Nature, culture and history

Melaleuca tall open forest. Photo: Queensland Government

Photo credit: Queensland Government

Splashes of brightly-coloured boronia adorn the bush in late winter and spring. Photo: Alison Ilic, Queensland Government

Photo credit: Alison Ilic, Queensland Government

A shell midden found at Pine Ridge Conservation Park. Photo: Bernard Hicks, Queensland Government

Photo credit: Bernard Hicks, Queensland Government

Natural environment

Pine Ridge Conservation Park contains several different vegetation types.

• Eucalypt open forest on sand ridges.
• The canopy is dominated by pink bloodwood Corymbia intermedia (known traditionally as 'bunaw'), with some Moreton Bay ash Corymbia tessellaris, coast cypress pine Callitris columellaris and brush box Lophostemon confertus. The understorey shrubs include wattles Acacia sp. and casuarinas Allocasuarina littoralis.
• Melaleuca tall open forest on sand plains. 
• The canopy is dominated by swamp paperbark Melaleuca quinquenervia with some swamp mahogany Eucalyptus robusta. The ground layer is largely made up of herbs and sedges.
• Wet and dry coastal heath on sand plains. 
• Prominent species of this highly diverse vegetation type include dwarf banksia Banksia oblongifolia, weeping myrtle Baeckea frutescens, wallum boronia Boronia falcifolia, tea-trees Leptospermum sp and grasstrees Xanthorrhoea sp.
• Banksia woodland on dunes and sand plains.
• The gnarled form of the wallum banksia Banksia aemula dominates the canopy with an understorey of wattles Acacia sp., tea-trees Leptospermum sp. and grasstrees Xanthorrhoea sp.

Culture and history

Pine Ridge Conservation Park is culturally, economically and historically important to the Traditional Owners who have lived in the area for thousands of years and maintain strong connections to this country.

The diverse flora and fauna of the coastal lowlands provided a rich bounty of food and other resources. Shell heaps (middens) are reminders of many meals of shellfish, especially 'ginyin-gar' (oysters). Middens are irreplaceable examples of Aboriginal culture.

Please show respect by leaving sites undisturbed. Nyah-nyah ngalingah gamaygay gaban—take care of our wilderness.