Motherumbah
Where we work / Northwest Slopes / Motherumbah
- Acquired:
- 2016
- Area:
- 1,150 ha
- Bioregion:
- Nandewar
- Habitat:
- Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket, Box Gum Grassy Woodland
- Threatened Ecological Communities:
- 2
- Threatened and Near-Threatened Species:
- 3
Reserve Overview
Motherumbah is a 1,150-hectare reserve near Bingara in the North West Slopes of NSW, within the Nandewar Bioregion. Its key conservation value lies in its extensive stand of Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket (SEVT)—a nationally endangered ecosystem made up of dry-adapted rainforest species at the edge of their natural range.
The resilience of this rare plant community at Motherumbah is attributed to the property’s basalt ridge, which offers moisture retention and nutrient-rich soils not found in the surrounding landscape.
Protecting Wildlife, Sustaining Life
Species and Habitats
The unique combination of dense Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket understory and an open canopy of White Pine, Silver-leaved Ironbark, and White Box creates ideal habitat for a wide variety of woodland birds—many of which are in decline due to widespread land clearing across their range.
Key threatened species recorded on the reserve include:
- Border Thick-tailed Gecko – Vulnerable
- Black-striped Wallaby – Endangered
- Brush-turkey (Nandewar population) – Endangered
Conservation Highlights
Botanist Dr John Hunter described it as:
“One of the largest intact stands of this community type on the Northwestern Slopes of NSW… an area of very important vegetation that should be considered of national significance.”
Motherumbah also protects a distinctive 40-hectare stand of Acacia cheelii, or Motherumbah wattle, from which the reserve takes its name. This area likely marks the scar of a historic bushfire, now naturally regenerating.
