Ngadjuri traditional land owners to help manage new national park at Worlds End Gorge, South Australia
Traditional Ngadjuri Nation owners would manage the new national park, to be created around Worlds End Gorge including a permanent water source (inset), with the South Australian government. Ngadjuri traditional lands went from Asngaston and Gawler in the south to Port Pirie and Orroroo in the north, west to Crystal Brook and the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges.
Inset image by Trent Murphy, courtesy ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News
The Ngadjuri people regained some control over an important part of their traditional land in South Australia with the new national park to be created at Worlds End Gorge, near Burra, in the state's mid north.
French renewable energy developer Neoen in 2023 transferred ownership of 1,000 hectares at World Ends Gorge to the state government, paving the way for a new national park to be created with the adjacent Hopkins Creek conservation area. The new national park would be jointly managed by the state government and the traditional Ngadjuri Nation owners.
Ngadjuri traditional lands extended from Angaston and Gawler in the south to Port Pirie and Orroroo in the north, westward to Crystal Brook and to the eastern scarp of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Pat Waria-Read, deputy chair of the Ngadjuri Nation Aboriginal Corporation said the Ngadjuri nation was taken off the land after European settlement: “When I look at this country, it makes me feel like I am home.” Ngadjuri man Carlo Barney Sansbury said the gorge's significance to traditional owners stretches back thousands of years: "It's a healing space for us. Let the country heal, too."
The World End park would be next to Neoen’s largest wind farm, the 412 MW (megawatt) Goyder South project, and has planning approval for up to 1,200 MW of wind, 900MW of battery storage and 600MW of solar. Neoen described the deal – struck with the South Australian government, the Ngadjuri Nation, the local council and original host owners as a “true first” for the renewable industry in Australia.
Neoen bought the land from private landholders, David and Jo Gebhardt, to meet its native vegetation offset requirements for the Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm that has a contract with the Australian Captal Territory government and a landmark “baseload” renewable supply deal with BHP’s giant Olympic Dam mine. The deal to create the new national park followed a tender launched in 2019 to manage the land and the offsets.
The state government won the tender and the new park would help protect several threatened species of flora and fauna such as the pygmy blue tongue lizard and the Flinders Ranges worm lizard. Neoen Australia chief executive Louis de Sambucy said the company was proud to supporting the national park being created on Ngadjuri country at Worlds End Gorge “The Gorge is a rare and beautiful place, and we are thrilled that it will be protected and enjoyed by the local community, traditional owners and future generations of Australians.”
Susan Close, South Australia’s deputy premier and minister for climate and the environment, said the land transfer will protect an important biodiversity and cultural asset, and “create new opportunities for locals and visitors to experience a beautiful natural area.
Mike Williams, director of National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, said he was "blown away" when he first saw the beauty of the gorge: "It's not until you get here and you walk along this watercourse and have a look at the red gums and the permanent water and gorge either side of it that you really get a feeling of how special the place is." The “very hidden gem” had been a secret to all but a few people in the area, privately held and cared for by a local farming family.