MAWONGA PROPERTY BOUNDARY
Mawonga is a 22 020, hectare pastoral property located 95km north of Hillston in New South Wales. These 22 020 hectares do not follow a neat cadastral boundary but are based on a mix of cadastral and fence line boundary. The reason for this is that the southwest boundary lies in the middle of Coombie creek where there is severe erosion and it is not possible to place a fence line. The southeast cadastral boundary cuts between the neighbour’s homestead and sheds restricting the access to their workshop. WAC and the southern neighbours have agreed to the revised southeast boundary fence line. The infrastructure on Mawonga includes a homestead, shearer’s quarters, machinery and workshop sheds, water points, fences and tracks. The only buildings on the property are located in the Homestead Area. Our transitional three-year work plan focused on getting the infrastructure into a safe and workable condition, so we are able to have a full-time caretaker living on the property, to accommodate a number of people, and support our community cultural camps and training programs.
MAWONGA LOCATION AND LANDSCAPE CONTEXT
Mawonga is a 22 020 ha - hectare pastoral property located 95km north of Hillston in New South Wales within the Carrathool Shire, Murray Darling (4,822 ha )and Cobar Peneplain (17,394ha) Biogeographic regions. This additional protection (2.41% increases the Cobar Peneplain and 0.4% Murray Darling Depression) enhancing the national reserve system totals by 2.65% and 16.74% for the respective bioregions. It is accessed on either the Coombie or Merri (Gilgunnia) Roads. There is a travelling stock route through Mawonga the Merri Road with a public watering point and a separate internal small lease (Livestock Health and Pest 12 Authority (LHPA (formerly RLPB), which is typical for this region. The region lies within the semi-arid zone experiencing annual rainfall between 250–500mm. Bordering Mawonga to the North and East are Yathong, Nombinnie and Round Hill nature reserves managed by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. This protected natural corridor represents one of the largest reserves of mallee in NSW (over 190,000ha). Yathong NR is also a Biosphere Reserve. WAC and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service work collaboratively on fire, weed and feral animal and visitor management. This includes goat harvesting, fox baiting, cat trapping, fencing and burning that provides a landscape scale approach to management increasing the effectiveness of these management actions. There are two pastoral leases on the south- west, Mt. Wells on the south-east Coombie Station. Both are owned and managed by the same company and WAC work with their neighbours where they can on goat harvesting, stock management and fencing. Mawonga has diverse landforms ranging from rocky ranges to undulating hills and plains. It consists of ridge country comprising the Keginni, Yapabungara and Marooba Ranges, undulating slopes and level plains country that predominate on the Cobar Peneplain. A five-day vegetation survey was completed in October 2013, consisting of 63 full floristic survey sites and 74 rapid survey sites (Hunter 2013). A total of 241 vascular plant species were recorded during the survey. Exotic species made up 12% of the total. As a single survey, it is thought that only 50-60% of all species may have been recorded. Eight floristic communities (vegetation types) were identified during the survey and mapped: •
• Gum Coolibah – White Cypress Pine Woodland
• Gum Coolibah – White Cypress Pine – Mallee – Mulga Mixed Stand Woodland
• Wilga – Snap n Rattle – Poplar Box Mixed Woodland and Shrubland
• Belah – Brigalow – Wilga Woodland
• White Cypress Pine – Gum Coolibah – Mulga Low Open Woodland
• Cobar Red Gum – White Cypress Pine Open Mallee
• Shrubland, Grey Mallee – Cobar Red Gum Open Mallee Shrubland
• White Mallee – Snap n Rattle Mallee Shrubland
