Bladensburg National Park
Queensland
Scrammy Gorge, 2011
Bladensburg National Park is located in Queensland
Bladensburg National Park
Bladensburg National Park
Nearest town or cityWinton
Coordinates22°30′12″S 142°59′17″E / 22.50333°S 142.98806°E / -22.50333; 142.98806
Established1984
Area849 km2 (327.8 sq mi)
Managing authoritiesQueensland Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteBladensburg National Park
See alsoProtected areas of Queensland

Bladensburg is a national park in Shire of Winton, Queensland, Australia.[1] It includes an area once occupied by a sheep station called Bladensburg Station.

History

Bladensburg lies in the area of what was once Koa tribal territory and, on white settlement, was taken over to run a sheep station,[2] known as Bladensburg Station. This was the site of the alleged Bladensburg massacre, in which around 200 Aboriginal people were killed in c.1872 at Skull Hole, on the head of Mistake Creek.[3]

The 84,900 ha (210,000 acres) of national park were declared in 1984.[citation needed]

Geography

The park is 1,152 km (716 mi) northwest of Brisbane, and just south of the town of Winton. The park features grassland plains, river flats, sandstone ranges and flat-topped mesas.[4] The main watercourse in the park is the often dry Surprise Creek.[5] During floods the creek becomes a braided channel.

The landscape to the south of the park has dissected tablelands with mesas and buttes and to the far south are flat sand plains.[5]

Description

The park is now a protected area containing areas of high biodiversity. It is situated predominantly in the Goneaway Tablelands subregion of the Channel Country bioregion, but also contains some of the Mitchell Grass Downs bioregion. The original Bladensburg homestead, which was probably transported to the site some time in the 1910s, houses the park's visitor information centre today.[2] Birds common to the area include the painted firetail, rufous-crowned emu-wren and rufous-throated honeyeater.[5]

Attractions

The park contains dinosaur fossils as well as Aboriginal story places and ceremonial grounds.[2]

Skull Hole, the site of the 1870s massacre of Aboriginal people, is preserved.[2]

Facilities

Access to the park is by 16 km of road from Winton.[5] Camping is permitted beside Surprise Creek.[4] No water is available.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bladensburg National Park (entry 39380)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2002). Heritage Trails of the Queensland Outback. State of Queensland. p. 75. ISBN 0-7345-1040-3.
  3. ^ Lumholtz: Among Cannibals: an account of four years travels in Australia, and of camp life with the aborigines of Queensland (London 1889) page 58-9: Queenslander 20 Apr 1901, page 757-758: "The Massacre of the Blacks at the Skull Hole on Mistake Creek". See also Timothy Bottoms, Conspiracy of Silence, page 172-174.
  4. ^ a b "Bladensburg National Park". Tourism Queensland. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e Shilton, Peter (2005). Natural Areas of Queensland. Mount Gravatt, Queensland: Goldpress. pp. 288–290. ISBN 0-9758275-0-2.
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