Mitchell River National Park (Victoria)

Mitchell River National Park
	Looking north from The Bluff Lookout over the Mitchell River valley
Location:	Victoria , Australia
Specialty:	Original alluvial forest and rock caves
Surface:	142.5 km²
Founding:	1986
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The Mitchell River National Park is a national park in eastern Gippsland in the Australian state of Victoria . It is located about 300 kilometers east of Melbourne and about 40 kilometers north of Bairnsdale .

Mitchell River

The main attraction of the park is the Mitchell River itself. It is the longest unregulated river in Victoria and offers an incomparable riparian forest .

According to the Land Conservation Council Rivers & Streams Special Investigation 1990 , it is an important example of the large-scale biological system that used to be common throughout southeast Australia. The Mitchell River was added to the List of Australian Natural Monuments in 1992.

The park

The national park surrounds the Mitchell River where it has eaten its way through the rocky plateau, creating high cliffs and various gorges.

The park was created in 1963 as Glenaladale National Park after the Australian Paper Manufacturers Ltd. 1.63 square kilometers of land donated. In 1986 an additional 118 square kilometers of land was added and the name was changed to Mitchell River National Park . In 2003 this park was expanded again by 23.75 square kilometers, so that it now covers 142.5 square kilometers.

In some gorges you can find remnants of the warm-temperate rainforest , the southernmost occurrence of this type of rainforest on earth. He can survive here because the steep walls of the gorges protect him from the dry summer winds that occur every year and the occasional forest fires in this area.

There are documented sightings of more than 150 species of birds and 25 species of mammals in the park. The vegetation consists of B. from paper bark water eucalyptus trees, lilly pillys , mutton primroses , ferns , mosses , climbing plants and lianas . Typical Australian species such as acacia and eucalyptus dominate in drier areas .

The Mitchell River is also an important location for the Kurnai , particularly the Brabuwooloong and the Brayakuloong from central Gippsland. One of the park's attractions is the Den of Nargun , mentioned in some Aboriginal legends .

Gold was discovered in the area in 1857. Alluvial fields along the Mitchell River and its tributaries were worked in the 20th century, but gold mining also took place in the 1860s. Later, the Europeans used the area mainly for logging and as farmland.

Mitchell River near the mouth of Woolshed Creek
Warm temperate rainforest along Woolshed Creek
Deadcock Den, a culturally important place for the Kurnai women

Den of Nargun and Deadcock Den

Den of Nargun

According to the tribal legends of the Kurnai, the Nargun was a wild creature, half human and half stone, who lived in the Den of Nargun , a cave under an overhanging rock behind a small waterfall. This cave is found on Woolshed Creek , a small tributary of the Mitchell River, about a kilometer above the creek mouth. Legend has it that the Nargun kidnapped children who were visiting the tide pool . It is said that the nargun could not be fought with boomerangs or spears because they rebounded on the thrower.

The Den of Nargun was considered a special place for the Kurnai women, as it was used for initiation and study ceremonies. The legends probably served to keep children away from that consecrated place and to ensure that they stayed near the camp. The cave was once lined with stalactites , but unfortunately these have been demolished by souvenir hunters over the years.

Another, less well-known cave, Deadcock Den, is also located on Woolshed Creek, a little below Den of Nargun, only 200 m from its confluence with the Mitchell River. This place was also culturally particularly important for the Kurnai, especially for the women.