National Parks Association of the AJCX June July August 1978 Vol.IS No. Registered in Australia for transmission by post as a periodical Category B 75 NATIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION OF THE A.C.T. INC. "A National Park for the National Capital" President: Ian Currie, 10 Arnhem Place, Red Hill. 958112(H); 958107 Vice-President: Darryl Hawke, 8 Emery Street, Chapman. 883763(H); 897411 Past President: Bill Watson, 61 Glasgow Street, Hughes. 816601(H) Secretary: Sheila Kruse, 50/C Currong Flats Braddon. 486104 Asst. Secretary: Fiona Brand, 11 Dyson Street, Lyneham. 479538 Treasurer: Neville Esau, 11 Rymill Place, Mawson. 494554(W) Publicity Officer: Cynthia Hook, P.O. Box 580, Manuka. 959666 Editors: Norman and Jenny Morrison, 102 Launceston St, Lyons. 621548(W) Committee Members: John Banks, Bill Boswell, Charles Hill, John Schunke, Trevor Plumb, Penny Hebbard. All correspondence to Box 457, P.O., Canberra City, 2601 National Parks Association Phone Number: 486104 or 956937 Subscription Rates: Family - $10.00 Corporate - $5.00 Single - $8.00 Student - $3.00 Subscriptions fall due on 1 July AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION * Promotion of National Parks and of measures for the protection of fauna and flora, scenery and natural features in the Australian Capital Territory and elsewhere, and the reservation of specific areas. * Interest in the provision of appropriate outdoor recreation areas. * Stimulation of interest in, and appreciation and enjoyment of, such natural phenomena by organized field outings, meetings or any other means. * Co-operation with organizations and persons having similar interests and objectives. * Promotion of and education for nature conservation and the planning of land- use to achieve conservation. EDITORIAL Incredible though it seems, another year has passed and it is Annual General Meeting time again. We hope everyone who can attend this vital meeting in our calendar will do so. The various steps taken in producing the Bulletin are aimed at getting it into your mailboxes by the first week of the stated month. There have been cases where a member has not received a copy due to either clerical errors, wrong addresses or going astray within the postal system. Anyone who does not receive a Bulletin by the end of the first week of March, June, September or December should ring the Secretary who will send them a copy. It was reported in the press recently that the World Wildlife Fund will set up a branch in Australia. Funds donated to this worthy cause will help in attempts to preserve endangered species both in Australia and overseas. N.H.M. ECOFEST '78 The University of New England is continuing its series of Ecofest schools into 1978. Those interested in participating should try to enrol early to ensure a place. The address is UNE Continuing Education, P.O. Box 591, Tamworth, NSW 2340. The trips certainly sound interesting. Mt Kaputar 3-5 June, to study the flora and experience wilderness camping (adult $30, couple $45, family $60). Pappinbarra field study centre, 30 September to 2 October. This is an area 30 km from Wauchope in the mid-North coast of N.S.W. (adult $45, couple $70, family $90). Barrington Tops National Park 16-17 December - and on to 19th for those interested. This school will study the diverse fauna and flora of the region. Finally there is a Nature Photography school, 18-22 September. This is a workshop aimed at basic aspects and also special interests. It will be held at a centre on the foreshores of Burrendong Dam near Dubbo. Enrolment forms and further details are available from the above address. NANCY BURBIDGE MEMORIAL LECTURE The Australian Systematic Botany Society is to establish a Memorial Lecture in memory of Dr Nancy Burbidge . The lecture will be delivered as part of either the botanical programme of ANZAAS Congresses or General Meetings ASBS. The lecturer will be invited to speak on any aspect of the Australian flora, thereby honouring Dr Burbidge's substantial contribution to knowledge of Australian flora. NANCY BURBIDGE MEMORIAL LECTURE Continued Any person who wishes to make a donation to ASBS funds for this purpose is invited to do so. Cheques should be made out to 'Australian Systematic Botany Society', should be accompanied by a note stating that the amount enclosed is for the Nancy Burbidge Memorial Lecture, and should be sent to the Treasurer, C/o Herbarium Australiense, CS1R0, P.O. Box lbOU, Canberra City, 2601. The Committee proposes that the June General Meeting should discuss whether the Association should make a donation to the Memorial Lecture or whether it should reserve its contributions for a specific NPA memorial; if the latter, what form such a memorial might take. Individual members may, in any case, wish to contribute to the ASBS memorial. The Committee would also like to hear the views of members not likely to attend the June meeting. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, 20 July, at 8 p.m. in Room 1, in the Griffin Centre, Civic. Business: * To receive from the Committee a report on the affairs of the Association, together with the audited Statement of Accounts for the year ended JO June 1978. * To elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity Officer and six members of Committee. * To appoint an Auditor. * To transact any business which may properly be brought before the meeting. Nominations are called for the twelve positions listed above. Nominations in writing should be signed by the proposer, the seconder and the nominee, and should be in the hands of the Secretary before the commencement of the Annual Genera 1 Meeting. THE CARNARVON EXPEDITION - PART 2 At Boomi Creek, near Mungindi, beside a picturesque waterhole, we made the first of several roadside camps. Later, on warm Queensland nights and on very hard, dry ground, many of us gave up the struggle with tent poles and pegs, and enjoyed camping under the stars. From Mungindi we drove via St George to Mitchell, with the streets planted with huge old bottle trees. From St George it was real outback driving - mostly on gravel roads with patches of bull dust; all credit to our drivers who negotiated these without bogging down completely! Our first goal was the scenic road along the Dividing Range at the back of Carnarvon Gorge. On the lower slopes of the range in the Mt Moffat area there has been a great deal of rock erosion over the centuries. Here and there great isolated monoliths remain - Lot's Wife and Cathedral Rock (whose sides show regular fissuring resembling masonry) and more split and weathered formations - The Chimneys and the magnificent Marlong Arch, some 10 m. high with a span of perhaps 25 m. Most of these are quite near the road. They appear to be mostly a rather soft, white sandstone; it is a little surprising that they have remained when the rest of the rocks have disappeared. Also in this area are The Tombs, the caves in the upper part of which were aboriginal burial places. Beneath the overhang at one side there is an unusually good display of aboriginal 'stencil painting' - mostly hands, with some boomerangs and animal tracks and one full length human figure. We made camp that night just short of the end of the road, the last 2 or 3 km. of which was judged too steep and rough for our vehicles. Just below us were lovely views to the S.E. and next morning we looked N. and N.E. into the Carnarvon Gorge area. This is Kenniff country - perhaps the most famous of the Queensland bushrangers; their hideaway cave can be reached from the road, and from several points one can see the 'Camel's hump1 range which was their lookout. To reach the entrance to Carnarvon Gorge we had to make a wide semi-circle via Injune. It was bushfire weather, and as we came nearer to the mountain wall we saw alarmingly widespread smokes rising. However, the road in and the gorge itself was clear, and a timely rainstorm during the night put out the fires in the neighbouring ravines. The camping area was a beautiful spot in the valley floor near the creek, among macrozamias, Livistona palms and tall eucalypts. Tame grey kangaroos with joey in pouch roamed about and, after dark, tents were likely to be invaded by foraging brushtail possums. This is very rugged country, with frequently two and occasionally three terraces of sheer sandstone cliffs below the basalt caps of the higher plateaux. These sandstone beds are part of the intake system of the Great Artesian Basin; Carnarvon Creek springs from these, so has never been known to run dry. Various groups explored the main and side tracks for the length of the gorge including the Amphitheatre. After 9 creek crossings, 2 steel vertical ladders lead into a narrow crevice beyond which is an area of tall grass and low shrubs backed by cliffs. Far back there is what in a rainy season would be a considerable waterfall. In another lovely side gorge are the Moss Gardens, a cool place of tree ferns, smaller ferns, elk horns and many kinds of moss. The wider parts of the gorge are fairly open forest with thick brown kangaroo grass, darling pea, red inkweed, blue borage, mauve and yellow hibiscus. THE CARNARVON EXPEDITION Continued On a tree trunk near the path a flower head of a saprophytic orchid (Galleola) was seen, and further up rhc- gnrge, rock lilies (Dendrobium speciosum). Above the Aljon Falls in a narrow side gorge there was a colony of the rare Angiopteris tree tern.