Great Cobar Heritage Centre

The Great Western Woodlands is the largest and healthiest temperate woodland remaining on Earth. Located in the southwest of Australia, the woodlands cover almost 16,000,000 hectares , a region larger in size than England and Wales. The boundary of the Great Western Woodlands runs from the Nullarbor Plain in the east to the Western Australian Wheatbelt in the west; from north of Esperance through to the inland mulga country and deserts that are found north of Kalgoorlie.The boundaries of this region were established by researchers from the Australian National University working with The Wilderness Society and are based on satellite data of the region’s natural ecosystems and vegetation types. The vegetation in this region is botanically diverse, and ranges from mature eucalypt woodlands dominating the landscape, interspersed with large areas of mallee, shrublands and grasslands.The Great Western Woodlands region is part of one of the world’s global biodiversity hotspots, the South West Western Australia Floristic Province, with new species of flora and fauna still being discovered. Current research shows there is close to 3,500 plant species found in the Great Western Woodlands region; as many as half of these species are endemic to Southwest Australia. The region is also home to at least 49 species of mammals, 14 species of frogs, 138 species of reptiles and 215 species of birds.The extraordinary natural values of the Great Western Woodlands make the area a place of continental and global significance. Beyond this region’s high rates of biodiversity, scientists have also established that the Great Western Woodlands region contains 950 million tonnes of carbon stored in the vegetation and soil.The Great Western Woodlands is vulnerable to a number of threats including fire, feral animals, noxious weeds and fragmentation caused by ad hoc development.
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