Francois Peron National Park

Francois Peron National Park is a national park on the Peron Peninsula in Western Australia, 726 km north of Perth, and located within the boundary of the Shark Bay World Heritage area. The nearest towns to the park are Denham, which is found on the southern edge of the park and Carnarvon which is found about 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north.

A salt encrusted branch on a super saline "birrida" in Francois Peron National Park

Francois Peron National Park
Western Australia
IUCN category II (national park)
Francois Peron National Park
Nearest town or cityGeraldton, Western Australia
Coordinates25°41′58″S 113°33′07″E
Established1993
Area525.87 km2 (203.0 sq mi)[1]
Managing authoritiesDepartment of Parks and Wildlife
WebsiteFrancois Peron National Park
See alsoList of protected areas of
Western Australia

Names and earlier uses

Aboriginal Australians were the initial inhabitants of the area and have been living there for over 26,000 years. The local peoples who speak the Malgana language call the area Wulyibidi.[2]

It is named after the French naturalist and explorer François Péron who was the zoologist aboard Nicolas Baudin's 1801 and 1803 scientific expeditions to Western Australia, and is situated within the bounds of the earlier pastoral lease of the Peron Station.

Locations from the French exploration era include:

  • Guichenault (east coast of the Peron Peninsula)
  • Cape Lesueur (west coast of the Peron Peninsula)
  • Lake Montbazin

A pearling camp was established on the peninsula at Herald Bight in the 1880s and the remains of the shells can still be found along the beach.

Used as a sheep station from the early 1900s onwards the station was sold to the state government in 1990.

It was gazetted on 8 January 1993 as a National Park – through the purchase of Peron Station (Pastoral Lease 3114/761) in 1990.[3]

Location

It is adjacent to and surrounded by the Shark Bay Marine Park to the west, north and east, and by the Denham to Monkey Mia road to the south.

Facilities

Picnic, boat launching and camping areas along the west coast of the Peninsula include:

  • Big Lagoon
  • Cape Lesueur
  • Cattle Well
  • South Gregories
  • Gregories
  • Bottle Bay
Red cliffs at Bottle Bay

See also

References
  1. "Department of Environment and Conservation 2009–2010 Annual Report". Annual Report. Department of Environment and Conservation: 48. 2010. ISSN 1835-114X. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011.
  2. "Francois Peron National Park Brochure". 2007. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  3. Map 4, and page 7 of Hancock, Sue, Brown, Paul and Stephens, Burke (2000) Shark Bay Terrestrial Reserves Management Plan 2000- 2009 Perth, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management for the National Parks and Nature Conservation Authority ISBN 0-7307-5510-X

Further reading
  • Edward Duyker François Péron: An Impetuous Life: Naturalist and Voyager, Miegunyah/MUP, Melb., 2006, pp. 349, ISBN 978-0-522-85260-8 [winner Frank Broeze Maritime History Prize, 2007].
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