About The Author Geographer and enVironMental historian Dr Geoff Mosley is Australia’s most experienced world heritage assessor having been involved with the field since 1974 only two years after the signing of the World Heritage Convention. From that year, as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, he led many successful World Heritage campaigns, including those for the Great Barrier Reef (inscribed 1981), Kakadu (1981, 1987 and 1992), The Tasmanian Wilderness (1982 and 1989), Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (1986 and 1994), Uluru Kata Tjuta (1987 and 1994), Wet Tropics of Queensland (1988), and Fraser Island (1992). Since 1986 he has been an environmental consultant specialising in world heritage, has worked in that capacity for sev- eral Governments and NGOs, and is the author of many books on national parks and world heritage, including Australia’s Wilderness World Heritage Vol 1 World Heritage Areas (Weldon, 1988) co-authored with Penny Figgis. He has played a major role in the campaigns for the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (inscribed 2000), and for the World Heritage listing of The Australian Alps and South East Forests, and Antarctica. In the early 1950s he joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and has been a member of the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas since 1979, reviewing world heritage nominations in Australia and overseas. From 1981 to 1988 he represented Australasia and Oceania on the governing body of IUCN. THE FIRST NATIONAL PARK A Natural For World Heritage by Dr Geoff Mosley Published by Envirobook, on behalf of Sutherland Shire Environment Centre Inc, Box 589 PO Sutherland 1499 www.ssec.org.au © Geoff Mosley, 2012 National Library of Australia Cataloguing in publication Data: Author: Mosley, J. G. (John Geoffrey), 1931- Title: The first national park : a natural for world heritage / Geoff Mosley. ISBN: 9780858812444 (pbk.) Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: National parks and reserves--New South Wales--Royal National Park. National parks and reserves--New South Wales--Heathcote National Park. Natural resources conservation areas--New South Wales-- Garawarra State Conservation Area. Conservation of natural resources--New South Wales-- Sydney Region. Royal National Park (N.S.W.) Heathcote National Park (N.S.W.) Garawarra State Conservation Area (N.S.W.) Dewey Number: 333.7816099441 Design by Bungoona Technologies, www.bungoona.com.au Set in 11/15 Palatino LT Std The paper this book is printed on is in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council®. The FSC® promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Printed by OPUS Group in Singapore Front cover: Audley Weir, Royal National Park, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW – PXB 403 /35 Back cover: Sea cliffs between Bundeena and Marley in Royal National Park. Foreword There haVE been some developments in human history that have been overwhelmingly positive. Plain good news if you like. Without a doubt one of these was the establishment of a worldwide system of national parks, networks of public land that protect the natural world. Over the years the parks, which began as places necessary for our health and recreation, have also become important learning places. This leads to the question of a third role – what can we learn from their history that will help our future? In this respect The Royal Reserves (Royal and Heathcote National Parks and Garawarra State Conservation Area) clearly have a special story to tell because it was here that a juxtaposition of circumstances – the availability of the land, its location and attractiveness – led to the establishment of the first national park in Australia and one of the world’s first national parks along with Yosemite, Yellowstone and Mackinac in the USA. These pioneer parks created waves that still flow around the world. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to make my contri- bution to this evolving story. My hope now is that others knowing the area and its story, will be similarly inspired to help with taking the next step. The purpose of this book is clear: to gain a worldwide audience for the importance of these national parks and their story in terms of both cultural development and nature conservation. The author argues that this can be done by the placing of The Royal Reserves on the World Heritage List, making them the first of their kind to celebrate these significant historical events. Only the Federal Government can nominate an area for the World Heritage List but whether it decides to take that step will be very much influenced by those people in Australia who believe that the story of the Royal Reserves should be relayed to a wider audience. In that sense every reader will have an opportunity to take up the baton. Senator the Hon. Bob Carr Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs September 2012 vii Contents FOREWORD.................................................. vii INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 The Physical Environment of The Royal Reserves ............... 5 A. Geology – Rocks And Landforms............................ 5 1. Landforms ............................................. 7 2. Major Rock Types ...................................... 9 B. Soils ....................................................... 12 C. Climate ................................................... 13 D. Natural Vegetation......................................... 13 E. Fauna ......................................................18 CHAPTER 2 History of The Royal Reserves ................................. 21 A. Aboriginal History ........................................ 21 B. The First National Park ..................................... 23 1. Establishment ......................................... 23 2. Rationale for the Park’s Establishment .................. 24 3. Approach to Management ............................. 32 4. History of Use and Management ....................... 33 5. Addition of Garawarra to National ..................... 59 6. Celebration of National’s Centenary .................... 65 C. Heathcote National Park ................................... 67 D. Garawarra State Conservation Area......................... 69 ix CHAPTER 3 The Royal Reserves Legacy..................................... 73 A. A System Of National Parks ................................ 73 B. Expansion of the National Parks System..................... 75 C. Establishment of the Wilderness Area System ............... 84 CHAPTER 4 World Heritage Values of The Royal Reserves .................. 99 A. Introduction to Outstanding Universal Values............... 99 B. Cultural Values – Selection Criteria ........................ 100 C. Natural Beauty and Aesthetic Values – Selection Criteria.....113 D. Geo-Heritage Values – Selection Criteria ....................114 E. Bio-Heritage Values – Selection Criteria .....................115 F. Comparison of The Royal Reserves with Other Areas ........116 1. Cultural Heritage Comparisons ........................ 117 2. Natural Heritage Comparisons ......................... 119 CHAPTER 5 Integrity, Authenticity and Management ...................... 123 A. Introduction to Integrity Requirements .................... 123 Protection and management arrangements ................. 124 B. Cultural Heritage Values Including ‘Associative Cultural Landscape’ ............................................... 127 C. Natural Beauty and Aesthetic Values ...................... 130 D. Geo-Heritage Values ...................................... 133 E. Bio-Heritage Values ....................................... 134 1. Fire management .................................... 135 2. Management of introduced species and weeds ........ 138 3. Management of visitor pressures ....................... 142 F. Boundaries and Buffers.....................................145 Conclusion: Summary and Recommendations ..................159 A. Summary of Justification for Listing ........................159 x B. Recommendations to Improve Integrity . .161 a. Consider Internal Improvements......................... 161 b. Improving Buffers (measures for adjacent areas) .......... 162 C. Improvement of Links and Corridors .................... 163 APPENDIX A The Plant Communities of The Royal Reserves ................165 A1: Vegetation Communities in Royal National Park according to the Conservation Atlas of Plant Communities of Australia (Specht et al, 1995). .........................................165 A2: Vegetation Communities in the Royal Reserves according to ‘Native vegetation of southeast NSW: a revised classification and map for the coast and eastern tablelands’ (Tozer, et al, 2010). ..........166 A3: List of scleromorphic and associated features found in the vegetation of The Royal Reserves (compiled 2007 by Bob Crombie). ..................................................167 APPENDIX B Rare and Threatened Plant Species .............................171 B1: Lists For Royal National Park And Heathcote National Park, compiled by Alan Fairley 2009-April 2010 ...................171 1. Royal National Park ................................... 171 2. Heathcote National Park (compiled 2009 by Alan Fairley) 175 B2: Endangered Ecological Communities in The Royal Reserves listed under the Nsw Threatened Species Conservation Act (Part 3, Schedule 1 ) as at November 2011 ...........................176 APPENDIX C History