Aroona Sanctuary, Leigh Creek

Where is it?: Aroona Sanctuary is an irregular crescent shaped block of land surrounding Leigh Creek to the southeast, west and northwest including Aroona Dam. The main Port Augusta – Copley road bisects the area.

Owner: Crown Land managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia (NPWSSA).

Property summary: Total area c. 2948 hectares. Out of Hundreds (Copley) Part Sections 373, 1290 and Part Piece 106 (previously part Allotment 641).

Landscape SA Management Region: South Australian Arid Lands

History: Aroona Dam was constructed between 1952 and 1957 to provide water supplies for the township of Leigh Creek and the coalfields¹. Part Sections 373, 1290 and Part Allotment 641 were proclaimed the Aroona Sanctuary on 26 October 1995². Following the closure of the Leigh Creek coal mine management of the area passed to NPWSSA.

Habitat: Main habitats within the sanctuary include:
  – Red Mallee (Eucalyptus socialis) with Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolius)
  – Black Oak (Casuarina pauper) lower open shrubland over Oblique-spined Bindyi (Sclerolaena obliquicuspis) and Erect Mallee Bluebush
    (Maireana pentatropis)
  – River Red Gum ((E. camaldulensis) woodland with Inland Paperbark (Melaleuca glomerata)
  – Elegant Wattle (Acacia Victoria) over Blackbush (Maireana pyramidata)
  – Bladder Saltbush (Atriplex vesicaria, Pearl Bluebush (M. sedifolia) and Blackbush shrubland

Total Species Recorded to Date: 103 (non-passerines 56, passerines 47).

Common Species: Musk Duck, Hoary-headed Grebe, White-plumed Honeyeater, Australian Magpie, Striated Pardalote, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill

Less Common Species: Rainbow Bee-eater,Peaceful Dove, Hooded Robin, Red-capped Robin, Southern Whiteface

References
¹ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (1995). Flinders Ranges Heritage Survey. Volume 6. Towns. pp. 6-69 – 6-71.

² Government of South Australia (1995). National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. Declaration of Aroona Sanctuary. The South Australian Government Gazette, No. 118, 26 October 1995. p. 1195.

Updated: 9/01/2022