F 0 R E s T F 0 c u s NO 28 MARCH 83 Front Cover Th e towering Pinus pinaster trees of Po rtugal which are now · growing in Western Australia were trad itionally climbed with a si ngle rope looped around the feet of the climber. In this way, seeds and scions were collected for transporting to Australi a. See " Pioneers: A Pro fi le", page 11. Photo: D.H. Perry. The Pilbara environment- dramatic bea uty. Award for Conservator Forest Focus No. 28, March, 1983 Contents Page The Conservator of Forests in Western Australia, Mr Bruce James Beggs, was Published for Mr B. J. Beggs, Conservator of Pilbara Gardens for Functional Beauty awarded the Imperial Service Order in the Forests, Forests Department of Western by W. Edgecombe 3 Queen's New Year Honours list. Australia, SO Hayman Road, Como. The citation said in part that Mr Beggs has Pioneers: A Profile Articles in this publication may be fully by H. Bradbury 11 had a distinguished career in the public reprinted- with acknowledgement, except service of the State. His p ersonal in the case of commercial promotion contribution over some thirty years to the material, when permission must be Timber for the Future - Pine developme nt of forestry has been of obtained. by Dr F. McKinnell · 23 inestimable value. Conservator of Forests since 1972, Mr Beggs Page preparation and offset plates by Notable Trees of Perth has been most successful in bringing Gibbney's Graphics 1980. by B. White 29 forestry into the "environmental age" through active promotion of the principles Printed in Western Australia by the of multi-use management of the State's Government Printing office atiSSN 0049- forestry areas. 7320. As Conservator, he has had an active involvement in timber utilization and the Written, photographed and illustrated by promotion of a policy of integrated timber Forests Department officers. All maps are harvesting, stimulation of research into the produced by Forests Department Mapping broad aspects of land management and co­ Branch. ordination of research efforts. At both the Stale and National levels Mr Editor: M. R. L. Lewis, M.A. (Hans.) (Cant.) Be~gs has played a prominent role with a vanety of forestry and conservation re lated Assistant editor: H.K. Bradbury, B.A. (Murd.) organizations, and is held in the highest regard by all within this field. lan Laurance, M.L.A. Minister for Forests 2 PILBARA GARDENS FOR FUNCTIONAL BEAUTY by Wa lly Edgecombe Th e Pi lba ra - vast, hot, hars h, attitu des more ak in to temperate environment. A considerable subject to sudden torrential high rainfall areas. Company towns volu me of water, parti cularly at cyclonic ra ins and to extended 'have been estab lished inland to tap Cape Lambert and Dampier is used periods of drought. To the the ore deposits, and along the by industry. But in Karratha and European visitor it is a desert, yet in coast, new towns of the West other towns the majority of scheme this environment, a va ri ety of Pilbara, incl uding Karratha, have water is used by domestic vegetation fl ourishes, perfectly developed along with the iron ore consumers. Green, lush gardens adapted to the arid conditions. industry and in advance of the and lawns make Karratha's homes Here and there the land is development of Woodside and streets attractive, but this dissected by rivers that fl ood Petroleum's natural gas derosits luxury has its price in dollars and overn ight, creating deep gorges­ offshore. Karratha is one o the the cost to the environment. the oases of the Pilbara. Or there fastest growing towns in the State. may be bi llabongs and waterholes But the Pilbara is arid. Rainfall is that are refu ges for animals and unreli able, and although water is birds, providing water for them ava ilable for industries and and for the people who inhabit the domestic use, it is an expensive area. In these oases may be found resource to develop. Th ~ major pockets of lush palms, paperbarks companies, such as Hamersley Iron. and other plants unique to the area Pty. Ltd., and Cliffs Robe River Iron and of great botanical interest. Associates provide water at no Th ere are also the rugged ra11ges, charge to their workers, to attract such as the Hamersleys, and like fa milies to the area and provide a Mt Whaleback, Mt Tom Price and pleasant working and living others, they contain the world's richest deposits of iron ore. Modern settlement of the Pilbara Rainfall in th e Pilbara is unreliable, ,.... sin ce the iron ore "boom" of the being brought sporadically by tropica l 1960s brought with it a new group cyclones during the late summer. Here of settlers. They arrived from the clouds of cyclone 'I an' build up overseas countries and all States of near Karratha in March 1982. Note the Australia bringing with them pipeline conneding Karratha with the landscaping and garden in g Millstream aquifer. 3 FIGURE 1 MILLSTREAM LEGEN D D River Forest and Wood land D Millstream Palms - Heath and Sedgeland 0Spinifex \\ Scale 0 3km Th e answer to the problem of * redesign ing gardens using River. This area includes the Crystal wa ter supply is constant vigilance appropriate arid area plan ts Pool and the delta area with its rare to reduce unnecessary water use. and eliminating wa ter wetlands. Of special interest are landscaped demanding species, areas in towns, and especiall y Most of the area around the domestic supplies which acco unt * promoting wa ter conservation Millstream pools is destined to for over half of the water used in technology such as the use of become National Pa rk. Pr ior to the Pilbara. Studies by the Forests mulch, the use of tap timers 1976 some of the area was a timber Department and others and trick le reticulation. reserve based on the large cajeput demonstrate clea rl y that domestic tree (Me/a/euca leucadendron). consumption ca n be red uced to Millstream Water Millstrea m has become a focal less than 700 kl /annum for an point for tourism because of its ave rage domestic house and outstanding natural beauty. ga rden in the Pil ba ra. This is half The Millstream area, which the current estimated annual usage supplies wa ter to the towns of Water from Millstream is piped per household. Dampier, Karratha, Wickh am and 120 km to the coastal towns of the Point Sa mson, has unique qualities. West Pilbara. Th is la rge draw on The Fo rests Department is It has a fasc inati ng collecti on of water resources has led to concern promoting a programme of vegetation incl uding the un ique that there could be an adverse reduced ga rden wa ter use whi ch is Millstream palm (Livistona alfredii) effect on the vegetation at based on: and the date pa lm, presumably Millstream. Consequently the introduced by Afghan camel trains Public Works Department has * budgeting water use to an traversi ng the Sta te. The vegetation constructed a special bore to amount that the plants ca n and the major pools are fed by supplement spring flows in to utili ze effecti vely (preventing springs from the deep aquifer Crysta l Pool to ensure the existing over watering), which lies alongside the Fo rtescue ecosystems are maintained. 4 Because the Millstream system is now at the limit of its safe water yield, another source of water has become necessary and a new dam on the Harding River has been chosen as the solution. This dam and its associated fa cilities will cost 40 million dollars. Low-water Gardens In 1980 the Forests Department appointed an officer to Karratha to investigate and advise on tree establishment and maintenance in the Pilbara region. As part of this programme the feasibility and costs of estab lishing low-water consuming ga rdens is being investigated in an attempt to provide householders with a viable attractive alternative to the lush high-water consuming gardens currently planted. The first low­ water garden was planted in October 1980 and has been monitored sin ce with some very encourag ing results. In the ensuing two year period, a number of demonstration ga rdens exhibiting a range of designs and native plants has been crea ted. The Forests Department has assumed control of the Government Nurseries at Karratha and Broome. Plants are being raised at Karratha for this programme. Arid area and Pilbara plants are being screened for suitability and most are flowering and growing bett er in gardens than in the ir natural habitat. Trees and plants are being dispatched for trial in all Pilbara towns. 4 Arid area plants were used to establi sh thi s low-water consuming garden at 8 Cowan Way, Karrath a. Of paramount importance are the concepts of strict water budgeting to avoid waste, the reduction of thirsty lawn areas and the selection of appropriate plants for landscaping. Water Conservation Water conservation begins with appropriate designs for towns, streets, drainage, homes and recreation areas. Th e extreme heat Trickle irrigation system in use at 49 Padbury Way Karratha. Wastage of water by run-off and excess watering is reduced by this method. FIGURE 2 COST OF ESTABLISHING A LOW-WATER GARDEN \. Based on ex perience in Karrath a, the following could be a guide to costs once a plan is prepared. Costs are estimated at 1982 pri ces if the tenant is prepa red to assist with landscaping. TOTAL COST $1,550 ~ ~ ~ ~ .~ $500 $250 $300 $500 To d eeplj, cultivate soil, level Cost of 100 plants at Incidentals- pav ing and mou d to desired reticulation $3 each slabs, stormwa ter pipe, formation with backhoe, mulch incorporate loam, sludge or other organic matter to vegetable and fruit tree areas, plus stones and/or sleepers for feature work.