Rock Gully

Rock Gully Conservation Park is a small conservation reserve in the jarrah forest country of the Darling Range in southwestern Western Australia. The park protects jarrah-marri forest and gully habitats on the Darling Plateau. The conservation park system in the Darling Range protects representative samples of forest and woodland communities, providing ecological connectivity between larger national parks. The park is managed by DBCA.

Rock Gully supports jarrah forest fauna: western grey kangaroos, brush wallabies, short-beaked echidnas, quendas, and woodland birds. The Carnaby's black-cockatoo may forage in the park. Tiger snakes and dugites inhabit the damp gully environments. The gully provides a sheltered microhabitat with greater moisture retention, supporting species not found on drier ridge tops.

Jarrah (E. marginata) and marri (C. calophylla) form the forest canopy. The gully environment supports moisture-dependent species: tree ferns (Cyathea) may occur in sheltered gullies, along with native fuschia (Correa), native wisteria, and various Blechnum ferns. Sheoak (Allocasuarina fraseriana), snottygobble (Persoonia longifolia), and diverse proteaceous shrubs form the understorey.

Darling Plateau — deeply weathered Archaean granite-gneiss. The gully has been incised by stream action through laterite into the underlying weathered zone. Rocky outcrops in the gully bed expose fresh or partly weathered granite.

Mediterranean climate with 700–900 mm annual rainfall in the Darling Range. Gully microclimate is cooler and more humid than ridge positions.

The Darling Range lies within Whadjuk Noongar boodja. Rock gullies were sheltered camping and gathering places for Noongar people.

Rock Gully Conservation Park was reserved to protect a representative section of jarrah forest gully habitat in the Darling Range.

Bushwalking through jarrah forest gully. Wildlife observation. Spring wildflower walks.

Located in the Darling Range. Access via local forest roads. No formal facilities. Free entry.

Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback in the gully understorey, invasive weeds, and altered fire regimes are the primary challenges.