Once a Walgett shire issue, the threat of Hudson Pear is spreading through the west and only likely to worsen with flooding. 

Hudson Pear is an invasive cactus species that is believed to have spread from a nursery in Grawin in the late 1960s. 

Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve manager David Sullivan said that the pest has devastating effects on wildlife, land and finances. 

“It’s basically making farmland and land for mining and tourism unusable so it’s got a pretty big economic cost,” Mr Sullivan said. 

“Birds and ground-dwelling animals get stuck in it and it kills them so across the board its impacts are pretty bad in every aspect,” he said. 



While Walgett has borne the brunt of the invasive cactus for a long time, floods across the region are seeing an increase in its distribution.

Mr Sullivan fears that this could include movement into the Darling River system. 

“There’s a system out near Cumborah and previously (the pear) hadn’t crossed that. It’s crossed that which means it's in that system. It was previously only two or three kilometres away from the Narran Lakes Reserve so there’s a good chance it could get into that and all the rivers,” Mr Sullivan said. 

The pear could easily spread throughout the state by getting caught in travellers cars. (Image: Andrea Fletcher-Dawson)

“There’s a very good chance it's spreading as we speak.”

“People just look at it as a Walgett shire problem but it’s definitely spread out. It’s in Coonamble, Broken Hill and north in Queensland past Hebel. There is a pressing sense of urgency,” he said. 

With heavy tourism traffic in the Lightning Ridge area, Mr Sullivan said it’s very realistic that travellers could pick the pear up under their car and spread it hundreds of kilometres away. 

In an ongoing effort to contain the issue, the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve has launched a petition throughout the community to get Government funding for two or more dedicated positions to effectively control Hudson Pear. 

The officers would work across the Walgett Shire and Narran Warrambool Reserve and then further through Western NSW.

While the release of a biological cochineal agent has been helpful for the control of Hudson Pear, funding has all but stopped and once helpful programs have ceased. 

“There hasn’t been a lot of money thrown at it. The free chemical program ceased more than a year ago and we don’t have full time staff looking at this issue,” Mr Sullivan said. 

In Queensland, landholders can rent out quick sprays from the government to help protect their land, but the option isn’t available in New South Wales and the equipment isn’t affordable to many. 

“There’s a lot of different initiatives that could be adopted but haven’t been,” Mr Sullivan said. 

The petition has over 1000 signatures and when roads are open, will be distributed even further across the Western Plains.

From there, it will be delivered to Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders.