Glenthorne proclaimed as Adelaide’s newest national park

Glenthorne proclaimed as Adelaide’s newest national park

It’s offi­cial – there’s a new nation­al park in Ade­laide’s south. Find out what’s next for Glen­thorne Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta.

The Glen­thorne prop­er­ty and adja­cent O’Halloran Hill Recre­ation Park were offi­cial­ly pro­claimed as Glen­thorne Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta on Thurs­day 28 May by His Excel­len­cy the Hon­ourable Hieu Van Le AC, Gov­er­nor of South Australia. 

The Gov­er­nor vis­it­ed the Glen­thorne prop­er­ty to pro­claim the nation­al park and took part in a tree plant­i­ng activ­i­ty with Min­is­ter for Envi­ron­ment and Water David Speirs and rep­re­sen­ta­tives from the Kau­r­na com­mu­ni­ty, Friends of Glen­thorne, the Glen­thorne Part­ner­ship, Hal­lett Cove South Pri­ma­ry School and Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Australia. 

glenthorne-planting.jpg
Hal­lett Cove South Pri­ma­ry School stu­dent Seth Wil­son plant­i­ng a native tree.

In recog­ni­tion and respect for the Kau­r­na peo­ple as Tra­di­tion­al Own­ers of the land, the park has been co-named Glen­thorne Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta. Watch this video to learn more about the mean­ing of the name and how to pro­nounce it. 

Oth­er near­by parks and open spaces will join the Glen­thorne Nation­al Park precinct, but will keep their exist­ing names. These areas include Hal­lett Cove Con­ser­va­tion Park, Mari­no Con­ser­va­tion Park, and also Hap­py Val­ley Reser­voir which is set to open its gates to recre­ation by the end of 2021.

When can I visit? 

It’s expect­ed that vis­i­tors will be able to access a loop walk in the next month or so.
National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

In the mean­time, demo­li­tion work is under­way on the for­mer Glen­thorne prop­er­ty to make way for the even­tu­al con­struc­tion of the Glen­thorne Hub area, which will include a space for edu­ca­tion, learn­ing and social con­nec­tion and learn­ing about Kau­r­na cul­ture and his­to­ry. Her­itage precincts will also be estab­lished, and also a nature play and pic­nic area. 

What else is in store for Glenthorne? 

Also in the pipeline are traf­fic man­age­ment upgrades, estab­lish­ment of vehi­cle access and park­ing, the plant­i­ng of almost 36,000 native plants across 10 hectares of the park, the con­struc­tion of the Glen­thorne Hub area, estab­lish­ment of the her­itage precinct, pic­nic and nature play space, camp­ing area, pond area, inter­pre­ta­tion and wayfind­ing – includ­ing Kau­r­na cul­tur­al inter­pre­ta­tion, a trail net­work and look­outs, a wet­land area and board­walks, and a plan to use and re-use water sustainably. 

These pri­or­i­ties were iden­ti­fied in the mas­ter plan that was devel­oped as a result of the com­mu­ni­ty feed­back received at last year’s open days, and is being worked on by the Glen­thorne Part­ner­ship and the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water. 

How can I be part of the cre­ation Glen­thorne Nation­al Park — Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta? 

If you’d like to roll up your sleeves and lend a hand, you may be inter­est­ed in join­ing the Glen­thorne Action Team – a ded­i­cat­ed vol­un­teer pro­gram that has been estab­lished across the precinct. 

Due to the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic, vol­un­teer events have been placed on hold for the time being, but you can still reg­is­ter to be the first to know when the pro­gram re-starts.

You can also sub­scribe to bi-month­ly updates via the Glen­thorne Nation­al Park e‑newsletter.

Main image: His Excel­len­cy the Hon­ourable Hieu Van Le AC, Gov­er­nor of South Aus­tralia pic­tured with Hal­lett Cove South Pri­ma­ry School Stu­dents (L‑R) Ben Ire­son and Seth Wil­son at Glen­thone Nation­al Park-Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta.