HENBURY METEORITES CONSERVATION RESERVE DRAFT PLAN OF MANAGEMENT November 2002 PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory P.O. Box 2130 Alice Springs NT 0871 Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 ISBN 0 7245 2765 6 Foreword The Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve contains 12 craters which are of national astro- geological importance. They have played an important part in the scientific study of meteorites over the past 60 years. The Plan sets guidelines for the future management of the Reserve in order to conserve it’s natural resources while providing opportunities for visitors to appreciate the scientific values of the area. The Reserve is increasingly becoming a popular place to visit en route to Watarrka and Uluru for those travellers on the Ernest Giles Road. Major directions for the Reserve are listed below. • Continued conservation of the Reserve’s resources. • Prevention of soil erosion. • Rehabilitation of eroded areas. • Fencing of the Reserve. • Re-alignment of walking track. • Establishment of new camping area. • Expansion of interpretation signage. • Construction of interpretation shelter. • Monitoring and control of introduced plants and animals. Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 i Acknowledgements This Plan of Management has been prepared by Syd Milgate, Planning Officer with the Strategic Planning & Development Unit of the Parks and Wildlife Commission’s Southern Regional Office in Alice Springs. Special acknowledgments for assistance in preparation of the Plan are due to the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Planning Team: Andrew Bridges (Chair) Regional Parks Manager, (Parks South), PWCNT Chris Day Chief District Ranger, Central/East, (Parks South), PWCNT Paul McCluskey Planning Officer, Strategic Planning and Development, PWCNT Marcus Sandford Senior Interpretation Officer, (Parks South), PWCNT Phil Asmussen Technical Liaison Officer, (Parks South), PWCNT Dave Heard Ranger in Charge ASTS, (Parks South), PWCNT The contribution from the Alice Springs branch of the Northern Territory Geological Survey, Department of Mines and Energy for section 3.1, Geology, Landforms and Soils, is gratefully acknowledged. Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 ii CONTENTS Page FOREWORD i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii CONTENTS iii 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN 1 1.1 Location and Values 1 1.2 History of discovery 3 1.3 The Concept of the Reserve and its Purposes 3 1.4 The Intent of this Plan 4 2. ZONING SCHEME 5 2.1 Outline of the Zoning Scheme 5 2.2 Visitor Facilities Zone 5 2.3 Special Protection Zone 5 2.4 Natural Zone 6 3. MANAGEMENT OF THE RESERVE’S NATURAL 8 RESOURCES Objectives 8 3.1 Geology, Landforms and Soils 8 3.2 Native Flora 12 3.3 Native Fauna 12 3.4 Introduced Plants and Animals 13 3.5 Use and Control of Fire 14 4. MANAGEMENT OF THE RESERVE’S CULTURAL 15 RESOURCES Objectives 15 4.1 Aboriginal Cultural Resources 15 5. MANAGEMENT FOR VISITORS 16 Objectives 16 5.1 Regional Context 16 5.2 Visitor Access 16 5.3 Visitor Facilities 17 5.4 Information and Interpretation 20 5.5 Visitor Monitoring 21 5.6 Visitor Safety 21 6. RESERVE ADMINISTRATION 22 Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 iii Objectives 22 6.1 Staffing and Management 22 6.2 Liaison with Neighbouring Landholders 22 6.3 Research and Monitoring 23 6.4 Legal Requirements 23 7. MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES 25 8. SOURCES AND REFERENCES 28 NOTES 29 FIGURES Figure 1 - The Reserve and Locality 2 Figure 2 - Zoning Scheme 7 Figure 3 - Crater names and numbers 10 Figure 4 - R.O. 1235 and R.O.1393 10 Figure 5 - Land Systems 11 Figure 6 - Existing Day Use and Camping Area 18 Figure 7 - Future Developments 19 TABLES Table 1 - Summary of Zoning Scheme 6 Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 iv 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAN 1.1 Location and Values Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is located approximately 145 kilometres southwest of Alice Springs. The Reserve can be reached by travelling 132 kilometres south from Alice Springs along the Stuart Highway to the Ernest Giles Road turnoff to Kings Canyon. Travel 8 kilometres down the Ernest Giles Road to the access road turnoff to the north and follow this road for 5 kilometres to the Reserve entrance. The Reserve (NT Portion 551) covers an area of 404.68 hectares and is surrounded by Henbury Station (NT Portion 657, Perpetual Pastoral Lease 1094) from which the Reserve was excised (see Figure 1). A Reserve of 1000 acres was first created over the crater area and gazetted in Commonwealth Gazette No 63 on 20 September 1934 under section 139 of the Northern Territory Mining Act. This Reserve was known as the “Henbury Meteorite Reserve”. An area of 1000 acres (404.6ha) was surveyed in February 1962 and NT Portion 551 was created. Part of NT Por 551 was proclaimed a Reserve in Commonwealth Gazette No 64 on 23 July 1964 under Section 103 of the Crown Lands Act as Reserve No 1133. With an area of 16.18 ha this Reserve covered only the three main craters at Henbury. The whole of NT Portion 551 with an area of 404.6 ha was transferred to the Conservation Land Corporation on 22 December 1983 to become the current Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve. This enlarged area now included all of the impact craters. A Reservation from Occupation (R.O. 1393) was declared on 17 June 1998 (Gazette M23) under section 178 (1) of the Mining Act covering the Reserve and the meteorite scatter area outside the Reserve boundary (see Figure 4). The Henbury Meteorite Craters are listed in ‘The Geological Heritage of the Northern Territory’ as a geological monument of international significance. The craters are also listed in the Register of the National Estate, natural environment section where their scientific values are described in a Statement of Significance as, ‘Craters and associated ejecta rays stated by geophysicists to be unique on earth. The only other known examples occur on the lunar surface’. The natural, tourism and recreational values of the Reserve all relate to the cluster of meteorite craters and their considerable scientific significance. The Reserve has potential for education and interpretation of these astro geological features to interested visitors. The Reserve is contained wholly within the Finke Bioregion and is one of only two extremely small reserves which conserve representation of this important Bioregion The Reserve’s Aboriginal cultural significance relates to a recorded sacred site centred on the crater area. Little is known of Aboriginal cultural values and use of the site. Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 1 Figure 1. The Reserve and Locality Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve Draft Plan of Management November 2002 2 1.2 History of Discovery At Henbury there are 12 craters ranging in diameter from 7 to 180 metres and up to 15 metres in depth. These are ‘explosive craters’, meaning that they were excavated by meteorites which penetrated a short distance into the earth before breaking up with an enormous release of energy. Sheets of near-surface rock were folded back as a result of the violent release of compressive forces to form the rims of craters and fragments of the meteorites consisting of a nickel-iron alloy were disposed over a wide area. Several tonnes of these fragments have been recovered, many torn and twisted looking like shrapnel. One piece weighing 44 kg, can be seen in the Spencer and Gillen Museum in Alice Springs. The distribution of the craters at Henbury suggests that the meteorite shower came from the southwest and radiometric age dating techniques estimates that the craters were formed around, but not more than 4700 years B.P.. The existence of the Henbury craters has been known since 1899 when the manager of Henbury station, Mr Park informed F.J. Gillen of ‘one of the most curious spots I have ever seen in the country’. Park described the craters to Gillen but did not know what had caused them or in fact what the craters were. Park went on to say ‘To look at it I cannot but think it has been done by human agency but when or why Goodness knows’. In the early part of 1931 public interest in South Australia was stimulated by the fall of the Karoonda meteorite on November 25, 1930 and it’s discovery by an Adelaide University party led by Professor Kerr Grant. Interest concerning the Henbury meteorite craters was first aroused in 1931 when Mr. B. Bowman of Tempe Downs and Mr. J. H. Mitchell of Oodnadatta separately informed Professor Grant of the presence of craters with scattered iron fragments near Henbury Station. On the advice of Prof. Sir Douglas Mawson, the Honorary Mineralogist to the South Australian Museum, Dr. A.R. Alderman, assisted by Mr P.L. Windsor, were commissioned to make an examination of the area. Later in 1931 and again in 1932 further expeditions were made to the craters by the South Australian Kyancutta Museum. Around this time the craters were known locally as ‘The Double Punchbowl’, referring to the two largest craters. The gap in the Bacon Range where the access road now passes through was known as ‘Double Punch Gap’. The first detailed survey of the site using geophysical methods was carried out in 1937 using the equipment and staff of the Aerial, Geological and Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia. Numerous scientific surveys have been carried out over the craters and surrounding area since those early days. The aim of a 1992 study was to produce a rainfall record for Central Australia over the last 4500 years using sedimentary data gathered from within the craters.