NPA Bulletin N a t i o n a l P a r k s A s s o c i a t i o n o f t h e A C T V o l 2 5 N o 1 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 8 7

NATIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY INC. I n a u g u r a t e d 1 9 6 0

A i m s a n d O b j e c t s o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n

P r o m o t i o n o f n a t i o n a l p a r k s a n d of m e a s u r e s f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n of f a u n a a n d f l o r a , s c e n e r y a n d n a t u r a l f e a t u r e s i n t h e A u s t r a l i a n C a p i t a l T e r r i t o r y a n d e l s e ­w h e r e , a n d t h e r e s e r v a t i o n o f s p e c i f i c a r e a s

I n t e r e s t in t h e p r o v i s i o n of a p p r o p r i a t e o u t d o o r r e ­c r e a t i o n a r e a s .

S t i m u l a t i o n o f i n t e r e s t i n , a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n a n d e n j o y ­m e n t of , s u c h n a t u r a l p h e n o m e n a b y o r g a n i s e d f i e l d o u t i n g s , m e e t i n g s o r a n y o t h e r m e a n s .

C o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h o r g a n i s a t i o n s a n d p e r s o n s h a v i n g s i m i l a r i n t e r e s t s a n d o b j e c t i v e s .

P r o m o t i o n of , a n d e d u c a t i o n f o r , n a t u r e c o n s e r v a t i o n , a n d t h e p l a n n i n g o f l a n d - u s e t o a c h i e v e c o n s e r v a t i o n .

C O N T E N T S

P r e s i d e n t ' s F o r e w o r d 3

A n n u a l R e p o r t 3

R e d S p o t 3

N e w M e m o e r s 3

C o m m i t t e e N e w s 4

P u b l i c i t y M a t t e r s 4

H e l p W a n t e d 4

S p e a k e r s F o r G e n e r a l M e e t i n g s W a n t e d 4

L e t t e r s 5

T h e M a n F r o m T h e M i s t y M o u n t a i n s 5

Y e r r a b i O p e n i n g 6

O p e n i n g D a y O f T h e Y e r r a b i T r a c k 6

M t K e l l y A n d T h e A s s o c i a t i o n 7

P i g e o n H o u s e 1 9 5 4 8

N a m a d g i N o t i o n a l P a r k 8

T h e F o o t p a t h Q u e s t i o n 9

B u s h B o t t o m s 1 0

P l a n n i n g A n d M a n a g e m e n t O f

T h e M u r r u m b i d g e e R i v e r C o r r i d o r I I

A n I n t e r v i e w W i t h C h a r l e s H i l l 1 2

J u s t B r i e f l y 1 4

R e p o r t O n O u r G l e n d a l e T r e e s 1 9 8 7 1 6

T h e T i m b e r I n d u s t r y a n d C o n s e r v a t i o n 1 7

T h e P o t o r o o ' s H o m e I n C a n b e r r a 1 7

A H i s t o r i c a l A t l a s O f A u s t r a l i a 1 8

E a r t h F i r s t 1 9

G e n e r a l M e e t i n g s 2 0

D E A D L I N E D A T E S f o r N P A B U L L E T I N c o n t r i b u t i o n s : 1 5 O c t o b e r , 1 5 J a n u a r y 1 5 A p r i l . 1 5 J u l y

O f f i c e B e a r e r s a n d C o m m i t t e e

President

K e v i n F r a w l e y , 4 S h i e l s P I . C u r t m , 2 6 0 5

8 2 3 0 8 0 ( H ) . 6 8 8 3 0 9 (W)

Vice-President

V a c a n t

Secretary

J u l i a T r a i n o r , 2 H i l l C o r n e r , Y a r r a l u m l a , 2 6 0 0

8 1 1 1 9 5 (H) , 6 2 1 5 1 4 (W)

T r e a s u r e r

J a n G a i e n b y , 1 6 G o o d p a r l a St. . H a w k e r . 2 6 1 4 5 4 3 0 9 4 (H)

Publicity Olticer

G l y n L e w i s 9 5 2 7 2 0 (H)

Bulletin Editor

J u d i t h S i m o n d s o n , 1 0 6 J a c k i e H o w e C r e s . , M a c a r t h u r , 2 9 0 4

9 1 6 2 0 1 ( H )

Outings Convenor

I a n H a y n e s . 2 1 R o b e r t s St. . M a c q u a n e , 2 6 1 4 5 1 4 7 b 2 ( H j

Other Committee Members

N e v i l l e E s a u 8 6 4 1 7 b i H ) . 4 9 4 5 5 4 (W) P h i l i p G a t e n b y 5 4 3 0 9 4 ( H ) K e v i n T o t t e r d e l l 8 1 4 4 1 0 (H) , 6 3 3 2 7 0 <W)

Immediate Past President

K O S S uarnon «o j a y ^ ( H I

Public Olticer C h a r l e s H i l l 9 5 8 9 2 4 (H)

A n n u a l S u b s c r i p t i o n R a t e s |1 J u l y 3 0 J u n e )

H o u s e h o l d M e m b e r s $ 2 0

S i n g l e M e m b e r s $ 1 5

C o r p o r a t e M e m b e r s S i O

B u l l e t i n O n l y $ 1 0

C o n c e s s i o n - H a l f A b o v e R a t e s

F o r n e w s u b s c r i p t i o n s l o i n i n g b e t w e e n :

1 J a n u a r y a n d 3 1 M a r c h - h a l l s p e c i f i e d r a l e

1 A p r i l a n d 3 0 J u n e - a n n u a l s u b s c r i p t i o n

( u p l o 1 5 m o n t h s m e m b e r s h i p b e n e f i t )

M e m b e r s h i p E n q u i r i e s w e l c o m e P l e a s e p h o n e L a r a i n e F r a w l e y a t t h e N P A o f f i c e o n 5 7 1 0 6 3

T h e N P A o f t h e A C T o f f i c e is l o c a t e d in K m g s l e y S t r e e t , A c t o n

O f f i c e H o u r s :

1 0 . 0 0 a m t o 2 . 0 0 p m M o n d a y s

9 . 0 0 a m t o 2 0 0 p m T u e s d a y s a n d T h u r s d a y s

T e l e p h o n e : 5 7 1 0 6 3

P o s t a l A d d r e s s : B o x 4 5 7 G P O . C a n b e r r a 2 6 0 1

Articles by contributors may not necessarily reflect Associativa opinion oi tib/ecti^es

P r i n t e d b y D e r e k K e l l y 5 4 1 2 2 6 T y p e s e t b y T o p T y p e s e t t e r s 5 1 6 5 5 0

C O V E R The Yerrabi Trai. k Phntngr-jpti by Reg Alder

A t t e n t i o n A l l M e m b e r s !

C o n t r i b u t i o n s o l b e t w e e n 2 0 0 a n d 3 0 0 w o r d s , w i t h o r w i t h o u t p h o t o g r a p h s ( b l a c k a n d w h i t e p r e l e r a b l y ) a r e s o u g h t e a g e r l y f o r t h e Bulletin O f c o u r s e w e n e e d l o n g e r i t e m s a s w e l l , b u t s h o r t o n e s a r e p o p u l a r . . w i t h e v e r y o n e 1

S h a r e w i t h u s y o u r c a m p s , t r i p s a n d p a c k w a l k s , y o u r t r i a l s a n d t r i b u l a t i o n s a n d a d v e n t u r e s of a l l k i n d s

PRESIDENT'S FOREWORD Prior to the recent e lec t ion , t h e Federal g o v e r n m e n t a n n o u n c e d its in tent ion to p r o c e e d w i th t h e n o m i n a t i o n of t h e ra in forests of t h e Q u e e n s l a n d wet t rop ics for t h e Wor ld Her i tage List. This Assoc ia t ion has s t o o d in s t rong s u p p o r t of s u c h l ist ing and I have wr i t ten to t h e g o v e r n m e n t accord ingly . Now that t h e e lec t ion is over, it is impor tan t tha t t h e g o v e r n m e n t be kept to its w o r d on t h e nomina t ion in ten t ion . Proceed ing wil l p robably mean a s h o w d o w n w i t h t h e Q u e e n s l a n d government , but th is may be t h e on ly way t h e mat ter can be resolved. Clearly, t h e Nat ional Rainforest Conserva t ion Program ins t i tu ted in J u n e 1 9 8 6 w i t h f u n d i n g of $22 .25 mi l l ion has ach ieved l i t t le in Q u e e n s l a n d w h e r e t h e most urgent requ i rement is a mora tor ium, and preferably a de f in i te cessa t ion of v irgin ra inforest logg ing .

T h e Q u e e n s l a n d Forestry Minister 's react ion to the n o m i n a t i o n in tent ion w a s not surpr is ing , but s h o w s how i l l -i n f o r m e d he is. Desp i te Mr Glasson's ravings about 'mi l i tant greenies' , and a ' few fanat ica l conservat ion is ts ' (Canberra Times 6 J u n e 1987) t h e plain fact is that t h e nomina t ion has had s t rong and unequivoca l s u p p o r t f rom t h e sc ient i f ic c o m m u n i t y wor ld -wide . The o u t s t a n d i n g b io log ica l va lues of the area are now we l l es tab l ished , and are very c lear ly and conc ise ly set out in t h e Her i tage C o m m i s s i o n pub l ica t ion Tropical Rainforests of North Queensland: Their Conservation Significance (1986). Based on current knowledge , t h e wor ld 's o ldest c o n t i n u o u s l y surv iv ing ra in forests are c o n c e n t r a t e d in t h e Q u e e n s l a n d wet t rop ics , w i t h their o r ig ins da t ing back to the G o n d w a n a l a n d s u p e r c o n t i n e n t more than 100 mi l l ion years ago. The area is now a ' l iving m u s e u m ' c o n t a i n i n g t h e

. r ichest a s s e m b l a g e of fami l ies of pr imit ive f lower ing p lants in the wor ld . If t h e Min is te r e x a m i n e d his o w n D e p a r t m e n t ' s records, he w o u l d f ind , not a 'v iable t imber industry' , but a rapidly

. c o n t r a c t i n g one - d e c l i n i n g as the o l d g r o w t h resource is cu t o u t The cur ren t quota (50,000 cubic met res per annum) is one quar te r trie annual cut of the p o s t w a r decades . As for employment ; even by his Depar tment 's o w n es t imates , - the f igure of 8 0 0 d i rec t ly -employed (CT 6 J u n e 1987) is a substant ia l exaggera t ion - 3 0 0 is a c loser f igure .

Concentra t ion , of in terest on t h e smal l ra inforest l o g g i n g industry , however , d raws a t ten t ion away f rom o t h e r major threa ts to the rainforest , espec ia l ly nor th of t h e Da in t ree River, w h e r e cur rent ly there is no logg ing . These threa ts inc lude t in min ing , road bu i ld ing , subdiv is ion and u n s y m p a t h e t i c tour is t deve lopment . The Q u e e n s l a n d g o v e r n m e n t has been unable to see a l ternat ives to t h e s e and grasp t h e innovat ive c o n c e p t s put fo rward for t h e nor th Q u e e n s l a n d rainforest w h i c h w o u l d t ie p r o m o t i o n a n d p ro tec t ion and earn tour is t dol lars - t h e p r o p o s e d D o w n e y Creek canopy wa lkway near Innisfai l be ing a pr ime example . Nor th Q u e e n s l a n d is a l ready a p r ime tour is t des t ina t ion , w i t h t h e ra inforests and the i r se t t ing a major drawcard . Act iv i t ies assoc ia ted w i th proper m a n a g e m e n t of t h e ra inforest e n v i r o n m e n t c o m b i n e d w i th a forestry p lanta t ion program have the potent ia l t o soak up s o m e of t h e u n e m p l o y m e n t w h i c h w o u l d result f r o m t h e cessa t ion of logging. There c o u l d be immed ia te e m p l o y m e n t in r ipp ing and revegetating" t h e in famous D a i n t r e e ' r o a d ' f r o m Cape Tr ibula t ion t o B loomf ie ld ! I be l ieve there w o u l d be w i d e s p r e a d c o m m u n i t y s u p p o r t for C o m m o n w e a l t h f inancia l ass is tance i n s u c h restructur ing. .

In 1 9 8 6 most of t h e remain ing N e w South Wales ra inforest became Austral ia 's s ixth Wor ld Her i tage Area e n t i t l e d t h e 'Subt rop ica l a n d Tempera te Rainforest Parks o f Eastern Austral ia' . It is to be hoped that the W e t Tropica l Rainforests of nor th-east Q u e e n s l a n d b e c o m e s Austral ia 's seventh area in 1988 .

M e m b e r s of t h e Assoc ia t ion are e n c o u r a g e d to wr i te to t h e Federal g o v e r n m e n t in s u p p o r t of t h e i n t e n d e d nomina t ion .

Annual Report The N PA of t h e A C T s Annual Report for 1986 -87 is n o w avai lable. Inter­es ted m e m b e r s may ob ta in c o p i e s f r o m our Kingsley Street Off ice, or if p re fer red the Report wi l l be p o s t e d to you. Phone Lara ine on 57 1063.

New Members The fo l low ing n e w m e m b e r s are w e l c o m e d to the Assoc ia t ion :

Evelyn A D A M S and David BAG-NALL, O'Connor; Barry and Gail A L L E N and family, Pearce; Lesl ie BACKEN, Mawson; Judi th BARBER, Queanbeyan; Avice BARRETT, Chif-ley; Col le t te BARTON-ROSS, Narr-abundah; J u d y BOOTH a n d Roy FORWARD, K i n g s t o n ; Mrs Pamela BROWN, W e s t o n ; Mr and Mrs A. CARLESS, Torrens; Mr and Mrs Phil ip C H Y N O W E T H and family, W e s t o n ; J o h n and Jan ice CLE­MENT, Fraser; Tim DAVIES, Hughes; Derek DRIN KWATER, Weston; PauI DUNCAN-JONES, Curt in; Ms Janice FOULKES, Nar rabundah; Nan GRIGG, Pearce; David HALL, Curt in; Janet HANLEY, Garran; Mary HUGHES, Gri f f i th; Mrs J . J I L L A R D ,

Kaleen; Mr & Mrs A. J O H N S T O N E , Garran; Mr and Mrs A. KELLY, Kal­een; Mr Denis KERR, Weetangera ; J o h n a n d J u d y M C K E N N A and fam­ily, Garran; Rein MERE, Chapman; Kei th and Caro lyn MINTO, Holt, He len MURRAY a n d Tim B U R D E N , D ickson; Peter N A U M A N N a n d Deborah STOKES, D ickson; Karen NENABER, Holt; Dimitry OGAREFF, Waramanga; Geof f rey PAINTON, Bar ton; Rober t PARKER, Cur t in ; Peter and Robyn ROE, M o n a s h ; Miss J e a n e t t e SCHULTZ, Kambah; Mr and Mrs David S H O R T H O U S E and family, L y n e h a m ; Mrs Ani ta S I M M O N S , L y n e h a m ; M ike and A n n e t t e SMITH and family, Farrer, Robert STOOTHOFF, New Zealand; El izabeth STORRS, O'Connor; Ivi WARD, Gowr ie ; Hi lary a n d David WEBSTER, Campbe l l ; Doreen W I L S O N , Rivett.

Red Spot A red spot on t h e label of your Bul le t in ind ica tes that NPA records s h o w you as unf inancia l . To renew your membersh ip see the Treasurer at t h e next genera l mee t ing of the Assoc ia t ion , cal l at t h e NPA of f ice in Kingsley Street , A c t o n {phone 57 1063) or post your s u b s c r i p t i o n to G P O Box 4 5 7 , Canber ra 2 6 0 1 . The Bul le t in d is t r ibu t ion list wi l l be rev ised in D e c e m b e r by de le t ing any unf inanc ia l members .

Commit tee News Publicity Matters The h igh l ight of the last three mon ths is undoub ted l y the con­s t ruct ion and open ing of the Yerrabi Track to Boboyan Trig. The Comm­i t tee thanks Reg A l d e r a n d h i s b a n d of he lpers , w h o s e ef for ts are sure ly jus t i f ied by the fact that the carpark at the head of the wa lk ing track has ove r f l owed a lmost every w e e k e n d s ince the open ing of the track.

The c o n t e n t i o u s issue of the admin is t ra t ion of Namadg i Nat ional Park rece ived cons ide rab le at tent ­ion f rom the Commi t tee . The rec­o m m e n d a t i o n s of the House of Represen ta t i ves S tand ing Comm­i t tee on Env i ronment were cons id­ered i ndependen t l y by both the C o m m i t t e e and the Namadg i Sub­commi t tee , and the Commi t t ee f inal ly adop ted alt the sugges t ions of the Namadg i S u b c o m m i t t e e On the key r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of the dec la ra t ion of Namadg i under the National Parks and Wildlife Conser­vation Act 1975. and the concom­itant de lega t ion of powers by the Di rector of A N P W S to the Depart­ment of Terri tories, the Commit tee 's suppor t was based on the bel ief that a par l iamentary act potent ia l ly o f fers greater secur i ty for the Park than an o rd inance . Suppor t for this r e c o m m e n d a t i o n , however, was Qual i f ied by the belief that its imple­men ta t i on may be f raught wi th admin is t ra t ive and legal di f f icult ies.

Also in Namadg i . a proposa l for naming fea tu res in the Park, includ­ing a peak after Dr Nancy Burb idge . has been sent to the ACT Parks and Conserva t ion Service. Suppor t for the Mt Burb idge proposal is be ing sought f rom the ACT Parks and Conserva t ion Consu l ta t ive Comm­ittee.

On the cu l tura l side in Namadg i , Peter F reeman and Par tners have recent ly c o m p l e t e d their consul t ­ancy on Orrora l Homes tead , the result of wh ich is a /eport descr ib ing the a rch i tec tu re and cond i t i on of the nomes ieaa . ana ident i fy ing the repai rs wh ich are needed . The ifcport i s a necebsa iy p i e c u i s o i to any work to be done on the home­stead by members of this Associa­t ion. It is hoped that NPA wi l l be ab le to per form res tora t ion work on the homes tead next summer.

The C o m m i t t e e has rece ived a let ter f rom the Kosc iusko Huts Assoc ia t ion (KHA) express ing their in terest in work ing on the huts in Namadg i Nat ional Park A I tne t ime

of wr i t ing the Commi t tee is conduct ­ing d iscuss ions wi th the KHA. and if any members wish to con t r ibu te to the d iscuss ion they shou ld con tac t a member of the Commi t tee .

On the wider conserva t ion front, the Commit tee endorsed in principle a proposal by the Austral ian National Parks Counc i l to seek Wor ld Heri t­age nomina t ion for the Austra l ian Alp ine Area. The proposal w o u l d involve engag ing a consu l tan t to prepare a report compar ing the Alp ine Area w i th the cr i ter ia for Wor ld Her i tage nomina t ion The total cost w o u l d be about S6.000. to be shared among (he Nat ional Parks Associat ions of the ACT. New South Wales and Victor ia. The Commi t tee wil l a t tempt to at t ract a grant to cover Ihese cos ts be fore dec id ing w h e t h e r to commi t any Assoc ia t ion funds to the proposal .

Also in the Alp ine Area, the C o m m i t t e e dec ided to oppose c loud seed ing in the Kosc iusko Na t iona l Park, a n d has wr i t t en to the appropr ia te min is ters and to the Commiss ioner of the Snowy Moun ta ins Author i ty ob jec t ing to c loud seed ing and its assoc ia ted works, such as roads and gaug ing stat ions, in the Nat ional Park.

And f in ish ing on a posi t ive note, the tree plant ing project at Glendale has reached a s tage whe re the overs ight of the t rees can be referr­ed to the rangers at Namadgi . Char les Hilt 's report on the pro iect is pub l i shed in this Bul let in. The C o m m i t t e e congra tu la tes Char les and his team of workers on the success of the proiect.

The Publ ic i ty and Educa t ion Sub­c o m m i t t e e is beg inn ing prepar at ions for the Kingsley Street Mar­kets on the morn ing of Sunday 6 September. The Market is organised by the Env i ronment Cent re as a month ly fund raising venture, and on 6 Sep tember it wi l l be our Assoc­iat ion's turn to assist w i th d i rec t ing stall ho lders to their a l loca ted p laces in the Market . If you wou ld like to assist in this way. or if you wou ld l ike to staff the NPA stall (sel l ing our merchand ise and s ign­ing up new members) p lease con­tact Glyn Lewis or the NPA Off ice.

The Subcommi t t ee is a lso begin­ning to plan our Assoc ia t ion 's part in an Env i ronment Fair in 1988, wh ich has a t t rac ted substant ia l fund ing f rom the Aust ra l ian Bicen­tennia l Author i ty If you have any ideas you wou ld like to share, or if you wou ld l ike to be involved in any way ( large or small), p lease contac t Glyn Lewis or the NPA Off ice.

Help Wanted An ou tdoo rs type wi th an interest in the commun i t y is wan ted as leader of the Diamant ina Scout Group in Kaleen. The Group cons is ts of two t roops, each wi th about twenty members , w h o s e ages range from twelve to f i f teen years Act iv i t ies include a monthly hike and/or camp, and week ly meet ings . If you are in te res ted contac t Bill Hy land. p h o n e 4 1 4 0 7 4 (H) or Bob McGarry. phone 52 6 1 3 4 ( W).

Speakers for General Meetings Wanted

The NPA holds genera l mee t ings on the th i rd Thursday of each mon th f rom February to November inc lusive

These mee t i ngs are p lanned to prov ide a var iety of guest speakers and f i lms on conserva t ion and nat iona l parks issues.

Vo lun teer speakers and /o r sugges t i ons for top ics are a lways needed . If you w o u l d l ike to know more about a par t icu lar subject , or know s o m e o n e who is wi l l ing to speak, we 'd l ike to know 1

| P lease con tac t Ju l ia Trainor (phone 81 1 195) wi th your ideas.

The Secretary National Parks Association

of the ACT Inc.

Dear Secretary,

The Kosc iusko Huts Assoc ia t ion w o u l d l ike t o help mainta in s o m e of t h e huts of Namadg i Nat ional Park w h i c h have no d e s i g n a t e d care­takers and w h i c h are the re fo re on t h e way to b e c o m i n g ruins. Our Assoc ia t ion w o u l d regret t h e loss of t h e s e rel ics of ear ly European se t t l ement in the area.

I a m wr i t ing th is l e t t e r t o you as a c o u r t e s y in v iew of the long involve­ment of t h e Nat ional Parks Assoc­iat ion w i th t h e area and t h e estab­l ishment of Namadg i Nat ional Park.

The Kosc iusko Huts Assoc ia t ion has f o r m e d a Namadgi S u b c o m m ­ittee, and on 17 th May Brian Terri l l , t h e Chief Ranger, t o o k s o m e of us on an inspect ion tour of Brayshaw's, t h e forest huts , Frank's and Rolly's. W e d e c i d e d to beg in in a smal l and modes t way w i th minor w o r k s on t h e last three . W e u n d e r s t a n d f rom Mr Terri l l that the Parks a n d Con­servat ion Serv ice w o u l d supp ly mater ials if w e organised the labour.

Accord ing ly , ano ther i n s p e c t i o n tr ip has been organ ised f o r 5 t h July in order to make es t imates of n e e d e d mater ia ls and labour, and a let ter has been sent t o Mr Terri l l in forming h im of our in tent ions .

W e apprec ia te t h e potent ia l problems of car ing for and restoring t h e Namadg i s t ruc tu res and are keen tha t the g o o d re la t ions be­t w e e n our Organ isa t ions s h o u l d cont inue. I should be glad to d iscuss th is f u r t h e r w i t h your C o m m i t t e e and answer w h a t q u e s t i o n s I cou ld , and I s h o u l d apprec ia te it if t h e c o n t e n t s of th is let ter c o u l d be b rought to the a t ten t ion of your members .

Graham Scully President

Kosciusko Huts Association Incorporated

Hon. B. Cohen Minister for Arts, Heritage and

Environment Parliament House

Dear Mr Cohen ,

I am wr i t ing to you on behal f of the Nat iona l Parks Assoc ia t ion of t h e ACT to ind ica te how p leased mem­bers of th is Assoc ia t ion are, to note tha t the g o v e r n m e n t i n t e n d s to p r o c e e d w i th t h e n o m i n a t i o n of t h e Q u e e n s l a n d W e t Trop ics for W o r l d Her i tage l is t ing. T h e Assoc­iat ion has long s u p p o r t e d such ac t ion because of t h e o u t s t a n d i n g sc ient i f ic a n d scen ic va lues of t h e area, the threa ts to t h e s e values, and the fa i lure of t h e Q u e e n s l a n d g o v e r n m e n t to give any c o n c e s s i o n to t h e m .

As in t h e case of W e s t e r n Tas­mania, w e be l ieve t h e s e ac t ions wi l l s tand p r o m i n e n t long after many of the apparent ly press ing issues of t h e day are long f o r g o t t e n .

Dr Kevin Frawley (President) c.c, Rt Hon. R.J. Hawke

The Man From The Misty Mountains

Have you read The Man From The Misty Mountains, w h i c h is t h e post­h u m o u s p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e m e m o i r s and p o e m s of Major J i m Sturgiss? Major S turg iss w a s an ear ly explor ­er of the Budawangs, and his assoc­iat ion w i t h t h e c o u n t r y is re f l ec ted in t h e m o u n t a i n w h i c h bears h is name. His b o o k is a very readab le a n d o f ten h u m o r o u s a c c o u n t of t h e events and personal i t ies e n c o u n t ­ered in his long and in terest ing life, and it covers many of the areas w h e r e w e walk today: Et t rema, Budawangs , Shoa lhaven , Deua, Tuross. Major Sturg iss w a s a self-e d u c a t e d m a n w i t h a r e m a r k a b l e gift for b r ing ing his reader c loser to t h e lives of the early p ioneers whose hardships m a k e a s o b e r i n g c o m ­par ison w i th our own exper ience of " r o u g h i n g it" w h e n w e go bush . The stories reveal how much this country w a s e x p l o r e d by t h e miners a n d farmers w h o c a m e before us, a n d adds an extra cul tura l d i m e n s i o n t o our e n j o y m e n t of s o m e of our fav­our i te w a l k i n g areas.

The book is beaut i fu l ly pr in ted and mainta ins the high s tandard set by Pigeon House and Beyond.

The Man from The Misty Mountains: Memoirs and poems of James Henry Sturgiss. 1890-1983, e d i t e d by J im T h o m s o n , w a s pub l i shed by t h e Budawang Commi t tee . It is ava i lab le f r o m t h e N P A Of f ice or at the month ly genera l meet ings .

Major Jim Sturgiss and the Old Cabin, Sassafras. From The M a n F r o m The M i s t y M o u n t a i n s , with permission ol the Budawang Committee.

Yerrabi Opening Ross Carlton

Billy tea on a sun -washed flat rock c i rc led by the moun ta ins of Nam­adgi Nat iona l Park. It was a c lass ic NPA w in te r se t t ing . All the old and bo ld w e r e there : the members who h3ve been members as long as a n y o n e c a n remember B u t t h i s w a s an ou t ing w i th a d i f ference. Not only the pi l lars of the Assoc ia t ion but hordes of newer and younger members , and non -members as wel l ; ch i ld ren , babies, the fit and the unfit, about 2 0 0 in all. And not just a bil ly of tea Billy af ter bil ly Tea by the ga l lon (sorry, litre), w i th Jul ia pour ing out seeming ly end less cups. And speeches . Speeches 1 On an NPA ou t ing ! Yes indeed And appropr ia te and to the point they were, f rom our President . Kevin Frawley and John Langmore . the Member for Fraser. Remind ing us of the impo r tance of ge t t i ng out into the bush to ref resh our off ice-jaded l ives ana of the need to pre­serve the bush against the press­ures tend ing to des t roy or deg rade it. Remind ing us too of the fact that nat iona l parks and preservat ion don' t just happen , they requ i re the v is ion of a few. long term effort by o rgan isa t i ons such as ours and the co-operat ion and support of off icials and po l i t i c ians W e are fo r tunate in the ACT to have had all these in­g red ien ts in suf f ic ient measure to gain us a nat iona l park big enough to be wo r thwh i l e And so we were a b l e t o g a t h e r o n t h a t s u n n y rock to ce lebra te the open ing of the Yerrabi Track, two k i lomet res of low- impact path wh ich enab les anyone who is even half fit to go over the hills, out of s ight and sound of the road and into the heart of the Park. Boboyan Trig is one of the most easily reached v iew po in ts in the Park and yet one wh ich g ives the fee l ing of be ing r ight amongs t the mounta ins . From it one can see most of the h igh peaks of the sou the rn ACT: Sent ry Box. Gudgenby . Yankee Hat, Scab­by, Kelly. Namadg i , Burb idge The t rack was fo rmed by a g roup of m e m b e r s wo rk ing over a per iod of a few weeks . They marked the route c lea red obs tac les , b r idged the creek, built s teps where necessary and e rec ted s igns ind icat ing the names of t ree spec ies a long the way. The aim was to bui ld a track, readi ly fo l l owed and easi ly negot­iated but as unobtrusive as possible.

In this I bel ieve they were eminent ly successfu l . The name Yerrabi comes f rom the language of the Ngunawa l peop le , the or ig inal inhab i tan ts of the area, and is said to mean 'walk'.

The bu i ld ing of this t rack i l lustra­tes one of the lesser known activit ies of the Assoc ia t ion . Most peop le are aware of the NPA's long s t rugg le to ob ta in a nat ional park and of our input to the Plan of Managemen t th rough di rect submiss ions and th rough rep resen ta t ion on the Consu l ta t ive Commi t tee . Most peop le wou ld also know that the Assoc ia t ion works in var ious ways for a mu l t i tude of w ider env i ron­menta l issues. However , probably fewer wou ld be aware of efforts, l ike the bu i ld ing of th is track, wh ich are unde r taken from t ime to t ime to enhance or preserve the Park. Such ef for ts have inc luded the p lant ing and ma in tenance of t rees at G lenda le and the revegeta t ion of tempora ry fire trai ls. Such work is a lways under taken wi th the know­ledge and co-opera t ion of the Dep­ar tment and wi th in the f ramework of the Plan of Management I tunder-l i n e s t h e r o l e o f t h e Assoc ia t ion as a g roup w h o s e chief in terest is the Park: its preservat ion, deve lopment and managemen t This role wil l con t i nue as long as there are mem­bers who enjoy the Park and are p repared to work for it. One of the long term ef fects of the Yerrabi Track may wel l be a s teady s t ream of recru i ts to this group, i n t roduced to the Park via this easy and attrac-t i ve t rack The thanks of us all to the team that brought it about.

O p e n i n g Day Of T h e Yerrabi T rack Olive

B.

Thank you - small band ol ardent workers

lor all you've done lor all we shirkers. Namadgi and ils glories to untold lor everyone, both young and old

All those who tread thai pretty path -will they think of the toil and the

aftermath -the aches, the strains, the cuts and

pains0

Will they take for gianted the hand-hewn rocks

(Oh! the bruises and the knocks! I the ledges which with strength were

hacked. cement earned on weary backs to make the steps where nature

lacked?

For many, they had never seen, the mountains bold that did untold And those brave ones who said "I've

been". Oh' what tall stories they all told.

With a welcome warm and a cup ot tea

(our thanks again to workers all) - a perfect day we will recall.

Our membership shOLild grow and grow

and m the future then maybe, the young' will make a 'Yerrabi'. and once again we can proudly say "All done by members ot NPA".

Mt Kelly And The Associat ion Reg Alder, Thelma Chippendale and Fiona Brand

Mt Kel ly has a part icular p lace in the history of the Nat ional Parks Assoc ia t ion . It w a s t h e c e n t r e of t h e Associat ion's proposal for a national park in t h e ACT and is an ob jec t ive f rom w h i c h to exp lore t h e s u r r o u n d ­ing w i lderness .

At 1 8 2 9 metres, M t Kel ly is t h e f o u r t h h ighest peak on t h e ACT border and by a qu i rk of nature has over three quarters of its mass wi th in t h e ACT. The three h ighest peaks on the border are shared equal ly w i th New South Wales. Mt Kel ly fo rms a t r iang le of peaks w i th Nam­adgi and our unoff ic ia l ly n a m e d Mt Burb idge . These peaks s u r r o u n d Rotten Swamp, an important source of Canberra 's water supply .

A n o t h e r l ink w i th t h e Assoc ia t ion is that Mt Kelly was probably named after an early set t le r in t h e ' a r e a , Wi l l iam Kelly (or o n e of his sons) w h o is a relative of The lma Ch ippen­dale. Thelma's husband, George, is a past pres ident of t h e Assoc ia t ion . H e w a s ac t ive in hav ing t h e a r e a dec la red as a nat ional park.

Wi l l iam Kelly arr ived in Sydney in S e p t e m b e r 1836 , f r o m Mal low, C o u n t y Cork, I reland, a s a f r e e sett ­ler. Eventual ly he met a n o t h e r n e w arrival, Ca ther ine C a m e r o n f rom Inverness-shire , Scot land . She was

later to b e c o m e e m p l o y e d as t h e persona l maid of the wi fe of t h e Governor. Wi l l iam and Cather ine were marr ied in Scots Church , Sydney on 1 Apr i l 1839 and se t t l ed at 'Gar ryowen ' in Q u e a n b e y a n in the 1850's. In April 1856 they moved to 'Spr ing Valley' at M iche lago . Descendants of t h e or ig inal c o u p l e sti l l l ive on t h e property .

Family t rad i t ion holds that Mt Kel ly w a s n a m e d a f te r Wi l l i am Kel ly or one of his sons, J o h n or Wi l l iam. Exhaust ive research t h r o u g h t h e NSW Geograph ica l Names Board and var ious local sources of infor­mat ion has fa i led to f ind d o c u m e n ­tary ev idence to subs tan t ia te the or ig in of t h e name for t h e mounta in . The name f irst appeared on maps after t h e mid 1800's. Any d o c u m e n ­tary ev idence on t h e or ig in of the naming of Mt Kel ly w o u l d be w e l ­c o m e d .

Mt Kel ly can be seen plainly f r o m B o b o y a n Tr ig, to t h e w e s t as a low t r iang le on t h e sky l ine . It may a lso be seen just peeping over the shoul -d e r o f Yankee H a t f r o m t h e Boboyan Pine Forest Car Park.

In t h e ear ly 1960 's w h e n t h e Assoc ia t ion l o o k e d at t h e ACT to f ind an area su i tab le for a Nat ional Park, the area c e n t r e d on M t Kel ly

s e e m e d to be t h e most su i tab le . It d id not e x t e n d in to t h e c a t c h m e n t area of the Cot ter and w a s relat ively f ree of a l i ena ted land.

To look c lose ly at t h i s area, Assoc ia t ion m e m b e r s Dr Rober t Story, Ju l ie Henry and F iona Brand w a l k e d to Mt Kel ly in 1961 as m e m b e r s of an A lp ine C lub wa lk led by Alan Bagnall. They were del ighted w i th the A lp ine h igh s w a m p s a n d gent le c reeks w a n d e r i n g t h r o u g h snow grass, the s t e e p s l o p e s cov­ered w i th forests a n d t h e unspoi l t v iews f rom t h e rocky t o p of Mt Kelly. To ga in an overal l v iew of the pro­p o s e d area for a nat ional park, a l ight aircraft was h i red ( f lown by John Gray, now Director, Landscape and Envi ronment , NCDC), a n d Ju l i e Henry, A lexander Brand a n d F iona Brand f lew over t h e area a n d t o o k photographs .

Dr Richard S h o d d e m a d e a sur­vey of t h e birds in t h e area a n d Dr Nancy Burbidge and Dr Robert Story made a list of t h e plants. A list of fauna was a lso p r o d u c e d t o c o m ­plete t h e survey. Ju l ie Henry w a s the co -ord ina tor for t h e proposa l , wr i t ing the text a n d g a t h e r i n g t h e co lourphotographs . DrRober t Story ed i ted the text and f inal ly it w a s t y p e d a n d made up in to a fo rma l proposal . The f inal c o m p i l i n g w a s d o n e in Ju l i e Henry 's t iny room in Havelock House.

The proposa l for t h e nat iona l park w a s sent to t h e Min is te r for Terr i tor ies in 1963 , s i g n e d by Dr Nancy Burb idge w h o w a s Pres ident of t h e Associa t ion . In later years it came to be re ferred to as t h e Mt Kel ly Nat ional Park proposal . In 1979 w h e n t h e proposal was recog­n ised it w a s e n l a r g e d t o be n a m e d t h e G u d g e n b y Nature Reserve. S u b s e q u e n t l y t h e area was incor­pora ted in to Namadg i Nat ional Park.

John Langmore, Kevin Frawley (making a speech). Robert Story and Fiona Brand at the Yerrabi Track opening. Photograph by Reg Alder

On top Photograph bv J<m Barrett

Namadgi Not ional* Park Reg Alder

Pigeon House 1954

The two pho tog raphs are f rom a t r ip to P igeon House Moun ta in by the Catho l ic B u s h w a l k i n g C lub of Syd­ney in Easter 1954. The party came in by taxis f rom Mi l ton and camped on the C lyde River The mounta in was a day's walk f rom the camp. The present access road for the s tandard tr ip to P igeon House may have been there at this t ime but was not used. O n e of the partic­ipants to this c l imb of Pigeon House in the days before ladders were ins ta l led was NPA member Pat Tot terde l l Pat is p i c tu red next in l ine for the ch imney ascent and in the fo reg round but look ing to her right in the summi t pho tog raph .

Repeat s o m e t h i n g o f ten enough , d isp lay signs, print pamph le ts etc. a n d i n t i m e i t w i l l b e c o m e accep ted as a fact. M e m b e r s shou ld not be de luded into th ink ing that Namadg i is a nat iona l park.

The ini t ia l a m e n d m e n t to the ACT Nature Conservation Ordinance 1980, cover ing managemen t p lans and p rocedures for revocat ion of the reserve, af ter a lengthy gest­at ion of many years was induced in a shor t per iod of e ight days after the House of Representa t i ves S tand ing C o m m i t t e e on the Envir­onment p resen ted their report on the managemen t of Namadg i to Par l iament on 1 A Oc tober 1 986 . An amaz ing feat. A fur ther a m e n d m e n t was made to the Nature Conserv­at ion Ord inance on 23 January 1 987 .

The S tand ing Commi t t ee in their r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s recogn ised the weaknesses of the legis lat ive pro­tec t ion of the park in an o rd inance and r e c o m m e n d e d that Namadg i be dec la red under the Nat ional Parks and Wi ld l i fe Conserva t ion Act w i th the powers of admin is t ra­t ion under th is Act de lega ted f rom the D i rec tor of the A N P W S to our Parks and Conserva t ion Service.

In the Ord inance , Namadg i is desc r ibed as ' the reserved area

known as Namadg i Nat iona l Park'. The Ord inance only has prov is ion for reserves and these are g iven a name by the Minisler. The Common­wea l th cou ld not have two p ieces of leg is la t ion to regu la te nat ional parks. Hence , in sp i te of its name, it is no th ing more than a reserve and any part or the who le of it can be revoked by the Min is ter pub l ish ing a no t i ce in the Gazet te . The Ord in­ance now seeks, in theamendments , to g ive p ro tec t ion to 'ad hoc' revoc­at ion by regu i r ing a not ice in the Gazet te to be laid before both Houses of Par l iament for f i f teen days, w h e n dur ing th is per iod it may be d isa l lowed. However, under the Act, revocat ion, after f i f teen days not ice, regu i res a reso lu t ion of both Houses of Par l iament . This ac t ion br ings the matter to the not ice of the publ ic and encou rages deba te rather than au tomat ic approva l a long wi th a large number of o ther regu la t ion and o rd inance amend ­ments.

The p ro tec t ion of Namadg i in the Ord inance is not ional in the ext reme un less some o ther party can exer­c ise a cast ing vote. The poss ib i l i ty of t he par ty in gove rnmen t in i t ia t ing a mot ion to d isa l low some of its own leg is la t ion is most unl ikely.

The p rocedures for the approva l

of t h e present o r d i n a n c e a m e n d ­m e n t s of fer a g o o d example of how d i f f icu l t i t w o u l d be t o have a n o r d ­inance d isa l lowed . A m e n d m e n t s t o t h e Nature Conservat ion Ord inance are m a d e u n d e r the Seat of Govern­ment Act 1 9 1 0 a n d are serial ly n u m ­bered annual ly to that Act. The a m ­endment da ted 22 October 1986 w a s d e e m e d w i t h other papers to have b e e n p r e s e n t e d b e f o r e Parlia­ment on 23 O c t o b e r 1986 . In t h e p r e s e n t e d f o r m it a l ready had t h e approval of t h e Min is ter for Territ­ories, t h e Federal Execut ive Counci l and t h e Governor Genera l . The c h a n c e s of it be ing d isa l lowed after f i f teen days are remote.

T h e a m e n d m e n t s are not index­ed in Hansard or d e b a t e d in Parl­iament. In approva l t h e y are j o i n e d w i th a large n u m b e r of o t h e r papers as sundry regu la t ions etc. for app­roval at t h e exp i ra t ion of t h e per iod of tab l ing . The f irst a m e n d m e n t appeared on t h e last page of t h e Dai ly Hansard on t h e last day of a s i t t ing per iod of the H o u s e as 'Seat of G o v e r n m e n t (Administrat ion) Ac t -Ord inances -1986 , No 65 -Na ture Conservat ion (Amendment) . There is noth ing to ind ica te tha t it even re lates t o t h e ACT. Moreover , even if y o u w e r e an avid reader of Hansard or the Gazet te it w o u l d serve no purpose s ince w h a t has been d o n e is most un l ike ly to be d isa l lowed .

Possib le c h a n g e s t o N a m a d g i w h i c h c o u l d be p e r m i t t e d (even a l lowing for a vigi lant Consu l ta t ive Commi t tee w h i c h has no legal basis to in f luence a Min ister 's opin ion) w i th l itt le publ ic not ice by a Minister, or on a c h a n g e of g o v e r n m e n t are many. T h e s e c o u l d i n c l u d e restor­a t ion of t h e graz ing leases in t h e Orrora l , Gudgenbyand Naas valleys, ex tens ion and upgrad ing of t h e r o a d systems, t h e b u i l d i n g of s k i runs and fac i l i t ies a long t h e Br ind-abel la Range, t h e rout ing of h igh vo l tage p o w e r l ines, t h e bu i ld ing of c o n c e s s i o n a l rec rea t ion fac i l i t i es for private profit, forestry operat ions and so on .

Let us not t h i n k w e have a nat­iona l park w i t h t h e fu l lest p ro tec t ion avai lable; w e have a reserve w i t h l imited protect ion await ing changes. Its sanct i ty is at t h e w h i m of a Min ister , w h o by a n o t i c e in t h e Gazet te may revoke any part or even all of our so ca l led 'nat ional park'.

• N O T I O N A L (Of t h i n g etc.) Exist ing on ly in t h o u g h t . Imaginary. (O.E.D.).

The Footpath Question

Now tha t t h e Yerrabi Track has been c o m p l e t e d it might perhaps be t ime ly f o r m e m b e r s of our Assoc­iat ion t o c o n s i d e r w h e t h e r more f o o t p a t h s in Namadg i w o u l d be desirable .

The Yerrab i Track is d e s i g n e d to e n c o u r a g e m e m b e r s of t h e pub l ic to t ake a s h o r t walk in order t o look out over t h e Namadg i area f rom an except iona l ly g o o d v iewpoint . O n e hopes that th is wi l l e n c o u r a g e greater pub l ic awareness and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of Namadgi and increase t h e n u m b e r s of those w h o apprec ia te i ts value. Such interest , once a w a k e n e d , may perhaps he lp to protect Namadgi f rom any threat­en ing despo l i a t ion in t h e future .

But t o w h a t ex tent s h o u l d o ther f o o t p a t h s be a f e a t u r e of Namadgi?

Foo tpa ths must cause s o m e d a m a g e even if it is very minor. T h e y n e c e s s i t a t e s igns of h u m a n in t rus ion w h i c h s o m e may cons ider ob jec t ionab le . Reasonably c o m ­pe ten t w a l k e r s w h o are capab le of us ing maps d o not n e e d t h e m .

O n t h e o t h e r hand , w e have t o recognise that many potent ia l walk­ers are exceed ing ly t im id about ventur ing into the bush. They regard t h e bush - any th ing w o o d e d or u n c u l t i v a t e d - as m y s t e r i o u s a n d th rea ten ing . They may not possess maps or k n o w how to use t h e m or be fami l iar w i th Graeme Barrow's exce l lent l i t t le book on fami ly walks . Desp i te t h e i r l im i ta t ions w e sure ly need to e n c o u r a g e such potent ia l wa lkers to fami l iar ise themse lves w i th t h e c o u n t r y s i d e a n d not to be d e p e n d e n t on g u i d e d tours . As they g a i n c o n f i d e n c e so s h o u l d the i r d e p e n d e n c e on marked t racks and f o o t p a t h s d imin ish .

I am not s u g g e s t i n g tha t Namad­gi s h o u l d be c r iss -c rossed w i th marked f o o t p a t h s lead ing t o every peak a n d val ley but I do t h i n k that there is a n e e d for a reasonable var iety of g o o d , c lear ly marked day wa lks of vary ing lengths w h i c h a fami ly or g r o u p can under take w i t h ­o u t d i f f icul ty on a self g u i d e d basis.

Types of footpaths must vary wi th t h e ter ra in but there has to be a s i g n b o a r d at t h e s ta r t ing point . It should provide a concise descript ion of t h e pa th i l lus t ra ted by a s imple s k e t c h map. If t h e path is a f o r m e d one, as in t h e case of Yerrabi , not

Alastair Morrison

much more is n e e d e d apart f rom supplementary s ignboards point ing o u t s p e c i a l f ea tures .

If t h e path fo l lows an o ld road or a f i re t rack there must be supp le ­mentary s ignboards at any j u n c t i o n or turn-of f and it is impor tan t that they s h o u l d point in both d i rect ions . In w o o d e d areas or m e a d o w l a n d , if there is no f o r m e d f o o t p a t h , t h e essent ia l t h i n g must be tha t f r o m one s i g n b o a r d or o ther mark ing , you can a lways c lear ly see bo th t h e next one and t h e p r e c e d i n g one . How th is s h o u l d be d o n e is o p e n t o debate . Personally, I favour smal l dabs of pa int on t rees , rocks or posts. The paint wi l l w e a t h e r away as a f o r m e d foo tpa th deve lops . S ignboards are on ly n e e d e d at key t u r n i n g points .

By these cr i ter ia t h e s i g n p o s t s e r e c t e d by t h e Park admin is t ra t ion are of l imi ted value. They are of modes t d i m e n s i o n s and d o l i t t le more than point in a d i rec t ion a n d say "Thataway"! The un in i t i a ted may have l i t t le idea w h e r e he wil l f ind the next s ignpost . They are so unobt rus ive that w h e n my w i fe and I recent ly wa lked up the new Brandy Flat path f rom Glenda le Cross ing w e met a c o u p l e w h o had m e a n ­dered off t h e t rack af ter miss ing t h e initial signpost. An entire NPA out ing once w a l k e d past th is par t icu lar s ignpost w i thou t a s ing le part ic­ipant no t ic ing it.

I realise that my suggest ions may be a n a t h e m a to s o m e va lued fe l low m e m b e r s of our Assoc ia t ion but I th ink, if t h e y ref lect on t h e subject , they wi l l see that they may be in s o m e d a n g e r of fa l l ing in to t h e t rap of e l i t ism. I s u g g e s t that m e m b e r s g ive the Bul le t in t h e benef i t of the i r v iews and, if in favour, make s u g g ­est ions for su i tab le w a l k s b o t h on t h e eastern and w e s t e r n s ides of Namadgi , s tar t ing f r o m po in ts on veh icu lar access roads. The poss­ibi l i t ies are n u m e r o u s , especia l ly if one i n c l u d e s wa lks ca l l ing for a car shut t le , that is wa lks s tar t ing and f in ishing at d i f ferent po ints . If I might set t h e ball ro l l ing, I w o u l d s u g g e s t the fo l lowing:

* Extens ion of t h e Yerrab i T rack f r o m t h e t r i g p o i n t t o H o s p i t a l H i l l and t h e n d o w n to L i t t le Dry C r e e k a n d so back t o t h e s ta r t ing po int o n

the Boboyan Road. Such a round walk w o u l d be more in teres t ing than simply fol lowing the same route in both d i rec t ions.

- A walk round the top of the Bob­oyan H i l l /Pheasant Hil l massif to the s i te of the old Boboyan Home­s tead, s tar t ing and end ing at the park ing p lace on the road.

* A shut t le walk f rom the Boboyan H o m e s t e a d road park ing area, up t h e l i n e o f t h e o l d road that once ran f rom the H o m e s t e a d to Brad leys C r e e k o n t h e Yaouk side, but turn ing off to fo l low Back Creek down to the Boboyan Road.

* Ano the r shut t le f rom the tower above Honeysuck le Creek, a long the top of the esca rpmen t above the Orrora l V a l l e y a n d pass ing Emu Flat, to the locked gate on the Smokers Trai l . This is the sort of walk that w o u l d cal l for paint mark­ings.

I hope that the fo rego ing may p romo te a l i t t le usefu l d i scuss ion in wh ich members of the Park admin ­is t rat ion shou ld fee l f ree to part­ic ipate. Our Assoc ia t ion does exce l len t work in o rgan is ing wel l led ou t ings , but I fee l that we shou ld be do ing a l i t t le more to e n c o u r a g e would-be walkers to gam knowledge and exper ience of Namadgi by doing their o w n th ing , and do ing it w i thou t ge t t i ng lost, and in t imes of the i r own choos ing .

Photograph bv Russ Kettord

Bush Bottoms Pam Kettord

On Saturday 16 May, Ian Haynes ' NPA g roup met wi th Laure l Lowe's Gou lburn Fie ld Natura l is t g roup (a total of twenty- two) at Gou lbu rn Court House, for the dr ive out to Greenw ich Park. Here we were met by Ernie S tephenson and his two daughters. Ages of [he group ranged f rom t e e n a g e r s to over seventy years.

Ernie led the cars about six ki lo­met res to his proper ty , Bush Bott­oms, wh ich is part of the M e g a l o n g Cong lomera te (parts can also be seen at Talk ing) The c o n g l o m e r a t e is es t ima ted lo be 3 0 0 mi l l ion years old, and is ot great interest lo univer-

PhOt^grjpl) by fii/^s Kvtlnrd

sity g roups and geo log is ts . After park ing the cars on the

proper ty , we wa lked about two and a half k i lometres, and near ing the lunch spot passed th rough ferny, mossy areas, and high, pale grey cong lomera te rock fo rmat ions wh ich were th ick ly e m b e d d e d wi th water worn pebbles. Ern ie had gone ahead wi th a smal l g roup in his truck, and had the bil ly bo i l ing (kerosene t in size) when the rest of us arr ived. We had an ear ly lunch wi th numerous cups of tea.

A f te ra relaxing lunch break, Ernie led us a round the wes te rn base of the rocks, po in t ing out lyrebi rd nests on some rocky ledges. Rock l i l ies cou ld be seen h igh up in crev­ices. The c o n g l o m e r a t e fo rmat ions were o f ten coneshaped ; some fo rmed large caverns; o thers had w ind / ram holes worn in them; and some rock faces had de te r io ra ted , show ing a t t rac t ive paste l co lours . At the nor thern end of the proper ty we c a m e to ano ther g roup of inter­est ing c o n e s h a p e d rocks, f rom whe re we had ex tens ive v iews to the nor th and west. W h e n a f ternoon tea was over, we re tu rned to the lunch spot by a d i f ferent route, sc rambl ing down off the rock form­at ions we had wa lked under shor t ly after lunch.

We no t iced that many nat ive shrubs were in bud, inc lud ing leuc-opogon , wat t les , boron ia and caly-trix, all of wh ich shou ld make a good show in spr ing.

7 / 8 N o v e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (5) C o r o n e t P e a k Ref : R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k 1 :25 0 0 0

• L e a d e r : F r a n k C l e m e n t s 3 1 7 0 0 5 C o n t a c t l e a d e r b e f o r e W e d n e s d a y fo r de ta i ls of th is e x p l o r a t o r y w a l k to C o r o n e t Peak, c a m p i n g o n t h e h i g h g r o u n d of the R o c k Flat a rea . 100 k m d r i v e .

7 N o v e m b e r - S a t u r d a y F l o w e r W a l k (A) M o n g a Ref : B a t e m a n s B a y S t a t e F o r e s t s L e a d e r : K a r i n H a y n e s 51 4 7 6 2 M e e t at B r a i d w o o d s w i m m i n g poo l at 0 8 3 0 , t h e n dr ive to M o n g a . At t h i s t ime of t h e y e a r t h e w a r a t a h s - M o n g a e n s i s - s h o u l d be w e l l in to b l o o m . The t r i p i s w e l l w o r t h the 1 6 0 k m dr ive . Severa l l o c a t i o n s wi l l be c h e c k e d o u t in t h e area. Br ing l u n c h .

6 N o v e m b e r - S u n d a y D u a l W a l k ( C / B ) H a r d y R a n g e , C o t t e r HID, P i p e l i n e R o a d

Ref: C o t t e r D a m , T t d b l n b l l l a 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r s : C h a r l e s HIM 9 5 8 9 2 4 , S h i r l e y L e w i s 9 5 2 7 2 0 M e e t at the c o r n e r of C o t t e r R o a d a n d E u c u m b e n e Dr ive at 0 8 3 0 . M o r e d e m a n d i n g a n d var ied w a l k is up a n d a l o n g H a r d y Range , d e s c e n d i n g s t e e p l y over C o t t e r Hi l l . M o s t l y off t r a c k s w i t h t a n g l e d s c r u b at t i m e s . 1 S k m walk , m a i n c l i m b of 2 0 0 m e t r e s w i t h ups a n d d o w n s on t h e R a n g e . Less d e m a n d i n g wa lk is a l o n g P ipe l ine Road to t h e foot of C o t t e r Hill . 14 k m w a l k w i t h u p s a n d d o w n s , s t e e p l s h at t i m e s . Both w a l k s r e t u r n a l o n g P ipe l ine R o a d w i t h g o o d v i e w s a n d w i l d f lowers . 3 5 k m dr ive.

1 3 / 1 4 / 1 5 N o v e m b e r - S k i L o d g e W e e k e n d C h a r l o t t e P a s s P a s s Ref: K o s c i u s k o 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : I a n H a y n e s 5 1 4 7 6 2 A r r i v e Fr iday e v e n i n g or by 0 9 0 0 S a t u r d a y m o r n i n g . Do y o u r o w n t h i n g , jo in an o r g a n i s e d w a l k or just relax. B r i n g s h e e t s , p i l l ow s l ips {or s l e e p i n g b a g s ) and f o o d (cook y o u r own) . P lease c o n t a c t leader b y 3 N o v e m b e r t o c o n f i r m b o o k i n g s . NPA m e m b e r s only. 4 2 0 k m dr ive .

1 4 / 1 5 N o v e m b e r - P a c k W a l k ( 3 / 5 ) B o g o n g P e a k s Ref: T a l b i n g o , Y a r r a n g o b i l l y 1 :25 0 0 0 L e a d e n G a r t h A b e r c r o m b i e 8 1 4 9 0 7 C o n t a c t l e a d e r b y W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of y e t a n o t h e r e x p l o r a t o r y w a l k in the B o g o n g Peaks a r e a a t t h e n o r t h e r n e n d of t h e K o s c i u s k o Nat iona l Park. E x p e c t s o m e t h l c k s c r u b , rock s c r a m b l i n g w i t h c l i m b s of 6 0 0 m e t r e s . 3 6 0 km dr ive.

1 7 N o v e m b e r - T u e s d a y W a l k ( A / C ) Booroomba R o c k s Ref: A C T 1 M O O 0 0 0 L e a d e r : O l i v e B u c k m a n 4 8 8 7 7 4 M e e t at K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 9 0 0 . A 9 k m w a l k a l o n g t h e f i r e t ra i l , t rack a n d s o m e s c r u b t o a h i g h p o i n t w i th e x t e n s i v e 3 6 0 d e g r e e v i e w s f rom a n a r e a of g r a n i t e o u t c r o p s . A c l i m b of 3 0 0 m e t r e s . 5 0 k m dr ive .

2 1 / 2 2 N o v e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (2) W e s t e r n B u d a w a n g s Ref : C M W B u d a w a n g s L e a d e r : P h i l i p G a t e n b y 5 4 3 0 9 4 C o n t a c t l e a d e r b y W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of t h i s w a l k in f r o m W o g W o g , m o s t l y o n t r a c k s , t o s o m e w h e r e near t h e C o r a n g River. T ime f o r s w i m m i n g , w e a t h e r p e r m i t t i n g . 3 0 0 k m dr ive .

2 1 N o v e m b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k <C> S t o c k y a r d S p u r / B l a c k S p r i n g s

Ref: C o r i n D a m , T l d b i n b i l l a 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r s : K e v i n T o t t e r d e l l 8 1 4 4 1 0 , I a n H a y n e s 5 1 4 7 6 2 C o n t a c t l e a d e r s b y W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of th is w a l k f r o m C o r l n D a m to S t o c k y a r d Spur , B l a c k S p r i n g s a n d F ish ing Gap. A c a r s h u f f l e b e t w e e n F i s h i n g G a p car park a n d C o r i n D a m is r e q u i r e d . A d e m a n d i n g d a y s ' w a l k of 1 6 k m , w i t h a c l l m b o f 5 3 0 m e t r e s in t h e f i r s t 1.5 k m . M o s t l y o n t r a c k s , b u t s o m e s c r u b b a s h i n g . Th is w a l k is n o t fo r b e g i n n e r s . 1 2 0 k m dr ive .

2 2 N o v e m b e r - S u n d a y W a l k (B) B o b o y a n H i l l Ref: Y a o u k 1 :25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : B e v e r l e y H a m m o n d 8 8 6 5 7 7 Meet at K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 9 0 0 . A p l e a s a n t 12 k m walk , b e g i n n i n g w i th a gradua l c l i m b of 2 0 0 met res t h r o u g h o p e n b u s h l a n d to B o b o y a n Hi l l . D e s c e n d t o Bul ls Flat C r e e k t h e n j o i n the O l d B o b o y a n R o a d , p a s s i n g r u i n e d h o m e s t e a d , 1 2 0 k m dr ive .

2 5 N o v e m b e r - W e d n e s d a y W a l k (A) Rollys s H u t Ref : R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k , C o r l n D a m 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : R o b e r t S t o r y 8 1 2 1 7 4 C o n t a c t l eader for d e t a i l s of th is w a l k t o a h u t in the Or ro ra l Val ley. 100 k m dr ive.

2 7 / 2 8 / 2 9 N o v e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (4) B r l n d a b e t l a / M t F r a n k l i n / M t Aggie

Ref: B r l n d a b e l l a 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r s : K e n J o h n s o n 4 8 5 9 7 9 , I a n H a y n e s 5 1 4 7 6 2 C o n t a c t l e a d e r s by 2 0 N o v e m b e r fo r d e t a i l s of t h i s w a l k f r o m ' K o o r a b r i ' up t o Mt F rank l in t h e n r e t u r n i n g v ia Mt Agg ie . Fr iday n i g h t wi l l be s p e n t in c a b i n s at K o o r a b r i so tha t an ear ly s tar t c a n be m a d e o n Sa turday . 1 5 0 k m dr ive . S o m e m a y w i s h t o Join us a n d m a k e a S u n d a y w a l k d o w n to t h e val ley.

2 8 N o v e m b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k (B) S t o c k y a r d C r e e k Ref : C o r l n D a m 1 :25 0 0 0 L e a d e n K e v i n F r a w l e y 8 2 3 0 8 0 M e e t a t t h e c o r n e r of E u c u m b e n e Dr ive a n d C o t t e r R o a d a t 0 8 3 0 . Visit a r b o r e t u m w h i c h is t h e h i g h e s t r e m a i n i n g in t h e ACT, see t h e ear ly w i l d f l o w e r s . S u i t a b l e fo r fami l ies . 1 2 0 k m dr ive .

6 D e c e m b e r - S u n d a y M o r n i n g W a l k N a t i o n a l B o t a n i c G a r d e n s Ref : C a n b e r r a S t r e e t M a p L e a d e r : B a r r i e H a d l o w 8 8 1 1 6 8 C o n t a c t l e a d e r a s n u m b e r s l im i ted . NPA m e m b e r s only . S t ro l l a r o u n d part ot the B o t a n i c a l G a r d e n s . V iew t h e f l o w e r s a n d p o s s i b l y t h e g l a s s h o u s e s . P e o p l e may c h o o s e to s tay a n d have l u n c h in t h e g a r d e n s .

1 3 D e c e m b e r - A n n u a l C h r i s t m a s P a r t y O r r o r a l Ref : A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : P r e s i d e n t M e e t at Or ro ra l p icn ic g r o u n d s at 1 5 0 0 fo r NPA C h r i s t m a s party . M e m b e r s a n d f r i e n d s w e l c o m e .

A d v a n c e W a l k N o t i c e S p r i n g 1 9 8 8 T h e F l i n d e r s R a n g e s A n y o n e i n t e r e s t e d in w a l k i n g in th is area c o n t a c t O u t i n g s C o n v e n o r .

POINTS TO NOTE

New f a c e s t o lead, n e w p l a c e s to g o ! P l e a s e h e l p t o k e e p o u r O u l i n g s P r o g r a m al ive b y v o l u n t e e r i n g to l ead a w a l k o c c a s i o n a l l y . C o n t a c t W a l k s C o n v e n o r Ian H a y n e s o n 51 4 7 6 2 (h).

* * + * * •

All p e r s o n s j o i n i n g an o u t i n g of t h e N a t i o n a l Parks A s s o c i a t i o n of the A.C.T. d o so as v o l u n t e e r s in all r e s p e c t s a n d as s u c h a c c e p t s o l e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for any in jury h o w s o e v e r i n c u r r e d a n d t h e N a t i o n a l P a r k s A s s o c i a t i o n of t h e A.C.T., i t s o t t i c e bearers a n d a p p o i n t e d l e a d e r s a re a b s o l v e d f r o m any l iab i l i ty in r e s p e c t of a n y in ju ry or d a m a g e s u f f e r e d wh i ls t e n g a g e d in any s u c h o u t i n g .

The C o m m i t t e e s u g g e s t s a d o n a t i o n of FIVE c e n t s per k i l o m e t r e ( c a l c u l a t i o n t o neares t dol lar ) be o f fe red t o t h e dr iver by e a c h p a s s e n g e r a c c e p t i n g t ransport . Drive and w a l k d i s t a n c e s q u o t e d in t h e P r o g r a m are for a p p r o x i m a t e r e t u r n j o u r n e y s .

OUTINGS PROGRAM

September - December 1987

O U T I N G S G U I D E Day W a l k s - Carry l u n c h , d r i n k s & p r o t e c t i v e c l o t h i n g P a c k W a l k s - T w o o r m o r e d a y s , c a r r y a l l f o o d a n d c a m p i n g

r e q u i r e m e n t s . C O N T A C T L E A D E R BY W E D N E S D A Y . Car C a m p s - O f t e n l i m i t e d or no fac i l i t i es . V e h i c l e s t a k e n to s i te c a n

b e u s e d lo r c a m p i n g . B O O K W I T H L E A D E R EARLY. O t h e r ac t i v i t i es i n c l u d e N a t u r e Rambles , F ie ld G u i d e S t u d i e s , Ski Tours, S n o w Craf ts , T r e e M a i n t e n a n c e a n d o t h e r p r o j e c t s .

DAY W A L K S - G R A D I N G A Up t o 15 km, m a i n l y o n t r a c k s or lo res t roads , re la t ive ly flat t e r ra in

or s h o r t e r d i s t a n c e s t h r o u g h t r a c k l e s s o p e n b u s h l a n d . B Up to 2 0 k m , ma in ly o n t r a c k s or s h o r t e r w a l k s t h r o u g h t r a c k l e s s

o p e n b u s h . C As fo r 'B' may i n c l u d e r o u g h e r t e r ra in , i.e. heavy scrub , rock

h o p p i n g or s c r a m b l i n g or s t e e p te r ra in . D Up t o 3 0 k m , re la t ive ly easy t e r r a i n or less over t r a c k l e s s or s t e e p

te r ra in .

P A C K W A L K S - G R A D I N G 1 Up t o 14 km a day over re la t ive ly easy te r ra in . 2 Up t o 2 0 km a day, may Involve l o n g a s c e n t s . 3 As for '2 ' may i n c l u d e r o u g h e r t e r ra in , le, h e a v y s c r u b , rock

h o p p i n g or s c r a m b l i n g . 4 S t r e n u o u s l o n g d i s t a n c e or m u c h s t e e p c l i m b i n g or very d i f f i cu l t

te r ra in . 5 E x p l o r a t o r y in a n a r e a u n f a m i l i a r t o t h e leader .

A d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n wi l l be c o n t a i n e d in t h e a c t u a l w a l k s p r o g r a m . If n e c e s s a r y c o n t a c t leader .

5 / 6 S e p t e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (2 ) N a a s C r e e k Ref: C o l i n t o n 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : J a c k S m a r t 4 8 8 1 7 1 C o n t a c t leader b e f o r e W e d n e s d a y tor d e t a i l s of t h i s wa lk f r o m t h e car p a r k t o S h a n a h a n s M o u n t a i n d o w n R e e d y C r e e k to N a a s C r e e k S t e e p c l i m b s . 140 k m d r i v e .

5 / 6 S e p t e m b e r - S k i W e e k e n d (2) T a b l e T o p M o u n t a i n Ref: M t S e l w y n S k i T o u r M a p L e a d e r : S t e v e n F o r s t 5 7 3 3 0 4 C o n t a c t l eader by W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of t h i s w e e k e n d tour, c a m p i n g i n / a t / n e a r B r o k e n D a m Hut. N u m b e r s l imi ted . 4 5 0 k m drive.

5 S e p t e m b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k (C) M t C l e a r R e f : A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : K e v i n T o t t e r d e l l 8 1 4 1 1 0 Meet in Ket t S t ree t b e s i d e K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 8 0 0 . A wa lk of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 12 km p a r t l y o n t racks, ma in ly o p e n s c r u b w i t h 6 0 0 m e t r e c l i m b . 140 k m d r i v e .

9 S e p t e m b e r - W e d n e s d a y W a l k (A) G u d g e n b y H u t Ref: A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : R o b e r t S t o r y 8 1 2 1 7 4 Meet at K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 8 3 0 for th is wa lk to o n e of the ' M o u n t a i n H u t s ' in the G u d g e n b y area. 1 0 0 k m dr ive.

1 1 / 1 2 / 1 3 S e p t e m b e r - C a r C a m p B u n d a n o o n Ref: B u n d a n o o n 1 :25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : I an C u r r i e 9 5 8 1 1 2 Arr ive Fr iday or S a t u r d a y . B u n d a n o o n s p r i n g f lowers . B u s h e l s of B o r o n i a . p e c k s of Pea F l o w e r s , oz of 0 2 Z , g l o w w o r m s . A D.I.Y. w e e k e n d . P lease c o n t a c t l e a d e r by W e d n e s d a y as n u m b e r s are l i m i t e d 3 2 0 k m dr ive

1 3 S e p t e m b e r - S u n d a y W a l k ( B ) N u r s e r y H i l l Ref: R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k 1:25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : N e v i l l e E s a u 8 6 4 1 7 6 M e e t at K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 8 3 0 . A 12 km walk, no I racks. s o m e s c r u b , w i th a 3 5 0 m e t r e c l imb. 9 0 km drive.

1 3 S e p t e m b e r - S u n d a y S k i D a y P e r i s h e r R e f : P e r i s h e r S k i T o u r M a p L e a d e r : G w e n H a r t i c a n 8 1 3 6 2 2 C o n l a c t leader ear ly for d e t a i l s of th is c r o s s c o u n l r y sk i day f r o m P e r i s h e r t o M t W h e a t l e v . l l l a w o n a a n d re tu rn . F ina l v e n u e d e p e n d s o n snow. S o m e e x p e r i e n c e necessary . N u m b e r s l imited. 500 km drive.

1 5 S e p t e m b e r - T u e s d a y W a l k (A) G i b r a l t a r F a l l s Ref: A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : T r e v o r P l u m b 8 1 3 2 5 8 Meet at c o r n e r of E u c u m b e n e Drive a n d C o t t e r Road at 0 9 3 0 . Drive to W o o d s Reserve Ihen w a l k u p t o G i b r a l t a r Falls a n d re turn . A 4 k m wa lk r e t u r n i n g to the c a r s f o r lunch. 9 0 k m dr ive.

1 5 S e p t e m b e r - O u t i n g s S u b c o m m i t t e e M e e t i n g 21 R o b e r t s S t r e e t , M a c q u a r i e L e a d e r : I an H a y n e s 51 4 7 6 2 Meet at 1 9 3 0 w i th i d e a s a n d de ta i ls of o u t i n g s for D e c e m b e r . J a n u a r y a n d February .

19 /20 S e p t e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (4) W h i t e R o c k / Y a n k e e s C r e e k R e f : Y a n k e e s G a p 1:25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : P b i l i p J i a t e n b y 5 4 3 0 9 4 C o n t a c t leader by W e d n e s d a y foi d e t a i l s of this walk m W a d b i l l i g a N a t i o n a l Park. M o s t l y o l t t r a c k s , some s t e e p c l imbs . 4 0 0 k m dr ive

1 9 / 2 0 S e p t e m b e r - S k i W e e k e n d ( 1 / 2 ) P e r i s h e r / K i a n d r a R e f : P e r i s h e r / M t S e l w y n S k i T o u r M a p s L e a d e r : N i c k G a s c o l g n e 5 1 5 5 5 0 C o n l a c t leader ear ly for d e t a i l s of Ihis s k i t o u r i n g / c a m p i n g w e e k e n d N u m b e r s l imi ted a n d v e n u e d e p e n d s o n snow.

1 9 S e p t e m b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k (A /B ) C o t t e r R o c k s Ref: R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k 1:25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : S t e v e n F o r s t 5 7 3 3 0 4 M e e t at K a m b a h V i l l age s h o p s at 0 8 0 0 . A l o n g wa lk t h r o u g h Orrora l Val ley a l o n g f ire t ra i ls a n d a br id le p a t h , easy g r a d e s to the r o c k s a b o v e C o t t e r Gap. G o o d v i e w s and an i n t e r e s t i n g rock l o r m a t i o n . 2 0 k m wa lk , 5 5 0 m e t r e c l i m b a n d 100 k m dr ive.

Ref: G o u l b u r n 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0

2 0 S e p t e m B ^ ^ S u n d a y W a l k (A) O r r o r a l V a l l e y Ref: C o r i n D a m 1 :25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : S h i r l e y L e w i s 9 5 2 7 2 0 C o n t a c t l e a d e r for d e t a i l s of th is 16 k m w a l k a l o n g t r a c k s a n d o p e n f o r e s l u p t h e O r r o r a l Va l ley w i t h l u n c h near Sawpi t Creek . V i r tua l ly n o c l i m b i n g . A s u i t a b l e w a l k f o r t h o s e w h o l ike t o s t r e t c h t h e i r l e g s but d o n ' t l i k e hi l ls . 100 km dr ive.

2 0 S e p t e m b e r - S u n d a y M o r n i n g W a l k (A) B l a c k M o u n t a i n Ref: C a n b e r r a S t r e e t M a p L e a d e r . G e o r g e C h i p p e n d a l e 8 1 2 4 5 4 M e e l at B e l c o n n e n W a y E n t r a n c e at 0 9 3 0 . M o r n i n g r a m b l e to see the f l o w e r s , for t h o s e a g e d 4 to 80 . Br ing m o r n i n g tea. F i n i s h e s at m i d d a y .

2 6 S e p t e m b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k (A) B u s h B o t t o m s L e a d e r : K a r i n H a y n e s 51 4 7 6 2 C o n l a c t l e a d e r e a r l y i o r d e t a i l s of t h i s w a l k o n p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y t o s e e t h e s p r i n g f l o w e r s , w a t t l e a n d f a s c i n a t i n g g e o l o g y of the area. Bi l ly tea p r o v i d e d fo r l u n c h a n d B B O fac i l i t ies . Smal l fee, s h o r t easy w a l k 2 7 0 k m dr ive .

2 7 S e p t e m b e r - S u n d a y W a l k ( B / C ) T h e P i m p l e Ref: T i d b i n b i l l a 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : L y l e M a r k 8 6 2 8 0 1 Meet at c o r n e r of E u c u m b e n e Dr ive a n d C o t t e r R o a d at 0 8 1 5 . A 10 k m w a l k w i t h a c l i m b of 7 0 0 m e t r e s , par t ia l ly a l o n g C a m e l B a c k Fire Trai l t h e n t o T i d b i n b i l l a Peak and The P imple , r e t u r n i n g via T idbinbi l la M o u n t a i n a n d L y r e B i r d Spur . 7 0 km dr ive . U n s u i t a b l e for b e g i n n e r s .

3 / 4 / 5 O c t o b e r " p a c k W a l k ( 1 / 2 ) G u d g e n b y / S a m s C r e e k / C a l o o l a

Ref: R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k , Y a o u k 1:25 0 0 0 L e a d e r : L e s P y k e 8 1 2 9 8 2 C o n t a c t l eader b y W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of th is wa lk in the s o u t h e r n part of N a m a d g i N a t i o n a l Park f r o m the p ine fo res l . a c r o s s l o Sams C r e e k Fire Tra i l a n d f i n i s h i n g at C a l o o l a Farm 100 km dr ive

3 / 4 / 5 O c t o b e r - P a c k W a l k ( 3 / 5 ) C o o l a n g u b r a S t a t e F o r e s t Ref : C o o l u m b o o l c a 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : E r i c P i c k e r i n g 8 6 2 1 2 8 C o n t a c t l e a d e r by W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of this wa lk in the threat ­e n e d C o o l a n g u b r a S l a t e F o r e s l Visi t water fa l ls a n d m o u n t a i n s b e l o r e the a r e a is l o g g e d (?). 5 0 0 k m dr ive.

1 0 O c t o b e r - S a t u r d a y B i r d W a l k J e r r a b o m b e r r a W e t l a n d s L e a d e r : M a l c o l m F y f e 5 4 3 3 i o M e e t at e n t r a n c e to b i r d w a t c h i n g area o n Dairy Flat Road at 0 8 0 0 . A lazy m o r n i n g w i t h the b i rds of the w e t l a n d s .

1 0 O c t o b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k ( A / B ) G o o g o n g D a m Ref: A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : P e t e r R o e g i 9 5 3 5 M e e t at W o o l w o r t h ' s Car Park. Q u e a n b e y a n at 0 8 0 0 . A 15 k m wa lk t h r o u g h G o o g o n g c a t c h m e n t area t a k i n g in L o n d o n B r i d g e Home­s tead , C u r l e y ' s Fal ls a n d s t e e p c l i m b to C o m p o C a n y o n Two river c r o s s i n g s , p o s s i b l e w e t feet , f i n i s h i n g at L o n d o n Br idge arch . Not for b e g i n n e r s . 5 0 k m dr ive .

11 O c t o b e r - S u n d a y W a l k (A) M t C l e a r Ref: A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : S t e v e n F o r s t 5 7 3 3 0 4 M e e t a t K a m b a h V i l l a g e s h o p s at 0 8 3 0 A1ler a l o n g dr ive, this is a p l e a s a n l river va l ley wa lk a l o n g the N a a s Rrver to Horse Gul ly Hut for l u n c h . 15 k m w a l k a n d 140 k m dr ive.

1 4 O c t o b e r - W e d n e s d a y W a l k (A) C a m p b e l l P a r k Ref: C a n b e r r a S t r e e t M a p L e a d e r s : S h e i l a K r u s e 4 8 6 1 0 4 , K e n J o h n s o n 4 8 5 9 7 9 M e e l at e n t r a n c e t o C a m p b e l l Park O f f i c e s at 1000 Park ing at n o r t h e r n e n d of ca r p a r k ( l e a d e r s w i l l d i rec t ) . A n e a s y m e a n d e r i n g Iwo h o u r r a m b l e t h r o u g h o p e n u n d u l a t i n g w o o d l a n d a l o n g 4 W D a n d a n i m a l t racks .

Ref: C a n b e r r a S t r e e t M a p

O c t o b e r - P a c k W a l k (112) B r i n d a b e l l a s R e f : A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r . R o b e r t S t o r y 8 1 2 1 7 4 C o n t a c t leader ear ly for de ta i ls of th is pack w a l k in t h e ' B r i n d a b e l l a s ' .

1 7 O c t o b e r - S a t u r d a y D u a l W a l k s (A & C) S m o k e r s F l a t R e f : C o r i n D a m 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r s : S o p h i e C a t o n 4 7 2 4 6 8 ; G r a h a m G u t t r i d g e 3 1 4 3 3 0 M e e t at K a m b a h Vi l lage s h o p s at 0 8 3 0 . T w o w a l k s i n t o t h e S m o k e r s Flat area for l u n c h t h e n s e p a r a t i n g in to an e a s y w a l k r e t u r n i n g to c a r s w i t h S o p h i e a n d for t h e more e n e r g e t i c a h a r d r e l u r n w a l k a m o n g the g r a n i t e tors w i t h G r a h a m These w a l k s a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 7 km a n d 14 k m , w i t h 9 0 k m dr ive.

1 8 O c t o b e r - S u n d a y W a l k D e v i l s P e a k Ref: C o t t e r D a m 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : L e s P y k e 6 1 2 9 8 2 M e e l at c o r n e r of E u c u m b e n e Dr ive and C o t t e r R o a d a l 0 8 3 0 . A 10 km wa lk a l o n g the fire trai l f rom B l u n d e l l s F la t , w i t h a s t e e p 3 0 0 m e t r e c l i m b t o the peak. V iews of C a n b e r r a a n d s u r r o u n d s . 6 0 krr dr ive.

2 4 O c t o b e r - S a t u r d a y W a l k (C) P i e r c e s C r e e k F a l l s / C o t t e r H i l l

Ref: C o t t e r D a m , T i d b i n b i l l a 1 : 2 5 0 0 0 L e a d e r : L y l e M a r k 81 6 9 8 5 M e e t at the c o r n e r of E u c u m b e n e Drive a n d C o t t e r R o a d a t 0 8 3 0 . A 17 km wa lk main ly on t racks to P ierces C r e e k F a l l s a n d r e t u r n via C o t t e r Hi l l a n d B e n d o r a Pipe L ine track. G r e a t f o r p h o t o s . 6 0 k m dr ive.

2 5 O c t o b e r - S u n d a y W a l k (A) N u r s e r y S w a m p Ref: R e n d e z v o u s C r e e k 1 : 2 5 000 L e a d e r : D i a n n e T h o m p s o n 8 8 6 0 8 4 Meet at K a m b a h Vi l lage s h o p s at 0 9 3 0 . A w a l k o f a b o u t 1 0 k m o n a bush t rack f r o m Orrora l Val ley to Nursery S w a m p . 1 0 0 k m dr ive .

2 7 O c t o b e r - T u e s d a y W a l k (A) M t A i n s l i e F o o t h i l l s - H a c k e t t Ref: C a n b e r r a S t r e e t M a p L e a d e r s : S h e i l a K r u s e 4 8 6 1 0 4 , K e n J o h n s o n 4 8 5 9 7 9 . M e e t at the e n t r a n c e t o C a n b e r r a N a t u r e Park in M a c k e n z i e S t , n e a r the t o p of G r a y s o n St, at 1000. An easy 2 hour w a l k u p t h e 4 W D t r a c k to the w a t e r tank, a l o n g the s t r id ing r idge t o t h e p o w e r l i n e a n d re tu rn via the e q u e s t r i a n trai l to the s t a r t i n g p o i n t .

31 O c t o b e r / 1 N o v e m b e r - C a r C a m p S a n d y F l a t / M e r y l a Ref: B u n d a n o o n 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r s : R u s s K e f f o r d 2 6 2 6 3 1 a n d O u t i n g s C o n v e n o r C o n l a c t l eader b y W e d n e s d a y lor d e t a i l s of t h i s c a r c a m p i n t h e M o r t o n Nat iona l Park. C o m e and see the Mowers , w a r a t a h s , w a t e r ­fall a n d b i rds in the s u r r o u n d i n g area.

31 0 c t o b e r / 1 N o v e m b e r - P a c k W a l k (1) M t T a l a t e r a n g R e f : C M W B u d a w a n g s L e a d e r : S t e v e n F o r s t 5 7 3 3 0 4 C o n t a c t leader b e l o r e W e d n e s d a y for d e t a i l s of t h i s w a l k t o a less v i s i t e d h i g h p o i n t in Ihe B u d a w a n g s . Af ter a r e l a t i v e l y l a te s tar t , a shor t w a l k t o the c a m p site w i l h l u l l p a c k s

31 O c t o b e r - S a t u r d a y , M a p a n d C o m p a s s S k i l l s B l a c k M o u n t a i n R e f : A C T 1 : 1 0 0 0 0 0 L e a d e r : M a r g u s K a r i l a i d 8 2 4 1 1 8 N u m b e r s l i m i t e d . P lease c o n t a c t leader e a r l y fo r d e t a i l s of t h i s tu i t ion on m a p a n d c o m p a s s use. Inc luded is a m o r n i n g of m s t r u c l i o n f o l l o w e d by an a f te rnoon of f ie ld e x p e r i e n c e o n B l a c k M o u n t a i n .

1 N o v e m b e r - S u n d a y B i k e R i d e L a k e B u r l e y G r i f f i n / M t P l e a s a n t

Ref: C a n b e r r a ' s B i k e P a t h s a n d S t r e e t M a p L e a d e r : G a r y S c h n e i d e r 5 4 9 8 0 1 M e e t at A c l o n Ferry Termina l at 1 0 0 0 lor a b i k e r i d e via 'The L a k e s ' b ike p a t h s t h e n to D u n t r o o n a n d Mt P l e a s a n t . B r i n g l u n c h a n d p u n c t u r e repa i r kits.

OUTINGS PLANNING FORM This form is for leaders and in tend ing leaders t o submi t o u t i n g s ideas for t h e next p rogram, w h i c h covers t h e per iod D e c e m b e r to February. The next p rogram is be ing prepared in September .

Please t h i n k about t h e o u t i n g s you w o u l d l ike to lead, t h e n c o m p l e t e t h e fo rm and s e n d it to t h e O u t i n g s C o n v e n o r by 1 5 S e p t e m b e r .

O u t i n g / L o c a l i t y :

M a p Reference:

O u t i n g Date:

Al ternat ive Dates: (1)

(2)

Major A t t rac t ions (views , water fa l ls , forest , w i ld f lowers , etc)

Major Di f f icu l t ies (steep c l imbs, th ick bush , rock scrambl ing , c o m p u l s o r y sw im, etc)

Grade:

A s c e n t / D e s c e n t :

Total Wa lk ing Distance:

Total Dr iv ing Distance:

M e e t i n g Place and T ime

Leaders Name:

Leaders Contac t No:

A L S O USE THIS FORM FOR NATURAL HISTORY WALKS, L O O K AND LOITER WALKS, ETC.

.... met res

k i lometres

k i lometres

Planning And Management Of The Murrumbidgee River Corridor

Greg Hayes

The ACT Parks and Conservation Service is preparing a plan of man­agement for the Murrumbidgee River Corridor (MRC). It is expected that the plan wilt be available in draft form for public comments at the end of October this year. The Service is keen to involve organis­ations such as the NPA in prepar­ation of the final plan which will be published early next year. The con­tact of ficer for further information is Greg Hayes, Reserves Biologist, phone 46 2560.

T h e M u r r u m b i d g e e River f l o w s t h r o u g h t h e ACT for s ixty-s ix ki lo­met res f rom its entry point at Ang le Cross ing to a po int three k i lometres nor th of Uriarra Cross ing w h e r e the river re -enters New South Wales. The landscapes a long the river val ley are var ied a n d inc lude spec­tacular rocky gorges, ro l l ing rural p la ins a n d th ick ly w o o d e d hills.

Most Canber rans w o u l d be fam­iliar w i t h s o m e c o m p o n e n t s of t h e river corr idor . Surveys have s h o w n tha t o n a t y p i c a l s u m m e r S u n d a y u p to 10 ,000 peop le are a t t r a c t e d to recreat ion areas on t h e river w i th the most popular s i tes be ing Pine Island and the Cot te r /Casuar ina Sands a r e a The recreat ion d e m a n d can be e x p e c t e d to c o n t i n u e t o increase par t icu lar ly in areas ad­jacent to T u g g e r a n o n g .

However , t h e r e are many o ther va lues assoc ia ted w i th t h e river cor r idor a n d a c o n c e n t r a t i o n on recreat iona l issues ignores t h e raison d'etre for t h e e m e r g e n c e of the concept of a cont inuous corridor. !n t e r m s of natural values:

. The riverine environment provides habitat for a w ide range of migratory and res ident wi ld l i fe . Fish spec ies inc lude Murray Cod, Go lden Perch, Si lver Perch and Macquar ie Perch. The last is l isted as an Austra l ian e n d a n g e r e d species . The a u t u m n migra t ion of honeyea te rs a long t h e river cor r idor c o n s t i t u t e s one of t h e most dramat ic wi ld l i fe d isplays in t h e reg ion w i th up t o 10,000 birds per hour es t ima ted t o pass a g iven point.

. 1 3 0 bi rd s p e c i e s have been recorded in t h e MRC. Twenty spec­ies are par t icu lar ly assoc ia ted w i th

the r iver ine env i ronment inc lud ing the Rainbow Bee-eater and the Yell­ow Thornbi l l . The Painted Honey-eater re turns to the ACT region in November each year to c o i n c i d e w i th t h e f lower ing and f ru i t ing of a f o o d source, the mis t le toe paras i te of local casuar inas. . Important remnants of natural vege ta t ion exist in p o c k e t s a long t h e MRC inc lud ing r ipar ian s tands of t h e R i v e r O a C a s u a r i n a r / n a c u n n / n -ghamiana) and Manna G u m (Eucal­yptus viminalis). Four rare, threat­e n e d or e n d a n g e r e d plant s p e c i e s are also present , namely Discaria pubescens, Drabastrum alpestre, Pomaderris pallida and Thesium austraie.

The MRC has many cul tura l ass­oc ia t ions w i th the prehis tory and history of t h e ACT region. These range f rom i n c o n s p i c u o u s sca t te rs of Abor ig ina l s tone ar te facts to developed precincts such as Lanyon h o m e s t e a d and its s u r r o u n d i n g landscape. The Paddys River mines, De Salis cemetery , Wi l l iam Farrer's laboratory and the s tone wal l at T u g g e r a n o n g are just a few exam­ples of s i tes w i th in terest ing a n d educat ive h istor ical stor ies.

T h e M R C as a P l a n n i n g C o n c e p t The d e v e l o p m e n t of Tugger­

anong began in t h e early 1970 's and served to focus a t t e n t i o n on the impact of Canberra on the M u r r u m b i d g e e River.

The value of var ious landscapes assoc ia ted w i th t h e river had been g iven recogn i t ion prior to this t ime, part icular ly t h e rural l andscape and t h e Bul len Range w h i c h fo rms a backdrop to T u g g e r a n o n g . The e m e r g e n c e of t h e c o n c e p t of a c o n ­t i g u o u s river cor r idor in t h e ACT ref lected c o m m u n i t y interest in pro­tec t ing values assoc ia ted w i th the water body itself a n d t h e r iver ine envi ronment .

In 1981 the Par l iamentary J o i n t C o m m i t t e e on the ACT c o n d u c t e d an inquiry into the M u r r u m b i d g e e River in t h e ACT. The NPA m a d e a submiss ion to this inquiry propos ing dec lara t ion of a c o n t i n u o u s river cor r idor to be reserved largely for nature conserva t ion . The NCDC submiss ion proposed a s imi lar corr­

idor w i th a d e f i n e d set of land uses inc lud ing r e c r e a t i o n , ' vege ta t ion restorat ion , graz ing, h i s t o r i c a l / c u l ­tura l s i tes as wel l as nature conser ­vat ion.

This proposa l f o r m e d t h e basis of the draft pol icy and d e v e l o p m e n t plan f o r t h e MRC which was publ ish­ed for publ ic c o m m e n t by t h e NCDC in 1983 . The NCDC under­takes p lann ing in the ACT wh i le m a n a g e m e n t is the respons ib i l i ty of t h e Depar tment of Terr i tor ies . Wi th in the Depar tment t h e ACT

The Murrumbidgee River Corridor as defined in the Draft Policy and Development Plan (NCDC. 1983)

Parks and Conserva t ion Serv ice under takes managemen t of open space, inc lud ing the MRC. The NCDC presents its p lann ing intent­ions in a h ierarchy of d o c u m e n t s at the top of wh ich is the Me t ropo l i t an Plan for the ACT. This p lan refers genera l l y to the inc lus ion of the r iver cor r idor into the Nat iona l Cap­ital Open Space System - the land­s c a p e se t t i ngs in the ACT that con­t r ibu te to Canber ra 's role as the nat iona l capi ta l . Spec i f ic land uses are ascr ibed in pol icy p lans of which the above -men t i oned MRC pol icy p lan is a draft. Hav ing assessed publ ic submiss ions , the NCDC is near ing comp le t i on of the f inal pol icy plan for the MRC.

In o ther d e v e l o p m e n t s s ince 1983 : . The MRC was l is ted in the Regis­ter of the Nat iona l Estate. This took p l a c e i n 1985 and was based on the boundar ies shown in the draft pol icy plan. . In 1985 the Lanyon -Lambr i gg area was dec la red a Landscape Conserva t ion Reserve under the

Nature Conservation Ordinance 1980 . This is seen as an inter im measure unti l specif ic ACT her i tage leg is la t ion is avai lable.

M a n a g e m e n t of t h e M R C In 1986 the Serv ice c o m m e n c e d

prepara t ion of a managemen t plan for the MRC. The in ten t ion of this documen t is to de f ine the role of the Serv ice w i th in the MRC, to pro­vide a c lear s ta tement of manage­ment ob jec t ives for the area, and to deta i l managemen t programs de­s igned to ach ieve the object ives.

The Serv ice p lans to publ ish the draft plan in Oc tober this year for pub l ic comment . A th ree month per iod wil l be avai lable for submiss­ion of commen ts . These wil l be assessed by the Serv ice and chan­ges made to the plan where cons id­ered appropr ia te before the com­p le ted documen t goes before Par­l iament for approval .

The Serv ice be l ieves the va lue of the document wil l be great ly enhan­ced by the publ ic consul tat ion phase and in tends mak ing a cons ide rab le

effort to ensure the draft is brought to the a t ten t ion of the publ ic and o ther o rgan isa t ions .

M e t h o d s w i l l i nc lude use of t he media for publ ic i ty, t rave l l ing dis­plays in publ ic areas such as shop­ping cen t res and oppor tun i t i es for d iscuss ion of the plan wi th manage­ment staff. The Serv ice bel ieves t he N P A c a n m a k e a s ign i f icant cont r ib ­ut ion to the preparat ion of the c o m p l e t e d plan of managemen t for the MRC.

F u r t h e r R e a d i n g : Nat ional Capi ta l Deve lopment Commiss ion , Ecological Resources of the ACT. 1984 .

Nat ional Capi ta l Deve lopment Commiss ion , Murrumbidgee River Corridor Policy Plan and Develop­ment Plan - Draft tor Discussion, Octobe r 1983.

Par l iamentary Jo in t Commi t tee , Murrumbidgee River in the ACT, 1984, AGPS.

An Interview With Charles Hill

Char les Hil l was one of the first wa lk leaders I expe r i enced w h e n I jo ined NPA. I was impressed wi th his leadersh ip ski l ls and his know­ledge of the bush in all its forms. At the June Genera l Mee t ing of the Assoc ia t ion , Bob Story spoke of Char les ' con t r i bu t i on to the Assoc­iat ion in the t ree p lant ing project at Glendale . and his invo lvement w i th the Walks Commi t t ee I wan ted to know how Char les had acqu i red his love of the bush and his leadersh ip ski l ls.

Editor: I know you have been a keen wa lker and skier for many years and you encou raged your ch i ld ren to love the bush, d id your paren ts e n c o u r a g e you. or is your love of the bush some th ing wh ich is inna te w i th in you?

Char les: Each year as a ch i ld my p a r e n t s a n d a n a u n t . w i th their fam­il ies, had a hol iday at Sor rento . Victor ia, w i th its ocean and bay beaches set in coasta l bush. We ch i ld ren used to love look ing at life

in the rock poo ls and my father par t icu lar ly took us on long wa lks and e n c o u r a g e d our interest in every th ing a round us. Some t imes we had compe t i t i ons wi th pr izes to see w h o cou ld f ind the most beaut­iful or in te res t ing she l ls or o ther ob jects . This in terest in nature was height ­ened cons iderab ly when , over forty-five years ago, I s tar ted wa lk ing , backpack ing and sk i ing wi th the M e l b o u r n e Amateur Wa lk ing and Tour ing Club as it was then known. Each budd ing member had to sur­vive four of f ic ia l wa lks wi th conduc t and a t t i tude be ing mon i to red . After cons ide rab le expe r ience was gain­ed one cou ld a t tempt to conv ince the 'e lders ' and off ic ials that one was ready to lead a walk. All this involved gu idance and advice on nav igat ion and bushcraf t , wh ich inc luded conserva t ion , a l though it was not ca l led that then. The mate-s h i p a n d s p i n t i n t h e C l u b h a s b e e n a h igh l ight ; I am sti l l a member and wa lk w i th t hem w h e n oppor tun i t y

Judith Simondson

offers.

Editor: How long have you been wa lk ing and ski ing?

Char les: Jus t on f i f ty years.

Edi tor: H o w long have y o u been a member of Nat iona l Parks Associa­t ion?

Char les: Probably about f i f teen years.

Editor: Was the organ isa t ion (NPA) conserva t ion m inded in the ear ly days or was it just a wa lk ing assoc­iat ion?

Char les: It was s ta r ted to lobby for a nat ional park. Wa lk ing s ta r ted later as an in terest for members .

Editor: The w o r d conserva t ion is relat ively new. Do you th ink peop le are more aware now than they used to be about conserva t ion?

Char les: Yes. Even post war, the average person though t that the count ry ' s resources, except water .

Charles Hill Photograph by Judith Simondson

w e r e v ir tual ly un l imi ted . N o w w e are see ing that w e have to conserve jus t t o survive.

E d i t o r In t h e f i lm Earth First, it s e e m e d as t h o u g h it w a s y o u n g peop le p ro tes t ing against soc ie ty and the government . How d o people b e c o m e aware of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t and st i l l meet the i r needs for f o o d , air and shel ter?

Char les: W e all have high pr ior i ty shor t t e r m n e e d s of shelter , f o o d , c lo th ing a n d w a r m t h . A n y o n e w h o is having dif f iculty in providing these needs is unl ikely to divert resources to long te rm conserva t ion needs. Further, pe rsons w i t h an i n c o m e h igher t h a n basic personal needs wil l general ly be interested in invest­ing m o n e y and ef fort in en te rpr ises w h i c h wil l g e n e r a t e income in t h e short or med ium term, usual ly w i th in the i r own e x p e c t e d l i fet imes. Many conservat ion projects appear to have t a n g i b l e benef i ts on ly in the long te rm, for example , s o m e soi l conserva t ion pro jects or the plant­ing of s low g r o w i n g t rees . O t h e r s appear to have on ly in tang ib le benef i ts and then only for a very l imited number of people, l ike saving a tropical rainforest or the protect ion o'f t h e beauty of a pr is t ine natura l area. So w e have a task to educate people that basic shor t te rm needs a n d conserva t ion needs are not d iam­etr ica l ly o p p o s e d ; indeed w i t h o u t conservat ion t h e resources to meet basic shor t te rm needs wil l reduce and c o u l d d isappear ent i re ly in t h e long term. Wi th fa rs igh ted p lann ing and care fu l d i rec t ion of ef fort us ing

conserva t ion pr inc ip les , basic per­sonal needs c o u l d c o n t i n u e to be met for th is and f u t u r e genera t ions indef ini te ly . The e d u c a t i o n task must s h o w peop le that sav ing a t rop ica l rain­forest wi l l give future natural resour­ces for pharmaceut ica l p r o d u c t s at present u n k n o w n ; more impor tant ly in c o n j u n c t i o n w i th o ther fo res ts it wi l l a l low all peoples to c o n t i n u e to have oxygen in t h e a i r a n d dr inkable water. You might say "What real benef i t is a beaut i fu l pr is t ine area?" I personal ly bel ieve that as popu l ­at ion pressures cont inue , o u r f u t u r e menta l heal th wi l l d e p e n d on the avai labi l i ty of such areas for recrea­t ion to rel ieve s t ress and "charge up our batter ies".

This educat ion task is a t remendous one and the help of every one of us is n e e d e d to spread t h e message.

Editor: You have been a m e m b e r of NPA for f i f teen years. What at tracted you to the organ isa t ion and w h y have you s tayed a n d m a d e s u c h an impor tant con t r ibu t ion?

Char les: C o m i n g to Canberra in 1 9 6 0 w i th th ree y o u n g ch i ld ren and leaving nearly all o u r f r i e n d s behind, w e d e c i d e d to seek our recreat ion largely as a fami ly unit. We en joyed t h e ou tdoors , wa lk ing , s w i m m i n g and sk i ing a n d w a n t e d t o exp lore for ourse lves t h e c o u n t r y a round Canberra . So w e had regular fami ly o u t i n g s in the Snowys, t h e Coast, t h e Br indabel las , t h e T idb inb i l la r idge ( there w a s no reserve then), a long t h e r ivers and many o ther places. I had va luable e x p e r i e n c e as a leader in t h e M e l b o u r n e Walk­ing Club so had no di f f icul ty in f ind ing our way f rom maps.

As t h e c h i l d r e n g r e w o lder w i t h w i d e n i n g in terests I w a l k e d w i t h m e m b e r Bill Adams, a f r iend f rom e a r l i e r d a y s in t h e M e l b o u r n e Walk­ing Club. W e d e c i d e d that it w o u l d be an advantage to the w h o l e family to jo in in act iv i t ies w i t h peop le of s imi lar in terests in the N P A W e have rema ined act ive m e m b e r s of the NPA because w e fully suppor t the a ims and ob jec t ives of t h e Associa t ion . W e can take part in act iv i t ies w h i c h are w ider in range and scope than w e cou ld under take ourselves. The genera l m e e t i n g s are in te res t ing and inst ruct ive . W h e n w i t h a g r o u p of m e m b e r s one can usual ly obta in in format ion on a w i d e range of sub jec ts such as w i ld f lowers , t rees, animals, birds,

rock fo rms etc. It is a lso reward ing to work wi th people for a wor thwh i le cause. Last but cer ta in ly not least, w e have m a d e many g o o d f r i ends in the NPA.

Editor: W h a t do you feel you have c o n t r i b u t e d to NPA?

Char les: T h e i m m e d i a t e shor t answer is "not m u c h " ! Be ing press­ed a l itt le more, as a leader of NPA wa lks and c a m p s I hope I have contr ibuted to members' enjoyment, interest and perhaps phys ica l a n d menta l we l l be ing (bruises, scrat­ches, b i tes a n d b l is ters n o t w i t h ­standing!) .

The tree p lan t ing project c o m e s to mind. It has been a large t e a m ef fort and I h o p e my role as organiser a n d leader h e l p e d t h e e f for ts of the t e a m to ach ieve s o m e t h i n g w o r t h ­whi le . What real ly p leases me is that t h r o u g h this pro ject w e w e r e ably to d e m o n s t r a t e in a pract ical way that t h e NPA was wi l l ing t o g o b e y o n d its s t rong lobby ing for a nat ional park and w o r k q u i t e hard in co -opera t ion w i th t h e au thor i t i es to make one part of t h e Namadg i Nat­ional Park, smal l t h o u g h it may be, a be t te r p lace for all . I am p r o u d of t h e mutual respect and trust th is project he lped to g e n e r a t e b e t w e e n the author i t ies and the Assoc ia t ion .

Looking back, qui te a few interest ing th ings , large and smal l , h a p p e n e d dur ing the t i m e I w a s on the C o m m ­it tee and var ious of its S u b c o m m ­i t tees. I w a s mere ly a t e a m m e m b e r but f o u n d I c o u l d cont r ibu te at t imes b e c a u s e of s o m e k n o w l e d g e of t h e count ry and e n v i r o n m e n t a n d be­cause of e x p e r i e n c e in admin is ­t ra t ion and t h e mach inery and pro­c e d u r e s of government . On ref lec­t ion , it just goes t o s h o w that any m e m b e r can c o n t r i b u t e to t h e w o r k of the C o m m i t t e e / S u b c o m m i t t e e s , even w i t h o u t t h e spec ia l ised ski l ls and k n o w l e d g e tha t lucki ly s o m e other m e m b e r s do possess.

Just Briefly-A t t e n t i o n ! Koala M e d i c a r e 1 The m a n a g e m e n t at T idbinbi l la Nature Reserve are anx ious to hear about s igh t ings of koalas anywhere in the ACT region. You cou ld he lp in the f ight aga inst the ser ious d isease chlamydia, by contact ing Tidbinbi l la Nature Reserve 37 5 1 2 0 to report the locat ion of your s igh t ing -essent ia l ly on the same day. B lood samp les are taken from wi ld koa las and ident i f i ca t ion tags a t tached to the an imals be fore re leas ing Thus a check can be made on poss ib le ch lamyd ia carr iers. Koalas in the Nature Reserve 's enc losure are regular ly i nspec ted to ensure that the popu la t ion there is ch lamyd ia-free.

On a happ ier note, we are now able to get stiff necks s o m e w h e r e o ther than in the Koala Enc losure. Six cha rm ing c rea tu res fo rmer ly of the above address now res ide in t rees in the wa te rb i rd area, leav ing a popu la t i on in the Koala Enc losure of ten - cor rec t ion , ten and a half - as one tiny young has bravely emerged f rom the mother 's pouch , very much out of season. However , don' t expec t a s igh t ing of this one unt i l snooz ing- in -sun wea the r has arr­ived. To give your neck a rest whi ls t in the Koala Enc losure, cast your eyes about at g round level. It is a habit of the swamp wal labies herein to ' f reeze ' and assume a camouf lage pos i t ion , qu i te o f ten at the path's edge. Proof of b reed ing success of s o m e Tidbinb i l la popu la t ions is the pub l ica t ion of a Surplus Animals List. Its pu rpose is to in form bod ies such as wi ld l i fe sanctuar ies , zoos, etc. as to what is avai lable. Spec ies to go to Victoria's Healesvi l le Wildl i fe Sanc tuary recent ly , inc luded Mag­pie Geese. Black Swans, and Grey and Ches tnu t Teal. In add i t ion to these were some wal laroos, sti l l leaving about thir ty- f ive at Tidbin­bil la. This f igure may surpr ise some readers, as wal laroos, be ing shy, tend to stay in more sec luded spots than the more readi ly v is ib le kang­aroos, the reds and the greys

To c lose this T idbinbi l la ep isode is ano the r plea. Over the past few months , v is i tors of all ages have been de l i gh ted to make the c lose acqua in tance of a real l i t t le ' charm­ed in the form of a hal f -grown female wombat . There she is. su r rounded by cu r ious humans, soak ing up every bit of a t ten t i on she can get !

The t roub le is that she is not ' traff ic-wise', so when you are dr iv ing th rough the Nature Reserve, p lease observe the speed limit of thir ty-five kph especially wi th in the vicinity of the Vis i tors ' Cent re and beyond .

Watch for more news of your favour i te Nature Reserve in the next Just Briefly.

• • •

The current display at the Austral ian Nat iona l Botan ic Gardens, 'Eaten Alive' (see 'Just Briefly', last Bulletin) has proved so popular that it wil l con t i nue in to late September .

A fea ture of late w in ter and the spr ing in Austra l ia is the c o m i n g into b loom of hundreds of wat t le species. To mark the occas ion there is to be a ser ies of 'wat t le ce lebra­t ions ' at the Gardens. From August unt i l 10 Sep tember there wi l l be a smal l d isp lay at the In format ion Centre. If readers miss out on this, the pamph le ts be ing issued in con­junc t ion wi th the display, for a self-gu ided tour of the Gardens ' wat t le sect ion, w o u l d 'fi l l t hem in' on the spec ies in f lower.

The Educa t ion Serv ice of the ANBG is to run a 'Spr ing t ime is Watt le Time' program, giving classes on watt le propagat ion (ring 6 7 1 8 0 4 ) . However , because of the quar ter ly pub l ish ing of the NPA Bul le t in , th is in fo rmat ion may not reach readers in t ime.

Now for the really exc i t ing news - that is for those under twelve, or for " t hose who can remember (Gumnut babies. Banksia men. etc.). From approx imate ly 6 October unti l the first week in November , there is to be a d isp lay fea tur ing May Gibbs and Peg Mal t by. w i th lots of i l lustra­t ions f rom their books. In add i t ion , be tween 25 and 31 Oc tobe r (Chi ld­ren's Week) , there wi l l be read ings f rom their books and those of o ther Aust ra l ian wr i ters.

Also dur ing Chi ldren 's Week, the ANBG's Educa t ion Serv ice wi l l conduc t a fami ly walk. The t h e m e is to be Aust ra l ian p lants used by the Abor ig inal people and the early sett­lers, and fea tu red in Aust ra l ian ch i ld ren 's l i terature (for book ings 67 1804).

Now for the AO rated display, 'Po l l ina t ion - The Myster ies of the Sex Life of Aust ra l ian Plants' , f rom mid -November to March 1988. (Chi ldren may a t tend under paren­tal gu idance , but shou ld br ing their copy of 'Gumnu t Babies'.)

• • •

By the t ime you read this, NPA members Jean and Ian Curr ie and Gabr ie l le Watt wi l l have c o m p l e t e d a month 's tour rang ing f rom coasta l nor th Queens land to the Nor thern Territory. Their g roup wil l be accom­pan ied by Richard Jo rdan , who is Warden at the Barren Grounds Bird Observatory, and, whi ls t in the Nor thern Terr i tory, by Dr Sonia T ideman.

Among the nat ional parks v is i ted will be Kakadu and Kather ine Gorge, of course, but an earl ier des t ina t ion is the remote and beaut i fu l Lawn Hill Gorge on the Queens land s ide of the Nor thern Terr i tory border. Before tha i wil l be a visit to the lush ra in forests of the Pa lmers ton Nat­ional Park, located on the he ights of the Ather ton Table land. We await w i th great an t ic ipa t ion repor ts of any s ight ings of the wary cassowary and o ther f lamboyant dwe l le rs of that area.

• • * The bird observa tory off the Eyre H ighway was part of Joan and Ray Hegarty 's i t inerary en route to West­ern Austral ia. These two keen observers of all nature wil l soon have many fea the red tails to t e l l '

• * * Reg Alder sugges ts that " M u c h can be learnt f rom observ ing the habi ts and ' cus toms ' of an imals and bi rds on our bush wa lks and camps" . He con t inues , "The w e e k e n d c a m p at Meroo Point p rov ided a lesson wh ich was avidly obse rved and ass imi la ted by our new parents, the Gatenbys , and put into their com­puter f i le for fu ture re fe rence when the dec is ion has to be made to spank or not to spank.

A scaveng ing magp ie fami ly o l mother and father w i th two near-adul t oft spr ing, c a m e down to beg for the tasty t i tb i ts that humans can provide. A p iece of bread, a half a met re away, was too c lose to us for fa ther magpie . Junior , squawk ing incessant ly two or three met res away, was qu i te p repared to be fed if fa ther took all the risks. Father 's pat ience broke after several months of con t inua l squawk ing ; jun ior needed a lesson. Runn ing rapidly back, a most resound ing peck on the back of the head was g iven to junior, w h o fell to the g round wi th the blow. It was a lesson wel l learnt. Junior , w i thou t fur ther demur or even ano ther squawk, ran prompt ly

The pram-hauling car camper. Meroo Pnint. Photograph by Reg Alder

over to take the pro f fe red bread, again and again unt i l t h e supply ran out! There must be a moral in t h e story, and to us t h e reco l lec t ion of many proverbs on behaviour."

Yes Reg. A e s o p e n a c t e d in t h e Austra l ian bush.

• • •

Dur ing May, t h e y o u n g e s t m e m b e r of t h e N P A only six w e e k s old, braved t h e wet w e a t h e r w i th his parents and w e n t c a m p i n g at t h e coast. His father, Phil ip, c o m m a n d ­eered his pram to carry t h e large tent f rom t h e camps i te at Meroo Point t o t h e cars. No doubt th is occas ion is only t h e b e g i n n i n g of many years of c a m p i n g and w a l k i n g for y o u n g A n d r e w Gatenby.

• • •

W h i c h conserva t ion i s s u e -(a) c a u s e d Victor ia 's Min is te r for

^ • C o n s e r v a t i o n , Forests and Lands ^ ^ t o say "It is s imply not an op t ion to

a l low a un ique c rea ture to b e c o m e ext inct" , and g o on t o p romise be­t w e e n $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 and $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 of next year's land acquis i t ion budget? (b) c a u s e d t h e Shire of E l tham to c o m m i t land w o r t h $ 2 2 0 , 0 0 0 p lus $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 t o w a r d fund raising? (c) b e c a m e the subject of publ ic meet ings and o n g o i n g reports in t h e M e l b o u r n e 'Age'? (d) d e c i d e d A N Z ' s Esanda Finance to de lay the i r opera t ion at great cost? "If s o m e o n e had b rought up th is issue ten years ago, - a but ter f ly ha l t ing a deve lopment , they w o u l d have been laughed out of court ." (David Cameron , La Trobe Univer­sity botanist.) That*s right, the unique

—^ crea ture in ques t ion is Paralucia ^Jpy pyrodiscus luc ida the El tham Cop­

per butterf ly . First d e s c r i b e d in 1 9 5 1 , it w a s t h o u g h t to be ext inct in V ictor ia unt i l 1986 , w h e n th ree small colonies were found at Eltham. Two co lon ies f o u n d in January 1987 con ta in core b reed ing stock. However, these are in t h e cen t re of a f o u r t e e n hectare bush block w h i c h is to be subdiv ided. Paralucia pyrod-iscus Iucida breeds only in the roots of cer ta in bursar ia bushes. Larvae d e p e n d on a re la t ionship w i t h ants w h i c h nest in t h e same plant. At night, t h e ants s h e p h e r d the larvae up the s tems to feed on the leaves and t h e n back to the roots. The ants feed on a sweet secre t ion f rom t h e larval but ter f ly 's body.

The El tham Copper and o ther

e n d a n g e r e d spec ies are of specia l in terest t o Mr David Crosby of East Melbourne , w h o recent ly presented his co l l ec t ion of 13 ,000 Austra l ian but ter f l ies to the CSIRO's Divis ion of Entomology in Canberra. Accord ­ing to a s p o k e s m a n f rom t h e En­t o m o l o g y Division, the two most e n d a n g e r e d s p e c i e s are Paralucia spinifera and Hypochrysops piceat-us. The former, l ike the El tham Copper , f eeds on Bursaria spinosa (Blackthorn) and is now f o u n d only in a square k i lomet re of roads ide verge and farm p a d d o c k near Bathurst . The latter, w h o s e larvae feed on the leaves of Casuarina luehmannii and has t h e s a m e ant assoc ia t ion as the El tham Copper , is f o u n d only on a t iny p iece of roadside verge near Leyburn on the Darl ing Downs.

Creatures as f ragi le and e p h e m ­eral as these have t h e s a m e r ight to p ro tec t ion f rom ex t inc t ion as d o e s that awe- insp i r ing c rea ture of long­evity, the sal t -water c rocod i le , and no less right than t h o s e w i th t h e instant appeal of soft f u r o r beaut i fu l feathers .

* * Kakadu National Park Plan Ot Management, w i th f o r e w o r d by Pro­fessor J.D. Ov ington , Director , Aus­tral ian Nat ional Parks and Wi ld l i fe Service, is a c o m p r e h e n s i v e pub­l icat ion con ta in ing a four page descr ip t ion of t h e Nat ional Park, severa l maps and tables, an e x t e n ­

sive b ib l iography, a n d l ists of the Invest igat ing Off icers, sc ien t is ts , etc. respons ib le for t h e var ious research and survey programs. The main part of the b o o k is d iv ided in to seventeen sec t ions a n d covers such top ics as f lora and fauna management , habitat m a n a g e m e n t (ie, f ire, water and soil) , cu l tura l resource management (sacred sites, rock art and a rchaeo log ica l sites), recreat iona l act iv i t ies and visi tor a c c o m m o d a t i o n , research , a d m i n ­is t ra t ion , and capi ta l works . A val­uable source of b a c k g r o u n d infor­mat ion for anyone p lann ing to visit Kakadu Nat ional Park, t h e b o o k can be o b t a i n e d f rom the ANPWS, 2 1 7 N o r t h b o u r n e Ave, for $ 1 0 a copy.

• * • Thanks to those readers w h o have c o n t r i b u t e d to t h e last e ight 'Just Briefly' c o l u m n s . However , many more i tems regard ing members , their walks , camps, e tc are n e e d e d so as to g ive t h e c o l u m n more of an NPA f lavour. Please he lp by r i n g i n g 88 1889 .

Report On Our Glendale Trees 1987 Charles Hill

TREE G R O W T H

S p e c i e s D a t e U n d e r 3 0 c m 3 0 - 9 0 c m O v e r 9 0 c m T o t a l s

S p e c i e s D a t e N o % N o % N o % N o %

£ bndgesiana 2 2 3 . 8 4 21 1 1 1 5 8 8 2 14 7 193 1 0 0 Apple Box

2 4 4 8 5 1 1 6 1 4 6 7 8 3 0 16 1 8 7 1 0 0

2 8 . 5 8 6 5 9 3 4 8 3 4 7 . 5 3 2 1 8 5 1 7 4 1 0 0

1 5 5 8 7 7 4 '• 6 1 5 3 1 2 6 1 8 12 5 1 2 0 ' - " 1 0 0

E paticitinra 2 2 3 . 8 4 5 2 2 1 2 5 2 6 2 6 2 3 1 0 0 Snow Gum

2 4 4 3 5 1 5 1 0 47 5 1 0 4 7 5 2 1 1 0 0

2 8 5 8 6 1 5 5 2 4 1 8 7 1 21 1 0 0

1 5 5 8 7 0 0 1 5 19 9 5 2 0 1 0 0

E rubtdJ 2 2 3 3 4 2 0 1 6 91 7 3 1 4 1 1 1 2 5 1 0 0 Candlebark

2 4 . 4 8 5 9 8 1 6 6 3 3 2 7 1 2 3 1 0 0

2 3 5 . 8 6 1 7 1 5 6 1 5 3 3 7 3 2 1 1 5 1 0 0

1 5 . 5 3 7 2 9 1 2 8 5 2 5 0 2 3 22 1 0 4 ' - ' 1 0 0

E stelluUta 2 2 3 8 4 19 3 1 4 0 6 6 2 3 6 1 1 0 0 Black Sallee

2 4 4 8 5 3 6 2 7 5 8 1 7 3 6 4 7 1 0 0

2 3 5 8 6 3 7 6 14 3 4 7 9 4 3 1 0 0

15 5 8 7 1 2 5 5 12 35 8 5 . 5 4 1 1 0 0

T O T A L S 2 2 . 3 8 4 6 5 1 6 3 0 1 7 5 3 6 9 4 0 2 1 0 0

2 4 4 8 5 2 4 6 2 6 4 7 0 9 0 2 4 3 7 8 1 0 0

2 8 5 3 6 8 0 2 2 . 5 1 5 5 4 4 1 1 8 3 3 5 3 5 3 1 0 0

1 5 5 . 8 7 1 0 4 3 6 5 8 9 3 1 9 2 3 2 5 2 8 5 1 0 0

TREE T O T A L S A N D LOSSES S p e c i e s D a t e T o t a l s A n n u a l L o s s C u m u l a t i v e

L o s s

S p e c i e s D a t e T o t a l s

N o % N o

E buct'-i&si^'ij 4 6 6 3 2 1 3

( A p p l e B o x ) 22 3 8 4 1 9 3 2 0 9

2 4 4 8 5 1 8 7 6 2 6 1 2

2 8 5 8 6 1 7 4 1 3 7 5 3 9 1 8

15 5 8 7 1 2 0 5 4 3 1 9 3 ' 1 4 3 . 5

E fi.iuciltotj 4 6 3 3 2 5

( S n o w G u m ) 2 2 3 8 4 2 3 8

24 4 8 5 2 1 9 4 16

2 8 5 8 6 2 1 0 0 4 16

15 5 8 7 2 0 1 5 5 2 0

f rubidd 4 b 8 8 1 3 7

i C a n i j I p b a r k ) 3 2 . 3 8 4 1 2 5 1 2 9

2 4 4 8 5 1 2 3 i 2 14 1 0

2 8 5 8 6 1 1 5 8 6 5 2 ^ 1 6

1 5 5 8 7 1 0 4 1 1 - 9 5 33''' 2 4

t ' W e " i / ' . j f , i 4 6 3 3 9 0

i B l a c k S a l l e e ) 2 2 3 8 4 6 1 2 9 3 2

2 4 4 8 5 4 7 14 2 3 4 3 4 8

2 3 5 8 6 43 4 9 5 4 7 5 2

1 5 5 8 7 4 1 2 4 5 4 9 5 4 6

T O T A L S 4 6 8 3 4 6 5

2 2 3 3 4 4 0 2 6 3 14

2 4 4 8 5 3 7 8 2 4 6 8 7 19

2 8 . 5 8 6 3 5 8 2 5 6 5 1 1 2 2 4

1 5 5 8 7 2 8 5 6 8 1 9 . 5 1 8 0 3 8 5

1 T h e p r o c e s s c o n t i n u e s o l d i e b a c k a n - 1 1 • e n r u g r n w i h a t a l o w e r o r g r o u n d l e v e l w i t h t h e s e t w o s p e c i e s i n e t t e r l g r o w t h i s r e g r e s s i n g

2 It i s f ; v e n m o r e d i f f i c u l t t h i s y e a i l o d i s t i n g u i s h s o m e t b r / r / o e s ' e n d f r o m f rubicla a s t h e

m a i o n t y o l l e a v e s a r e m i s s i n q or b a d l y e a t e n E r r o r s a r e p r o b a b l e .

3 T h e s e I w o t r e e s h a v e a ^ u r j e r t i c i a l a p p e a r a n c e o l E siviiulatd a n d h a v e p r e v i o u s l y b e e n c o u n l e d a s s u c h H o w e v e r ( h ^ y h a v e a d i t l e r e n l o d o u r a n d r a l h e r d i l l e r e n t l e a f v e n a t i o n W e i n c l u d e d t h e m a s E rub^ta o n t h i s s u r v e y b u t m a y h a v e t o w a i t u n l i t I h e y f l o w e r a n d f r u i t ' o r p o s i t i v e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

4 S o m e E bi'rlgesuina a n d E nilmla a r e i n p o o r c o n d i t i o n a n d f u r t h e r l o s s e s c a n b e e « p e c t e d

Members who drive at a re laxed pace past the t ree si te at Glenda le may have no t iced how tall some of the t rees are g rowing . If the pace was even more re laxed, they may have no t i ced tha i o ther t rees have few heal thy leaves and look rather •poorly'.

The tall t rees are the Snow Gums (E. pauciflora) and Black Sal lees (E. stellulata) and some of t hem are over th ree met res high. General ly , all of t hese two spec ies are heal thy and the numbers lost s ince May 1986 are very low.

It is d isappo in t ing that the wel l grown trees of the other two species, App le Box (£. bndgesiana) and Cand lebark (E. rubida), have mainly d ied or been severely set back. Trees p lan ted by the rangers near the In format ion Cent re have been somewhat simi lar ly af fected. As s ta ted in my last report on the May 1986 survey, we expec ted losses this year of some forty of these two species, but the actual loss is wel l over that f igure wi th some of the remainder just c l ing ing to life. Al­though there are plenty of Apple Box a n d Cand lebark on the site wi th new regrowth shoots, it seems likely that many wil l fail to survive the next season. On the opt imis t ic side, a mature Cand lebark is a good sized tree and a mature Apple Box is an even b igger t ree wi th a large spread, so a smal l number of sur­vivors wil l st i l l make a s igni f icant con t r i bu t i on to the area.

Two stat is t ica l tab les w i th this report show the detai l of survivors and losses to date.

As wil l be seen f rom the no tes to the tables, ident i f i ca t ion was even more di f f icul t than in past years wi th App le Boxes and Candlebarks . In some cases we wi l l p robably have to wait for f lowering and fruit ing !o make an accura te judgment .

All w i re t reeguards and motor tyres have now been removed from the trees. Some wi re guards and tyres have been re ta ined in the past for smal l t rees and those wi th regrowth f rom the base. However, we have found that s low g row th and regrowth tends to spread hor izon­tal ly init ial ly and the g row ing t ips are p inned down by pushing through the wi re net t ing or cur l ing a round inside the tyre; so now w e have removed them all. Good a l t endance wi th p lenty of t ra i lers and vans at the May ma in tenance ou t ing enab­led us to c lear the s i te a n d t ransporf the tyres and net t ing to au tho r i sed t ips in Canberra.

The Timber Industry And Conservation Julia Trainor

The Env i ronment Cent re held t h e f irst of its fund ra is ing d inners at t h e Civic Youth Cafe in May. After a de l ic ious vegetar ian meal, prepared by t h e y o u n g p e o p l e at t h e Cafe, w e c h a r g e d our g lasses and se t t led in to l isten t o t w o a f t e r d i n n e r s p e a k e r s on the subject of the t imber industry.

The f irst speaker was Gavin Hil l ierw h o is t h e NSW State Secretary of t h e T i m b e r W o r k e r s U n i o n . Gavin began by asking for a show of hands f rom al l un ion m e m b e r s p resen t .To his surpr ise the major i ty of his aud­ience were not only conservat ionists but a lso unionists , and th is was a favourab le start to t h e even ing .

Gavin gave a lively a c c o u n t of his career. Af ter twen ty -one years as a roof t i ler a n d pr ivate cont rac tor ,

•Gavin was e m p l o y e d w i t h Laminex C u s t o m w o o d in Wagga, w h e r e m e m b e r s h i p of t h e T i m b e r W o r k e r s Union w a s compulsory . He found that t h e un ion execut ive w a s not in teres ted in t h e members 'we l fa re , and d e c i d e d to cor rec t th is by be­c o m i n g act ive in h is union. T imber workers are largely non-un ion ised , but s ince a t ta in ing of f ice Gavin has increased un ion m e m b e r s h i p f rom 4 0 0 0 to 9 0 0 0 .

Gavin's s ing le mot ive is t h e we l ­fare of his members . He d e s c r i b e d t i m b e r mi l ls in Sydney, o w n e d by mul t inat iona ls , w h i c h w o u l d remind you of t h e depress ion , and w h e r e the w o r k e r s are " t rea ted l ike dogs". By cont ras t he d e s c r i b e d t h e mil ls at N immi tabe l and Bombala , w h e r e the workers are paid generous over-

•award wages . Gavin had a s t rong c o m m i t m e n t t o ma in ta in ing t h e viabi l i ty of these g o o d employers , but had l i t t le loyal ty to t h e mult i ­national owners of large, central ised, a u t o m a t e d mills. O n e impor tan t reason for th is is tha t smal l (sawlog) mi l ls e m p l o y more labour, wh i l e large ch ip mil ls are largely auto­mated a n d e m p l o y few workers .

Gavin Hil l ier w a s fo l lowed by David D u m a r e s q w h o is a lecturer in the H u m a n S c i e n c e s Program at the Austra l ian Nat ional University. David's pr inc ipa l message w a s that it is possib le to have bo th forests a n d jobs, if t h e indust ry is m a n a g e d correct ly . There cannot be forestry jobs w i t h o u t forests , a n d bo th t h e fo res ts a n d t h e j o b s are d isappear­ing fast.

The losses in jobs are not due to the forests be ing " l o c k e d up", as t h e w o o d c h i p p i n g industry w o u l d have us bel ieve. The forests are be ing reduced by c lear fe l l ing , a n d jobs are be ing lost t h r o u g h struc­tural c h a n g e s in the industry . Labour is be ing rep laced by capi ta l t h r o u g h mechan isa t ion . B e t w e e n 1970 and 1985 the number of forest industry jobs fell by twenty - four per cent, a l though the industry removed for ty-s ix per cent more logs. The fact is that t h e industry is tak ing more w o o d and e m p l o y i n g fewer workers . S ince t h e 1950 's f i f ty per cent of all mil ls in Austra l ia have c losed d o w n .

The b iggest p rob lem is that the industry is ch ipp ing today 's and tomorrow's saw logs. Young re-g r o w t h fo res ts are be ing harvested by large mach ines w h i c h require few workers . The ch ips are then expor ted in the i r least p r o c e s s e d state. The conserva t ion movement needs to put fo rward proposa ls t o bo th un ions and g o v e r n m e n t to d e m o n s t r a t e how w e can have bo th forests and jobs.

David D u m a r e s q r e c o m m e n d e d a c o m b i n a t i o n of immedia te and longer te rm goals:

. Immediate ly , w e s h o u l d move to t h e ful l u t i l isat ion of cut w o o d , to obta in increased revenue. Wi th carefu l use of every t ree w e can obta in bet ter pr ices, e m p l o y more people, re juvenate t h e sawmi l l industry and produce more revenue for the industry. W e s h o u l d also immediate ly demand realistic royal­t ies for p u l p w o o d . Austra l ian w o o d -ch ips are wor th a bet ter pr ice than they are ge t t ing .

. In the longer t e rm, w e s h o u l d process w o o d c h i p s in Austral ia . W e s h o u l d also move t h e p r o d u c t i o n of w o o d f ibre (chips and pulp) out of nat ive forests in to p lan ta t ions o r t ree farms. Tree farming must be d i s t i n g u i s h e d f rom f o r e s t r y - other­w ise the sawmi l ls are l ikely to dis­appear long before the pu lp and ch ip mills. W e s h o u l d use c l e a r e d farm land on t h e coast and on the escarpment t o set up bo th state-o w n e d and pr iva te ly -owned agro-forestry.

These t w o speakers w i t h very d i f ferent b a c k g r o u n d s s t i m u l a t e d a

l ively response of q u e s t i o n s a n d c o m m e n t s f rom t h e aud ience . For example , o n e p e r s o n re fe r red t o the tact ic of d a m a g i n g or d isab l ing forestry machinery , but th is w a s roundly c o n d e m n e d by t h e meet ing as a who le . The mee t ing s e e m e d t o reach c o n s e n s u s on t w o main issues:

. Firstly, the choice be tween forests and jobs is a false cho ice . Wi th proper m a n a g e m e n t w e can have both. . Secondly , conserva t ion is ts a n d t imber workers s h o u l d e n d e a v o u r to ident i fy the c o m m o n g r o u n d b e t w e e n them, and to w i t h s t a n d the ef for ts of the mul t ina t iona l w o o d c h i p p i n g c o m p a n i e s w h o try to turn t imber workers aga inst conservat ion is ts .

The Potoroo's Home In Canberra Native animal lovers wil l be interest­ed to know that t h e Potoroo (Potor-ous longpipes) wil l 'have a prominent posi t ion in the New P a r t u r i e n t House in Canberra .

A sixteen metre long embroidered pane l tells, in g r a p h i c fo rm, h o w European man has c h a n g e d t h e env i ronment s ince se t t l ement in 1788, by i n t r o d u c i n g preda tory spec ies w h i c h have e n d a n g e r e d our natural f lora and fauna. The Potoroo is just one of t h e s p e c i e s w h i c h has been e n d a n g e r e d .

The embro idery panel , w h i c h is d e s i g n e d b y Kay L a w r e n c e of Adel ­aide, is s t i t c h e d in w o o l s on a l inen background by h u n d r e d s of Embroi ­dery Gui ld m e m b e r s t h r o u g h o u t Austral ia . T h e p a n e l wi l l be l o c a t e d on the f irst f loor gal lery of the Great Recept ion Hall .

(As repor ted in VNPA Newsletter, Vol 6 No 4, May 1987)

A Historical Atlas Of Australia Trevor Plumb

The atlas, Australians . A Historical Atlas, is part of a ten-vo lume series, Australians . A Historical Library, be ing p roduced to mark the bicen­tenary year Five vo lumes of the ser ies are wr i t ten h is tor ies ' Austra­lians to 1788 Australians 1838. Australians 1388. Australians 1938 and Australians from 1939 The other f ive vo lumes are re fe rence works Apart f rom the atlas, these are a h is tor ica l d ic t ionary, an accoun t of events and places, a set of h is tor ica l s tat is t ics, and a gu ide to history sources. At the t ime of wr i t ing , the at las and five other vo lumes had been pub l i shed

The project was p roposed by a g roup of Aust ra l ian h is tor ians in 1 97 7. At that t ime the p roduc t ion of a h is tor ica l a t las seemed impract ic­able but. ar is ing from interest shown by severa l h istor ical geographers , a plan s lowly took shape Wi th the appo in tmen t of two ed i to rs (both h is tor ica l geographers ) and. later, a chief car tographer , p lann ing began on two f ronts. The ed i to rs p repared an out l ine and the chief car tog­rapher began to test the techn ica l poss ib i l i t ies

My own involvement began when the Divis ion of Nat iona l Mapp ing , w h e r e I w a s w o r k m g a s c h i e f geog­rapher, was a p p r o a c h e d for adv ice and ass is tance As well as techn ica l advice. Na tmap of fered to house the ca r tog raph ic staff, a l though no one then rea l ised that in the last mon ths the car tographic staff would g row to n ine people

The p roduc t ion of a h is tor ica l a t l a s o f a c o n t m e n t i s a m a j o r u n d e i -tak ing even if the sub ject matter has a l ready been wel l t esea rched and many of the maps are avai lable i n s o m e f o r m o r o l h e r A s t h i s w a s a first for Austral ia, the ed i to rs began wi th l i t t le idea of the l ikely f inal content With the help of prospect ive specia l is t con t r ibu to rs they soon fo rmu la ted a list of appropr ia te topics, but no one then knew a great deal about how much inform­a t ion su i tab le for mapp ing wou ld be fo r thcoming on most of thebO topics.

As wel l as sub iec t mat ter and its a r rangement w i th in the vo lume, ques t ions such as sunab ie map scales, page size, size of vo lume, and. most important ly, the desirable ba lance be tween maps, text and

i l lus t ra t ions all had to be addressed before much progress cou ld be made. This p lann ing also meant that decis ions had to be made about impor tant pr in t ing spec i f i ca t ions (such as the number of pr in t ing colours) long before a pub l isher had been found and some years before that publ isher (Fairfax, Syme and We ldon Associates) had selec­ted the pr in ter (Griff in Press).

Some gu idance on the l ikely readersh ip was g iven ear ly when it was agreed that all vo lumes shou ld be su i tab le for /he /nte lhgent man or woman in /he street ' (and their family) but the exact nature of the ' t imowits ' family was neveradequat -ely de f ined. Never the less , it can be said that the at las largely avoids dif f icult c o n c e p t s and to r tuous lan­guage.

Al ter my re t i rement in ear ly 1 982 .1 was retained as a consul tant for the at las and as work p roceeded I look on the role of ca r tograph ic editor. This meant that I wo rked a long wi th the chief ca r tog rapher to dev ise appropr ia te ways of p resen t ing mater ia l submi t ted by con t r i bu to rs and subsequen t l y examined the draf ts and proofs for ef fect iveness and consistency, both in ternal ly and wi th o ther maps. The map legends (keys) were my specia l concern . Later. I a lso examined all texts for consis tency wi th their maps and the maps of other topics.

Ach iev ing what for this at las is a su i tab le ba lance be tween maps, text and i l lust rat ions s tayed wi th us as a major prob lem throughout . Its so lu t ion ca l led for an abi l i ty to see maps as the major c o m p o n e n t of every top ic and to rega id text and i l lus t ra t ions as supp lemen ta ry mater ia l only. This abi l i ty is not c o m m o n in academics, even among geographers , and is rare in book des igners and publ ishers ' edi tors. The dif f iculty was c o m p o u n d e d by a lack of sui table maps on some topics wh ich just cou ld not be omi t ted , so that some comprom ises had to be made.

The volume was des igned around the need for some maps of the en t i i e con t inen t at a scale no small­er than 1:10 mi l l ion. One of these maps, p lus space tor a short explan­atory text, cou ld oe a c c o m m o d a t e d on a doub le -page measur ing 3 9 0 by 5 3 0 mm. This size was also

su i tab le for var ious comb ina t i ons of nat ional maps at smal ler sca les and for the regional maps requi red for case s tud ies.

As f inally pub l i shed, the 3 0 0 page vo lume cons is ts of th ree main sect ions, each div ided into chapters, wh ich are in turn d iv ided into topics. Most top ics occupy two pages each, a l though some are deal t w i th in a s ingle page and others run to three or more. I am told there are. in all, 4 8 9 maps, 3 3 0 g raphs and 195 i l lustrat ions.

Most readers wi l l th ink of addit­ional top ics they w o u l d have l iked inc luded. For example . NPA mem­bers wi l l look in vain for a history of nat ional parks. Some top ics had to be re jec ted, g iven the t ime con­stra ints, because of a lack of infor­mat ion or a su i tab le cont r ibu tor : w i th other topics there was no ready! way of dep ic t ing the mater ia l adequate ly w i th in the adop ted format.

An ind icat ion of the con ten ts of each chap te r is g iven below.

P l a c e

1. Environment. Summar ises the physical set t ing wi th maps of surface rocks, soi ls, water, vege ta t ion and c l imate . 2. Aboriginal landscapes. Regional case s tud ies are used to i l lustrate the Abor ig ines ' use of the envi ron­ment and their r ich cu l ture . 3. European discovery and explor­ation. Con ta ins a number of maps of exp lorers ' routes. 4. Rural landscapes. Presents an overv iew of European use of t h e i envi ronment, showing how clear ing, graz ing, p lough ing and the intro­duc t ion of new plants and animals have c h a n g e d the landscape. 5. Urban landscapes. Deals wi th urban g rowth general ly and, by case s tud ies, wi th urban serv ices such as water supply, sewerage, rai lways and parks. 6. Mining, manufacturing and tran­sport.

P e o p l e

This sect ion deals wi th Austral ia's socia l history. 7. An immigrant nation. Exp lores the chang ing charac te r i s t i cs of the popu la t ion f rom the first arr ivals of the Abor ig ines to the 1980's . One

novel set of ca r tograms s h o w s t h e or ig ins of t h e overseas born pop­ulat ion at se lec ted censuses, begin­n ing in 1 8 6 1 . The d is t r ibu t ion of t h e popu la t ion across t h e c o n t i n e n t is e x a m i n e d f rom 1846 onwards .

8. Life and death. L o o k s at t h e i n c i d e n c e of d isease and h igh l ights t h e increase in life e x p e c t a n c y that resul ted f rom a t t e m p t s to erad ica te disease. The b u b o n i c p lague a long t h e eastern seaboard in the early 1900 's is t a k e n as one example .

9. Religion and education. Inc ludes case s tud ies of a t t e m p t s t o take e d u c a t i o n to isolated ch i ld ren , a government responsibi l i ty result ing f rom t h e a d o p t i o n of c o m p u l s o r y educa t ion .

10. Convicts, bushrangers and larrikins. G ives a genera l overv iew of Austral ia 's soc ia l malcontents . Maps a n d graphs s h o w t h e or ig ins of the convicts and their d istr ibut ion in t h e co lon ies . Case s t u d i e s s h o w

•how t h e bushrangers b e c a m e a p r o m i n e n t f igure in n ine teen th cen­tury fo lk lore . 1 1 . Australians at war. Beg ins w i th the Abor ig ina l res is tance to Euro­pean o c c u p a t i o n but deals mainly w i th Austra l ian par t ic ipat ion in c o n ­f l icts overseas and t h e impacts at home. 12. The Great Depression. Deals w i t h the i n c i d e n c e of unemploy ­ment and w i t h g o v e r n m e n t meas­ures t o c o m b a t it. 13. Government. S h o w s t h e evol­ut ion of State boundar ies , ex terna l ter r i tor ies , new sta te movements , re ferenda and the ex tens ion of f ran­chise . C o n c l u d e s w i t h char ts show­ing t h e c h a n g i n g f o r t u n e s of part ies in State and Federal e lec t ions f rom

A 1 9 0 0 .

W L a n d s c a p e s This sect ion is a photographic essay w h i c h , in t w o short chapte rs on City and Country, looks at the interact ion of p e o p l e a n d place.

Fur ther in format ion on how t h e Atlas was p r o d u c e d is g iven by J o h n McQui l ton , one of t h e ed i tors , in Cartography 1987 , 16(1) pp 4 2 -50. Current ly t h e At las is b e i n g so ld as part of the c o m p l e t e set only. Full in format ion on avai labi l i ty and pr ice may be o b t a i n e d f r o m Fairfax, Syme & W e l d o n Associa tes , PO Box 134, Wi l loughby N S W 2 0 6 8 .

Earth First Judith Simondson

Earth First, an Austra l ian f i lm narr­a ted by Jack Thompson , was s h o w n at t h e Ju ly Genera l M e e t i n g of t h e NPA. This f i lm looks at th ree envir­o n m e n t a l areas in Austra l ia w h i c h have caused controversy, polit ically, spir i tual ly and emot ional ly , in Aus­tral ian soc ie ty a n d on a w o r l d w i d e basis. The three areas are the Wet Tropics of nor thern Q u e e n s l a n d (Daintree area), Terania Creek (in N igh tcap Nat ional Park, nor thern New South Wales) a n d t h e Frankl in River system in Tasmania . The f i lm c a p t u r e d not only the beauty of the th ree reg ions and thei r un ique natura l env i ronments ; it also cap­tu red t h e emot ions and t h e spir i tual in tensi ty of t h e people w h o protes­ted . These peop le were inf luent ia l in c h a n g i n g g o v e r n m e n t dec is ions or c rea t ing awareness of t h e va lue and prec iousness of our her i tage, t h e Austral ian env i ronment .

The Wet Tropics Area in nor thern Q u e e n s l a n d has t h e most d iverse plant and animal s p e c i e s in t h e wor ld . Emphas is was p laced on t h e i m p o r t a n c e of areas such as these in k e e p i n g ba lance and unity in the w o r l d on a g loba l scale, as our air, water and emot iona l we l l -be ing are d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e natural envir­onment .

I was very m o v e d by t h e f i lm, as I

am sure o ther m e m b e r s of t h e aud­ience were . It has brought to m i n d many ques t ions . How do you e d u ­cate peop le to see t h e value a n d i m p o r t a n c e of t h e natura l env i ron ­ment rather than mater ia l is t ic a n d c o m m e r c i a l values? Man is a part of the total universe, how d o w e as peop le co-operate , preserve a n d conserve t h e e n v i r o n m e n t w h i l e meet ing our needs for food, housing, a i r a n d water? If a n y o n e i n N P A c a n answer these q u e s t i o n s I w o u l d like to hear f rom them.

I read w i th in terest an ar t ic le by Dr Bryan Jenk ins , e n t i t l e d "A New System of Values Needed to Protect the Earth" (Habitat Vol 14 No 5, O c t o b e r 1986), w h i c h I t h o u g h t was relevant to some of the issues raised in the f i lm. This ar t ic le looks at t h e conserva t ion va lues in d i f fe rent s tages of history. Dr J e n k i n s c o n ­c ludes that the answer is not t o f ight issues but ra ther to of fer alter­natives. The p e o p l e w h o p r o t e s t e d for "No Dams" in Tasmania , t h e wet t rop ics and t h e ra inforest were pro­viding an alternative. They perceived the va lue of the e n v i r o n m e n t to themse lves and t o t h e w o r l d a n d were prepared to c o m m i t the i r energy and t ime to someth ing larger than themselves.

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77?<• President and Committee

wish all members

C H R I S T M A S AND PROSPEROUS NEW Y E A R

and incite (dl tit the

C H R I S T M A S PARTY

Or rural Valley Picnic (iround at .'i p.m.

on Sunday i:i December 19X7

WINK, C H E E S E . B I S C U I T S A N D C H R I S T M A S C A K E P R O V I D E D BR INC AN E V E N I N G M E A L

NPA Bulletin NJawuMi Parks Assoc ia t ion of Un A C T F' ( J B o ' - l f j ? Canberra Ci ty 2601 R E G I S T E R E D BY A U S T R A L I A POST P U B L I C A T I O N N o N B H O B 5 7 I S S N 0 7 2 7 - B B 3 7

A MERRY

POST A G E P A I D

A L I S T R A L I A

GENERAL MEETINGS Held at S pm. Room l. Griffin Centre. Bunda Street, Civic

S E P T E M B E R - T h u r s d a y 17 Andy Spate. Chief Off icer. Karst, w i th the Nat iona l Parks and Wi ld l i fe Serv ice (NSW), recent ly en ioyed a tr ip to Antarc t ica. Andy wi l l g ive an i l lust rated talk about his exper iences .

O C T O B E R - T h u r s d a y 1 5 Roy Pul len. fo rmer ly a botan is t w i th the CSIRO, is cur rent ly research ing a f i lm scr ipt and a book about the Great Div id ing Range. Roy is progress ive ly wa lk ing the Great Div id ing Range, and wil l give an i l lus t ra ted talk about his f ind ings so far. Roy is also in te res ted in any in fo rmat ion wh ich our members can supply about the type of coun t ry e n c o u n t e r e d a long the Range, and the land use of the Range both now and in the future.

N O V E M B E R - T h u r s d a y 1 9 Min ima l impact bushwa lk ing . As we beg in the summer wa lk ing season, th is mee t i ng wil l examine how we can con t ro l the impact of rec rea t ion on the natura l areas we enjoy. There wil l be a v ideo p repared by the Tasman ian Nat iona l Parks and Wi ld l i fe Serv ice, fo l lowed by a panel of speakers to s t imu la te d iscuss ion .