Mount Monster Conservation Park

Mount Monster Conservation Park
South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[1]
Mount Monster Conservation Park is located in South Australia
Mount Monster Conservation Park
Mount Monster Conservation Park
Nearest town or city Keith [2]
Coordinates36°12′00″S 140°19′07″E / 36.199978987°S 140.31865533°E / -36.199978987; 140.31865533[1]
Established30 September 1976 (1976-09-30)[3]
Area1.26 km2 (0.5 sq mi)[4]
Visitation‘regular use’ (in 1992)[5]
Managing authorities Department for Environment and Water
WebsiteMount Monster Conservation Park
See alsoProtected areas of South Australia

Mount Monster Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state’s south-east in the gazetted locality of Keith about 210 kilometres (130 mi) south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the town centre in Keith.[2][5]

The conservation park consists of land in sections 478 and 499 and in Allotment 11 of Deposited Plan 13037 all located within the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Stirling. It is located to the west of Riddoch Highway. The land includes Mount Monster, a hill with a reported height of 100 metres (330 ft) and which offers views over the surrounding area.[5][3][6][7]

The conservation park was proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 on 30 September 1976 in respect to section 478 which was gifted to the state government by three surrounding land owners. Section 499 and Allotment 11 being added by proclamation on 18 February 2010.[5][3][6] A separate proclamation made on 18 February 2010 ensured the preservation of access permitted under the state’s Mining Act 1971 to section 499 and Allotment 11.[8] As of 2018, it covered an area of 1.26 square kilometres (0.49 sq mi).[4]

In 1980, the conservation park was described as follows: [9]

Small park surrounding Mount Monster, a granite inselberg of considerable geologic significance. One of few blocks of remnant natural vegetation in the vicinity, it possesses vegetation elements unique in the area, including the rare Callitris rhomboidea and Prostanthera eurybioides. Mount Monster represents the type locality and the only known South Australian outcrop of the Mount Monster quartz / feldspar / porphyry association…

A granite outcrop possessing a gradation of vegetation types. Rock and skeletal soils exhibit Acacia armata/Baeckea behrii shrubland association. At the edge of the rock where deeper soils begin a dense Eucalyptus odorata/A. pycnantha scrub association is found. Lower down over limestone ridges an open E. leucoxylon forest over a scattered herbaceous layer is common. As the soil becomes more sandy this grades into a low Woodland of E. fasciculosa /A. pycnantha and E. gracilis…

General vegetation condition is good though small areas are degraded. A small quarry adjacent to the park is of geological interest and would make a valuable addition to the park. The summit itself is a trig point reserve…

Land within and around the conservation park's boundaries is known to be a site for Prostanthera eurybioides (Monarto Mintbush), a species of plant which is listed as endangered both by the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.[10]

As of 1992, it was reported that the conservation park was “used regularly by local residents for picnics, bushwalking and bird watching” and that it was “also a popular destination for bushwalkers and field naturalists.”[5]

The conservation park is categorised as an IUCN Category VI protected area.[1] In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.[9]

  1. ^ a b c "Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (refer 'DETAIL' tab )". CAPAD 2016. Australian Government, Department of the Environment (DoE). 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Search results for 'Mount Monster Conservation Park' with the following datasets selected – 'NPW and Conservation Properties', 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Hundreds', 'Roads' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australian. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Banfield, D.H. (30 September 1976). "NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE ACT, 1972-1974: MOUNT MONSTER CONSERVATION PARK CONSTITUTED" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia: 1028. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Protected Areas Information System Reserve List" (PDF). Government of South Australia. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e Department of Environment and Planning, National Parks and Wildlife Service, South East District (1992), Sutherland, Andrea (ed.), Small parks of the upper South East management plans, South East, South Australia (PDF), Department of Environment and Planning, South Australia, pp. 16–20, ISBN 978-0-7308-2665-1{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b "National Parks and Wildlife (Mount Monster Conservation Park) Proclamation 2010". The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia: 842. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Keith". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ^ "National Parks and Wildlife (Mount Monster Conservation Park) Proclamation 2010". The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia: 839. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Mount Monster Conservation Park, Keith, SA, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate (Place ID 8125)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 October 1980. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  10. ^ Pound, Leanne; Obst, Chris; How, Travis (2010), Recovery plan for Prostanthera eurybioides (Monarto mintbush) (PDF), Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australian Government, pp. 1 and 8–10, retrieved 5 January 2019