Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located about 249 kilometres (155 miles) west of the state capital, Adelaide, and about 9.5 kilometres (5.9 miles) south of the main town, Port Lincoln. The park includes a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula at the southeastern end of the Eyre Peninsula and several nearby islands. The national park contains important places related to nature, Indigenous heritage, and early European history.

Description

Lincoln National Park is in South Australia. It is on the Jussieu Peninsula, which is part of the Eyre Peninsula. The park also includes parts of the Eyre Peninsula and several islands near the coast. The area of the park on the Jussieu Peninsula is within officially recognized areas called Lincoln National Park and Sleaford.

Most of the Jussieu Peninsula is covered by Lincoln National Park. The rest of the peninsula is part of the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area. The western entrance to the park is through a narrow strip of land that connects the Jussieu Peninsula to the mainland. The Sleaford Mere Conservation Park is next to the western side of the national park. People can enter the park by road on both the northern and southern sides of the strip of land. The southern road requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The northern edge of the peninsula curves north to Cape Donington, where the Cape Donington Lighthouse is located. Cape Donington is the southernmost point of Port Lincoln, a large, sheltered harbor where the city of Port Lincoln is located. The eastern coast of the park, which faces Spencer Gulf, stretches from Cape Donington to Taylor's Landing, which is across from Taylor Island.

The southern edge of the park curves south from Mary Ellis Wreck Beach in the west to the east side of Jussieu Bay in the east. The coastline changes from large sand dunes behind Sleaford Bay to limestone cliffs on the east side of Jussieu Bay. The waters in this area are rough, and strong currents have caused many drownings.

Lincoln National Park includes these islands near the Jussieu Peninsula:
– Bicker Isles and Horse Rock in Port Lincoln
– Rabbit Island (in Louth Bay), Donington Island, Carcase Rock, an unnamed island in Shag Cove, Owen Island, and an unnamed islet south of Taylor Island in Spencer Gulf
– Curta Rocks, Liguanea Island, and Albatross Island (immediately south of Thistle Island) in the Great Australian Bight

The national park is classified as an IUCN category II protected area.

History

On August 28, 1941, land in sections 2, 5, 6, and 13 of the Hundred of Flinders was set aside as a Flora and Fauna Reserve under the Crown Lands Act 1929. On November 9, 1967, land in sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13, and 14 of the Hundred of Flinders was declared Lincoln National Park under the National Parks Act 1966.

On April 27, 1972, the national park was reorganized under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 to include land in Hundred Flinders, sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 12–14, and several islands, including Smith Island, Hopkins Island, Lewis Island, Little Island, Owen Island, Albatross Island, Liguanea Island, Rabbit Island (section 395, North out of Hundreds), Curta Rocks, and section 4 of Hundred Flinders.

Between 1972 and 1992, the national park expanded to include land at Stamford Hill (originally called Gaidyaba in the Barngarla language), Cape Donington, Wanna, and many islands near the Jussieu Peninsula. In 1993, the Lincoln Conservation Reserve, established under the Crown Lands Act 1929, was added to the national park’s management plan. Later, the reserve was renamed the Lincoln Conservation Park. In June 1999, the national park’s boundary was extended to the lowest water level during low tide.

In 2004, land around Memory Cove and islands such as Hopkins, Lewis, Little, Smith, and Williams Islands was removed from the national park and created as a separate protected area called the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area under the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 (SA).

Prior use of the land

The Aboriginal tribes of Barngarla and Nauo were the first people to live in the region. Archaeological digs have found sites of stone working, including fish traps and middens, throughout the national park.

The coastline of Jussieu Peninsula and the nearby islands was first visited by European explorers in 1802. British navigator Matthew Flinders arrived that year, followed later by the Baudin expedition to Australia. A stone obelisk called the Flinders Monument was built at Stamford Hill in 1844 by Sir John Franklin to honor Flinders’ work. It is listed as a state heritage site on the South Australian Heritage Register.

After Flinders’ survey, a small number of Europeans settled the area, mainly along Cape Donington (named after Flinders’ birthplace). The first grain crop was planted there in 1875. Early European industries included woodcutting, grazing, and guano mining. Donington cottage, which still exists and is open to the public, is a remnant of that time. The Cape Donington Lighthouse, a hexagonal concrete tower 32 meters tall, was built in 1905 and is still in use. On April 5, 1907, the ketch Mary Ellis, traveling from Port Adelaide to Venus Bay, was wrecked on a beach along Sleaford Bay, now called Mary Ellis Wreck Beach. The ship was destroyed, but no one was hurt.

Flora and fauna

The national park has many coastal mallee eucalypts growing around granite outcrops. The sand dunes along the southern coast have less shrub coverage.

The national park is home to many resident and migratory birds and animals. Many kangaroos, wallabies, and emus live there. Feral foxes were once common and harmed many native animals. After a large baiting and culling program, fox numbers decreased. As fox numbers dropped, goanna and bush stone curlew populations increased. Brush-tailed bettongs and malleefowl were brought back to the park and are now common.

Migratory birds like red-necked stints and sandpipers spend summer in the park during their seasonal trips from places like the Arctic Circle and Siberia. Southern right whales can be seen near the park from July to November during their migrations. Australian sea lions are often spotted on rocks and small islands near the coast.

Visitor attractions and services

The national park offers many activities such as hiking, off-road driving, camping, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, and fishing.

As of 2010, there were 19 hiking trails in the park, covering more than 100 kilometers (62 miles). These trails are part of a larger trail called the Investigator Trail, which continues beyond the park and the Jussieu Peninsula to North Shields through Tulka and Port Lincoln.

Most areas of the national park can only be reached by using off-road vehicle paths, such as the Sleaford to Wanna sand dune track.

Accommodation options include one building at Spalding Cove, four official campsites at Fisherman's Point, September Beach, Surfleet Cove, and Taylor's Landing, and eight camping areas without services.

Citations and references

• "Lincoln National Park and Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area (information booklet)" (PDF). Published by National Parks South Australia (NPSA). 2015.
• "Lincoln National Park and Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area Map" (PDF). Produced by Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula (NREP). 2014.
• "Bushwalking in Lincoln National Park Map" (PDF). Published by National Parks South Australia (NPSA). 2014.
• "Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area (information booklet)" (PDF). Published by Department of Environment and Heritage (DENR). 2010. Saved as a copy of the original (PDF) on 21 December 2015.
• "Conservation Parks of Lower Eyre Peninsula Management Plan" (PDF). Published by Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH). 2007.