Calperum and Taylorville Stations
Calperum Station and Taylorville Station are pastoral leases near Renmark in South Australia, comprising of 242,800 and 92,600 hectares of predominantly open mallee bushland and Murray River floodplains. They form part of Riverland Biosphere Reserve, which is located in the Riverland area of South Australia. The Riverland Biosphere Reserve was previously known as the 'Bookmark' Biosphere Reserve, a name derived from the Aboriginal word Pukumako meaning flint stone axe or sandstone grit hole.
Calperum Station with its significant Mallee and Murray River wetlands, was purchased by the Chicago Zoological Society in 1993 with assistance from the Australian Government.
Taylorville Station was purchased by the Australian Landscape Trust in 2000, with assistance from the Australian Government, as an addition to the Riverland Biosphere Reserve, because of its large areas of intact mallee habitat occupied by Black-eared miner, a nationally endangered bird species. Both properties are deeded to the Director of National Parks.
The Mallee scrubland of Australia is one of the most endangered vegetation types in the world, with approximately 80 per cent cleared for agriculture in the past 150 years. The mallee, like many parts of Australia, has not responded well to imposed European style land use. In the past the fragile soils and vegetation have been overexposed to grazing and inappropriate land use.
Calperum and Taylorville Stations are managed by the Australian Landscape Trust under contract to the Director of National Parks.
At the end of 2007, the director of the National Reserve System commissioned a review of the management of the Calperum and Taylorville Stations. The review is available for public comment until July 31 2008.
Location
The office of Calperum and Taylorville Stations is located 20 kilometres north-east of Renmark on Calperum Station.
Opening Hours
Please contact Calperum Station between 9am - 5pm to arrange visits to Calperum or Taylorville Stations. They will also be able to provide information about permits and road and track conditions.
Contact details
Calperum Station
PO Box 955
Renmark SA 5341
Phone: (08) 8595 7359
What to do and see
Calperum and Taylorville Stations provides opportunities for educational programs, training programs and nature-based recreational activities including camping, picnicking, bush walking canoeing and bird watching. Visitors are also able to view land recovery and species restoration programs on site.
Climate
The flora and fauna of the region must be adaptable to tolerate low erratic rainfall and extremes of temperature ranging from minus 2°C over night to 16°C during winter. The summers are long with temperatures ranging from warm to hot. Temperatures in excess of 40°C are common.