Wingillie Station

Wingillie Station is located approximately 60km west of Wentworth in south-western NSW (Figure 1) on Barkindji Country. Wingillie Station is managed by the Hazel L Henry (HLH) Farmland Nature Refuges for the primary purpose of conservation.

Ken and Anne Warren of HLH Nature Refuges love wetlands. Their management objectives are to maintain and improve native vegetation and provide more habitat for animals, birds, fish and frogs. They do this through weed management, fencing and facilitating the delivery of environmental water into the creeks and wetlands of Wingillie Station.

“The proliferation of wildlife in the wake of a flood event, from bird breeding, to the identification of the southern bell frog, has been wonderful to witness, and shows how important wetland management is”

Ken Warren, HLH Nature Refuges

The Murray-Darling Wetlands Working Group (MDWWG) has been involved at Wingillie since about 2015 through their passionate patron Howard Jones and senior ecologist Rick Webster (Vale). Rick recognised the potential of Wingillie Station and spent many a day (and night) surveying waterbirds and the unique vegetation that would emerge following inundation.

The MDWWG currently manages the delivery of water from the Environmental Water Trust and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, in partnership with Ken and Ann Warren. Water delivery is supporting floodplain biodiversity at Wingillie Station by:

• supporting the reintroduction of threatened Murray hardyhead, listed as a priority species in the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022 – 2032 (the Action Plan), into the Little Frenchman’s Creek that borders Wingillie Station.
• providing habitat for frogs, including the threatened southern bell frog – also listed as a priority species in the Action Plan (and drawing on advice from the NSW Saving our Species team).
• maintaining river red gum and other native vegetation on the floodplain and in floodplain wetlands.
• providing habitat for a variety of wetland and floodplain birds.

The Murray hardyhead is a small fish (up to 9cm long) with an amazing ability to tolerate saline water. It is listed nationally as a threatened species and prior to this project had been considered extinct in NSW for over a decade. The fish currently survives in just a handful of wetlands in northern Victoria, as well as in the Riverland and Lower Lakes in South Australia.

In an effort to protect this little fish, translocation of fish from existing wetland populations to new homes where it can thrive and survive are being explored. One suitable wetland was identified at Wingillie Station.

NSW Fisheries staff identified the Little Frenchmans Creek as ideal habitat for Murray hardyhead because of its elevated salinity and structural habitat in stream and on the wetland fringe (salt tolerant vegetation) that can be seasonally inundated. Murray hardyhead breed in these habitats and use them to hide from predators. The wetland also supports natural food sources for Murray hardyhead (zooplankton and aquatic invertebrates like mosquito larvae). Importantly, water for the environment can be delivered to the site when necessary to support the threatened fish and promote seasonal ‘booms’ in food and habitat supply.

In 2018 Murray hardyhead were translocated to the little Frenchmans Creek following delivery of environmental water to optimise habitat conditions for the species. A second translocation was conducted in 2021 to promote genetic diversity within the new population. Individuals for translocation were sourced from known populations in the Riverland region of SA (not far from the Little Frenchmans Creek “as the fish swims”). The translocations aimed to reduce the risk of the species becoming extinct and represents the first known re-introduction of a locally extinct fish species back into NSW.

For the last four years, water for the environment has been delivered to support the translocated population of Murray hardhead. Population monitoring has been conducted by NSW Fisheries to inform delivery of water to target suitable salinity levels and habitat maintenance for the species.

This monitoring has identified that the species has survived and thrived in the wetland, multiplying at an incredible rate annually, with catch rates during netting surveys ranging from several hundred to around 6,000 Murray hardyhead. When the site connected briefly with the River Murray during 2021 high flows a productivity ‘boom’ was triggered and over 200,000 Murray hardyhead were recorded in a single sampling event!

Murray hardyhead is one of the 110 priority species identified under the Action Plan, which maps a pathway to protect, manage and restore Australia’s threatened species and important natural places. The Action Plan is an invitation for all Australians to collaborate on the recovery of our threatened species. The ongoing work at Wingillie Station exemplifies this approach through the cooperation of community groups, landholders, First Nations, scientists and government. Evidence-based decision making and adaptive management are key aspects of the continuing success of this project. Thriving Murray hardyhead populations at the site are aimed at supporting this important species’ recovery.

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Dr Simon Banks said the provision of environmental water has been a key part of the project’s success:

“The return of the Murray hardyhead at this site is a great achievement and follows years of hard work by local landholders, community groups and agencies to create suitable conditions. This is a great example of how water for the environment is targeted and used carefully to improve the health of our rivers and wetlands”.

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