St Arnaud Range

St Arnaud Range National Park encompasses approximately 25,700 hectares of box-ironbark forest and associated heathland in the goldfields region of central Victoria, west of Bendigo near St Arnaud. The park is nationally recognized as one of Victoria's most significant areas of box-ironbark woodland for threatened woodland bird conservation, harbouring important populations of the critically endangered regent honeyeater and swift parrot. The park forms part of a broader conservation landscape in the central Victorian goldfields that includes the Kara Kara National Park and various other reserves.

St Arnaud Range National Park is nationally critical for threatened woodland birds. The critically endangered regent honeyeater has one of its most reliable wintering sites at St Arnaud, attracted by the abundant flowering of grey box and narrow-leaf ironbark eucalypts. The critically endangered swift parrot uses the park during winter migration. Brown treecreepers, varied sittellas, hooded robins, and diamond firetails are among the threatened woodland birds regularly recorded. Common wombats, squirrel gliders, eastern pygmy possums, and sugar gliders depend on the abundant tree hollows. The park provides nationally important refuge habitat for these imperilled species.

The vegetation is dominated by grey box, red box, yellow box, and narrow-leaf ironbark woodland, representing nationally threatened ecological communities under the EPBC Act. Old-growth trees with abundant hollows and deeply furrowed bark are the most ecologically significant. Spring wildflower displays include native orchids in the woodland understorey. The park contains diverse wattle, hop bush, and native grass understorey communities. Some areas of slender cypress pine woodland occur on sandier soils.

The park is situated in the central Victorian goldfields, underlain by Ordovician sedimentary rocks that host gold-bearing quartz reefs. Evidence of nineteenth-century gold mining is visible as mullock heaps throughout the woodland. The soils are red and yellow clays derived from weathered sedimentary bedrock.

The park experiences a warm semi-arid continental climate. Summers are hot, winters cool and wet. Annual rainfall averages approximately 500 millimetres. The crucial autumn and winter eucalypt flowering coincides with cooler, wetter conditions.

The Dja Dja Wurrung people are the Traditional Custodians of the St Arnaud region. The gold rush brought dramatic change to the surrounding landscape in the 1850s and 1860s. Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation has formal recognition under Traditional Owner settlement legislation.

St Arnaud Range National Park was declared to protect the nationally significant box-ironbark woodland for threatened bird conservation. It has been a focus of regent honeyeater monitoring and conservation research. Parks Victoria co-manages the park with Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation.

The park offers informal walking through box-ironbark woodland with exceptional birdwatching, particularly during winter flowering seasons when threatened birds are present. The regent honeyeater is the premier attraction for wildlife observers.

The park has limited visitor facilities. Access is from St Arnaud on the Calder Alternative Highway, approximately 250 kilometres from Melbourne.

Conservation priorities include protection of old-growth hollow-bearing trees, fox control, invasive weed management, and supporting national regent honeyeater captive breeding programs. Co-management with Dja Dja Wurrung integrates Traditional Ecological Knowledge.