Tag Archives: Lake Nuga Nuga

The Giant Water Lily

The flower is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of all our native plant species.             
Keith Williams, 1979.

With memories still fresh of my water-level encounter with these Giant Water Lilies at Lake Nuga Nuga in 2013, I recently came across some information on these spectacular plants in Native Plants of Queensland, Volume 1 (1979) by Keith Williams.

The four volumes of this title produced by this eminent Queensland naturalist from 1979 to 1999 contain a wealth of information on the State’s plants and their habitats. I’d encountered very little information on this species of plant when writing my earlier blog post on Lake Nuga Nuga

Water lilies are familiar to people, as cultivated varieties are grown in artificial pools. The Giant Water Lily in its native habitat is a spectacular plant. All photographs taken at Lake Nuga Nuga by R. Ashdown.

From Native Plants of Queensland by Keith Williams:

Giant Waterlily Nymphaea gigantea

This species is found in coastal and sub-coastal areas from north Queensland to the southern border. In many places the pest Water Hyacinth has almost, if not completely, eradicated the water lily.

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‘The large flat, floating leaves of the Giant Water Lily have a very prominent, raised network of veins that spread from the junction of the leaf stem on the under surface. The upper surface only is water repellent and a shiny bright green, the under surface is often a very rich purple.’ – Keith Williams.

The Giant Water Lily grows in water of various depths and this varies from the shallow edges of the the quiet waters of the habitat, to water that may be greater than three metres in depth. It has been observed that plants growing in deep water have a tendency to produce larger leaves and flowers than those in shallow water. Many leaves form a single plant and when they reach the surface they may cover an area with a diameter of about four metres.

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The flower is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of all our native plant species. The flowers may be more than 30 cm in diameter. I have observed them to be larger than a dinner plate. The flowers have a delicate fragrance and have a life of little more than one day.

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As soon as they open in mid-morning the various insects visit them in numbers and pollination is effected very quickly. The stem then bends several times and this pulls the flower under the water, The seed receptacle forms very quickly, and the small black seeds are released finally when the fruit disintegrates. The plants are rooted in soft alluvial muds and the spongy white roots spread outwards from the tuber for long distances in all directions.

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The plant was an important food source for Aborigines, who ate the fresh flowers as well as the seeds. The importance of the plant is evident as the Aboriginal names Arnurna, Yakp-Kalo, Kaooroo, Moi-U, Thindah, Thoolambool, Mille, Thoongoon, Urgullathy and Irrpo all demonstrate. Many of these names referred specifically to parts of the plant.

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Giant Water Lilies only thrive in clear water. Where there is constant heavy turbidity the plants die. Many areas where they were once plentiful have been lost because colloidal clays have entered the ponds and as they remain in constant suspension, they inhibit growth by preventing light reaching submerged parts of the plant.

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Colour forms are found and they may be pure white, white with blue petals, or some have tips of colour on the outside petals, A very beautiful pink form, the Undulla Lily, occurs in a small creek in southern Queensland.

Keith Albert Walter Williams (1916–2003)

With a wide range of natural history interests — fish, both marine and freshwater; birds; insects, particularly butterflies; and native plants, Keith Williams, as well as being a practical, expert naturalist and photographer, was a dedicated member of The Queensland Naturalists’ Club. An astute observer of wildlife, Keith started writing Nature Notes for the Club Newsletter in May 1963 with his note on the Golden Bower Bird, following this with notes on subjects as diverse as koalas, snakes, geckos, and birds such as white faced herons, red-backed wrens and all kinds in between.

His writing was not restricted to informal Nature Notes, for Keith’s magnum opus was Native Plants — Queensland, the first volume of which was published in 1979 and the fourth and final volume in 1999. These four volumes, of over 1,400 pages, have been, and will continue to be, used by many naturalists and aspiring botanists. If he had no other achievements, this work alone would assure Keith Williams of a place in the ‘Naturalists’ Hall of Fame’.

Keith wrote a number of more formal papers for The Queensland Naturalist among which was one on the fishes of North West Island (1969) which, together with the generous giving of his time, helped many members identify the small fishes of the coral reef pools on future trips.

Source: D. Reeves, The Queensland Naturalist, Vol.44, Nos.1–3, 2006

Keith was born in Ipswich, Queensland, in 1916. He was made an Honorary ranger for the protection of Fauna and Flora in Queensland in 1934. He was a foundation member of the Queensland Ornithological Society and was a life member of the Ipswich Photographic Society and the Queensland Naturalists’ Club. In 1993 he was the recipient if the Queensland Natural History Award and in 1998 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to conservation and the environment, particularly for his contribution to botanical knowledge and the collection of plant specimens.

Lake Nuga Nuga reprised

An article written for the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of Wildlife Queensland news.

A nature photographer could not ask for a more perfect spot — it was one of those rare occasions when everything is just right. I was sitting in a borrowed kayak somewhere in the middle of Lake Nuga Nuga, the largest natural body of water in Queensland’s central highlands.

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A Whistling Kite wheels above the waters of Lake Nuga Nuga. All images R. Ashdown.

I’d paddled out with camera in the early morning, moving through a surreal field of native Giant Water Lilies, their huge pink flowers still closed. I thought I’d just keep paddling about furiously until I found things to photograph, typically impatient to discover something of interest.

The lake, however, was about to remind me once more of the need to just sit, wait, shut-up and look. I eventually stopped paddling and sat quietly, taking it all in and reminding myself to breathe and enjoy the moment. The sounds of morning on the lake rolled over me as the day’s dramas unfolded with the opening of the giant lily flowers.

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The water soon warmed, and small Bony Bream moved to surface, splashing onto the lily pads and catching the attention of Whistling Kites. The birds broke off from preening to make spectacular diving runs into the water, flying off with tiny wriggling silver meals clutched tightly in talons. I’d never been so close these birds and was dazzled by their rich and subtle hues of brown and tan, with eyes burning bright over the desire to catch breakfast.

Other waterbirds also fished around me, cormorants and egrets flying past and into the water next to my small boat. It was as if by sitting still I’d convinced all that I was just another dead tree, many of which are a feature of this lake. I soon discovered that the dead standing trees were not dead at all — flocks of Tree Martins whirled around them and darted inside the hollows of what were clearly multi-story tenements for countless small birds. Once in, they would peer out again, whipping their tiny heads in all directions to catch the action, screaming at each other in tiny voices.

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An Intermediate Egret (centre) jostles for perching space with a Little Pied Cormorant (left) and a White-necked (Pacific) Heron.

What life goes on unnoticed in our wild places when there’s no human around to catch it! What a pleasure to think of the places we have managed to protect and the myriad natural dramas played out by the wildlife that call these places home. Yes, we need parks for people, but these wild places are essential to the lives of species other than human.

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Intermediate Egret on drowned tree.

Lake Nuga Nuga is one of 13 nationally-significant wetlands that fall within the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion. Unfortunately the lake itself is not national park, however the small but significant Nuga Nuga National Park sits adjacent to the lake and preserves remnant vegetation communities, including Ooline and Bonewood, largely cleared from central Queensland.

One of those who fought hard over decades for the protection of remnant patches of Central Queensland scrub in national parks, such as Nuga Nuga, was Jim Gasteen. A life member of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, Jim travelled extensively throughout four States, surveying areas for inclusion in proposed national parks. Said Jim in the June 1989 edition of Wildlife Australia, “I am convinced that the entire Queensland Central Highlands complex is one of the foremost biological areas in Australia and that the entire ranges should be designated national park and state forest.”

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Jim also wrote, in the March 1984 edition of Wildlife Australia, of a “most remarkable experience at Lake Nuga Nuga.” Jim, his brother and a friend were setting up camp late one afternoon. They soon noticed a small and isolated fledgling cormorant being incessantly dive-bombed by a pair of kites. The tiny bird would submerge, only to be attacked again when surfacing. Things eventually looked final for the small bird. “So intense was this uneven battle that the three of us were on our feet with binoculars, absorbed in the drama and wishing there was something we could do to forestall the inevitable.” Suddenly a group of pelicans, until then fishing nearby, swam toward the cormorant and surrounded it, driving off with snapping beaks the attacks of the kites in the fading light, until the raptors gave up and flew away.

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To the surprise of the observers the pelicans then remained in a tight circle around the small bird, without the slightest movement, looking “like sentinels from another era.” Says Jim, “A change had come over the lake — it was something felt rather than seen, for all that were left now were the stars and our own thoughts. We too remained anchored to the spot. Nobody spoke.

Jim wrote again of this “most remarkable swamp drama” in his book Back to the Bush in 2011 — it was obviously an experience he had not forgotten.

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The Milky Way above Lake Nuga Nuga on a quiet, clear night.

Such are our most memorable nature experiences formed, through being present in a wild place — large or small — and just watching what happens around us.

I’d been sitting in my tiny kayak for almost three hours watching the kites battling over small silver fish morsels, and things were starting to quieten as the day warmed up. The lily flowers were open for business and the water was alive with dragonflies and bees.

As I prepared to head back to shore a strange rushing sound descended and I looked up to see a massive squadron of Pelicans flying low over the lake, accompanied by a motley collection of cormorants. It was the perfect end to a terrific morning. I thought of Jim and reflected on how important our national parks and wild areas are as the crucibles of experiences that we can carry with us for many years.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Lake Nuga Nuga, the largest natural water body within the dry highlands of the Central Queensland Sandstone Belt, is a place of many stories.

About 515 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, this lake is located at the northern (downstream) end of the Arcadia Valley, and lies within the floodplain of the Brown River, a tributary of the Comet River. The Comet River itself falls within the greater Fitzroy River basin (see map below), the waters from which eventually reach the Queensland coast near Rockhampton.

During favourable seasons both the Brown River and Moolayember Creek flow into Lake Nuga Nuga.

Startrails, Lake Nuga Nuga

Standing dead trees in Lake Nuga Nuga are illuminated by campfire in a three-hour exposure (taken on on slide film). All photographs in this post by Robert Ashdown unless credited otherwise.

Lake Nuga Nuga varies in size with the seasons. It is usually somewhere in the order of about 2,000 hectares in area, and is about eight kilometres across in a north-west to south-east direction and about four kilometres in width. The lake is mostly below two metres in depth, with a maximum depth of about nine metres. One source records the lake as having been dry only twice — in 1936 and in 1970–71, while Walsh (1988) states the lake as having been dry three times during the 1970s and 1980s.

Nuga Nuga National Park lies adjacent to the lake’s northern banks, but does not include the lake itself.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Lake Nuga Nuga is located within the Central Queensland Highlands, an elevated area of sandstone ranges and wide valleys.

Home of the rivers

Five major river systems have their origins in this sandstone country. The area is sometimes referred to as ‘The Home of the Rivers’.

Lake Nuga Nuga NP. View from Mt Warinilla.

Looking east over Lake Nuga Nuga toward the Expedition Range. Nuga Nuga National Park, which covers the northern edge of the lake seen here, includes some uncleared remnants of the Arcadia Valley’s original vegetation.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Lake Nuga Nuga nearly dry. Photograph taken in the 1950s, courtesy Bill Goebel.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Mt Warrinilla, Lake Nuga Nuga, 1950s. Photograph by Bill Goebel.

A sudden growth …

While today’s visitors to the lake are often awed by the lake’s immense expanse, it has not always looked like this.

Ludwig Leichhardt crossed the nearby Expedition Range in 1844 on his way to Port Essington. He narrowly missed Lake Nuga Nuga while skirting around the area’s brigalow scrubs. He did name Lake Brown, a lake just to the north of Lake Nuga Nuga, after one of the Aboriginal members of his expedition.

Expedition National Park

A view west across Expedition National Park, through which explorer Ludwig Leichhardt travelled in 1844. This national park protects an area of original scrub similar to  that which Leichhardt would have encountered on this journey.

Walsh (1985) believes that Frederick Walker of the native Police may have been among the first to officially record the lake’s existence in early ‘white’ records.

In 2006 researchers Finlayson and Kenyon published a paper on Lake Nuga Nuga, sourcing original files and the results of lake core sediment samples. They studied the records of surveyor Vernon Brown, who travelled through the Arcadia Valley in 1865. Brown recorded Lake Nuga Nuga as small, being only about one kilometre in diameter, within an extensive area of swamps and flood-prone country covered by open forest and ‘open brigalow scrub’, ‘oak scrub’, ‘open scrub’ and ‘open flooded box flat’.

Vernon Brown's map of Lake Nuga Nuga

Vernon Brown’s 1865 map of Lake Nuga Nuga. The lake was about one kilometre in diameter and set within an area of swamps. (Coloured notes are my estimations only and may be incorrect).

About 1880 the dimensions of Lake Nuga Nuga dramatically extended over a short period of time.

It is thought that heavy rain and the subsequent flooding of the Brown River filled the small existing lake and surrounding swamps, before a scouring flash flood in Moolayember Creek transported large amounts of silt into the vicinity of the lake. When these waters reached the creek’s right-angle junction with the Brown River, turbulence caused the silt to form a natural levee bank at the lake’s northern end.

Lake Nuga Nuga today

Lake Nuga Nuga today, a much larger expanse of water. (Blue colour may not be the current amount of water in the lake, as it recedes and fills seasonally).

Finlayson and Kenyon believe that Lake Nuga Nuga is unusual geographically because it is a particularly large example of a lake associated with a river levee, and also because it is a rare case where the main stream (the Brown Rover) has been blocked by a smaller tributary, here  Moolayember Creek.

The many dead trees throughout the water area may support the larger lake’s relatively short period of existence. The lake has, despite expanding and contracting with seasonal conditions, gradually continued to expand.

Moolayember Creek looking west toward Carnarvon Gorge from Lake Nuga Nuga.

Looking west from Lake Nuga Nuga. Moolayember Creek, surrounded by a thin strip of vegetation within a largely cleared area, snakes toward the lake (foreground) from the distant Carnarvon ranges.

... and looking back from the other direction (ie, to the east). Lake Nuga Nuga seen from the Woolpack, a sandstone outcrop on the Carnarvon Ranges. Photo by Bernice Sigley.

… and looking back from the other direction (ie, to the east). Lake Nuga Nuga seen in the far distance from the Woolpack, a sandstone outcrop on the Carnarvon Ranges. Photo by Bernice Sigley.

 … and a mysterious disappearance

A strange event occurred at Lake Nuga Nuga in the 1940s. The water of the lake apparently drained overnight, leaving the bodies of thousands of dead fish, eels and turtles scattered around the lake’s shoreline.

From the September 13, 1946 edition of the Western Star:

The waters of Lake Nooga Nooga, normally about five miles in diameter and situated just north of the Carnarvon range, have mysteriously disappeared.

The edge of the lake has been steadily receding, and muffled explosions have been heard from the direction of the lake from Christmas Eve, 1944. Last week the manager of Warinilla Station (Mr W Logan) found that only a strip of mud 100 yards by 20 yards remained. Three months ago there were 400 acres of water. Mr Logan said that the water had been disappearing too fast for evaporation to be the explanation.

The explosion, which is believed to have been a subterranean disturbance, killed all the fish in the lake, which was previously well stocked. Mr Logan said: “We found the fish lying dead in the mud around the lake bed. You can still scoop up their bones.”

One theory held in the district is that the disturbance opened a connection with an underground shale layer believed to run through to Springsure about 70 miles to the north-west.

Mr Logan said that he had never heard of the lake being dry before, but evidence of charring on timber of the “drowned forest” which filled the original lake bed indicated that at some time it must have been swept by bushfires.

The drowned forest, Lake Nuga Nuga

The drowned forest, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Lake Nuga Nuga

The quiet waters of Lake Nuga Nuga on sunset. Photograph by Linda Thompson.

Walsh (1985) reports one persistent local theory for this event:

It is believed that American bombers flying on the Darwin to Brisbane route had jettisoned their bomb load directly into the lake’s waters. The explosion was thought to have opened some fissure or fault in the floor of the lake and permitted the water to escape. Careful examination of the lake bed during the 1970s drought failed to discover any evidence of such disturbance or of bomb shrapnel.

Pelicans over Lake Nuga Nuga.

A squadron of pelicans over Lake Nuga Nuga.

Walsh also quotes a newspaper article about a group on a fishing expedition camped on the lake shore at the time of the event:

The night before, muffled explosions like thunder exploded in the distant hills and rocked their holiday camp and swirled the lake’s waters angrily on its sands.

Apparently activities normally associated with earth tremors were recorded at least as far south as Timor Station, near Injune. It was reported that crockery in the kitchen cupboards rattled furiously in the night in question.

For another explanation, we need to turn to the Karingbal people.

The first people

Lake Nuga Nuga lies within the home country of the Karingbal people. Their name for the lake was, and still is, Wagan Wagan. This means ‘running’ and may have originally referred to the small dotterels and wading birds that can be seen running around the lake’s shoreline.

Karingbal people associate the origin of Wagan Wagan Lake with one of the most significant creatures in Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Snake. Within the sandstone belt of central Queensland this creature was known as Moondagarri, Moondungera or Mundagurra. Areas associated with this creature are held in great reverence and the Lake Nuga Nuga area is exceptional in that it is the home of not one but two Rainbow Serpents.

Star Trails, Lake Nuga Nuga NP.

Star trails and Dhanamany (Mt Warrinilla/Round Mountain), beneath which rests one of two Mundagurra (Rainbow Serpents). Lake Nuga Nuga was created to keep the skins of these serpents moist. Should they be disturbed, the Mundagurra will leave the area and the lake will dry up.

The two prominent mountains on the northern lake edge, and which form the southern extremity of the Fantail Range, are known as Mt Warrinilla or Round Mountain — Dhanamany to Indigenous people — and Mt Kirk. One Rainbow Serpent is said to reside under each of these mountains.

Lake Nuga Nuga NP.

Mt Kirk, home of the second Mundagurra.

Lake Wagan Wagan was originally created by the travelling Rainbow Serpents as their final home, and maintain the water in the lake to keep their bodies moist. It is said that if the Rainbow Serpents leave their homes under the mountains the lake will dry up forever.

There was plenty of evidence in the early 1900s that the Lake Nuga Nuga area was of great significance to Aboriginal people long before the advent of European settlers. Writes Walsh:

An extensive complex of ledge burials was found in the area in the 1950s and in spite of its remote location was totally pillaged within a decade, an event all too typical within the entire sandstone country in decades past. A wealth of information was lost to science.

It was a bit more than a loss of information. I’d add that the appalling desecration of burial grounds held sacred to Aboriginal people was inexcusably thoughtless and ignorant, no matter how you look at it.

Lake Nuga Nuga NP.

In the shadow of Mt Warrinilla.

Burial cylinders, made of elaborate bark constructions, were taken from the area decades ago. It is thought that large amounts of material accompanied the burials, including bone awls, dilly bags, skin bags, ceremonial stones and clapsticks. Walsh believed this to be:

one of the greatest single sources of material data in pre-contact Aboriginal lifestyles yet discovered in central Queensland.

Controversy over the removal of a burial cylinder from the area in 1982 gathered media interest, attracting greater public support for the official protection of archaeological sites.

Lake Nuga Nuga NP. Nankeen night herons.

Roosting Nankeen Night Herons, Lake Nuga Nuga.

In the 1970s drought it was reported that numerous stone tools lay in an area not far from the shoreline of the lake, still not covered by the deposits of sediment. Clay and stone ground ovens were also visible on the lake bed.

... and one more. Photo by Bernice Sigley.

Photo by Bernice Sigley.

And of the suddenly emptying lake? Karingbal people believe this was caused by one of the Rainbow Serpents moving from the lake and returning.

Despite what is written about the “lost tribes of the Carnarvons”  the Karingbal people have survived, and continue to rightly assert their relationship with this area, including Lake Nuga Nuga and its surrounds.

A small national park, but without the lake

The Arcadia Valley, like much of the central Queensland area, was once covered in a scrub dominated by the acacia known as brigalow (Acacia harpophylla). Clearing of this area for agriculture accelerated after the Second World War with the introduction of heavy machinery.

Jim Gasteen was involved in extensive surveys of the area in the 1970s as conservationists and scientists sought to have examples of the State’s biogeographic regions included within national park reserves. He describes (in 1982) what happened in the area with the commencement of the Fitzroy Basin Brigalow Land Development Scheme in 1962:

The plan by the Government was to allocate and clear 4.5 million hectares of brigalow-dominated country north from the Warrego Highway for closer settlement. As a result of this, and other extensive private clearing during the Scheme and since, most of the lowland brigalow scrubs had disappeared by the early 1970s, leaving vast areas of over-cleared agricultural lowland to the north, south and east of the central highlands. In addition, the more accessible mixed eucalypt ridges associated with the north/south coastal ranges have now been cleared for farming and grazing. Virtually the only areas which have escaped the onslaught of an expanding agricultural industry have been the more elevated ranges where the soils are shallow and rocky and which are too steep and difficult to clear.

Lonesome National Park.

A patch of original brigalow scrub preserved within Lonesome National Park, at the southern end of the Arcadia Valley. Expedition National Park can be seen in the background.

Gasteen’s survey work was a critical part of the successful acquisition of some central highlands areas in national parks or other reserves, including Expedition National Park and Nuga Nuga National Park. His The Queensland Central Highlands Sandstone Region Survey Report was vital support in the effort to protect some remaining habitat within reserves. After completing a large survey of Queensland’s wetlands in the 1970s, Gasteen named 11 specific wetland areas that he felt should be accorded national park status. Lake Nuga Nuga was one of these.

Hemmed in by the retreating scarps of the Expedition, Carnarvon and Kongabula ranges, which form a beautiful backdrop to the sea of pink waterlilies blanketing the lake surface, the Lake Nuga Nuga area contains important remnants of local native vegetation in the heart of the over-cleared Brigalow lands. This important wetland region supports a large and diverse wildlife population of immense significance to Queensland’s central highlands.

While the area adjacent to Lake Nuga Nuga was gazetted as a fauna reserve in 1969, it was not until 1991 that Nuga Nuga National Park was declared over a 2,550 ha area of bush. Extensions in 1993 allowed for the inclusion of a former Recreation Reserve, increasing the park’s size to 2,860 ha (about 28.6 sq km).

The lake itself is not part of the national park, but considered vacant crown land, a waterway which falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources and Water. Attempts in the past to have the lake included within the national park failed after protests by some local land-owners.

Lake Nuga Nuga is listed in the National Directory of Important Australian Wetlands. It is one of 13 nationally-significant wetlands that fall within the Southern Brigalow Belt biogeographic region.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Intermediate Egret with captured Bony Bream, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Lying within the Brigalow Belt Biogeographic region, Nuga Nuga National Park protects some remnants of plant communities that were once more widespread when the Arcadia Valley area was covered in scrub.

The vulnerable Ooline (Cadellia pentastylis) is found here. This tree was once widespread from central and southern Queensland to north-west New South Wales. Ooline is a relic species from earlier and wetter geological time, and is now restricted to a few isolated areas, having disappeared from most of its previous range. The remnants in Nuga Nuga National Park are found in one of the best remaining examples of this habitat in Queensland.

Ooline

Ooline, an unusual and uncommon tree, is a relic species from an earlier, wetter time.

As well as Brigalow itself (Acacia harpophylla), other notable plants species include Broad-leaved Bottle-tree (Brachychiton australis) and eucalypts such as Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea), and ironbark. Rosewood Acacia (A. rhodoxylon) dominates the summit and sides of Mount Warrinilla, with ironbark fringing the edges and scarps.

There are areas within the park composed of a combination of open or shrubby woodland communities dominated by Narrow-leaved Ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra) and Spotted Gum (Corymbia citriodora). Coolibah (Eucalyptus coolabah) woodland is also present.

Lake Nuga Nuga NP.

Nuga Nuga National Park runs to the northern edge of the lake.

Remnants of Bonewood (Macropteranthes leichhardtii) scrub, a dry form of rainforest (or semi-evergreen vine thicket), are found throughout the park, while Currentbush (Carissa ovata) is a significant coloniser of vine thicket margins.

Lake Nuga Nuga.

Pelicans and cormorants over Lake Nuga Nuga.

The lake itself provides valuable habitat for water birds in an otherwise arid sandstone landscape.

At dawn and dusk the trumpeting of large gatherings of swans resounds hauntingly through the stillness of the lake’s ‘dying forest’. Walsh (1988).

Lake Nuga Nuga.

Tree Martins roost within the hollows of the many dead trees standing on the lake.

Many species visiting the lake are migratory and are listed under international treaties. Large numbers of birds such as Pelicans, Black Swans, Magpie Geese, Brolgas, Grey Teal, Great Crested Grebes, Pink-eared Ducks, Hardheads and Plumed Whistling-ducks use the lake at times.

Raptors such as Whistling Kites and White-bellied Sea eagles can be seen here. Whistling Kites have been adding to some nests in the lake’s dead trees for over 20 years (Walsh, 1999), and can be seen snatching Bony Bream from the water on warm mornings.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

A Whistling Kite watches for Bony Bream, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

Whistling Kite, Lake Nuga Nuga.

The future?

Organised trips to Lake Nuga Nuga began in the early 1900s. In March 1931 The Royal Geographical Society of Australia’s Roma Branch organised the first major expedition to the lake. Led by Roma solicitor (and later Mayor) Fred Timbury, the party camped overnight before continuing on to Rewan Station and Carnarvon Gorge.

Timbury was an advocate of schemes (known as the Bradfield and Idriess) to redirect the flow of rivers inland and north for irrigation. His book Battle for the Inland, published in 1944, pushed these schemes.  Following trips to Lake Nuga Nuga and Carnarvon, Timbury gave a series of lectures at Roma, Injune and Mitchell on the beauty of the Carnarvon Ranges, featuring a series of ‘Magic Lantern’ glass slides prepared from expedition photographs by Roma photographer Otto Watson.

Fred Timbury

Fred Timbury at Lake Nuga Nuga, 1930s. Photograph by Ernie Ward, courtesy Peter Keegan. About the photographer (from Walsh, 1998): The inner Carnarvon Gorge was also well known to Tom and Ernie Ward, two local identities who had lived a hermit-like existence there during the latter part of the First World War, to avoid conflict with their German fatherland … the Wards had already photographically recorded Carnarvon … Ward’s Canyon was the closed, secluded side gorge used by the Wards as a supplies and equipment store, doubling as a darkroom in starlit nights to permit processing of photographic negatives in its flowing waters.

Since then, Lake Nuga Nuga has been an increasingly popular destination for campers, fisher-folk and photographers.

Lake Nuga Nuga by Bill Goebel.

Lake Nuga Nuga has been, and probably will be for many years, a place where photographers can wrestle with capturing the light. Photograph by Bill Goebel, 1950s.

Lake Nuga Nuga by Bill Goebel.

Lake Nuga Nuga in the light of a full moon. Photograph by Bill Goebel, 1950s.

Boiling the billy on sunset, lake Nuga Nuga. Photo courtesy Bernice Sigley.

The sun still sets over the lake half a century on. Boiling the billy, Lake Nuga Nuga. Photo by Bernice Sigley, 2003.

In 1986 photographer Steve Parish led the Wildlife Photo Experience Tour to the lake, and participants waded out to get a close look at the lake and its stunning native water-lillies. The lillies are there still, and make an excellent photographic subject.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Much of Lake Nuga Nuga is at times covered with the enormous purple, pink and white flowers of the native Giant Water Lilly (Nymphaea gigantea). Photos by Robert Ashdown.

Lake Nuga Nuga

Lake Nuga Nuga

The blogger doing what he enjoys most, messing about with cameras at somewhere like Lake Nuga Nuga. About 2003, with my trusty old Nikon F4 and 300mm mf lens.

Following in the footseps of some interesting photographers — the blogger doing what he enjoys most, messing about with cameras at Lake Nuga Nuga. About 2003, with his trusty old Nikon F4 and 300mm mf lens. Photo courtesy Bernice Sigley.

Val Palmer (1986) describes the joy of photographing the lake in the changing light of sunset:

With changing nuances of light, each image captured seemed to surpass the last. Such elation as the sun dipped lower, towards the bones of trees standing starkly from the lake! Then the ultimate simplicity as it set, a dull red orb, seeming to impale itself on the teeth of dead trees.

Sunset Lake Nuga Nuga

Sunset Lake Nuga Nuga

Sunset Lake Nuga Nuga

Sunset Lake Nuga Nuga

[Four sunset photos (above) courtesy Linda Thompson.]

Land currently farmed within the Arcadia Valley is regarded as the highest quality for agriculture, with a reputation as good fattening country for cattle. Pasture growth is good on soils derived from the original Brigalow, Belah, Ooline and Wilga softwood and vine scrub soils.

Another claim for use of the area’s land has accelerated, with mining exploration intensifying over the entire sandstone country of central Queensland, including the Arcadia Valley. Future threats to Lake Nuga Nuga may include water extraction and the introduction of new weed species.

The lake has seen a recent increase in people taking to its waters in powered boats. Nonetheless, it is still a serene location for most of the time. It remains to be seen what pressures will affect the lake and its small adjacent national park in the coming decades,  and how it can be best protected for generations to appreciate.

I’d like to think that the Moondagarri stay sleeping beneath the mountains that overlook this magical place.

Lake Nuga Nuga sunset

Lake Nuga Nuga sunset. Photograph by Linda Thompson.

Thanks to Linda Thompson and Bernice Sigley for permission to use their images. Thanks also to Linda for the loan of the kayak, and to Bill Goebel and Peter Keegan.

I would like to express my respect for the Karingbal and Brown River Peoples and acknowledge their past, present and emerging Elders. I respect and recognise their ongoing connection with this land. 

References:

  • Finlayson, B. and Kenyon, C. (2007). Lake Nuga Nuga: a Levee-dammed Lake in Central Queensland, Australia. Geographical Research. 45(3):246-261. Online here.
  • Gasteen, J. (1984). Pelicans to the Rescue. Wildlife Australia, Autumn 1984.
  • Gasteen, J. (1998). Back to the Bush.
  • Gasteen, J. (1991). How can we Protect Queensland’s Diminishing Wetlands? Wildlife Australia, Spring 1991.
  • Walsh, G. L. (1985). Lake Nuga Nuga — A Need for Greater Protection. A Brief on the Historic Significance of the Lakes Area. Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service (unpublished).
  • Walsh, G. L. (1998). Carnarvon and Beyond. Takarakka Nowan Kas Publications.
  • Palmer, V. (1986). Nuga Nuga Dreaming. Wildlife Australia, Spring 1986.

Links:

Reflections

Photographer and good friend Rob Mancini and I were sitting on the edge of Seary’s Creek, in the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park, gazing into the tannin-stained water, mesmerised by the quietly moving water, with its reflected light and half-hidden secrets. I’d tried a few angles with the camera, but gave up trying to capture anything. Rob, however, took this image — which I think captures the feeling of the mysterious creeks and waterways of these coastal heath-scrubs. Here’s a few other images that feature reflections.

Paperbark trees, Seary's Creek, Cooloola, Great Sandy National Park. Photograph by Rob Mancini.

Paperbark trees, Seary's Creek, Cooloola, Great Sandy National Park. Photograph by Rob Mancini.

Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon Gorge. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon Gorge. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Late afternoon reflections, Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Late afternoon reflections, Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Meeba Outstation, Cuddapan, western Queensland. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Meeba Outstation, Cuddapan, western Queensland. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Noosa River, Cooloola National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Noosa River, Cooloola National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Star Trails, Lake Nuga Nuga National Park.

Reflected stars, Lake Nuga Nuga National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Condamine River, Wainui, Darling Downs.

Dawn, Condamine River, Wainui, Darling Downs. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Lota mangroves at high tide. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Lota mangroves at high tide. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Sundown National Park.

The end of a perfect day, Sundown National Park. Photo Rob Ashdown.

Late afternoon sun on gums and sandstone, Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon Gorge.

Late afternoon sun on gums and sandstone, Carnarvon Creek, Carnarvon Gorge. Photo Rob Ashdown.