From what I can make out, the identification of this individual is based largely upon location. My first scan through Theisinger/Hawking had me thinking I was looking at Austroaeschna pulchra. However, the book states that A. eungella is “similar to dark A. pulchra“. Regrettably, the book’s photo for A. eungella is of a faded dead specimen which does not [to me] resemble the nearby photo of a live A. pulchra at all. Of more use is Ros Coy’s There be Dragonflies Australian website which, of A. pulchra says:
This Darner is probably the easiest species in the genus Austroaescchna to identify due to the very distinctive pattern of white patches edged in black along its abdomen.
This specimen’s patches certainly match that description though they have a distinctly blue tinge, which the book does mention as possible.
This was our single 2019 encounter and was a netted one at that. I don’t do shots of dragonflies pinched between thumb and finger but after capture, when positioned on a natural support, they do tend to stay still long enough for natural-looking shot. This was netted solidly within the range of A. eungella and well north of the documented range of A. pulchra. Indeed, it was in the Eungella National Park. So, assuming the visual similarities are correct, then A. eungella this must be.
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