Whicher

Whicher National Park is an 8,445-hectare protected area in the Geographe Bay-Bunbury region of southwestern Western Australia, situated on the Whicher Range — the seaward edge of the Darling Plateau south of Busselton. The park protects jarrah-marri forest on the Whicher Range scarp, providing important wildlife habitat connectivity in an otherwise cleared coastal plain landscape. The park overlooks the Geographe Bay coastline. It is managed by DBCA.

Whicher is important for the critically endangered western ringtail possum, with marri and peppermint trees providing food and hollow-bearing trees providing shelter. Carnaby's black-cockatoo nests in the park and forages on marri and banksia. Forest red-tailed black-cockatoos are resident. Short-beaked echidnas, brush wallabies, western grey kangaroos, and quendas inhabit the forest. The park's scarp position provides habitat connectivity for wildlife between the Darling Range and the coastal plain.

Jarrah (E. marginata) and marri (C. calophylla) form tall open forest on the Whicher Range scarp. Peppermint (Agonis flexuosa) occurs on rocky and coastal-facing slopes. The understorey includes sheoak, banksia, hakea, and diverse spring-flowering proteaceous shrubs. The park is within the Southwest Australian Floristic Region. Scarp-edge vegetation is distinctive, with mosses and ferns in sheltered gully positions.

The Whicher Range is the seaward-most expression of the Darling Plateau — deeply weathered Archaean granite-gneiss rising abruptly from the coastal plain. The Darling Fault runs along the base of the Scarp. The range overlooks the coastal plain and Geographe Bay. Laterite caps the plateau surface; granite is exposed in the steepest sections.

Warm Mediterranean climate with the maritime influence of Geographe Bay moderating temperatures. Annual rainfall 700–900 mm. The scarp position receives slightly higher rainfall than the surrounding coastal plain.

Whicher National Park lies within Pibulmun Noongar country. The Whicher Range was a landmark and resource area for Noongar people in the Busselton region. European settlement of the Geographe Bay area from the 1840s progressively cleared the coastal plain.

Whicher National Park was proclaimed to protect the jarrah-marri forest and scarp habitats of the Whicher Range, providing a significant wildlife reserve adjacent to the heavily cleared Geographe Bay coastal plain.

Bushwalking through jarrah-marri forest with views over Geographe Bay. Spring wildflower observation. Wildlife spotting for black-cockatoos and western ringtail possums. The park provides a forested backdrop to the Busselton-Dunsborough coastal tourism area.

Located south of Busselton. Access via Whicher Range Road. Minimal facilities. Free entry. Busselton and Dunsborough provide full visitor services.

Western ringtail possum conservation requires fox control programs. Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback affects the jarrah forest understorey. Tuart woodland (on the coastal plain below the park) is critically threatened. The park's isolation from larger forest blocks limits wildlife connectivity.