HomeFirst Falls

First Falls

Location:

Morialta Conservation Park

Area:

2.24Ha

Established:

November 2012

Image That is shown when thumbnail is clicked

Site Description

Say the word “Morialta” to South Australians and the first thing that comes to mind for most people is the cascading falls. First Falls is one of Adelaide’s iconic scenic locations, visited by thousands of people every week. Surrounded by soaring red quartzite cliffs the falls are particularly spectacular in spring after heavy rains. The site is situated the length of the walking trail from the falls car park through to First Falls where a boardwalk allows access to view the falls safely. Steep slopes either side of the path are covered in grass trees which are hundreds of years old (xanthorrhoea quadrangulata), drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) and manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis). The burbling creek is shaded with stands of rare woolly teatree (Leptospermum lanigerum) and river bottlebrush (Callistemon sieberi).

What this project protects

The gorge which encompasses this project site is a breeding site for a pair of Peregrine falcons their calls can often be heard in the valley.
The project protects the area around the base of the falls which is one of few permanent water sources in summer. Some of the rarer flora species which can be found in the vicinity include the 1 metre tall cutting grass around the edge of the falls (Gahnia trifida) and the Australian gypsywort (Lycopus australis) which flowers in summer along the creekline.
It is home to yellow-footed antechinus, red-bellied black snakes, eastern banjo frogs and common froglets.

Peregrine Falcon

Our Focus

The focus for this project site is to restore the riparian zone along the creekline as much as possible. Details of the original vegetation (before colonisation introduced weeds) in the creekline, or any other creekline which feeds into the Torrens River, is scant, however we use the information we do have to restore the area. We encourage the native species which thrive when we remove the blackberry and other weeds from along the waters edge. We also focus on removing the woody weeds on the higher quality vegetation southern slopes above the walking trail.

Fruiting blackberry

Donations to Morialta Conservation Park’s Bandicoot Habitat Protection fund will help protect this project site

Donate Now

How to get involved

Come out and join us at one of the regular habitat restoration events held on the first Wednesday of every month. You can see the upcoming events on our calendar.

Upcoming Events

Volunteer Stories

Hi, I'm Andrew and I've had a long-time interest in nature. I grew up near Morialta and have enjoyed going for walks there for many years. Volunteering with FOBHM is a way I can help to maintain this wonderful place for all to enjoy into the future, as well as a way of making a practical contribution at a local scale to protecting and restoring the environment.

My name is Rod and I decided to join the Friends of Black Hill & Morialta mainly because when I was in my youth I spent a lot of time with family and friends in Morialta, so it has a special meaning to me. I am also very passionate about preserving and looking after our valuable native vegetation which is under constant threat from various factors.