Wonga Wetlands
Wonga Wetlands is a revived ecosystem of lagoons and billabongs covering around 80 hectares on a picturesque bend of the Murray River just five minutes' drive from the centre of Albury.
History
'Wonga' is the Wiradjuri word for black cormorant - one of the most abundant bird species in the area. Before European settlement the river and wetlands were a rich food source for the Wiradjuri people, who travelled in bark canoes cut from red river gums.
European settlers began to arrive in the 1830s. In those days the wetlands were fed by extensive spring flooding.
After the construction of the Hume Dam in 1919, the spring floods needed by the river and wetlands ecosystems became much less frequent. Over time, this alteration to natural flows dried out many of the floodplain wetlands and billabongs, degrading vegetation and destroying breeding habitats.
The Wonga Wetlands project began in 2000 to help restore natural water flows and rehabilitate ecosystems
Wonga Wetlands
Wonga Wetlands is a revived ecosystem of lagoons and billabongs covering around 80 hectares on a picturesque bend of the Murray River just five minutes' drive from the centre of Albury.
History
'Wonga' is the Wiradjuri word for black cormorant - one of the most abundant bird species in the area. Before European settlement the river and wetlands were a rich food source for the Wiradjuri people, who travelled in bark canoes cut from red river gums.
European settlers began to arrive in the 1830s. In those days the wetlands were fed by extensive spring flooding.
After the construction of the Hume Dam in 1919, the spring floods needed by the river and wetlands ecosystems became much less frequent. Over time, this alteration to natural flows dried out many of the floodplain wetlands and billabongs, degrading vegetation and destroying breeding habitats.
The Wonga Wetlands project began in 2000 to help restore natural water flows and rehabilitate ecosystems