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Conservation, Forests & Lands
7W W Little Desert National Park
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Facilities Animals
ED
There are good sealed roads to the park from Kiata andNhill, and
a reasonable gravel road from Dimboola. No roadgoes through the
park.
Basic facilities are provided at the picnic area and the
campground (both south of Kiata). The water supply is limitedand
campers are asked to bring their own water. Fire places,picnic
tables, and pit toilets are supplied. There are campingfees.
Private campgrounds and hotel/motel accommodation areprovided at
Nhill and Dimboola. Group accommodation isavailable at a hostel
south of Winiam.
Nature walk leaflets are available from the Rangers and atthe
start of the tracks.
Different soils, different plantsThe major soils in the park are
wind-blown sands thatsupport mostly mallee and heath plants. The
mallees are agroup of eucalypts with many stems arising from a
buriedtrunk called a lignotuber. These mallee roots were
verypopular for firewood.
The heathlands are most spectacular in spring. Splashes ofpink
and red provided by brush heath and flame heath aredispersed among
the brilliant yellow of wattles and guineaflowers. Beard heath and
the fringed heath-myrtle bothhave masses of white flowers that
contribute to this colourful sight. The pale lemon flowering spikes
of desert banksiasadd subtle colour to these plant communities in
winter.
As the soils change, so do the plants and animals associatedwith
them. For example yellow gums, which have smooth,mottled bark, are
usually found where clay occurs near thesurface. They can be seen
around the campground southof Kiata.
Scattered throughout sandy areas of the park, and elsewhere in
the Little Desert, are iron-rich sandstones calledlaterite forming
ridges on which broombrush can be found.Brown stringybark occurs on
a fairly wide range of soils,often growing with heath plants.
Along the eastern boundary of the park the alluvial soils ofthe
Wimmera River floodplain support river red gum andblack box
woodlands. These trees are rarely seen elsewherein the park because
they need floods before their seedswill grow.
Past visitorsNo permanent campsites of the local Aborigines have
beenrecorded in the park. There are remnants of a few
'transit'camps along the river floodplains where axeheads,
weapons,mill stones and ochre have been found. Some of the
rocks
found in these prehistoric rubbish dumps were carried
byAborigines from places as far away as the Grampians
andLancefield. Studies of the shells and bones in their campsites
reveal the kinds of food they ate. Fish, kangaroos,emus and their
eggs, and freshwater shellfish were allimportant in their diet. The
last full-blood Aborigine fromthe area died in the 1940s.
Life for the pioneers in the district was difficult. The
watersupply was low, the soils infertile and the country
harsh.Apart from some sheep grazing there was little
agriculturaldevelopment.
Birdwatchers will find plenty to do in the Little
Desert.Parrots, wrens and currawongs are common around
thecampground and the Sanctuary Nature Walk. When flowering, both
banksias and yellow gums are a prolific source ofnectar for insects
and for birds such as babblers, wattlebirds and other honeyeaters.
Perhaps the most fascinatingbird, and certainly one of the most
industrious, is themallee fowl, a bird about the size of a turkey
that lives inarid areas of Australia. This seed and insect eating
birdworks and builds its earthen mound for about ten monthseach
year. In a single season, a female can lay up to thirtyeggs. Infant
mortality, however, is extremely high and only.2-3 of these chicks
will survive to adulthood. If you wouldlike to find out more about
this bird, copies of a malleefowl brochure can be obtained from the
Rangers.
Brush-tailed possums, kangaroos, and bats, as well as emusand
many different kinds of reptiles can also be seen. Youmay often
find the bearded dragon and stumpy tailedlizards along tracks and
other exposed areas, basking in thesun to raise their body
temperature.
FiresFires, both naturally occurring and caused by man, havelong
played an important role in the Little Desert. Charcoalstumps and
burnt, bare patches of ground are evident inmany parts of the park
for months and in some cases yearsafter a fire has swept
through.
In order to survive, the desert plants and animals must
beadapted to fire. Mallees, for instance, are able to send upnew
shoots if their above-ground parts are burnt. Banksiasand She-oaks
have hard woody seed containers that openfollowing fire. Their
seeds.are dropped onto the ash bedand, after rain, quickly develop
and grow.
Several fires have burnt different areas of the Little Desertin
the last decade. A large wildfire occurred in early 1977when most
of the eastern part of the park was burnt.
Looking after National ParksThe L i t t le Deser t Nat ional
Park and Vic tor ia 's o thernational parks are special places
permanently reserved bythe government of Victoria to protect parts
of our naturalenvironment for the benefit of people now and in
thefuture.
There are regulations designed to protect National Parks.Dogs,
cats and firearms are not permitted and no fires maybe lit except
in the fireplaces provided. All plants andanimals are protected and
may not be harmed or removed.By observing these commonsense
regulations, you will helpus keep these areas unspoiled for your
chi ldren andtheirs.
Further informationFor more information, contact:
# Ranger-ln-Charge Little Desert National ParkR.M.B. 389Nhill.
3418.
(Tel.: (053) 89 9218)A.H. (053) 89 9222
Horsham Regional Off iceP.O. Box 487Horsham 3400Telephone: (053)
82 5011
Head Office, telephone: (03) 651 4011
October, 1978.Revised July 1985
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Conservation, Forests & Lands
Little DesertNational Park
svffy-
' i ^ . ' ^ z i ^ ' ^ i ^ r ^ n
The Sanctuary Nature WalkJoin us for a nature walk to see some
of the plants and animals of theLittle Desert National Park. The
walk starts near the picnic area 10kilometres south of Kiata. The
walk is one kilometre long and takesabout 30 minutes to
complete.
10
" (12\\
B O O
Numbered pegs along the way correspond to numbersin t he l eafle
t , bu t t he re i s l o t s t o see , hea r,and discover between
the pegs as well!
< f t >50 m
The walk is named after the former KiataLowan Sanctuary which
was the name of thisa r e a b e f o r e i t b e c a m e p a r t o f
L i t t l eDesert National Park.
Walk starts hereo- S3
KIATA
1 Mallee and echidnasNear this peg is an oldclump of Yellow
Mallee,a multi-stemmed shrub
x l / 3
-NHILLwith large ridged fruits. Like other mallees, this
eucalypt has alarge rootstock beneath the ground. New shoots grow
from therootstock after fire, severe frost or drought.
Leaf, bud and fruit of Yellow Mallee
Watch for Echidnas as you walk along. These pricklyimals have
long claws for burrowing into the soi l .u wi l l of ten find their
t racks and diggings aroundt nests, where they have been foraging
for food.
Instead of dr ink ing water they get mois turefrom the body
fluids of ants and termites. Thel o n g s t i c k y t o n g u e i s
u s e d t o l i c k t h e s einsects from their nests.
Echidna xl/7
2 Living broomsThe large bushes growing here are Broom
Honey-myrtle, a type ofmelaleuca or paperbark. They earned their
name from earlyEuropean settlers who used the branches and foliage
to sweepout their homes. In more recent times they have been used
tomake brush fences. x l / 8 x l / 6
Leaves, flowers and fruits of Broombush
Department of Conservation, Forests & Lan.
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3 StringybarkThis tree is a Brown Stringybark, the only type of
stringybark in the park. It isdistinguished from other local
eucalypts by its deep, fibrous bark. Of interest, theterm
'eucalypt' means 'well covered'. If you examine the buds of any
gums, boxes,stringybarks or mallees you will find that they are all
covered by a small cap.
4 Living cyclesA number of young Oyster Bay Pines can be seen
growing around here.These native pines have clumps of woody cones
or seed containersthat are an important source of food for many
birds. When these
xl cones open, the seeds drop to the ground and become implanted
in theClosed and soil. They develop and grow to form saplings and,
later on, adultopen cones of trees.Oyster Bay PineMany of the dead
pines along the walk were killed by severe frosts in 1982.
Manyother plants had their growing tips killed, or died completely,
as a result of thefrost, or the drought conditions over the summer
of 1982-83. Some plants send outnew shoots and leaves after such
natural disasters. Others have to start again fromseed.
5 A different broomA dense stand of Broom Baeckea once grew
here. Many of these shrubshave died but some living examples can be
seen to the left of thet r a c k . A t fi r s t g l a n c e t h e y
m a y a p p e a r v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h eBroombush but i f
you look care fu l ly you wi l l find that the BroomBaeckea has
shorter leaves and more widely-spaced fruits. Baeckeaflowers are
similar to those of the tea-tree which is in the same plantf
amily.(Myrtaceae)
6 WallowaWallowa, the wattle near the peg,produces copious
flowers and seeds.It is very common in the park andprovides shelter
and food for manyanimals. It is a favourite food oft h e M a l l e
e f o w l i n p a r t i c u l a r .Wallowa is an Aboriginal word
meaning' w a t t l e t r e e ' . \From June to November orchid
loverswill find greenhoods, sun orchids andspider orchids around
here.
V\
Wallowa xl/2 Greenhood Orchids xl/2
7 The remarkable thermometer birdTwenty metres along the side
track is an old Malleefowlmound that is known to have been worked
in theearly 1880s. It has not been used for severalyears now.Mal
leefowl are cal led ' thermometerbi rds ' because they spend
aboutten months of the year building andregulat ing the temperature
of thenest. In the diagram you can see across section of a typical
mound.
W y ) y m ^Egg _
chamberV K*N a t u r a Ts o i r v W 7 ^ >
Fermenting vegetable matter
Diagrammatic cross section of a mound
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The birds dig a pit in the soil and fill it with twigs, bark and
leaves whichferment to form a compost heap. This is covered by a
layer of sand. The eggs arelaid in a chamber within the mound. Egg
laying and brooding last over four monthsand during that period the
temperature inside the egg chamber must be kept at 33degrees C.
This is checked daily by the male who balances the heat of
fermentation,the suns warmth, and the air temperature by varying
the amount of sand covering theeggs. This ensures that usually the
temperature of the eggs does not fluctuate bymore than 1 degree
C.
Here you can see what remains of the birds hard work,matter and
sand have gone.Retrace your steps and continue along the main
track.
Most of the overlying plant
8 ShrubberyHave you noticed the wide variety of small shrubs as
you've beenwalking along? Some of the more common ones are Flame
Heath, afavourite food for Emus, Brush Heath, Silky Tea-tree
andFringe-myrtle. Partly undigested Flame Heath flowers can oftenbe
recognised in emus' droppings. The flowers of Fringe-myrtlerange in
colour from white to vivid pink.
Flame Heath xl/2
9 Life with spikesCarefully feel the needle shaped leaves of the
Desert Hakea which is just behind thepeg. They have a hard outer
layer called a cuticle that protects the plant from theharsh summer
heat - another example of successful adaptation to a dry
climate.
More orchids can be found here. Pink Fingers and the Leopard
Orchid are most common.
10 Untidy bush ?Some people think that the bush has an untidy
appearance with dead branches andleaves strewn about. But these
plant remains are very important . They provide
homes for p lants , such as l ichens , and a host o f insects
,spiders, lizards and other small animals which in turn serve
asfood for birds, lizards and mammals. Eventually, too, the
deadplants rot down, freeing nutrients for l iving plants to
use.
Gecko xl/2
11 Different soil - different plantsHave you noticed any changes
in the vegetation? You have nowleft the sandy soils that favour
Brown Stringybark and movedinto clayey soils that support a growth
of Yellow Gums. Thesetrees have light mottled bark and are common
around the picnica r e a . x *
Leaves and fruitsAnother dist inct ive tree is the Drooping
She-oak of Yel low Gumw i t h i t s d a r k t r u n k a n d l o n g
h a n g i n g b r a n c h l e t s . x l / 3You need a hand lens to
have a good look at the leaves of thesetrees. They are reduced to
tiny scales that form rings aroundthe branchlets.
The l ow tu f t ed p lan t w i t h ve ry sma l l l eaves nea r t
he t rack i s ca l l ed Go ldenPennants. I t produces a bri l lant
display in spring.
The track to the r ight is the start of a walk which does a
circuit of the wholesanctuary block. The walk takes approximately 2
hours and the return is via thebitumen road from the camp-ground
turn off.
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12 A rare oneThe dark green shrub is a rare plant with a
very
l i m i t e d d i s t r i b u t i o n . I t i s t h e H a i r y
- p o d Wa t t l ewhich is found only in a few areas near Dimboola
and
Nhill in Victoria and in Burra Gorge of South Australia.Several
other rare plants are also guaranteed protection
b y g r o w i n g w i t h i n L i t t l e D e s e r t N a t i o
n a l P a r k . T h epro tec t ion in a na t iona l park means tha
t w i th the cor rec t
management they should always be growing here even if they
dieout elsewhere.
Hairy-pod Wattle xl/3
We hope you have enjoyed this walk.
If you have any more questions, the rangers will be glad to
answer them and to helpyou in any way they can.If you don't want to
keep this leaflet, please return it to the box for someone elseto
use.
Illustrations provided by courtesy of J. Ros Garnet, the Gould
League of Victoria,L.F. Costermans, and F.J.C. Rogers.
SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS MENTIONED IN LEAFLET
Oyster Bay Pine Call i tr is rhomboidea
Pink FingersLeopard OrchidGreenhood OrchidsSun Orchids
Caladenia catenataDiuris maculataPterostyl is spp.Thelymitra
spp.
Drooping She-oakSpider-orchidsFlame HeathBrush HeathGolden
PennantsWallowaHairy-pod WattleBroom BaeckeaFringe-myrt leBrown
StringybarkYellow MalleeYellow GumSilky Tea-treeBroom
Honey-myrtleDesert Hakea
Casuarina strictaCaladenia spp.Astroloma
conostephioidesBrachyloma ericoidesGlischrocaryon behriiAcacia
calamifoliaAcacia glandulicarpaBaeckea behriiCalytr ix
tetragonaEucalyptus baxteriEucalyptus incrassataEucalyptus
leucoxylonLeptospermum myrsinoidesMelaleuca uncinataHakea
muellerana
For further information contact:
Litt le Desert National ParkRMB 389N h i l l . V i c . 3 4 1
8Phone (053) 899218
Horsham Regional Office21 McLachlan StreetH o r s h a m . V i c
. 3 4 0 0Phone (053) 825011
Revised March 1986
