land Conservation and Environment Conservation Councils|publisher=Victorian Environmental Assessment Council|location=Melbourne|pages=16–18}}</ref> So in 1955 the Kiata Lowan Sanctuary was established to preserve the 'Eastern block' of the Desert and protect the local [[Malleefowl]]. In 1969 this Sanctuary became 'The Little Desert National Park' in the 'Eastern Block' and in 1986 the 'Central' and 'Western' Blocks were added.<ref name=History />

=== 2025 bushfire ===
On 27 January a fire was burning out of control in Little Desert National Park. Residents of nearby [[Dimboola]] were evacuated. More than {{convert|65,000|hectare}} were burnt in under 8 hours. On 31 January it was deemed contained after burning {{convert|70,887|hectare}}. Little Desert Nature Lodge, a "popular wedding and conference centre" near the parks' boundary, was destroyed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dimboola fire: Little Desert Nature Lodge among property destroyed by raging blaze |url=https://7news.com.au/news/dimboola-fire-little-desert-nature-lodge-among-property-destroyed-by-raging-blaze-c-17537054.amp |access-date=12 February 2025 |publisher=[[Seven News]] |date=29 January 2025 |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
The Little Desert receives an annual rainfall of approximately {{convert|480|mm}}, though there is a gradient from {{convert|400|mm}} in the east to {{convert|600|mm}} near Naracoorte. The vegetation of the park ranges from pure mallee heathland in the Eastern Block to cypress pine and casuarina woodlands in the moister Western Block. In the Western Block, there are large areas of seasonal [[swamp]]land formed over claypans. [[Laterite]]s are scattered throughout the sandy areas of the park and characterised by [[broombush]]. [[common brushtail possum|Brush-tailed possum]]s and [[Grey kangaroo]]s are common throughout the park, and lizards can be observed basking in the sun.

===Birds===
With over 200 species of birds the national park has been identified by [[BirdLife International]], an international NGO, as an [[Important Bird Area]] because it supports populations of malleefowl and [[diamond firetail]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Little Desert National Park|url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=AUvi07&list=howardmoore|website=Avibase|access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/24557 |title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Little Desert |access-date=23 March 2017|publisher=BirdLife International }}</ref>
The [[malleefowl]] is a rare bird found on the site and their protection was a contributory factor in the decision to preserve the area in 1968.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Sue|title=Best 100 Birdwatching Sites in Australia|date=2013|publisher=New South|isbn=9781742246482|page=141|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mR_ZAAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Australia|environment}}
*[[Dimboola]]
*[[Edenhope]]
*[[Kaniva]]
* [[Protected areas of Victoria]]
* [[List of national parks of Australia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Little Desert National Park}}
*[https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/little-desert-national-park Official webpage for the Little Desert National Park]
*[https://www.protectedplanet.net/little-desert-national-park-national-park Webpage for the Little Desert National Park on the Protected Planet website]
*{{cite web|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/515877/Park-note-birds-of-the-Mallee-parks.pdf|type=PDF|title=Birds of the Mallee Parks|work=Parks Victoria|publisher=Victorian Government|date=November 2010|access-date=20 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516111619/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/515877/Park-note-birds-of-the-Mallee-parks.pdf|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=dead}}

{{Protected areas of Victoria|NP}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Parks of Grampians (region)]]
[[Category:National parks of Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1968]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands]]
[[Category:Environment of Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Victoria (state)]]