national parks association of the australian capital

Volume 45 Number 2 June 2008

National Parks Association of the Australian Capital Territory Inc

Launch of theorchid book

Gudgenby"Bushies" birthday

Symposium a big success

NPA Bulletin Volume 45 number 2 June 2008

2 NPA BULLETIN − JUNE 2008

CONTENTSFrom the President ...................................................................2

Christine GoonreyNPA leads the managers into the wilderness............................3

Christine GoonreyOrchid book launch..................................................................3The 2008 NPA ACT symposium, 9–10 May ...........................4Corridors for Survival in a Changing World

Kevin McCueNPA ACT new subscription rates ............................................5The Tarkine — a Tasmanian treasure.......................................6

Timothy WalshConsultations on parks and reserves ........................................7

Christine GoonreySomething fishy in the Cotter ..................................................8

Max LawrenceWork starts on protection of historic sites................................9

Col McAlisterA year of orchids by Tony Wood..............................................9

Esther GallantAfrican safari vignettes ..........................................................10

Esther Gallant

After two and a half years of waiting we were finally given afractured glimpse in April of the new Plan of Management forNamadgi National Park. It was a very confusing process withthe Standing Committee on Planning and Environmentannouncing a public inquiry and asking for submissions with-out releasing the latest draft of the Plan of Management.Finally, on 8 May the new draft was tabled in the LegislativeAssembly, but at the time of going to press it was still notprinted and thus not readily available.

From what we can tell it looks like we have managed toachieve some improvements to the draft plan. The values of thepark have been re-ordered to place environmental values first;there is more discussion on climate change in the text; somestrategies to address climate change have been added; and itnow acknowledges the role of NPA ACT in the formation ofthe park. We understand that there will be a list of priorities atthe back of the plan but no strategy for review andreassessment.

However, pressure for more horse-riding, pricey tourismand large group activities continues to grow. We need amanagement plan which assists park managers to do their jobswhich gives them solid reasons to reject unreasonable demandsfor use and access. If the plan is too wishy-washy theirdecisions will be subject to second-guessing and politicalpressure all the way up the line.

The new draft wants to be all things to all people, which isa recipe for disaster. Our community needs to appreciate thatNamadgi National Park is a beautiful place for low impactrecreation and enjoyment, but these must be secondary to theprotection of its natural values. It is a place which has to beused gently and appreciated thoughtfully.

Articles by contributors may not necessarily reflect association opinion or objectives.

From the President

NPA photo competition........................................................10Martin Chalk

Gudgenby — ten years of regeneration ...............................11Syd Comfort

Light to light walk: 9–12 March 2008.................................12Pete Tedder

Caring for the ACT‘s rarest tree ..........................................14Clive Hurlstone

Tidbinbilla to Bendora Dam via Mt Domain.......................14Mike Bremers

The bush in our backyard ....................................................15Kevin McCue

Gulf Bend to Love Nest and back .......................................16Brian Slee

PARKWATCH ..........................................................................16Compiled by Hazel Rath

NPA notices .........................................................................18Meetings and speaker information ......................................19NPA information and contacts.............................................19

On a more positive note, congratulations to all involved inputting on our second and very successful symposium on9 and 10 May, Corridors for Survival in a Changing World. Inparticular, Kevin McCue did a wonderful job pulling theprogram together.

The speakers were outstanding and their presentationsgave us a good insight into the powerful role science plays inensuring our conservation efforts are targeted, effective andultimately successful. Press cover was good too, which willget our conservation message out to people who couldn’t getthere.

A lot of hard work went into making it such a success witha number of other things tied into the weekend. Thephotographic display was wonderful and people reallyenjoyed voting for the People’s Choice Awards and specialthanks go to Martin Chalk for his hard work, ably assisted byChris de Bruine.

The launch of David Jones’s Field Guide to the NativeOrchids of the ACT was another highlight. Craig Allen theABC journalist and newsreader revealed his long termpassion for orchids and David Jones inspired us with hisextensive knowledge of our local orchid species.

Another highlight of the event was the announcement ofthe Amanda Carey Award which was shared between MartinWorthy and Anett Richter. These two young people arepursuing their studies with the same dedication and love ofthe environment which Amanda had and it is a pleasure to seeher remembered this way.

After such an informative and enjoyable weekend we canall be very proud of what we have achieved.

Christine Goonrey

Following the very successful joint tourof Kosciuszko National Park lastNovember with NPA NSW, it wasdecided we would approach Namadgipark management to see if we could dosomething similar here. Brett McNamarawas enthusiastic about the idea so weinvited senior managers from Territoryand Municipal Services andrepresentatives of other communityorganisations to come with us to discussthe big issues around management of thewilderness areas.

The most immediate concern is aproposal to widen the Mt Franklin andCotter Hut roads to trailer standard orCategory 1, which would involvesignificant widening and straightening ofthe road through the wilderness areas.However, other issues such as therestoration of the bogs, continuing

and pigs out of the area to protect thesource of Canberra’s water supply. Nowferal deer and European wasp havejoined the invaders.

We all came away with a betterunderstanding of the complex interactionof factors affecting the wilderness; fire,water, flora, fauna, culture and recreationall play a part. Perhaps more importantlywe understood that these issues cannotbe addressed in a single day, or bycriticising or ignoring each other’sopinions. We agreed that the day waspart of an ongoing conversation betweenpark managers and the community whichoffers our best hope of making the rightdecisions and conserving our preciouswilderness areas. And more funds forlong-term management of the perennialproblems would be a big help too.

Christine Goonrey

NPA leads the managers into the

wildernessproblems with feral animals, insects,weeds and vandalism are just asimportant.

Despite the wintry conditions, theday was very successful. We were met atBulls Head by a NPWS ranger whoexplained the arrangements forcooperative management of thewilderness and northern park areas. Westopped at Mt Franklin, Pryor’s Hut andother places along the Mt Franklin Roadto look at water quality, heritage andrecreation issues, and at what impact thefire trail proposals would have on theroad.

Lunch at the Cotter Hut gave us achance to hear about the pig eradicationprogram and to appreciate for ourselvesthe long history of management of thearea. Since the Cotter Act of 1913rangers have been hunting horses, cattle

NPA BULLETIN − JUNE 2008 3

The NPA ACT’s latest publication was officially launched on 9 May at the CSIRODiscovery Centre, in conjunction with the 2008 symposium. The Field Guide to theOrchids of the Australian Capital Territory, is authored by David L Jones, with JeanEgan and Tony Wood.

Above left. David L Jones, principal author, at the official launch of the orchid book.

Centre. Christine Goonrey with Craig Allen (ABC TV journalist and orchid fancier), who

launched the book, and Craig’s wife Tamsin with baby Grace at the book launch.

Photos by Michael Goonrey

Orchid book launch

NPA member wins awardNPA member Ted Fleming has beenrecognised as a committed park carevolunteer.

Ted won the first prize in theLandcare Australia magazine’s InspiringAustralians competition. In nominatingthe winning entry, a photo and caption

Congratulations Ted, and Steve.

[As we go to press it has just beenannounced that Ted has also won theNRMA Insurance ACT Volunteer of theYear Award in the Environment category.Well done Ted! Ed.]

was produced and submitted by SteveWelch, Coordinator of the Southern ACTCatchment Group.

Ted received a copy of MargCarroll’s Reinventing the Bush and a$1000 grant to support the activities ofhis group, Mugga Mugga Park Care.


The 2008 NPA ACT Symposium, 9–10 May:

Most of the symposium organisingcommittee members were at theDiscovery Centre well beforeregistrations started at 12:00 Fridayafternoon to set up the registration desk,organise book sales and downloadspeaker notes. Sonja Lenz had collectedthe proceedings from the printer theprevious day for distribution toregistrants, and photos submitted for theNPA ACT photographic competitionhung on the walls of the Link Room,thanks to Martin Chalk, and his helpers.The display looked terrific.

Last minute changes to the podiumcommunications setup were made, thenew NPA ACT banner, designed and

and we hope his research will be widelydiscussed and adopted in firemanagement plans.

Memorable contributions

The standard of talks continued in thefollowing sessions with memorablecontributions from Roger Good, GeoffHope and Martin Worthy, who expandedon themes in the 2006 symposium withconsideration of impacts of climatechange. Core logs shown by Geoff Hopesupport the contention of Phil Zylstrathat Aboriginal use of fire has beenincorrectly interpreted and grosslydistorted.

Insect and animal papers werepopular with the audience; Will Osbornetalked about green and golden bell frogsrecently re-discovered along theMolonglo River, until then thought tohave been extinct in that area. Equally,there was much interest in the papers onfires by CSIRO’s Michael Doherty andMalcolm Gill. Post-2003 fire evidenceseems to suggest that the bush is veryresilient to natural fires (those occurringwith natural frequency).

(continued next page)

organised by Sabine Friedrich and ChrisEmery, was in place, and all was inreadiness when the Chief Minister, JonStanhope, arrived right on time at1:00pm to open the symposium afterintroductions and acknowledgment tocountry by Christine Goonrey. Two stafffrom the Canberra Times were there.

What a shame there were so few ofour members! The committee had beenworking on the symposium for about ayear and fewer than half the registrantswere members.

The quality of the presentations wasvery high, right from the openingspeaker of Session 1 when ProfessorJanette Lindesay set the scene with ananimated talk on global warming,spelling out predictions of the range oftemperature, rainfall and evaporationchanges for the ACT region.

Ian Pulsford followed with adescription of the Alps to Atherton con-servation corridor, A2A (but should beP2P, ie Pole to Pole corridor, accordingto one member of the audience). PhilZylstra’s talk on forest flammability waspicked up in the Sunday Canberra Times

Photos this page.

Top. NPA Symposium in pro-

gress at the Discovery

Centre, CSIRO.

Left. ACT Chief Minister Jon

Stanhope, who officially

opened the Symposium,

with the association’s new

display banner. Photo

Sabine Friedrich.

Right. Martin Worthy accepts

his Amanda Carey Award,

with joint winner Anett

Richter looking on, and

Mick Gentleman MLA who

officially presented the

awards.


Corridors for Survival in a Changing World

Thank goodness the Medicare surchargeis going down!!

After many years of keeping ourmembership fees constant, the NPA’sExecutive Committee has approvedslight increases in the family and singlemembership rates and a slight decreasein the concessional membership rate.

The new rates for 2008–09 are:

Family $44.00

Single $38.50

Concession $11.00

Corporate/Bulletin only $33.00

This recognition of the importance ofsignificant financial donors brings theNPA into line with other keyenvironmental groups, such as theWilderness Society and the NatureConservation Council. Theseorganisations have had similararrangements in place for a number ofyears and a special thanks to DavidTeather for drawing this to theCommittee’s attention.

Rod Griffiths

Honorary Treasurer

The new rates are a little bit moreGST friendly, something the treasurer isall in favour of!

To say thank you to those non-corporate members who are significantdonors to the NPA, the Committee hasalso decided to set a special membershipfee of $11 for those members who donate$100 or more. This means that a familymember making a donation of $100 ormore will save $33 on their normalmembership rate. Similarly, single andconcessional members will save $27.50and $11 respectively.

Photos this page.

Left. NPA Committee member

Judy Kelly with Ann

Reeves, President of the

National Parks Australia

Council.

Top right. Dr Maxine Cooper,

ACT Commissioner for

Sustainability and the

Environment makes her

point at the symposium.

Right. Copies of the NPA

Symposium Proceedings

were available at the

venue.

NPA ACT new subscription rates

Sarah Sharp and Brett McNamara,representing ACT Governmentresearchers and managers, summarisedtheir activities and the extra workloadthat would be imposed in a warming,drier future. Maxine Cooper had the lastword, urging us to adopt moresustainable lifestyles to support apopulation growing without limit.

Joint winners

Former ACT ranger Amanda Carey isremembered with an NPA ACT award inher honour for the best studentcontribution. The judges were splitequally so both student presenters,Martin Worthy and Anett Richter, weredeclared joint winners, the prizespresented by Mick Gentleman MLA whokindly interrupted another function to bethere.

The Orchid Book launch wentwithout a hitch, both Craig Allen and theauthor, David Jones, spoke entertaininglyand with great affection and enthusiasmabout orchids. This new, attractive field

We thank the ACT Government forthe grant that helped make it all possible.

Kevin McCue

Symposium convenor

guide is a magnificent addition toNPA ACT’s publication inventory andsales were brisk.

The venue at CSIRO DiscoveryCentre was excellent, morning andafternoon teas just right and the dinnerwell up to expectations, with lots ofnetworking going on around the tables.We acknowledge Therese fromDiscovery who manages the venue.

Special thanks to the symposiumorganising committee: Chris Emery,Christine Goonrey, Sabine Friedrich,Judy Kelly, Sonja Lenz and AnnetteSmith and helpers on the day includingthe session chairs Christine, Judy, Chris,Clive and Beverley. Honorary TreasurerRod Griffiths didn’t stray far from thereceipt book throughout, and MikeSmith, Max Lawrence, Michael Goonreyand Sabine were constantly helping, asphotographers, microphone runners oraudiovisual trouble-shooters.

It went very well, the Proceedings ofthe 2006 and 2008 symposia are a greatresource for the ACT.


The Tarkine — a Tasmanian treasure

In February this year Janet and I went ona six-day, vehicle-supported trip to andthrough the Tarkine area of north westTasmania. We went with the small butvery professional eco-tourism companyTarkine Trails based in Hobart.

Tarkine Trails (www.tarkinetrails.com.au) describe themselves asbeing established in 2001 “to generate apractical and positive economic alter-native to the logging and mining of oneof the world’s great treasures … sincethat time, Tarkine Trails have activelylobbied for the protection of the Tarkineand have donated over $50,000 worth ofwalks to conservation groups alignedwith this vision.”

We chose the trip option offeringvehicle support, a mixture of campingand cabin accommodation, a boat trip onthe Pieman River and inland and coastalday walks. Multi-day pack walk trips arealso offered. We decided the “TarkineExplorer” trip gave us the best intro-duction to an area none of us knew.

The TarkineThe Tarkine, named after the Aboriginalband that lived there, is an area of northwest Tasmania bounded in the north bythe Arthur River and in the south by thePieman River. To the east is theMurchison Highway, and the Southern

individuals since the 1960s. Only 5 percent of the Tarkine’s 447 000 hectareshas national park status, (the SavageRiver National Park, 18 000 hectares).Various forestry areas, state reserves andmisnamed conservation areas make upthe rest.

This patchwork of reserves does notgive the Tarkine a place on any map ofTasmania and, as such, the identity andwhereabouts of the region is unknown tomost people. Without protection, such asWorld Heritage status, management andprotection of the Tarkine will remaininadequate and the totality of thiswonderful wilderness area will slowlylose its unique values.

Tarkine Trails and other groups havebeen campaigning for World Heritagelisting of the Tarkine. However thelogging, prospecting and miningindustries are opposed to such a moveand the current Tasmanian government isless than sympathetic.

The walkThe six-day walk we undertook was ledby Mark Davis (known as Darvis), ablyassisted by Phoebe Van Doorn. Otherparticipants were Helen and GrahamScully, Debbie Cameron and her brotherfrom California, Dennis Fleming. Goodcompanions all!

We were collected in Devonport anddriven, via Burnie, to our first camp atJohn Lynch Ridge in the south east ofthe Tarkine. For two nights we campedamongst the giant myrtle, sassafras andlarge eucalyptus including Eucalyptusobliqua, up to 85 metres tall and one ofthe tallest hardwoods on Earth. We weregiven a brief but comprehensive talk onsafety in the bush.

Next day we did a day walk down tothe Huskisson River for lunch and aswim. As we went Darvis pointed out thevarious types of trees we were passingand noted the mosses and lichens andlisted the birds we might see and hear.

Our third night was spent in simplewooden cabins at Corinna. On the waywe stopped at the historic mining townof Waratah. The nearby Mt Bischoffmine was, in 1871, the largest tin mine inthe world. The day’s walk was to be tothe top of Mt Donaldson from theSavage River bridge. However, lowcloud meant that we only reached aviewing point two thirds of the way up.From here we were able to see the blightmade on the landscape by the SavageRiver iron ore mine.


Ocean is to the west. Throughits heart flows the Savage River.

Bob Brown, for many yearsan active supporter of thecampaign to preserve this area,continues to warn about thedangers logging and mining arebringing to this region (see forexample, Tarkine Trails—aguide to bushwalking andrafting in Tasmania’s grandnorthwest wilderness, compiledby Bob Brown, with StephenMattingley and Ted Mead,TWS, Hobart, 1993).

Natural valuesTim Flannery has described the Tarkineas “a sea of virginal forest, heath andbutton grass plains that spreads overnearly half a million hectares: all the wayfrom the inland ranges to the wild westcoast” (Tarkine, Ralph Ashton (ed.),Allen and Unwin, Sydney 2004).

The Australian ConservationFoundation’s current briefing paperstates that “The Tarkine’s rainforestsform the largest continual tract of rain-forest in Australia. This is also the largesttemperate rainforest in Australia” and“The Tarkine contains 54 species of floraand fauna which are listed as eitherthreatened or endangered. The Tarkine isa refuge from which many Tasmanianendemic, threatened, migratory andvagrant species can feed, breed, disperseand recolonise other areas where theirpopulations have fared poorly.” Theseinclude the ground parrot and orange-bellied parrot.

Cultural valuesAborigines inhabited the Tarkine for atleast 37 000 years. The AustralianHeritage Commission described theTarkine as “one of the world’s greatarchaeological regions” due to thenumber and significance of the

Aboriginal sites. The region isrich in European heritage, forgood or more usually for bad,with early intrusions by GeorgeAugustus Robinson, prospec-tors, timber getters and miners.

Current statusThe Tarkine is poorly protected,despite campaigning by allmajor conservation groups and

Photo top left. Reflections on thePieman River.

Left. A logged coup in the Tarkine.Photos by Tim Walsh


The Tarkine — a Tasmanian treasure (continued from page 6)

From Corinna we took a 1.5 hourboat trip down the rainforest linedPieman River to its mouth passing huonpine and myrtles. On arrival at the coastwe pitched tents and set off on a daywalk along the coast. Along the way weheard about the various Aboriginalcommunities who lived on the coast andhow they utilised the resources of thesea. Enormous shell middens abound.

That evening, as we listened toDarvis play his guitar around thecampfire we saw our first Tasmaniandevil and met a sole lobster fisherman.

Next day we returned up the river onthe huon pine-made Arcadia 2 andmoved on to the coastal township ofArthur River. That evening we visitedthe property of local landholder andconservationist Jeff King. Jeff hasstopped grazing cattle on his coastalproperty and has turned it into privatenature reserve.

He took us on an evening walk and itis remarkable to see the way thevegetation has regenerated. The contrastwith the neighbouring property wherecattle grazing on the coastal dunescontinues is stark. The highlight howeverwas seeing a Tasmanian devil feeding on“wallaby road kill” Jeff had stakedoutside a shack we used as a hide.

Our final day was spent visiting the

the need for our generation to ensure theTarkine is now protected and suggestedthat sensitive tourist development couldhelp this.

Within days of our visit a large bush-fire, started by a lost four wheel driveron the ill planned Western Explorer road,threatened the Savage River mine andthe township of Corinna; thusemphasising just how importantimproved management of the Tarkinereally is. The future of the Tarkine is anational responsibility.

Our group returned home determinedto support the campaign to protect theTarkine. To this end it is hoped toarrange for Darvis to address a meetingin Canberra later in the year.

This particular trip was notstrenuous — the day walks were wellwithin the capacity of most NPAwalkers. It was designed to give an over-view of the Tarkine. This it didsplendidly. Our understanding of thisimmensely important natural area wasimproved enormously. Janet and I lookforward to returning with Tarkine Trailsto do another of their walks, perhaps thesix day coastal walk or the six dayTarkine rainforest track, or both!

Timothy Walsh

spectacular Arthur River lookout, JuliusRiver rain forest and Lake Chisholm inthe northern reaches of the Tarkine.

Our meals were cooked for us, winewas served and Darvis entertained uswith folk songs and snippets ofTasmanian history, human and natural.

ImpressionsOur small group enjoyed themselvestremendously. Darvis and Phoebe provedexpert and considerate guides. Gentleconservation messages were part of alldescriptions of the biodiversity of theTarkine. The threats posed to the area bycontinuing clearfell logging and miningwas pointed out but did not detract fromthe simple pleasure of being in the bushfor a few days. We saw lots of wild-life — Dennis, on his first visit toAustralia was especially thrilled to seedevils, an echidna, an Australian fur seal,wombats, Bennett’s wallabies andpademelons, and many yellow-tailedcockatoos.

Through Darvis we gained a betterunderstanding of the way of life of theAborigines and the devastation wroughton them by the coming of Europeans. Inmoments of quiet meditation he asked usto respect the generations of people whohad lived here. However his messagewas one of conciliation. He emphasised

Two meetings in recent weeks haveattempted to bring together organisationswhich have an interest in the manage-ment and use of ACT parks and reserves.The first meeting was the Conservationand Wildlife Stakeholder Forum withNPA ACT, Friends of Grasslands, theLimestone Plains Group, Canberra Orni-thology Group and the ConservationCouncil getting the opportunity to asksome of the hard questions such as:• are the Action Plans for Threatened

Species actually being implemented;• when are we going to have a kangaroo

management program;• what is happening to management of

the Lower Cotter catchment area; and• are we going to be consulted on the

review of the Nature ConservationAct?

Russell Watkinson, the Director ofParks Conservation and Lands, chairedthe meeting and promised to bringanswers back to the next meeting of thegroup.

The second meeting was for theParks and Reserves Users’ Group. NPA

(TAMS) were aware of their difficultiesand were going to develop an OutdoorRecreation Strategy in the next financialyear which would work out what werecompatible uses for public lands andhow they fit in across the landscape.Such a strategy would give users morecertainty for planning events and compe-titions and attempt to sort out competingdemands.

The meetings are a positive steptowards building community agreementon recreation and leisure uses of publiclymanaged lands, including NamadgiNational Park. Their success and the suc-cess of an Outdoor Recreation Strategywill depend on the ability of such adiverse range of users to respect eachother’s needs and to temper their owndemands to what is safe, practical andsustainable.

In the near future other stakeholders’meetings will be held for rural lessees,commercial users, and the Aboriginalcommunity.

Christine Goonrey

ACT asked to join this group as wellbecause of our large outings program,and it was just as well because therewere no other bushwalking groups there.It was a large and diverse group includ-ing the ACT Equestrian Association,Scouts ACT, Veterans Athletics, Moun-tain Running and Cross Country Run-ners; Outward Bound, Archers ACT,Walking for Pleasure, dog sledders andmountain bikers.

There was a surprising amount ofagreement among them about what thebasic problems are:• difficulty getting access to areas since

the 2003 bushfires;• needing exclusive access to areas for

their own groups at times;• damage done to tracks by other users;

and• requiring facilities for events including

car parking, toilets and hardened sur-faces.

It all made bushwalking seemremarkably low impact.

Russell Watkinson told the group thatTerritory and Municipal Services

Consultations on parks and reserves


Macquarie perch is a native fishspecies fairly common in theMurray and its tributaries untilthe 1980’s, but now endangered.Their whole problem is that theyundertake riverine spawningmigrations and, unlike otherspecies, they require flowingwater to breed. Flowing waterhas been a very scarcecommodity in recent years, withthe result that the few remainingpopulations of the species havetended to be concentrated in theupper reaches of the river system.This includes our own CotterRiver.

Brendan Ebner, SeniorAquatic Ecologist with the ACT parksservice, has been deeply involved inresearch relating to the Macquarie perch(and other aquatic species) in the Cotterfor a number of years, and gave a mostinteresting address on the subject to theApril general meeting.

His very welcome message was oneof success and optimism — not onlyhave he and his colleagues been able tothrow a lot of light on the behaviour anddemographics of the Cotter population,they have actually been successful inestablishing new breeding grounds forthe fish (which Brendan affectionatelyrefers to as ‘Maccas’) further up theCotter. This will be particularlyimportant for the survival of the specieswhen the construction of the new CotterDam radically alters the existing habitat.

Brendan told us that Macquarie perchare very closely related to the much morecommon golden perch (yellowbelly). Butthey have a larger eye, reflecting theirnocturnal nature, are darker in colour,

the Cotter upstream of the exist-ing causeway. However, for Mac-cas this did not happen imme-diately, and it was not until 2004that the first were seen upstreamof the fishway. In 2007 it wasfound that they were establishedat Spur Hole, 3km beyond Vani-tys, with fish of all sizesrepresented.These developments mean thatthe nursery areas for Maccas arenow much bigger than prior toconstruction of the fishway. Evenbetter, the species seems to bedoing much better than prior tothe 2003 fires which appear tohave impacted more heavily on

their trout predators.The big issue facing the Cotter’s

Maccas will be the expansion of CotterDam from its present four gigalitres to57 gigalitres. This will take the backed-up water to not far short of the Vanitysfishway. The fish will still be able tobreed, thanks to the fishway, but it is tobe hoped they will utilise stretches of theriver even further upstream, ideally asfar as Bendora Hole. This may meanconstruction of some additional fishwayson other crossings.

The loss of the weedbeds in theexisting dam used by the adult fish willbe a problem, as they are unlikely to bereplicated in the new dam, which willreach into steeper and rockier sections ofthe river. Brendan believes thatplacement of sections of pipe on thesides of the dam prior to its fillingshould provide an alternative shelterhabitat for the biggies choosing to stay inthe backed-up water.

These events are not without someprecedent. When Googong Dam wasbuilt on the Queanbeyan River thebacked-up water extended almost toCurley Falls (seems like ages since it’sbeen up that far!). At the time fish wereactually taken upstream of the falls in thehope they would breed. It took years forthem to spawn, but Brendan told us thatnow they are.

After a stimulating talk followed byinteresting discussion and a warmthankyou from Christine to Brendan,members and guests left with a nicefeeling that at last there was some goodnews coming out of the Cottercatchment.

Max Lawrence

and have a smaller mouth. Theirmaximum size is around 46cm and 3kg,but they tend to be smaller in the ACT.Males mature at about three years, andfemales (which outnumber males nine toone!) a year later.

Radio trackingRadio tracking has shown that the biggerfish tend to have established home basesin the shallow weedbeds in the upperreaches of the Cotter Dam that theyreturn to each day, although theirnocturnal wanderings may extend forkilometres. The smaller fish tend to hangout in the deeper water of the dam,seeking the shelter of the rocky sides.

Predators include cormorants, and forthe small fish, trout. The spawningmigration up the Cotter River occursonce each year, usually inNovember–December, but in the recentwarmer seasons it has begun in October.The infant fish are especially vulnerableto trout when coming downstream fromthe spawning grounds to the dam.

Much ofthe researchd e s c r i b e dby Brendanwas relatedto the con-struction in2001 of afishway atV a n i t y sC r o s s i n g ,which itwas hopedw o u l denable fishto accessreaches of

Something fishy in the Cotter

The Vanitys Crossing fishway.

Photos supplied by Brendan Ebner.

Macquarie perch (“Maccas”).


Work starts on protection of historic sitesOn 27 March 2008, Brett McNamara,Manager, Rural Region, Parks,Conservation and Lands, (responsible forNamadgi, Googong foreshores, KowenForest and several other areas in theACT), and three of his rangers (BernardMorris, Dean Darcy and Cliff Stevens)visited several of the historic sites atGlenburn/Burbong in the Kowen Forest.

They were accompanied byNPA ACT members Christine andMichael Goonrey and Col McAlister.

NPA ACT recently published Col’smonograph Twelve historic sites in theGlenburn and Burbong areas of theKowen Forest, Australian CapitalTerritory. Col followed this up with asubmission to the ACT Chief Minister,Jon Stanhope, seeking support forprotection and preservation work at thesites. He responded positively and thejoint visit was an outcome of this.

The party met at Charcoal Kiln Roadon the Kings Highway near Queanbeyanand spent several hours inspecting mostof the sites. The sites are rich in relics ofearly European pastoral activity whichcommenced in the area in 1831.

Col had a paper for Brett and his staffto help focus discussions on a possibleworks program for the 12 historic sites.During the course of the visit he briefedthem on some of the sites’ history and onimmediate and longer term tasks thatcould be undertaken.

Brett and his staff were enthusiasticabout their new responsibilities for thecultural heritage in this area. It adds totheir previous responsibilities for theprotection of sites such as the Orroralhomestead and the London Bridge home-stead complex.

They were keen to protect theGlenburn/Burbong sites and, althoughfunding would be a problem for some of

input and active participation …”.On Friday 18 April, Fiona Mac-

Donald Brand and Col visited theshearing shed complex, the Colverwellgraves and the Glenburn homestead.They were delighted to see that somework has already been done.

At the Colverwell graves, the black-berries within the post and rail fenceenclosure have been removed, most ofthe grass between the post and rail fenceand the security fence has been cut andthe ground around the posts supportingthe interpretive sign has been reinforcedwith gravel.

At the Glenburn homestead, thebranches of the dead pine tree that hadfallen on the security fence have beenremoved and sawn up ready for disposaland the security fence is now locked toprevent stock entering the two huts.

Well done Parks, Conservation andLands. Keep up the good work.

Col McAlister

the larger tasks, they identifiedsome high priority tasks thatshould be able to be under-taken quickly. These includedthe removal of large dead treesat Glenburn homestead and thetidying up of grass and theremoval of blackberries withinthe security fences at theColverwell graves andGlenburn homestead.

Brett said that he lookedforward to further contact withNPA ACT and Col inparticular when dealing withfuture needs for the Glenburn/Burbong sites.

It is still early days, butChristine, Michael and Col areconfident that Parks, Conser-vation and Lands will developand implement a comprehensive worksprogram “for the restoration of theseimportant links to our past”, to use MrStanhope’s words.

The only disappointment from themeeting was that representatives fromHeritage ACT did not show up.

Col followed up the visit with a letterto Jon Stanhope reporting on themeeting, requesting that he encouragethe Heritage Unit to become activelyinvolved in the project and requestinghim to pass on Christine’s, Michael’s andCol’s thanks to Brett and his staff.

Jon Stanhope responded positivelyagain.

He indicated that action on someidentified works would begin in the nearfuture, that Bernard Morris wouldcontinue to liaise with Col to develop aprogram of works “to restore and sustainthese cultural sites of significance” andthat Bernard would maintain contactwith the Heritage Unit “to ensure its

At the general meeting in Februarynature photographer and outdoor enthus-iast Tony Wood took us on a photo-graphic journey through the seasons,illustrated by orchids found in the ACT.The diversity of ground orchids in theACT is quite amazing with 121 knownspecies — some of them quite rare.

The presentation included over80 beautifully photographed orchidspecies, starting with the mid-winterblooming Acianthus collinus found onBlack Mountain. Along the way welearned a bit about orchid biology and

they had never been reported, whileothers seem to have disappeared entirely,probably due to very hot fires in thoseareas.

Now you know there is no excuse. Itis never either too hot or too cold to golooking for orchids. And if you findsomething you think is rare, it doesn’thurt to report the location to parkspersonnel.

Esther Gallant

[Tony was the principal photographerfor the NPA’s new orchid field guide, seeback page. Ed]

the reason members of the Diuris genusare so hard to identify — they readilyhybridise.

Orchids are pollinated by a variety ofinsects and some have evolved to mimicspecific insects that are their onlypollinator. In spite of this emphasis onattracting pollinators, orchids do notreproduce very successfully from seed.

The plants are long-lived and thetubers may lie dormant for years and bestimulated by fire to grow and flower.Interestingly, after the 2003 bushfiressome orchids were found in areas where

A year of orchids by Tony Wood

Brett McNamara (Manager, Rural Region of TAMS) at

Glenburn with Col McAlister (NPA), rangers Dean Darcy,

Bernard Morris and Cliff Stevens, and NPA President

Christine Goonrey, 27 March 2008.

Photo Michael Goonrey


NPA member Esther Gallant gave avery entertaining talk and slidepresentation to the March generalmeeting on her recent travels inAfrica. These are some highlights.

Amazing! Big animals casually walkedby our open jeeps: elephants, lions,giraffes, rhinos. The animals literallycame to us at our unfenced camps. InBotswana, from my tent platform I sawkudu, impala, water buck, cape buffalo,baboons, monkeys, warthogs andelephants. From our Zimbabwe camp wesaw small herds of giraffes, groups oflions, a large herd of endangered sableantelope, hundreds of cape buffalo and agroup of more then 70 elephants. I hadwanted to go to Africa while there werestill big animals to see. What we saw farexceeded my expectations.

me that she was using our lights to lookfor prey.

Elephants were everywhere (toomany for the environment, but that isanother story). In Zimbabwe we watchedseveral herds including many calves at alarge waterhole. The interactions of theadults with each other and with thecalves seemed to demonstrate a realaffection and concern for each other.And we watched an elephant bathingparty. First they drank and splashed andsprayed from the shore. Next they wentto a large mud hole that they hadexcavated and now continued to enlargewith their tusks. Calves rolled and sat inthe mud. Adults sprayed the mud overtheir own backs. All of them appeared tothoroughly enjoy themselves. Back onthe shore they sprayed dust over theirwet backs. Now they had both insectrepellent and sunscreen.

Other highlights of the trip: about15 minutes watching a rare white rhinograze beside our jeep, small mixed herdsof zebras and wildebeest always alert forpredators, young baboons watching usfrom a tree and a cameo appearance byour only leopard on the very last gamedrive. Perhaps the big animals will bearound for a while yet after all.

Esther Gallant

In Namibia, we traveled by motor-boat down narrow winding channelslined with tall papyrus. In shallow areasthe river was filled with large waterlilies. Hippos occupied the deeper pools.Seeing hippos submerged to the eyeballsfrom a small boat was definitely a thrilland a bit scary. Small kingfishersperched on overhanging papyrus andbee-eaters nested in the banks.

In the Okavango Delta we rode insmall poled canoes. Our leisurely floatwas interrupted when the boatmenspotted the only lion kill of the trip. Wecame on the scene shortly after threelionesses brought down an adult zebra. Aradio call brought the jeeps and the restof the group to us, and we drove towithin 10 metres of the feeding lions. Wewent back twice more to see the pridewhich included two very small andcurious cubs.

Spotlighting drivesSpotlighting drives revealed nocturnalanimals such as spring hares, severalspecies of small cats and the amazingtiny primate, the lesser bushbaby. On oneparticularly exciting drive weencountered a serval (rare medium sizedcat). The serval sat with her back to ourjeep lights for a long time, occasionallyglancing over her shoulder. It seemed to

African safari vignettes

NPA photo competitionThe NPA photo competition ran throughApril into mid May. Its objectives weremany and included bringing Namadgi tothose who can’t or don’t visit the area,raising the profile of the NPA as weapproach our 50th anniversary, and toprovide a source of photographs for usein the Bulletin. Of course, it alsoprovided a vehicle to select images forthe 2009 NPA calendar.

It’s fair to say that all of theseobjectives were fully achieved: we havehad numerous comments from the publicabout the places represented in theimages; have ensured that HamishMcNulty, of Territory and MunicipalServices (TAMS), considered the imagesclosely, as he selected the winners for thecalendar; and have a stock of 91 imagesfor future use.

During their six week “season”, theimages have been displayed at MacarthurHouse, the Namadgi Visitor Centre, onenight at the April NPA meeting, theNational Botanic Gardens and theCSIRO Discovery Centre.

I would like to acknowledge the

petition were: Chris Whitelaw with threeimages, Dave Whitfield (a Namadgiranger), Judy Kelly and Liz Harmaneach with two images and EstherGallant, Sabine Friedrich, ChristineGoonrey and yours truly, each with oneimage.

Additionally, two other competitionswere conducted within the period thatthe images were on public display:• A members’ award was conferred on

Chris de Bruine after the images wereviewed at the April NPA meeting. Thatimage is on the front cover of thisBulletin.

• A peoples’ choice award wasdetermined during the course of the2008 NPA symposium. The winner wasChristine Goonrey. The three runners-up were Dave Whitfield, AndrewMorrison (also a Namadgi ranger) andJudy Kelly. Highly commended awardswere given to Sabine Friedrich, EstherGallant, Kevin McCue, ChrisWhitelaw and yours truly.

Martin Chalk

assistance provided me by all those whohelped in the exacting and time-consum-ing setting-up at each location. Inparticular, Chris de Bruine’s eye forbalance and colour coordination wasinvaluable and Adrienne Nicholson’sseemingly endless resourcefulness sawmany a rabbit pulled from the hat (meta-phorical rabbits are environmentallyacceptable I’m told). I’d also like toacknowledge my wife Robyn for herassistance in helping to mat the images.

Of course, the competition would notbe one without the contributions of the18 members and two Namadgi rangers.Their interpretations of Namadgi (andoccasionally the surrounding mountainswithin the ACT) presented a host ofthemes for our enjoyment. Close-upshots of beetles and flowers, sweepinglandscapes and huts were all represented.A number of members enjoying the bushalso found themselves immortalised. Theonly theme that was not represented wasAboriginal heritage — a challenge fornext time.

The winners of the calendar com-

The first work parties of theGudgenby Bush RegenerationGroup were held on 11 and 12 July,when the weather was favourable.After a heavy frost, both days werefine, with a light breeze in theafternoon. Thirty three peopleattended on the Saturday and nineon Sunday.

Saturday’s work began withsome symbolic plantings. First theMinister for Urban Affairs,Brendan Smyth, planted a seedlingon behalf of the ACT Government,then Esma Curtis planted one forthe white settlers in the area, thenClive Hurlstone for the NPA,planted one to represent thepublic’s interest in the project, andJoan Goodrum planted one onbehalf of the Ngunnawal people.Then the workforce dispersed totackle the five different tasks of theweekend — building the firstexclosure, sowing seed intoprepared ground, broadcastingseed, collecting and burningunopened pine cones, and trainingin water quality testing.

The year was 1998 and the thenSecretary of the newly formed GudgenbyBush Regeneration Group, EleanorStodart, wrote an account of the group’sinitial work party in the NPA Bulletinfrom which the above extract is taken.

In the intervening 10 years theremaining pines in the old BoboyanPlantation have been felled and nearly400ha have been replanted to nativevegetation. This has been achieved

closures were erected and a research stu-dent, Chris Webb, conducted his researchproject in the area. The 2003 bushfireswere another threat to the regeneration,but fortunately the damage was notextensive.

Overall regeneration of the area hasbeen achieved but with some areas bettercovered and with more advanced growththan others. Control of weeds remains amajor concern and as action to date hasconcentrated on trees, consideration canbe given to encouraging growth ofunder-storey plants.

Association members are invited toinspect the regeneration area withmembers of the Gudgenby BushRegeneration Group to help mark10 years of effort and perhaps findanswers to some of the questions posedabove. Please join the group andcelebrate its tenth anniversary onSaturday July 12. Details of the occasionare set out in the invitation on page 18.

Syd Comfort

through cooperative work by the ParksService and other government agencies,and community organisations,principally the Gudgenby BushRegeneration Group, with assistancefrom the Natural Heritage Trust.

The pine plantation had beenestablished in the mid 60s but after thearea was incorporated into the GudgenbyNature Reserve and subsequently intoNamadgi National Park when it wasdeclared in 1984, the plan ofmanagement required that the area beregenerated to its native condition. Thisoperation had been strongly advocatedby the National Parks Association whichhas continued to vigorously support thework.

When the regeneration was launchedthere were few comparable projects forreference so there was uncertainty aboutthe nature and extent of problems thatmay be encountered. How much pineregeneration would result from seedfrom the felled trees? Would planting ofseedlings or direct seeding yield bestresults? Wouldnew growth beseverely curbedby cropping byrabbits and roos?What would bethe best proce-dure for directseeding? Whatwould be theextent of weedcompetition? Toassist in pro-viding answerswire-netting ex-


Photos from 11 July 1998. Above left. Under the supervision of ranger Steve Welch, Frank Clements sows seed in a scrape. Also in the photo:

extreme left Martin Chalk, with Stephen Johnston standing behind Frank, and Joan Goodrum at right.

Centre. Urban Affairs Minister Brendan Smyth watches Esme Curtis plant a seedling for the pioneer settlers.

Right. Clive Hurlstone enjoys his first of many plantings. Photos by Syd Comfort

Gudgenby — ten years of regeneration

A recent photo of regeneration in the Hospital Creek area, showing

well-grown trees on the slopes. Photo by Adrienne Nicholson


Light to light walk: 9–12 March 2008

Boyd’s Tower to Green CapeLighthouse

Walkers: Neville Esau (Leader), EstherGallant, Judith Webster, PeterAnderson-Smith, David Large, MaxLawrence, Pete Tedder (author).

Itinerary: 9 March, meet at SaltwaterCreek Campsite.10 March, position cars at BoydTower and Green Cape; day walkfrom Boyd Tower back to SaltwaterCreek campsite.11 March, pack walk to BittangabeeBay camp site.12 March, pack walk to Green Capeand return home.

Location: Ben Boyd National Park,south of Eden and Twofold Bay.

Access: Snowy Mountains Highway,4½ hours travel from Canberra,inclusive of stops.

The walk started out OK because we hadpies at Bemboka. After all, a bushwalk ismore than just trudging through thebush — it is a combination of manyexperiences, including the eating: likepastry at Nimmitabel, milk shakes andhamburgers at the now defunct AlpineCafé in Cooma and huge hamburgers at

through thick leptospermum stands inwarm cloudless weather and a brisk nor-easter. Frequent wide seascapes wereinterspersed with sheltered tunnelsthrough tea tree and casuarinas.

The walk is undulating as it descendsinto small gullies, with thicker vegeta-tion and sometimes with water, beforeclimbing to the sandy ridge tops coveredwith low heath. Along the length of thewalk, navigation is simple with clearsigns, sometimes along 4WD tracks. Thetrack is well benched and stepped; itshould present no trouble to the averagewalker, although occasional patches ofrock are encountered in creek lines andalong some beaches.

Leatherjacket Creek, a bush campingsite with adequate water and a rockybeach, was found at 11:30am after 4.7kmand we paused for photos.

About 500m from Mowarry Point,7.8km from Boyd’s Tower, we cameupon a parked vehicle just before a smallcreek crossing with adequate water. Twomuscular young men passed onX-country bikes, carrying their bikesacross the creek. Climbing the hill, wecame upon a very large grassy clearingand moved to shade underneath coastalbanksias for lunch at 12:30pm.

It was an idyllic spot as our viewwandered over seascape, the beachbeneath us and the imposing headland ofred rock which we inspected followinglunch. A grassy ledge behind the beachat Mowarry Point is an attractive bushcamping site in good weather but freshwater is 500m away.

Leaving Mowarry Point just before2:00pm, we spoke briefly with Neville,Esther and Max before they moved off toinspect the point. Saltwater Creek wasreached comfortably at 3:30pm and werefreshed ourselves in the lagoon and


Nerriga.Max, Peter A-S and myself started

late, leaving Canberra on Sunday9 March at 5:00pm to join the others atSaltwater Camp Site in Ben BoydNational Park. We arrived at 9:30pm andwere greeted sleepily from their tents bythe advance guard. We pitched camp inthe dark, avoiding the wallabies grazingnocturnally amongst the campers. Thenext morning our leader briefed us on hisplans: today we position the cars andwalk from Boyd’s Tower back to Salt-water, a distance of 13.2km, where weslept once more.

A separate sealed path with excellentinterpretive plates leads from the carpark to Boyd’s Tower. Built in the 1840sthe tower is still in good condition butcannot be scaled. Underneath itsramparts, its builder declares hisconfidence with his name cut into thestone in letters 300–500mm high. It isworth visiting to learn and imagine thelife of the whalers. The Park Service hasconstructed two lookouts, with excellentviews north and south along the coast,with interpretive notes on the redsedimentary rock cliffs stretching to thesouth. These cliffs extend all the way to

the Cape. Neville, Maxand Estherdrove off toleave the cars atthe Cape. Thisleft David,Judith, Peter A-S and myself asa lead groupwalking ahead.The track startsi m m e d i a t e l yfrom the carpark. We set offat 9:30am, walk-ing south

Photos this page. Top. Saltwater Creek.Left. Neville Esau enjoys the view back to Boyd’s Tower.


surf before the usual cuppa. Thiscampsite is one of only two legal sitesfor cars, (the other is Bittangabee) and isset in trees behind the long beach. Tidallagoons curve around both ends and thesite has lots of natural beauty.Regrettably, this camp site needs time toallow the vegetation to regenerate. Thepark service has already cordoned offlarge sections and the individual campsites are crowded with cars. Long droptoilets and tank water are on site with theusual warning that the tank water is notsuitable for drinking.

On Tuesday, 11 March, we walkedthrough to Bittangabee (9.5km) takingour time, lunching at Hegarty’s bushcamping site on the way. Hegarty’s is anattractive grassed site with a creek andthe beach close by. The weather andterrain were repeats of yesterday andequally enjoyable.

As we neared Bittangabee, the trackbreaks out to the cliff lines and grandviews north and south greeted us beforewe turned sharply into the deeplyindented and sheltered bay. Severalpower boats were anchored off and ittook little imagination to bring to themind’s eye the whaling pinnaces of theImlay Bros (1830s) and coastal steamersre-supplying the lighthouse 6km away.

The track enters a stand of tall timberfull of tinkling bellbirds and lushundergrowth as it falls slowly to crossthe beautiful full flowing BittangabeeCreek before it rises to the officialcampsite situated on the southernheadland, about 15 minutes’ walk away.This campsite is in good condition with apicnic shed, BBQ and toilets. Theextensive grassy walk-in camp sites were apleasant change fromSaltwater Creek.Trailers and caravansare banished to thestony sites at theentrance.

The afternoon wasspent enjoying theseveral heritage sites

who enjoyed solitude and the naturalworld were, somehow, kindred spirits inthe important task of providing safetyand security to the yachtsman. And theirarchitecture — gracious, stark, mon-umental, sturdy — gave visual impact totheir task.

But now that era is past: anunmanned light stuck high on anunattractive and strictly functional steeltower, fed by huge PV banks is hardlyromantic. In light drizzle we lunched inthe lee of the cape before crowding intotwo cars for the drive back to Boyd’sTower. We collected the remaining carand set off home, watchful as hugetimber jinkers thundered past from thetree abattoirs on the southern cape ofTwofold Bay.

The diverse flora and fauna, the wideseascapes, the human stories implicit inthe tower and Bittangabee, the tragedy ofthe Ly-ee-moon — all these aspectscombine to make the Light to Light Walka thoroughly enjoyable experience. It isonly 30km and, though undulating, hasno steep grades. It is well within thelimits of a beginner taken over twonights. An alternative plan would be tostart at Green Cape and bush camp atHegarty’s and Mowarry, both of whichwere adequately watered on this trip. Anadventurous family might even take theirchildren on this walk, stopping as we didat the car-accessible campsites wherethey could cache food and other stuff.

We said our goodbyes at Bembokaand, of course, completed the experienceby having a ritual pie.

Pete Tedder

associated with the park, namely theruins of the Imlay Bros homestead andthe Lighthouse store. All constructionmaterial was landed at Bittangabee Bayand sent by a horse-drawn, 6km tramwaymade of local hardwood overland to theconstruction site on Green Cape. Until1927 this tramway was also the methodof re-supply, and a storehouse, stillstanding, was constructed. At low tide,after a refreshing bath in the cascades ofthe creek, I returned to the camp alongthe rocky shoreline.

Despite the well patronised carcamping spots, we were rewarded withmany sightings of the native fauna: seaeagles, ospreys, huge lace monitors, onetiger snake, eastern grey kangaroos andbrown wallabies. A more relaxed walkerwould be richly rewarded by the birdingopportunities.

The following morning (12 March),we had only 6km to travel, so it was aleisurely and happy mob that meanderedalong the track. I personally enjoyed therich floral diversity of the heath. Alongthe way we diverted to the impressivePulpit Rock, only 500m off the track,which is accessible to cars. Near thecape, a notice led us to the bushcemetery for those that did not survivethe wreck of the SS Ly-ee-moon in 1886.It is ironic and sad that the wreck musthave occurred around the time that thelighthouse was completed. Our arrivalwas at 11:45am.

Earlier in my life, I was fortunate toindulge in coastal cruising and from thathave a personal attachment to light-houses. From the mariner’s viewpoint,lighthouses manned by hardy individuals

The Gang of Seven:

David Large

Neville Esau (leader)

Max Lawrence

Esther Gallant

Peter Anderson-Smith

Judith Webster

Pete Tedder

Photo by Pete Tedder

Light to light walk: 9–12 March 2008 (continued)


Tidbinbilla to Bendora Dam via Mt Domain

lk

Caring for the ACT’s rarest treeWhen the new edition ofNPA’s Field guide to theNative Trees of the ACT wasbeing prepared one of thequestions asked was “Havethere been any discoveriesof tree species not formerlyknown to naturally occur inthe ACT since the lastedition.” The answer wasyes, a single specimen ofEucalyptus alba destroyedin the January 2003 bushfireand a single specimen of theriver red gum, Eucalyptuscamaldulensis, that althoughdamaged in the bushfire hadsurvived.

E. camaldulensis is themost widely distributedeucalyptus species inAustralia, found over mostof the continent west of the GreatDividing Range except at higheraltitudes. The ACT example, firsttentatively identified by Ian Brooker in1975, is located in a small exclosure nextto Spring Station Creek and the NaasRoad, approximately 1km north of theNamadgi Visitor Centre. The tree has ahistory of survival having regrown withmultiple trunks from the lignotubercenturies ago after the original trunk wasdamaged or killed, probably by fire.

After the location was drawn to ourattention we could see the exclosureneeded clearing of weeds and a bit ofregular attention. Others, includingmembers of Friends of Grasslands(FOG), thought so too.

At an on-site meeting on 1 April withNamadgi rangers Bernard Morris andLouisa Roberts, with Geoff Robertson,Peter Ormay and Ian Brooker from FOG,

this material, and sprayingpaspalum, Paterson’s curseand sorrel outside the rootzone of the tree.

Wednesday began withloading the park servicetruck with box thorn to bedumped at a burn site.There were four more trucktrips through the day withRanger Louisa dropping byto check how things weregoing. More African lovegrass and phalaris tussockswere removed, the fenceline weeds sprayed and theroadside verge tidied up.

Thanks to Ranger Louisafor keeping us on task andMick and Rob the ParkGeneral Service Officerswho handled truck loads of

very thorny plants. Thanks to Geoff andMargaret from FOG and Adrienne,Brian, Christine, John, Judy, Kevin,Martin, Michael, Phil, Sonja, and Sydfrom NPA who came for one or bothdays.

Some comments from the volunteersover the two days.

“Why don’t we have morning teabreaks on other NPA work parties inNamadgi?”“It’s quite a change to work in anarea no larger than 3 house blocks.”“These plants do have long thorns!”

Another work party is planned forspring to check the effectiveness of thebox thorn treatment and to removedeveloping weeds.

Clive Hurlstone

and Laurie Adams and Clive Hurlstonefrom the NPA, it was decided to hold awork party to remove the woody weedsand other weeds using methods thatwould not damage the tree and to takethe weed material from the site.

Of the five other small trees on thesite and adjacent road verge, three wereidentified as E. camaldulensis.

After canvassing regular volunteerswith NPA and Gudgenby BushRegeneration Group two dates werechosen — Saturday 5 April and Wed-nesday 9 April. The Saturday morningwas spent cutting large African box thornshrubs and a few sweet briar, andpainting the stumps with the herbicideglyphosate, then stacking the very thornymaterial next to the fence for removal.The afternoon was spent chipping outAfrican love grass and phalaris tussocksand other pasture weeds and heaping up

The grand old river red gum has been freed. One of the many truck

loads of African box thorn and other weeds being loaded from over the

fence. Photo Adrienne Nicholson

On Saturday 3 May 2008 John Evansand I were co-leaders in a joint NPA/Canberra Bushwalking Club cross-overwalk between Bendora Dam andTidbinbilla Nature Reserve. My group offour walkers started at Fishing Gap car-park at 7:35am (early entry into thenature reserve had been organised) andthree hours later we were on the top ofMt Domain.

As we enjoyed our morning tea on aperfect sunny day we tried to spot John’sparty of five walkers heading up the spurfrom Bendora Dam. We could not seethem, but later I found out that at this

spur. They had been walking for aboutfour hours, so we estimated that wewould reach Bendora at about 5:00pm.

Mixed messagesWe received mixed messages about theterrain ahead, with one person (who welater named “the pessimist”) saying itwas all thick regrowth like what werestanding in, and another, (“theoptimist”), saying there were patches ofregrowth but the final 2km was“beautiful” forest.

(continued page 15)

time they were probably having theirmorning tea on SH1266 about 3km to thewest.

Just before 11:00am we headed northfor about 500m to where the spur toBendora joins Tidbinbilla Range. As wemade our way down the spur towardsSH1239 it soon became apparent that itwas going to be a slow trip. This was dueto patches of regrowth and rocky areasrequiring careful footwork.

We had lunch at 12 noon and thensoon after resuming, whilst passingthrough the thickest patch of regrowthyet, we met John’s group heading up the


The bush in our backyardLiving in the bush capital has manypositives and a few negatives. Midmorning this week as I sat at thecomputer a loud commotion from manysmall birds drew me to the window. Atfirst I was shocked to see what lookedlike a red wattlebird in the nearest acaciaholding a small flapping bird in its beakwith chattering little-brown-jobs millingabout.

Flipping through the copy of theNPA ACT’s Field Guide to the Birds ofthe ACT in my mind, I realised with ashock that this was no honeyeater but ayoung butcherbird, so I dived for mycamera. This was my first sight of abutcherbird in the ACT.

By the time I changed the cameralens the captive bird was dead, all itsmilling family and friends had dispersed,and it had been expertly hung in a fork ofthe acacia. The hunter quickly started toremove its feathers. Not quickly enoughthough; an alert pied currawong, nodoubt drawn by the chorus of alarm callsfrom the flock, darted in and stole thebooty scaring off the butcherbird in theprocess. The currawong cast a yellow-shot eye in my direction and then lefthurriedly. Life and death in the suburbs.

Only when I downloaded the imagesdid I recognise the little brown job was asilvereye, our copy of the NPA ACT’sfield guide identified the killer as ajuvenile grey butcherbird. I felt elated atfinally having spotted one, but more thana little sad for the silvereye.

Another positive — we wereintrigued with Sonja’s recent find of astrange skink in the leaf litter beside ourdriveway. A quick delve into theNPA ACT’s fieldbook Reptiles & Frogsof the Australian Capital Territory cameup with a three-toed skink which youwill surely agree is confirmed by the

Nature Park are the odd ones that give abad name to all.

The member’s letter led me toinvestigate the responsibilities of petowners in the ACT and I was appalled todiscover that cat owners do not evenhave to register their pets. The ACTGovernment obviously recognises thepredation of native wildlife by catsbecause they have imposed a curfew forcat owners in the new suburbs of Fordeand Bonner, so why not throughout theACT? We could start with suburbs thatare adjacent to Canberra nature parksand reserves like Aranda, but we need todo it soon.

As for the negatives, the character ofAranda is alas changing, the sound ofchain saws has replaced mowers on aweekend, new residents either clear theblock and fill it with house or cut downthe eucalypts, destroying the nestinghollows of possums, parrots, owls, gang-gangs and international travellers such asthe dollar birds. Vale the bush capital.

Kevin McCue

photo. The field guidecomments that the speciesis widespread and fairlycommon throughout theACT with the exception ofurban Canberra.

Blue-tongued lizardsregularly pass through ourbackyard, though we willthem to stay. Many timesover we are delightedabout living so close to abush corridor along theAranda ridge linking us tothe Black MountainReserve.

Many avian visitorsMany other avian visitors pass

through our yard in the flitting shapes ofa golden or rufous whistler (no, nottogether), and on another day, a greythrush, yellow robin, grey fantail, a pairof spinebills and other unidentifiedhoneyeaters and numerous silvereyes, allin one large loose flock.

Some of these photos are on theNPA ACT website under galleries/ACTBirds or Flora and Fauna. We are verygrateful that Liz Harman has sharedsome of her magnificent bird photos withus, as you will find if you delve into thephoto gallery. Yours too would bewelcome, via email or a CD.

Following my article in the June2006 Bulletin I was taken to task by amember of NPA ACT for criticising non-native-pet owners. He is right that many,perhaps most, owners are responsibleand keep their animals in their own back-yard or on a leash when out for a stroll.The owners of the cats that kill theskinks and native birds in our backyard,and the dogs that chase the kangaroosaround the snow gums in the Canberra

Tidbinbilla to Bendora Dam via Mt Domain (continued)

We continued our slow progressoccasionally admiring the views toTidbinbilla Mountain to the north, CorinDam to the south and Cow Flat Creek tothe north-west. The few uphill sectionsseemed to be easier than the downhillsections so we made reasonable progressin climbing the 120m up to SH1266.Here we had afternoon tea and enjoyedrare views down to Bendora Dam.

Our progress down the spur wasabout 1km/h and we had about 2km togo, with sunset at about 5:20pm. It wasafter 3:00pm now but we knew we hadthe “beautiful” forest ahead of us so

decided to take the direct route whichwas only 300m but very steep, andeventually made it to the road whichwould take us to the car. We were luckyto meet the road where we did because abit further to the south we would havehad a cliff between us and the road, orwe could even have come down on thewrong side of a high barbed wire fence.We arrived at the car at 5:35pm —10 hours after starting the 12km walk.

Participants: Trevor, Karen andGemma in my party. Max, Zabeta, Loisand Chris in John’s party.

Mike Bremers

progress was going to be good.Unfortunately, it wasn’t good going aswe encountered another large area whereit was rocky underfoot and I was toobusy looking at my feet to see howbeautiful the forest was. In these areas Ithink it’s easier to walk uphill thandown — but that wasn’t going to help usget to Bendora before dark.

We eventually reached an old vehicletrack which would lead us in a round-about way down to the dam. However,after about 50m it became difficult tofollow as it was overgrown and thesetting sun was behind the range. We


PA R K WAT C H

Walk: Murrumbidgee Gulf, 16 March2008.

Participants: Brian Slee (Leader), ChrisPaterson, Kevin McCue, Sonja Lenz,Val Oliver, Toni Ward (6).

Weather: Fine, very warm, occasionalbreeze.

Leader’s Comments: When I conductedthis walk mid-April 2007 it was as aloop from Gulf Bend to Love Nestand return as there were too fewstarters for a car shuffle. An excellentouting, but could it be improved uponas a through walk? Maybe, but not atthis attempt.

We were off to a good start, namely, withsufficient numbers for a shuffle. The planwas to park a car at the northern end ofMurrumbidgee River Fire Trail, anotherat Gulf Bend, to the south. We departedKambah Village at 7:15am, but weredelayed when I ran over a smallkangaroo just past Fitz’s Hill. Itstaggered beyond a barbed wire fence

were happy to climb back up the hill toLove Nest for lunch. Everyone, exceptthe leader, thought the hut was a dump!

Lunch finished at 1 pm and wereturned to the river and went on toPedens Hut for a group photo and a brieflook around. Helichrysums wereflowering in large bands. Afternoon teawas a view to Townsend Hut; the trip toit was deleted to make up time. The too-warm day left us slightly dehydrated bythe time we got to the car at Gulf Bendat 3:20pm. We then retrieved the secondcar.

The bakery at Adaminaby was closedso we adjourned for cold drinks andcrisps at the pub which, apart from theblaring TV, was a welcome antidote tothe heat. Kevin and Sonja stayed for ameal at the pub before camping in themountains. We took the highways toCooma and Kambah, arriving at 7:01pm.I finally relaxed.

Brian Slee

where it probably bled to death. Adawdling utility, passed earlier,reclaimed the lead, and we ate dust toBolaro. The only consolation was that,unbeknown to the ute driver, a length ofpoly piping dropped from his load.

So we arrived at Gulf Bend behindschedule and I took a car load up PocketsHut Fire Trail, looking for our start point.This took longer than expected asMurrumbidgee River Fire Trail was notsignposted, and thinking it would be easyto identify, I had not done theobvious — like keeping tab on distances.

Anyhow, we moved off in twogroups, one at 10:30am, the second at11 am and it was a downhill strollthrough lovely forest with plenty oflizards rustling about, including a tinydragon whose disguise Sonja penetrated.The groups did not meet untilMurrumbidgee River, beyond the turn offto Love Nest; indeed, the first group hadalready waded to the other side. They

Gulf Bend to Love Nest and back

Macquarie Marshes updateThe good rainfall over Macquarie

Marshes in late December wetted the soilprofile and caused good flooding in thecore area of the wetland. This triggered acolonial waterbird breeding event with2,000 greater and intermediate egretsnesting. A number of duck species andmagpie geese have also taken advantageof the good breeding condition.

An environmental water release inearly January, a follow-up release inmid-February, and more local rainfallevents, have all secured the flood eventuntil May. This will give the egrets theopportunity to fledge and forage. A totalof 22,000 million litres of environmentalallocation was released to support thisbird breeding event. For the first time,water purchased under the NSWGovernment Riverbank scheme wasavailable plus a small volume purchasedby the Central West CatchmentManagement Authority.

Although these events have broughtsome species back from the brink, majorflooding is needed right across theMurray Darling Basin to bring wetlandand rivers back to health for the longterm.National Parks Journal, April-May 2008

Stand for last rock wallabiesA brush tailed rock wallaby, “Roxy”

by name, is the last female in a shrinking

Does any of this matter? Why shouldwe care if plants and animals vanish inremote areas that we will never visit?1. Rainforest. The destruction of

rainforests will accelerate globalwarming.

2. Ecosystem services. Ecosystemsaround the world provide nutrientcycling, soil formation, waterpurification and oxygen formation.Over half of the ecosystems are nowoperating in a degraded stateworldwide.

3. Oceans. Half of the oxygen webreathe comes from oceanphytoplankton. Pollution and warmingcan kill phytoplankton.

4. Coral reefs. These provide largeamounts of food for humans and buffercoastlines against erosion. Reefs arenow in danger of disappearing.

5. Medicine. Rainforests are ware-houses for potential proteins andenzymes which offer a variety ofmedicinal advances. Many of theuntested plants may vanish before wefind out what they could have done formedicine.

How can we combat this trend? Byincreasing reserves around the world.Protect the remaining wilderness areas asbiodiversity arks and create links andcorridors between them.

Colong Bulletin No 225 march 2008

colony on the Shoalhaven River.The southern rock wallaby is

considered a sub-species. The situation isdesperate, so another female and twomales were brought in from Cessnock tobuild up the colony numbers, despite theimpact on the genetic diversity.

The Shoalhaven colony has been thesubject of a recovery program for 3 yearsbut this has not stopped the loss ofnumbers from foxes, dogs, hunters andcompetition from goats.

We hope that the introduction of newgenetic stock and the flush of growthwith all the summer rain will give thiscolony a fighting chance.

Colong Bulletin No 225 march 2008

Why we need wildernessHumans are relentlessly taking over

the Earth, tearing down ecosystems tocreate food in our quest for endlessgrowth. In the process we are drivingmost of our fellow species towardsextinction.

Between 1800 and 2000 the globalpopulation increased six fold. The globaleconomy expanded fifty fold and energyconsumption increased 40 fold. Thirty tofifty percent of the earth land surface isnow occupied and exploited for farming,forestry and mining. In addition most ofthese changes have been caused by the25% of people who live in affluentindustrial nations.


PA R K WAT C H (continued)

NPWS restructureThe Parks and Wildlife Division of

the Department of Environment andClimate Change (known also as NationalParks and Wildlife Service) wasreorganised on 1 March 2008.

All the branches (Northern, Western,Southern and Central) will now be partof a new Park management divisionheaded by Bob Conroy, (former CentralBranch Director) rather than directlyreporting to the Parks and WildlifeDivision Deputy Director-General.

In announcing the restructure, PWDDeputy Director General, Sally Baines,stated that it would help “enhance ourfocus on sustainable tourism andbusiness partnerships, respond topressures on parks such as climatechange, improve consistency ofmanagement and better integrateterrestrial and aquatic reserve policy”.National Parks Journal, April-May 2008

Wild places under threatA report from the USA suggests that

fewer people are visiting National Parks,State Parks and other public lands in theUSA, Spain and Japan, threatening thefuture of wilderness areas.

A US study suggests that evidencepoints to a general shift away frompeople’s participation in nature-basedrecreations. The cultural shift away fromnature recreation appears to extendoutside of the US, to at least Japan, andthe decline appears to have begun in1981-1991. The root cause may bevideophilia.

Videophilia is described as a“preference for indoor media activities”,but the report also suggests other factorsin the decline could include fuel prices,foreign travel, extreme outdoorrecreation, family incomes, governmentfunding and park capacity(overcrowding).

If the report findings are correct, thenthere could be crucial implications forcurrent conservation efforts. Otherresearch shows that environmentallyresponsible behaviour results from directcontact with the environment and thatpeople must be exposed to natural areasas children if they are to care about themas adults. Extended periods spent innatural areas, as well as creating a rolemodel, seem to create the mostenvironmentally responsible behaviour.Moreover, as today’s adult role modelsspend less time in nature, this generationof children is also likely to follow suit.

Tgo April 08

physical remains of the AAE, and all thatthey mean to us as a nation, areconserved and celebrated.

The Australian Antarctic Division, inaccordance with Commonwealthlegislation is currently preparingmanagement plans for the places itmanages on the National andCommonwealth Heritage Lists and willcontinue to manage its heritage places toprotect, conserve, present and transmittheir values to all generations ofAustralians.

Trust News Vol 1 no 2 November 2007

Hong Kong legacyIf there is a colonial legacy that has

been absolutely positive, it is thenetwork of country parks that now cover38% of Hong Kong’s land mass. Withoutthem, the city, with its fug and fumes,would be barely breathable and liveable.This year marks the 30th Anniversary ofthe opening of the first parks at ShingMun, Tai Tam and near Lion Rock. So itis worth remembering and celebratingwhat many of us have taken forgranted — a successful system of law,recreational services and ecologicalmanagement that has preserved andprotected 41,582 hectares, and theirfauna and flora for us to enjoy.

On any given weekend, thousands offamilies leave behind the hustle andbustle of the city to go hiking, biking,camping and picnicking in the greatoutdoors, accessible via a highlyefficient and affordable public transportsystem. Together the parks draw morethan 12 million visitors a year.

Despite the city’s undeservedreputation as an urban concrete jungle,the government, with widespread publicsupport, has over three decadesmaintained 23 country parks against theencroachment of rapid urbanisation,property development and populationgrowth. Developers may be among themost powerful constituencies in HongKong, but even they understand that anyproperty project which threatens tooccupy even a small corner of a countrypark will provoke an intense publicbacklash.

Dr Wong Fook-yee, assistant directorof Agriculture, Fisheries andConservation, said the people of HongKong should be proud of theirachievements in terms of landprotection.

South China Morning Post August 07Submitted by Stephen Johnston WA

Compiled by Hazel Rath

Canning Stock Route CentenaryThe Canning Stock Route is almost

100 years old. In 1906 Alfred Canningset off with eight men and 23 camelscarrying tons of water, food and boringequipment for a round trip that wouldtake the next 2 years – the task to find astock route between Wiluna and theKimberley in the north-west of WesternAustralia. For some years the Kimberleycattle men had been lobbying thegovernment to provide a means to gettheir stock to the ever expandingGoldfields markets. This long overlandjourney also seemed to be the bestsolution for ridding their cattle of ticks,an affliction that otherwise preventedthem from travelling south by ship.Canning’s quest was a success, the stockroute was developed and infrequently forthe next 50 years, stock were driven fromwell to well on what would have beenthe longest, most isolated andchallenging stock routes in the world.After the last drive of 1956 the stockroute languished and became little morethan a fading dotted line on the maps.

Trust News Vol 1 no 3 February 2008

Australia’s Antarctic heritageAustralia's Antarctic connections

predate federation but it is Dr DouglasMawson’s Australian AntarcticExpedition of 1911 to 1914 for which hewas knighted and the 1929-1932 BritishAustralian and New Zealand AntarcticResearch Expedition which mostpowerfully demonstrated Australia’ssubstantial interests in Antarctica andlaid the foundation for Australia’sterritorial claim over 42% of thecontinent.

The huts and artefacts at CapeDenison are the most significant tangibleremains of the earlier expedition — theMain Hut, Magnetograph House, theruined Absolute Magnetic Hut andTransit Hut, together with a memorial toNinnis and Mertz who died [on thatexpedition].

It is essential that Mawson’s Huts andthe enterprising spirit that they embodyare valued, protected and understood.Just as Sir Douglas Mawson achievedwhat he did with both governmentbacking and the support of privatecompanies and benefactors, theAustralian Antarctic Division is workingclosely with the Mawson’s HutsFoundation to conserve the historicvalues of the site. As we approach thecentenary of the AAE, it is ever moreimportant that the achievement and


The NPA ACT website is hosted by ourgenerous sponsor, Encode.

NPA notices

For sale. Tent for comfortable car camping. French-made(André Jamet) ~1980, little used. Approx 200 X 275 cm Xstanding room height; sleeping area (2-4 people) withfloor. Internal metal frame. Additional attached frontawning. $100 Beverley Hammond 6288 6577.

New membersThe NPA ACT welcomes the following new members:

Peter Anderson-Smith John MahlbergAngela Delhunty Catherine and Chris IkinCheryle Hislop Liz and Ian HarmanWayne and Judy Ryan Alan and Susan RobertsonJennifer Engle Howard and Libby ViccarsSteven and Jill Small John EvansChris and Elizabeth WhitelawMike Hettinger and Donna TrucilloMaria Mulvaney and Susie MacLeman.

We look forward to seeing these members at NPA aactivities.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY

The President and members of the

GUDGENBY BUSH REGENERATION GROUP

invite members of the National Parks Association of the ACT

to attend a morning tea to mark 10 years ofprogress in the regeneration of the Gudgenby area.

We will meet at the Yankee Hat carpark at

10:30 am

Saturday 12 July

for a short tour of the site followed by morning teain the nearby Forest Hut.

RSVP: Clive Hurlstone 0407 783 422

[email protected]

or Hazel Rath 4845 1021

Front cover photographs

Main photo. Chris de Bruine’s "Narrow-leaf Bitter Pea

(Daviesia mimosoides) on Mt Coree", winner of the Mem-

bers’ Choice award in the NPA Namadgi photo competition

(see page 10).

Insets. Author David Jones with Tony Wood and Jean Egan at

the launch of their orchid book. Photo Michael Goonrey.

Symposium convenor Kevin McCue at the podium.

Gudgenby bush regeneration gets under way in July 1998.

Photo Syd Comfort.

General Meetings

Third Thursday of the month

(not December or January)

8:00pm

Uniting Church hall

56 Scrivener Street

O'Connor

National Parks Association Calendar

Public holidays

General meetings

Committee meetings

Gudgengy Bush Regeneration 2

Further details: 1 NPA Annual General Meeting.

Jun

Mon 9

Thur 19

Tues 3

Sat 14

Jul Aug Sep

Thur 17

Tues 1

Thur 211

Tues 5

Sat 12 3 Sat 9

Thur 18

Tues 2

Sat 13

2 Yankee Hat car park 10:00am contact Clive Hurlstone 6288 7592(h)0407 783 422(mob).

3 GBRG celebrates the 10th anniversary of their first work party.

Nominations for NPA ACT committee members and office-bearers for 2008–09

Nominations are sought for committee members and office-bearers for the election to be held at the Annual General Meeting on August 21

We nominate .................................................... for the position of ........................................... of the NPA ACT for 2008–09

Proposed by ..................................................... (signature)

Seconded by ..................................................... (signature) I accept the nomination .......................................... (signature)

.................................... (date)

[This form can be photocopied and used for nominations.]

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

All members of the association are invited to attend theAnnual General Meeting to be held at the Uniting ChurchHall, O’Connor at 8:00pm on

Thursday 21 August 2008

Business: Minutes of the 2007 AGM President’s reportFinancial report Appointment of auditorElection of office-bearers and committeeAny other business.

Note. All office-bearer and committee positions becomevacant at the AGM.

Nominations for the ensuing year are welcome. Use copies ofthe form below to nominate members for office-bearer and committee positions for the coming year.

Following the formal business and guest speakers, membersare invited to the traditional AGM supper.

National Parks Association of the ACT IncorporatedInaugurated 1960

Aims and objectives of the Association• Promotion of national parks and of measures for the protection of

fauna and flora, scenery, natural features and cultural heritage inthe Australian Capital Territory and elsewhere, and the reservationof specific areas.

• Interest in the provision of appropriate outdoor recreation areas.• Stimulation of interest in, and appreciation and enjoyment of, such

natural phenomena and cultural heritage by organised field outings,meetings or any other means.

• Cooperation with organisations and persons having similar interestsand objectives.

• Promotion of, and education for, conservation, and the planning oflanduse to achieve conservation.

Office-bearersPresident Christine Goonrey 6231 8395 (h)

[email protected] Chris Emery 6249 7604 (h)

[email protected] Sonja Lenz 6251 1291 (h)

[email protected] Rod Griffiths 6288 6988 (h)

[email protected] members

Mike Bremers 6292 3408 (h)[email protected]

Steven Forst 6251 6817 (h) 6219 5236 (w)[email protected]

Sabine Friedrich 6249 7604 (h)[email protected]

Clive Hurlstone 6288 7592 (h) 0407 783 422 (mob)[email protected]

Judy Kelly 6253 1859 (h)[email protected]

Kevin McCue (Immediate Past President) 6251 1291 (h)[email protected]

Annette Smith 6286 2984 (h)[email protected]

ConvenersOutings Sub-committee Mike Smith 6286 2984 (h)

[email protected] Sub-committee Sabine Friedrich 6249 7604 (h)

[email protected] Working Group Max Lawrence 6288 1370 (h)

[email protected] NPA ACT office is in the Conservation Council building,Childers Street, City. It is staffed by volunteers but not on a regularbasis. Callers may leave phone or email messages at any time andthey will be attended to. The post office mail box is cleared daily.

Phone: (02) 6229 3201 0412 071 382Website: www.npaac t .o rg .auEmail: admin@npaac t .o rg .auAddress: GPO Box 544, Canberra ACT 2601

Subscription rates (1 July to 30 June)Household membership $44 Single members $38.50Corporate membership $33 Bulletin only $33Concession $11

AdvertisingThe Bulletin accepts advertisements and inserts. Contact the Editorfor information and rates.NPA BulletinContributions of articles, letters, drawings and photographs arealways welcome. Items accepted for publication may also bepublished on the NPA website. Send all items to The Bulletin Team,[email protected], or the postal address above.Deadline forSeptember 2008 issue: 31 Julyl 2008This Bulletin was produced by the NPA Bulletin Working Group.Printed by Instant Colour Press, Belconnen, ACT.

ISSN 0727-8837

Thursday 19 JuneClimate change and human and

fire signatures in our swampsand floodplains.

Geoff Hope: Professor,Department of Archaeology andNatural History, College of Asia

and the Pacific, ANU.Some reflections on the reasons whyorganic peats and alluvial sedimentssometimes pile up in the landscapeand what kind of message they con-tain.


Thursday 17 JulyTackling Indian Mynas — are we

winning?Bill Handke: President of theCanberra Indian Myna Action

Group.Bill will talk about the environ-mental threat posed by the IndianMyna and what is being done aboutit.

Thursday 21 AugustAnnual General Meeting

to be followed by presentation.

Volcanoes, glaciers and peaksin the Patagonian Andes.

Annette and Mike Smith: NPAACT members.

The Patagonian Andes in the southof Chile and Argentina include tow-ering peaks, volcanoes, glaciers andglacial lakes. In January 2008,Annette and Mike joined a group onsome of the classic treks of Patago-nia. The presentation will show high-lights of walking in various nationalparks there, starting with a volcanoin the northern Patagonian VillarricaNational Park, and culminating inTorres del Paine National Park in thesouth.

General Meetings

Little Eagle

Hooded Robin

2003 Mt Stromlo

2003 Canberra Firestorm

Flood in Canberra

Early Canberra bushfire

Threatened species

Extreme

Photo acknowledgements:

New Publications of the NPA ACT

Field Guide to the Orchids of theAustralian Capital Territory

Text and original drawings by David L. JonesDigital enhancement of drawings by Jean Egan

Principal photographer Tony WoodThis high quality, comprehensive guide to native orchid species

is exceptional value for both the novice and experienced orchidenthusiast. Principal author David Jones is a respected authority onAustralian orchids. He has made a special study of the orchids ofthe local region, describing many new species. This book containsexcellent colour photographs, large botanical illustrations and fulldescriptions of the 121 species found in the ACT. Specific localdistribution notes will aid the ACT orchid friend.

Additional features include a distribution map, glossary andnotes on understanding orchids, their habitats and reproduction.Cross-referencing of previous and current nomenclature isparticularly useful.

Published by the National Parks Association of the ACT Inc.288 pages, 21x12 cm, perfect binding. ISBN 0646447475Recommended retail price $38.50 + postage where applicable.

Geology of the Australian Capital Territory

This map will be printed in early July, and is anoutcome of the NPA’s 2006 symposium.

It is a 1:100 000 scale map of the geology of the ACTarea, compiled by NPA ACT member Robert Abell. Themap is a Geological Society of Australia publication. Youcan place an order by emailing Kevin McCue([email protected]); please specify whether youwant a rolled or a folded copy.

The RRP is $9.90 for the map alone, or $15.40 for themap together with a CD which contains a GeographicInformation System version of the geology and manyother layers of information, plus software to view thedata.

This map will be a useful resource for school projects,for students of all ages and for anyone who is curiousabout the the foundations of Canberra and NamadgiNational Park.

Small inset maps show past earthquake epicentres andtheir regional geological setting, the relief and a Landsatimage.

These publications are also still in print• 2008 Symposium Proceedings: Corridors for Survival

in a Changing World — NEW• Field guide to the Native Trees of the ACT• Field guide to the Birds of the ACT

To purchase your copies contact us or come to a general meeting

For more information please visit our website http://www.npaact.org.au

national parks association of the australian capital

Documents