The Paroo-Darling National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park spans two distinct regions in the outback area. This region covers the arid catchments of the Paroo River (Peery and Poloko Lakes) and the Paroo-Darling confluence to the south.
History
Aboriginal heritage has been protected here and evidence of a lifestyle spanning back many thousands of years in the hearth sites, stone tool scatters and scarred trees that had supplied bark. Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Paakantyi people. The first European to explore the region was Charles Sturt and his party in 1844. They were followed soon after by others in search of pastures for sheep and cattle in the 1860s and the area became part of the Momba Station. From 1902 Momba was successively subdivided until 1950 when the remainder was divided into ten leases including Peery, Mandalay and Arrowbar.
The Paroo-Darling National Park was formed after the purchase of seven properties between 2000 and 2003 by the Government of New South Wales, with assistance from the National Reserve System Program. The former Peery property was the first to be acquired by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and was gazetted as the Peery National Park 31 March 2000. In 2001 the pastoral properties Mandalay and Arrowbar were added and the park was re-gazetted as part of the Paroo-Darling National Park in 2002. These three properties were in what is now the northern section of the park, near .
Paroo Overflow section
The Paroo River Overflow section () of the park is located in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, 30 kilometres east of White Cliffs and 80 kilometres north of Wilcannia. The park comprises the former pastoral properties of Peery, Mandalay and Arrowbar and covers an area of approximately 96000 hectares (237000 acres). The park is located within the Mulga Lands Bioregion and has significant biodiversity and landscape values. The wetlands in the park, together with Nocoleche Nature Reserve, form the Paroo River Wetlands Ramsar site. The park also includes active artesian mound springs which are considered to be the rarest landform in Australia.
Environment
The park is set in a landscape of grey cracking clays and red sand hills along the Darling River floodplains. Peery and Poloko Lakes and their associated wetlands form part of the Paroo overflow which is important for wildlife. Peery Lake covers when in flood and is the largest of the Paroo Overflow lakes. This lake is a water bird haven and when full it will hold water for several years. When dry, Peery Lake is the only location in New South Wales where the Great Artesian Basin mound springs are visible in a lakebed.
Most of the park lies within the Paroo Floodplain and Currawinya Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance, when conditions are suitable, for large numbers of waterbirds.
Ecology
The park is located in the Mulga Lands Bioregion which extends from north western NSW into south western Queensland, and contains a range of landforms, each of which supports unique vegetation communities and ecosystems. The predominant vegetation type of this bioregion is dominated by mulga (Acacia aneura) and other woody shrub species. The bioregion also includes the floodplains of the Paroo and Warrego Rivers. The climate of the region is described as arid with low average rainfall which is highly variabile leading to extended droughts and occasional flooding rains. The region is also characterised by evaporation rates that are much higher than average annual rainfall leading to low water availability over much of the region. Temperatures are high in summer and mild in winter. The mulga lands bioregion has suffered from the deterioration of diversity, ecological complexity and ecological functioning due to prolonged overgrazing combined with the semi-arid climate.
