Shire of Mingenew
| Area | ~1,939 square kilometres, located ~370 km north of Perth. |
| Towns | Mingenew, Nangetty and Yandanooka. |
| Average Temperature | Mean daily maximum temperature over 30 years 1990 – 2019 37.5°C (Jan) and 19.7°C (Jul). |
| Annual Rainfall | Average annual rainfall over 30 years 1990 – 2019 355 mm (BoM 2020). |
| ABS Profile | Mingenew ABS profile |
Around 455 people live in the Shire of Mingenew, more than half of whom (~280 people) live in the town of Mingenew itself (ABS 2016).
The population in the Shire of Mingenew decreased by 7% between the last census in 2011 and the most recent census in 2016, and is projected to decrease by a further 25% by 2031 (DPLH 2016).
Approximately 7% of residents of the Shire of Mingenew were born overseas and approximately 6% are of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander descent.
Estimates of the resident populations as at 30 June are released annually for Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Australia by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The estimates are generally revised 12 months later and final estimates are available after the following census. Visit the ABS website for further details.
The economy of the Shire of Mingenew depends primarily on broad acre agriculture and the services that support farming in the area. Local farming includes the production of cereal crops (wheat, canola, lupins, oats) and livestock (primarily sheep). Wildflower tourism is a small but growing area of the economy.
The main land uses as shown in the Local Planning Scheme for the Shire of Mingenew includes agriculture, reserves, industrial, residential and commercial.
Nature Reserves
Depot Hill
Located a short 12 km drive northwest of Mingenew is the magnificent rugged reserve of Depot Hill. This is a great spot to park up and go for a wander, enjoy a picnic on the tranquil banks of the river beneath the leafy gums or you may like to walk the bush track up to the historic WWII Army Rifle Range.
Depot Hill is accessible via the Allanooka Springs Rd (sealed & signposted) from Geraldton to MingenewConservation reserves in the NAR
To view all the reserves in the Northern Agricultural Region, visit the Land use theme page or view the nature reserve map.
Coalseam Conservation Park
A small reserve north of Mingenew that boasts a rich history (it is the site of the first coal mine in WA) and geology. The Park is surrounded by farmland and provides a sanctuary for wildlife, and is well known for its resident striated cliff faces, marine fossils and wildflowers.
The Yarragadee formation underlies the eastern portion of the Shire of Mingenew and was formed during the Jurassic period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Yarragadee formation consists of fine to coarse grained sandstone with thin interbeds of shale. The Otorowiri formation forms the south eastern scarp of the Yarragadee formation, which was formed during the Cretaceous period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Otorowiri formation consists of siltstone, shale and sandstone. The geology underlying east of the Otorowiri formation and south of Mingenew is the Parmelia group, which was formed during the Cretaceous period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Parmelia group predominately consists of sandstone.
The eastern portion of the shire comprises of a number of complex geological formations. Underlying the town site of Mingenew is the Mingenew formation, which was formed during the Permian period of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The Mingenew formation consists of fine to medium grained sandstone and siltstone. The north eastern portion of the shire comprises of the Holmwood Shale which was formed during the Permian period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Holmwood shale consists of grey shale, well bedded clayey siltstone and interbedded limestone.
The Nangetty formation, underlies much of the eastern portion of the shire. The Nangetty formation formed during the Carboniferous-permian period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. This formation consists of diamictite, shale and sandstone. Mulingarra gneiss and Yandanooka group underlies the south eastern portion of the Shire. The Mullingarra gneiss was formed during the Paleoproterozoic era from igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Mullingarra gneiss consists of quartz feldspar, gneiss and sedimentary siliciclastics. The Yandanooka group formed from the Neoproterozoic era from volcanic and sedimentary rock. The Yandanooka group consists of sedimentary and volcanic rock.
The geology underlying the LGA boundary of Mingenew and Morawa includes the High Cliff Sandstone, Irwin River Coal Measures, Caryginia Formation, Granitic rock and Coomberdale subgroup. The High Cliff Sandstone was formed during the Permian period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The High Cliff Sandstone consists of fine grained quartz sandstone interbedded with coarse grained sandstone and shale. The Caryginia formation was formed during the Permian period from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Caryginia formation consists of micaceous siltstone, quartz sandstone and limestone. The Irwin River Coal Measures was formed during the Permian period from sedimentary and volcanic rocks. The Irwin River Coal Measures consists of sandstone interbedded with claystone, siltstone, shale and coal. The Coomberdale subgroup was formed during the Mesoproterozoic era from sedimentary and volcanic rock. The Coomberdale subgroup comprises of sandstone, siltstone, dolomite rock and silica minerals.
Deep siliceous sandy soils which forms part of a undulating sand plain, is dominant in much of the western portion of the Shire of Mingenew. Flat terrain of this portion of the shire comprises of non-alkaline subsoils, consisting of sandy and loamy duplexes associated with alluvial flats. The undulating the sandplains is broken by emergent Lateric breakaways associated with the Mount Horner system.
The eastern portion of the shire is clayey soils comprises of calcareous earths and red duplexes often associated with the alluvial flats and foot slopes of hills. The soils underlying the LGA boundary of Mingenew and Morawa are loamy earth soils of red shallow loams and red to brown hardpan soils often associated with gently undulating plain with some areas dissected by long slope, relic of an ancient drainage line. Small areas of gravelly soils forms the remainder of soils types within this area. Gravelly soils consists of sandy or loamy matrix of sandy gravel/loamy gravel associated with gravel ridges.
Please go to the below link for more information on soil and geology in the region
http://www.arcgis.com/apps/StorytellingTextLegend/index.html?appid=88b626db0f3a479e9b526a50b58f551b
Priority Fauna Species
Conservation significant fauna in the Northern Agricultural Region
For more information about fauna in the NAR visit the fauna theme page, and check out the list of Conservation Significant Fauna.
Coalseam Conservation Park
A small reserve north of Mingenew that boasts a rich history (it is the site of the first coal mine in WA) and geology. The Park is surrounded by farmland and provides a sanctuary for wildlife, and is well known for its resident striated cliff faces, marine fossils and wildflowers.
IBRA Regions
Tallering sub-IBRA
The Tallering sub-IBRA forms part of the Yalgoo IBRA. The Yalgoo IBRA is dominated by red sandy plain of low woodlands to open woodlands of Eucalyptus, Acacias and Callitris (Desmond and Chant, 2001d).
Ancient Drainage subregion (Avon Wheatbelt 1)
The Ancient Drainage subregion occurs in the eastern LGAs of the NAR. This subregion is characterised by Proteaceous scrub occupies much of the lateritic hills and outcrops. The alluvial plains associated with the drainage lines is dominated by eucalypts, Casuarinas, York Gum and Jam wattle woodlands (Beecham, 2001a).
Threatened Ecological Communities
Groundwater Areas
Gascoyne Groundwater Area
The Gascoyne Groundwater Area extends north to Kalbarri and bounds the Arrowsmith Groundwater Area east to pastoral country. The largest groundwater aquifer occurs in the Yarragadee Formation, which has an estimated yield of 22.5 million m³/year (NACC, 2005). Groundwater from fractured rock aquifers in the eastern, inland part of the region is predominantly saline and poor yielding. This region of the Gascoyne Groundwater Area falls under the Carnarvon Artesian Basin Allocation Plan.
Rivers
Irwin River
Drainage Basin Length (km) Catchment Area (km2) Average Stream Salinity (mg/L) Key Characteristics Greenough 160 6,072 3000-35000 Originates east of Mullewa, and has middle and lower reaches with perennial flow due to discharge from the groundwater systems. The river enters the ocean at Dongara and the mouth of the river is a coastal lagoon system, which is blocked by a sandbar for most of the year.
Wetlands
Birdlife Midwest
Birdlife Midwest Contact: Sally Vigilante
BirdLife Australia is the result of the merger of Birds Australia and Bird Observation & Conservation Australia (BOCA). BirdLife Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with the aim of creating a bright future for Australia’s birds through the conservation of their habitats.
Work over decades has shown that BirdLife Australia’s conservation efforts are most effective when we focus our activities at a regional scale, to particular species or by concentrating on specific sites of interest. Much of their work is done by a network of Local Branches and Special Interest Groups through Reserves and Observatories.
BirdLife Midwest is the country branch of BirdLife Australia in the Northern Agricultural Region.
Mingenew Irwin Group
Mingenew Irwin GroupMIG was formed in 1994 based on a need for locally driven Research and Development and covers approximately 300,000 ha within the shires of Mingenew and Irwin, with approximately 200 farm businesses being active members. MIG has three main focus areas: Research; Information; and Education and Environment.
MIG’s aim is to “Promote and develop economic and environmentally sustainable agriculture through research, planning, monitoring and demonstrating best practice.”
MIG provides locally focused agricultural research and development that delivers practical benefits to members.
Northern Agricultural Catchments Council
Northern Agricultural Catchments CouncilNotes
The Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC) is the regional natural resource management (NRM) organisation for the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) of Western Australia.
NACC is a community based organisation committed to supporting people to support the natural environment. To do this it seeks to work with landholders, local governments, community and industry in activities that will provide
long-term benefits for the environment and natural assets of the region.