The Miles Government has its sights on a new national park with the acquisition of Vergemont Station, a 352,589-hectare cattle property in western Queensland. This landmark deal was made possible through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy, which brokered a $21 million philanthropic donation to contribute to the purchase. It’s no surprise that this is likely to be the single largest donation for land protection in Australia.
About Vergemont Station
Vergemont Station sits at the headwaters of the Lake Eyre Basin, one of the last remaining free-flowing arid river systems in the world and one of Queensland’s most important inland river catchments. It contains significant riverine and biodiversity conservation values, including key habitat for the endangered night parrot, vulnerable yellow-footed rock-wallaby and highly restricted Opalton grasswren.
Around 98% of Vergemont Station is covered in remnant vegetation, and the land lies across two of Queensland’s 13 bioregions. In addition, Vergemont contains 34 different regional ecosystems, ranking higher than 90% of existing national parks in Queensland. Eight of these regional ecosystems are not represented as comprehensively on any other property in Queensland.
A protected area corridor spanning 1.5 million hectares
Vergemont Station adjoins the recently acquired Tonkoro Station, and when combined with the surrounding Mount Windsor Nature Refuge, Pullen Pullen Special Wildlife Reserve, and Goneaway and Diamantina National Parks, it will create a protected area corridor that conserves almost one and a half million hectares of Channel Country bioregion.
Much of this broader protected area landscape sits within the Maiawali First Nations People’s ancestral lands and is understood to contain significant Indigenous cultural heritage values. The government will engage with the First Nations people to undertake cultural heritage assessments and future planning.
How much of Vergemont Station will become a national park?
After a transition period that will enable the former landowners to transition their businesses off the property, at least 300,000 hectares of the property are intended to become a national park. The remainder will continue to support opal mining operations, ensuring the long-term future of Western Queensland’s iconic opal industry.
