Morialta Conservation Park
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Morialta Conservation Park South Australia |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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Morialta Conservation Park showing First Falls and Morialta Gorge, note scree slope at far right.
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 Morialta Conservation Park
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| Nearest town or city | Adelaide |
| Coordinates | 34°54′02″S 138°42′38″E / 34.90056°S 138.71056°ECoordinates: 34°54′02″S 138°42′38″E / 34.90056°S 138.71056°E |
| Established | 2 August 1990 |
| Area | 5.33 km2 (2.1 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources |
| Website | Morialta Conservation Park |
| See also | Protected areas of South Australia |
Morialta Conservation Park is a protected area 10 km north-east of Adelaide city centre, in the state of South Australia, Australia. The park is in a rugged bush environment, with a narrow gorge set with three waterfalls, bounded by steep ridges and cliffs. The park caters to many activities, including bushwalking, bird watching and rock climbing.
The land which now constitutes the Park was originally the land of the Kaurna people. Morialta is said by many to derive its name from a Kaurna word, moriatta, meaning "ever flowing" or "running water", however some linguists suggest it comes from the Kaurna words mari yertalla, meaning "eastern cascade". It is said that the area was used as a hunting ground, and to collect firewood, during the winter months when the Kaurna would retreat from the coast to the hills. It is also said that they practised fire-stick farming here. The area's religious significance appears to be lost to time. For in 1839, only three years after the proclamation of the British colony of South Australia in 1836, the area was granted by the new South Australian Government to pastoralists. In 1847, John Baker bought the land and built the grand Morialta House and Morialta Barns on Fourth Creek, near the head of the gorge.John Smith Reid was also a major landholder in the area, and in 1911, he offered to donate part of his land as a national reserve.
Reid donated 218 hectares (540 acres) in 1913, and in 1915 the area was declared a National Pleasure Resort. Much of the construction work in the park was begun in the 1920s and 1930s, although floods and bushfires have destroyed much of this original work. In 1966 additional property to the east was added, and the park was declared a National park. In 1972 the park was re-proclaimed as Morialta Conservation Park.
Major rebuilding was required after flooding in 1980, and flooding in November 2005 again caused damage to paths and walkways.
Morialta Conservation Park covers 5.33 km² within the Mount Lofty Ranges, which run north-south to the east of Adelaide's coastal plain. It is bounded by Black Hill Conservation Park on the north, Norton Summit road on the south, the suburb of Rostrevor on the west, and by agricultural land on the east.
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Wikipedia