Mount Rescue Conservation Park
Mount Rescue Conservation Park (formerly Mount Rescue National Park) was a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state’s south-east in the locality of Ngarkat about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about east of the town of Tintinara. The conservation park consisted of land in sections 7 to 10 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Archibald and sections 3 and 4 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Makin located in the south-west corner of the locality of Ngarkat. The land  was given protected area status in 1953 because it was “predominantly... unsuitable for development on account of its hilly or sandy nature.” Its name was derived from Mount Rescue, a hill with a height of and which is located to the immediate east of the conservation park in section 23 of the Hundred of Makin. The history of its protected area status and the associated land tenure from 1953 to 1972 follows: On 27 May 2004, the conservation park and the nearby Mount Shaugh and Scorpion Springs Conservation Parks were abolished and their land holdings were added to that of  the adjoining Ngarkat Conservation Park. As of February 2004, the conservation park covered an area of . In 1980, the conservation park was described as follows: Mount Rescue Conservation Park preserves a large area of vegetated sand plains and dunes in a region which has an average annual rainfall of 425-450mm. There is a close correlation between topography, soil type and plant communities. Nearly three quarters of the park are covered by an open heath of "Xanthorrhoea australis", "Banksia ornata" and "Casuarina pusilla", while mallee open scrub and mallee tall shrubland interrupt the heath areas. Low trees of "Eucalyptus  fasciculosa" and "E. baxteri" above a heath understorey occupy small areas throughout the park… Significant Indigenous values are known to exist in this area. The Commission is currently consulting with relevant Indigenous communities about the amount of information to be placed on public record… In this vast expanse of native vegetation are at least five species of plants which are rare in South Australia… and over seventy bird species, two of which, "Leipoa ocellata" (mallee fowl) and "Pachycephala rufogularis" (red lored whistler), are uncommon in SA… Dark Island Heath in the south of park has been the site for important  ecological studies of heath communities. The conservation park was classified in 2002 as being an IUCN Category Ia protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.