Queensland’s national parks are a testament to the foresight and dedication of its early foresters. What set forest management apart in Queensland from the other states was the role of foresters in managing national parks. While their counterparts in other states focused primarily on timber and the sustainable utilisation of the timber resource, Queensland’s foresters were pioneers in balancing conservation with economic interests.
From the late 19th century, these men of the forest recognised the need to protect natural landscapes, preserving them for future generations. Their actions laid the foundation for one of Australia’s most diverse and extensive national park systems. This blog explores the vital role of foresters in the early establishment and management of national parks in Queensland and their lasting legacy in conservation and park management.
The birth of national parks: foresters leading the charge
In the early decades of settlement, Queensland’s forests were primarily seen as limitless resources of valuable timber—red cedar, hoop pine, and kauri pine. The forests were heavily logged, with little regard for regeneration. By the mid-19th century, concerns about the unsustainable nature of this exploitation began to surface. The Acclimatisation Society of Queensland raised early alarms about the overcutting of forests, but the government, focused on promoting settlement and agriculture, remained unmoved.
The turning point came with the State Forest and National Parks Act of 1906, the first legislation of its kind in Australia and possibly the world. This law gave foresters the authority to administer state forests and national parks, placing conservation in the hands of the people who understood the land best. The foresters’ vision was clear: to balance sustainable timber production with the permanent preservation of significant natural areas.
One of the early leaders in this movement was the Director of Forests Philip Mac Mahon, who as early as 1889, advocated for reserving forests from clearing. His influence extended into creating Queensland’s first national park at Witches Falls in March 1908, a direct response to local concerns about deforestation on Tamborine Mountain.
However, according to forest historian John Huth, the Queensland Government Gazette announced the declaration of another national park under The Lands Act 1897 much earlier on 22 March 1900. It was an area of 3,035 hectares at Barron Falls in North Queensland “temporarily reserved for the purpose named”. However, Witches Falls National Park remains Queensland’s oldest remaining national park.
In October 1903, the new Forestry Branch recommended the declaration of the Bunya Mountains Timber Reserve as a national park after forest inspector Leonard Board and forest ranger Gilbert Burnett visited the area. On 1 August 1908, the stands of hoop, bunya pine, and remnants of red cedar on top of the Bunya Mountains and some of the drier forests on the western slopes covering some 9,000 hectares were declared a national park.
Possibly the most significant early national park was on the McPherson Range. Robert Collins grew up in the shadows of the range. After visiting America in the late 1870s, experiencing Yellowstone National Park and learning about their national park ideals, he was keen to see national parks in Queensland after he was elected to parliament in 1896. Despite much opposition to setting up a national park in the ranges, in favour of the settlement of the plateau and access to valuable timber stands, he persisted.
After Collins died in 1913, Romeo Lahey, who also grew up in the area, pushed firmly for a national park to ensure the proposal did not die with Collins’ death. After the local member told Lahey that if he could prove that the people in the local shires wanted a national park, he could have it.
Lahey took up the challenge with gusto, running door-to-door campaigns, illustrated lectures, dances and public meetings. After securing 521 signatures on a petition, he approached the local member with the message:
Praying you to approach the Secretary of Lands to secure the immediate reservation as a national park of all the contiguous unalienated land along the McPherson Range.
In July 1915, 19,000 hectares were declared as Lamington National Park, still considered Queensland’s number one national park.
However, some debate in 1930 raised questions about who had a more significant role in the gazettal of Lamington National Park – Collins or Leahy. Mr Chisholm from Sydney credited Lahey as the “parent” of the national park. However, Dr James Thomson, a geographer with the State Survey Department, argued that Collins should be recognised as the true pioneer behind the park, having advocated for its creation long before Lahey’s involvement. While Thomson acknowledged Lahey’s contributions, he emphasised that Collins worked tirelessly for the cause for many years, maintaining correspondence and lobbying ministers to make the park a reality. He referred readers to a detailed account for more information about Collins’ efforts.
Undoubtedly, Lahey was a formidable authority in championing national park proposals over many years. He had a close relationship with the Forestry Department and, according to Ian Bevege, who attended many National Park Association of Queensland meetings:
Old Romeo held the floor; what he said went. Not a man to be trifled with.
Expanding the national park estate: foresters at the helm
By the 1930s, foresters had firmly established themselves as Queensland’s natural heritage stewards. Despite limited resources and staffing, they worked tirelessly to expand the national park estate.
Under the leadership of figures like Vic (Peter) Grenning and Alan Trist, the Forestry Department developed a robust policy of protecting scenic areas and scientifically significant ecosystems. Trist’s visionary approach in the 1970s emphasised the inclusion of commercial-quality forests in national parks, ensuring that all natural ecological associations were represented.
Many national parks were declared based on the forester’s recommendations. Foresters like Jack Dawson, district forester at Atherton, played a crucial role in expanding the national park system. His efforts led to preserving a magnificent strip of rainforest in north Queensland, which became Palmerston (now Wooroonooran) National Park. Other significant reserves were gazetted around the state, such as Carnarvon, Springbrook, Eungella, the Crater Lakes of the Atherton Tablelands, Chillagoe Caves, Bellenden Ker with Mount Bartle Frere and Hinchinbrook, then the largest island national park.
Despite their successes, Queensland’s foresters were often hampered by limited funding and political challenges. For many years, the state allocated minimal resources to national park management. It wasn’t until 1936 that the state budget included any significant funding for national parks, and even then, it was a paltry £2000. Much of this went to constructing walking trails in Lamington National Park.
It was around this time that field staff were employed. The first full-time ranger for South Queensland was George Gentry. Forest ranger Jack Gresty and track foreman Gus Kouskos were appointed at Lamington National Park.
Foresters also faced opposition from other government departments, particularly the Mines Department, which had competing interests in many areas proposed for preservation. These disputes were often slow to resolve, adding another layer of complexity to the already difficult task of managing large, diverse landscapes.
Despite the limitations, work was carried out, and the Director of Forests recognised the importance of national parks in the 1935 Annual Report:
In the national parks, the policy of absolute non-interference with flora and the maintenance of these areas in their primeval state for the benefit not only of the present-day public but of posterity has been observed.
The legacy of foresters: from management to advocacy
When the administration of national parks was transferred to the new National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1975, there were 300 terrestrial and two marine national parks covering over one million hectares, supporting over 500 kilometres of walking tracks and visited by over two million people annually. There is no doubt that foresters were very effective in protecting the national parks from exploitation, which was enshrined in section 40 of the 1906 act:
The cardinal principle to be observed in the management of national parks shall be the permanent preservation, to the greatest possible extent, of their natural condition and the Conservator of Forests shall exercise his powers under this part of this Act in such a manner as appears to him most appropriate to achieve this objective.
Senior forestry officers were primarily responsible for putting the administration of Queensland’s national parks on such a sound basis under Vic Grenning, who became Director of Forests in 1932 and remained head of the department until his retirement in 1964.
Grenning’s replacement, Alan Trist, carried on the national park legacy. Alan’s brother, Clarrie was secretary, and his successor, Bill Wilkes, played an essential role at the policy level. Wilkes was such a staunch supporter of national parks he was affectionately known as “Mr National Parks”.
In the early 1930s, Grenning made the secretary responsible for the general administration of the national parks. This meant rangers, and later foresters, reported directly to the secretary and not the District Forester within whose district a national park occurred.
Wilkes, who led Queensland’s representation at the First International Conference on National Parks in the USA in 1962, was instrumental in introducing interpretive services in parks, including fastening tree names on trees close to the walking track, further enhancing public engagement with these protected areas. The first tree name signs were installed at Maiala National Park at Mt Glorious and Cunninghams Gap National Park.
These senior officers were ably supported by a cadre of technical and specialist staff that handled national parks matters, such as Syd Curtis, who was appointed the forester-in-charge of national parks in 1964 and led a small team of park rangers at Atherton, Mackay and Brisbane. They made proposals for the expansion of the national park estate in Queensland. Curtis was instrumental in ensuring that all ecosystem types, not just scenic ones, were represented in national parks. Other officers in the national park unit were Peter Stanton and Peter Ogilvie, who carried out flora and fauna work in the 1970s. At the same time, Clive Price, Bill Fisher and Dick Grimes dealt with general management issues.
In 1955, a stone entrance to the Canyon Lookout at the Warrie National Park (now part of Springbrook National Park) was built with a memorial dedicated to Clarrie Trist. It says:
This entrance is a memorial to the late Clarence John Melrose Trist, who as secretary of the Forestry Department from 1919 to 1953, did so much to apply the national park’s philosophy in the State of Queensland. His ideal was to preserve as nearly as possible in the primeval condition some figments of the original Australia, and to keep them unspoilt and untouched, not only for our enjoyment, but for that of our children and their children for all time.
In the late 60s and early 1970s, most operational work was carried out with little recognition outside the head office’s formal national park administrative unit. While many national parks existed, they didn’t need a separate organisation to administer them.
When Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson set up the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Conservator of Forests was not consulted. Unfortunately, the bureaucrats involved had no idea of the considerable contribution made to the administration of the parks by various branches of the Department of Forestry, apart from the National Parks Branch itself. It was also believed at the time that forestry was so effective in protecting the parks from exploitation that it was a factor in Bjelke-Peterson’s surprise decision.
In his National Parks Association Queensland’s Third Memorial Romeo Lahey address in 1972, Wilkes eloquently captured the ethos of the foresters’ conservation philosophy:
Foresters, by the very nature of their training, are at the forefront of the most competent conservationists available to administer such areas and, generally speaking, are the most dedicated persons in the cause of nature preservation.
A Lasting Legacy
Today, Queensland’s national park and other reserve systems span over 14.5 million hectares and are visited by millions yearly. While modern preservation efforts have expanded to include more scientific considerations, the fundamental principles established by foresters remain at the core of park management. The idea that natural ecosystems should be preserved for their beauty and ecological value is a direct legacy of the foresters who first advocated for their protection.
As the pressures of modern development and population growth intensify, the pioneering work of Queensland’s foresters serves as a reminder of the importance of proactive conservation. Their early recognition of the need to balance economic use with environmental preservation laid the foundation for the reserve estate.
Queensland’s foresters were more than just managers of timber and land – they were pioneers in preservation, ahead of their time in recognising the importance of preserving natural landscapes. Their legacy is visible in the sprawling national parks that dot the state, from the tropical rainforests of the north to the rugged mountain ranges of the south. As Queensland grapples with preservation challenges in the 21st century, the foresight and dedication of these early foresters should remain an inspiration for all who work to protect the environment.
Thanks, Rob.
I have just finished Peter Clark’s shocking story “Firestorm” detailing the causes of the fires that went into Canberra in 2003.
Chief among the causes was the political interference by politicians and bureaucrats over at least a decade, which hamstrung those specialist groups who knew what had to be done to restrict the fires to a manageable level, but who had their equipment and their authority stripped away by said dumb bastards, who did not want to understand that they bore the responsibility for the resulting devasation in 2003.
In my latter years of high school 1958-60, I was a member of the Caloola Club in Sydney, which called itself an expeditionary society. In late 1960, the Caloola Club merged with the NSW National Parks Association. My involvement with the Caloola Club was instrumental in me becoming a forester. However, when I announced that I was starting my forestry degree course, I was instantly treated as a heretic. I graduated BSc (For)ANU in 1966.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, National Park management was breaking free of the NSW Lands Dept, and several of their senior management were ex-NSW Forestry Commission foresters. One of my contemporaries became an avaricious convert of State Forests to National Parks.
From 1989 to 2005, I managed a private river red gum forest of some 170sqkm for sustainable production. The data for that management and its mapping was started from scratch by me. In 2005, that forest was purchased by the NSW NPWS for their first river red gum National Park.
When I asked the officer who claimed to have brokered that deal what they had bought the property to save, he replied that they were confident the forest was in good condition, so it didn’t need ‘saving’. However, NPWS showed no interest in the maps I had drawn or the data I had collected over my 16 years of sustainable management.
Some years ago, I read an article from a major newspaper in the 1920s expressing concern that too much good development land was being locked up in State Forests. Many of those State Forests are now National Parks, so they obviously didn’t dedicate enough land as State Forests to supply the nation’s timber needs. Timber and its products still rate as Australia’s second largest import.
My whole career since 1966 has been managing productive native forests. Most of those forests, including the private ones, are now National Parks.