Morialta Conservation Park

Morialta Conservation Park is a protected area located just 10 km north-east of Adelaide city centre, in the state of South Australia, Australia.

Founded in 1913, the park covers 5.33 km² within the Mount Lofty Ranges, which is a rugged bush environment with steep ridges and cliffs that encompasses the narrow gorge set with three waterfalls. The name Morialta is derived from the Kaurna name Marriyarta, meaning "eastern land or country".

John Smith Reid, a landholder, donated 540 acres of land in 1913 to create the Morialta Falls Reserve under the National Pleasure Resorts Act 1914. On 29 September 1966, the Morialta Falls Reserve was divided into a reserve for "waterworks purposes" and a reserve with the name, the Morialta Falls National Pleasure Resort. In 1972, it was reconstituted under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 as the Morialta Conservation Park. As a result of major flooding in 1980 and November 2005, paths and walkways were extensively damaged, requiring considerable rebuilding.

The land which makes up Morialta Conservation Park was originally the land of the Kaurna people, who used it as a hunting ground and to collect firewood during the winter months. Fire-stick farming was also practised here. In 1839, the area was granted by the new South Australian Government to pastoralists. Morialta Conservation Park lies mostly on either side of Morialta Gorge, along the bottom of which flows Fourth Creek. The park shares Adelaide's Mediterranean climate