NSW scored another National Park and it's massive!

Just in case the 890-odd national parks weren’t enough, NSW has gained a brand-new national park to add to the list. This colossal new park is called Thurloo Downs and boasts over 437,394 hectares of land. To put that into perspective, that’s land measuring six times the size of Singapore.

It was purchased by the NSW government and is located 250 kilometres of northwest Bourke in outback NSW, on the traditional lands of the Karenggapa and Parundiji people.

Not only does this make this new national park the third-largest in the state, but it has also gone down as the largest acquisition of private land for national parks in NSW history.

NSW Environment Minister James Griffin said it is an historic deal. “Never before has a property this size has been acquired at any point by any government in the history of New South Wales,” Griffin said.

This great news means that 10.2 per cent of the entirety of NSW is now covered by national parks and puts the state on track to meet the goal of protecting 30 per cent of Aussie land by 2030.

Image: Berawinnia Creek, which flows through the area. Via ABC News Supplied by D. Lowe/DPE

Protecting wetlands, vast outback ecosystems, and about 50 threatened species

The strategically purchased land will protect critically threatened species, including pink cockatoos, grey grasswrens, crowned geckos and little pied bats. Plus, a number of complex water systems, rivers and lakes.

It will also be maintained in collaboration with local Indigenous community members, to make sure that ancient artefacts and priceless heritage remain protected.

Where is it exactly?

The new park is located right next to the existing Sturt National Park and Narrieara-Caryapundy National Park, creating a super mass of national parks that challenge the big guns around the world (we’re looking at you Yosemite.)

Now that the NSW government bagged this beauty, what are they going to do with it?

The land will have $4 million AUD injected into it to create visitor and park infrastructure, including campgrounds, day-use areas, observation points and outback driving routes.