The Morwell National Park is a national park located in the westernGippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The 565-hectare (1,400-acre) national park is situated approximately 164 kilometres (102 mi) east of Melbourne via the Princes Highway and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of Morwell in the Strzelecki Ranges. The park preserves a remnant of previously widespread wet sclerophyll forests and some rainforest remnants restricted to deep creek gullies. 320 plant species have been recorded for this park, including five rare or threatened species and 44 orchid species. 129 native fauna species have been recorded, including 19 mammals, 96 birds, 11 reptiles and three amphibians.[2][3]
Weeds and pest animals represent a threat to the park, particularly because of its small size.
The park was created by a 1967 Act of Parliament, in response to lobbying from members of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club. Club members had recognised the ecological significance of the land in the early 1950s after finding butterfly orchid (Sarcochilus australis), as well as other notable species of flora and fauna.[4]
The national park is protected by the local conservation society, the Friends of Morwell National Park.[5]
^Rayment, Philip; Thompson, Bon; Long, Lorna; Roberts, Beatrice; Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists' Club (2010), To protect and enjoy : the first fifty years of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists Club : 1960-2010 / [authored and edited by Philip Rayment; with contributions from Bon Thompson and Lorna Long; drawings by Beatrice Roberts], Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists' Club, ISBN9780980419719
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