Integrating history and ecological thinking: Royal National Park in historical perspective

2019·26.2 MB·English

by  Daniel Lunney

Integrating History and Ecological Thinking: Royal National
Park
in Historical Perspective
Daniel Lunney
Office ofEnvironment and Heritage NSW, PO Box 1967, Hurstville NSW 2220, and School ofBiological
NSW
Sciences, University ofSydney, 2006. Email address: [email protected].
Published on 27 June 2014 at http://escholarship.library.usyd.edu.au/journals/index.php/LIN
Lunney, D. (2014). Integrating history and ecological thinking: Royal National Park in historical
perspective. Proceedings ofthe Linnean Society ofNew South Wales 136 157-199.
,
This paper aims to develop anecological history ofRoyal National Park. The socio-cultural context for
the pushto reserve such a large tractofland inperpetuity in 1879 includes the Park’s early links to the Royal
Zoological Society ofNSW (formerlytheAcclimatisation Society ofNSW), in additionto a strong political
A
movement advocating the reservation ofopen space in urban areas. selection ofmaps ofthe Park situates
it in a broader context. Previously unpublished data from 1879 to the present is evidence of increasing
formal support for nature conservation and protected areas. Tim Flannery’s contentious essay ‘Beautiful
Lies’ (2003) is challenged on the issue of long-term fauna conservation in Australia’s national parks. The
paper concludes thatusing an ecological approach to interpreting historical data enables us to gain a clearer
grasp ofthe reasons behind the changes to the Park’s boundaries since 1879, the relationship between the
Park and its fauna, and the challenges facing the Park as an urban park inthe twenty-hrst century.
Manuscript received 22 August 2013, accepted for publication 23 April 2014.
KEYWORDS: acclimatisationmovement, ecological history, environmental history, Royal National Park,
Royal Zoological Society ofNSW, Tim Flannery; urban park, YellowstoneNational Park.
INTRODUCTION
2012). This paper aims to further that endeavour by
moving between history and ecology to arrive at a
Oliver Rackham is a scholar with an unusual deeper understanding of the future challenges facing
bent. He is interested in ancient woodlands and has the park.
developed the area of woodland ecology as a branch Ecological history is a rapidly growing held
ofhistorical ecology, which he sees as both a science attractingconsiderableinternationalattention.Drawing
and a part ofhistory (Rackham 2003: xviii). He points on existing fields such as environmental history
out that woodland ecology is a discipline that is still (with which it is often synonymous) and historical
in its early stages of development. In the second geography, ecological history has been recognised as
edition of his striking book, Ancient Woodland', crucial to developing ecological restoration programs
Rackham notes that new data have strengthened his and conservation strategies (Foster 2000; Donlan and
conviction that ancient woods are all different, and Martin 2004; Jackson and Hobbs 2009), in addition
that each has its own unique development. Given that to deepening our understanding ofthe human impact
Rackham (2003: 435) views Australia as a miniature on the natural environment (Flannery 1994). As
planet and contends that its ecosystems work on an approach, ecological history seeks to integrate
different principles to the rest of the globe, one can disparate disciplines, drawing not only from ecology
quickly appreciate that, from a world perspective, and history, but also cultural studies (Goodall 2010;
Royal National Park is an international treasure richly D’Arcy 2006) and archaeology (Hayashida 2005;
deserving of its own ecological history. The Linnean Briggs et al. 2006), among other fields. Many works
Society symposium of2011 was a major step toward in the held adopt a grand-scale approach, examining
achieving that goal, by examining the Park from a ecological changes which have taken place over
number of different interpretive positions (see e.g. millenniainwholeregions(e.g.Vermeij 1987 Flannery
;
Adam 2012; Attenbrow 2012; Schulz and Magarey 2001; Grove and Rackham 2001). For more localised
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
studies, however, a small-scale approach is equally urban constituencies (Conner 2003).
valuable in capturing the ecological specificities and While National Parks are always about the
changes in a given area. Although recognising that present, they are also about a sense of the past and
the history of Royal National Park - both ecological the future. Without an examination oftheir history we
and cultural - did not begin with its dedication in cannot fully comprehend their development; without
1879, this paper focuses on the decades following its an eye on their future, they will not survive. For
dedication, which have been underexamined in the those who lack a sense ofhistory, national parks and
context ofecological history. In her captivating book, protected areas are an impediment to growth, wasted
The Colony historian Grace Karskens identifies that land which should be converted into something more
,
by the 1820s, the pattern offanning and grazing lands useful. This view is manifest in so many areas of
in New SouthWales followed the funnel shape ofthe debate, whether concerning the river red gums on the
plain’s arable soils. As a result, the rough sandstone Murray, the southeastwoodchipped forests, orgrazing
country that encircled the plain was avoided. These in the high country, that we should never rest on the
once-shunned areas, she remarks, became Sydney’s assumption that we have pennanently made the case
fourtreasuredNational Parks: Royal, BlueMountains, foranationalparks systemthatmeets allthe ecological
Ku-ring- gai and Sydney Harbour. In Karskens’ criteria that one can find, including howthe parks and
view, “their ecologies became the default ‘Sydney reserve system will fare in an era of climate change.
ecologies’” (2009: 21). The landscapes of the arable The shining example of Royal National Park helps
We
soils, such as on the Cumberland Plain, and the rich sustain that case. might rest comfortably with the
alluvial flats, met a different fate: they are Sydney’s assumption that no-one will turn Royal National Park
“lost landscapes” (2009: 21). As Karskens recognises, into a new set ofsuburbs, but we are far from sure that
the chance survival of a handful of areas has come the remaining remnants of Sydney’s pre-European
to retrospectively structure our understanding of vegetation will not be cleared for some development
Sydney’s pre-settlement natural environment as a dream, a growth centre, infrastructure project or just
whole. That Karskens highlights what has been lost incremental expansion of existing suburbs. That is
suggests an awareness of the fact that what we have their likely fate, but it ought not to be. To help project
left, and the knowledge that can be gleaned from it, is an image ofa future Sydney that keeps as much ofits
necessarily incomplete. biological heritage as possible, we should continue to
There are many fascinating aspects of the point to Royal National Park. In 1879, it was a great
ecological history of Royal National Park. Among idea, by 1979, at its centenary, it was a brilliant idea,
these aspects is the meaning of ‘national park’ and and by 2079, it will be seen as a solid gold investment.
what it meant in Australia in 1879 when what is now Indeed, as the Trustees concluded in their Official
known as Royal National Park came into existence. Guide to the NationalPark ofNew South Wales “It is
,
NSW
Another is the place ofthe Park in coastal and Time, and Time alone, that will prove the vast value
the Sydney region from a biologist’s perspective. ofthis magnificent dowry to the people ofNew South
What is its vegetation, its fauna, and how do we Wales” (Elwell 1893:64).
manage this national park ecologically? A third area We can now turn to some of the details of
of interest is the location ofthe Park in relation to its Royal National Park that might capture the attention
immediate surroundings, and the implications of its of a future ecological historian who has the time to
location forthe management ofthis largerunit ofland. follow up any ideas and convert a tentative paper
As an urban park, it is particularly important in the to a solid piece of scholarship. I might add that it is
context of building public support for conservation essential to publish such efforts: I know oftoo much
initiatives. Developing a pro-conservation consensus material that is unpublished, and that is a tragedy for
among urban populations is a key challenge facing those with more than just a passing interest in Royal
conservation organisations more generally, and National Park, or indeed any other element of our
promisestorewardprotected areas ifachieved (Trzyna natural environment. The importance ofresearch and
2003). The location of the Park also poses specific education concerning the natural history of Royal
challenges for its managers. As Conner (2003) argues, National Park become apparent when listening to
public awareness ofthe benefits of protected areas is people who have spent much of their lives studying
particularly important with regard to urban parks. As and working in and around the Park. By 2079, these
such, he contends, managers need to promote their experts will have died, and as an important part of
parks’ natural and cultural heritage values and provide the Park’s history it is necessary that we record this
information to potential beneficiaries with a view to community’s contribution while they are still active
A
developing broader support for conservation among (see Appendix 1). central theme ofthis paper is to
158 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014
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draw attention to the need to record the history ofall Despite the reservations of then Premier Henry
our National Parks and Nature Reserves, and to place Parkes, who concurred with the sentiment of Lucas’
their history in an ecological context. It is a difficult address but criticised its radical implications for land
and time-consuming task: it took some years for a use policy, Lucas’ resolution was unanimously passed
group ofus to record NadgeeNature Reserve (Lunney in the Assembly the following month. His proposal
et al. 2012), but these efforts will be invaluable in the sheds valuable light on one of the ways in which
coming decades. the natural environment was conceived at the time:
as ‘the city’s lungs’, the antithesis to the polluted
urban centre of the modern age. Yet the reformers’
‘THE LUNGS OF THE CITY’ ABRIEF HISTORY preoccupation with population health was not the sole
:
factor behind the dedication of Royal National Park
The decision to reserve such a large tract of land in 1879. As Pettigrew and Lyons (1979) argue, one
CBD
merely 25 kilometres from the Sydney must of the primary reasons for its reservation from sale
be contextualised within the increasing concerns was the need to provide land for the acclimatisation
for public health which preoccupied many of the of foreign animals. The Parkes Government strongly
educated elite of the nineteenth century. For an approved of the aims of the Zoological Society of
intellectual and political milieu that prized public New SouthWales (initially called the Acclimatisation
hygiene, racial purity and vitality, Sydney’s rapid Society), which formed a month after Lucas’ address
population expansion presented critical problems on 24 March 1879. The Society was committed to
for the future. The city’s sanitation, overcrowding “the introduction and naturalisation of song-birds,
and pollution attracted growing criticism in the late and of animals suitable for game” (Anon. 1879b: 5).
1870s, as a State Government enquiry into Sydney’s Two days after its first meeting, the Sydney Morning
health [1885-1877] blamed a high child mortality Heraldreportedthatthe Parkes Government, “inorder
rate on inadequate procedures for sewage disposal. to promote its objects, will set apart a large tract of
It was as a direct consequence ofthese concerns that land for the purpose of acclimatisation.” It specified
urban reformer John Lucas addressed the Legislative that “the proposed reserve is on the south side ofPort
Assembly on 19 February 1879: Hacking, extending from the coast some five miles
“The health of the people should be one of the back, and is said to embrace about 80,000 acres”
first objects ofall good Governments, and to insure a (Anon. 1 879c: 5). On 29 March, the Heralddescribed
healthy, and consequently a vigorous and intelligent the area in greater detail and credited the idea to John
community, it is necessary that all cities, towns, Robertson, Vice-President of the Executive Council,
villages, and such other centres ofpopulations, should “who has thought of the project for years” (Anon.
possess parks and pleasure grounds as places ofpublic 1879d: 3). 18,000 acres (7284ha) were formally
recreation.” (Anon., 1879a: 3) dedicated on 26 April 1879. On the same day, eleven
Lucas proposed that a tract of land should be Trustees were appointed, including Lucas, Robertson,
dedicated exclusively for the purpose of public and the convenor of the Zoological Society, Walter
recreation - literal “breathing room” - in all of Bradley.
Sydney’s denselypopulated suburbs. Intheirreportage That Lucas and Bradley were both appointed as
ofLucas’ address, the Sydney MorningHeraldclearly Trusteespoints, to acertainextent, tothe compatibility
agreed. While noting that Sydney already had the of their aims. Both men, and the groups they
Domain, “some small reserves” - such as Moore represented, viewed the natural environment within
Park, dedicated in 1866 - and “amost noble harbour”, a utilitarian framework. Although today the effective
it contended that these were insufficient: “With all cooperation of a zoological body and an urban
those facilities forhealth we had a puny race ofyoung development group is complicated by the former’s
people growingup inourmidst”. Lucas was especially conservation ethic, in the nineteenth century their
preoccupied bythe long-term effects ofovercrowding objectives were far more complementary. Irrespective
and pollutionon children, who lacked “sufficient fresh of their individual backgrounds as naturalists,
air to give them a healthy and vigorous constitution.” urban refonners, and government officials, the first
As a result, he viewed the probable consequences of generation ofTrustees shared an understanding ofthe
population expansion “with horror”. In his view, the National Park as a reserve which existed primarily for
Herald reported, “unless provision were made for public use. Its central purpose was to provide a space
sanitary improvements, ... the death rate would be for public recreation. Accordingly, the Trustees saw
ten times as much as it was in Sydney at the present the ‘beautification’ and ‘improvement’ ofthe Park as
time” (1879a: 3). high on their list of management priorities. Central
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 159
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
to this was the key problem ofaccessibility. Over the day to this,” the Guide continues, “the work of road
Park’s first decade, the Trustees devoted the majority formation has been continued, and in the main,
of their funding and effort toward the provision of satisfactorily completed”. The result is a network
access routes (Fig. 1). For some tenderers, clearing of “thoroughfares, now spreading web-like over the
areas of the Park proved too great a challenge. As park” (Elwell 1893: 12-13).
one tenderer, John Crowley, writes to his contractor These operations were applauded by the
in 1882: “I beg to inform you that I am reluctantly public. Although part of the Park’s allure was that
compelled to decline proceeding with the clearing it had “remained so long unknown, unvisited, and
portion ofthe National Park [. . . ] I am not surprised at unappropriated” - indeed, a “terra incognita” - it was
havingbeendeceived inmyestimate ofthework asthe considered inevitable that it would be “subdued to
undergrowth ofgum and appletree [. . . ] are all suckers the hands of man” (Anon. 1879e: 4). As the Sydney
growing from stumps of saplings and large trees that MorningHeraldcommented: “Inthe main it is as little
have been burnt level with the natural surface of the known and has been as little visited as if it had been
ground” (State Records NSW, ContainerNo: 9/2188). 1000 miles away. The time has come for this solitude
Despite such setbacks, the 1893 Guide boasts that, to be disturbed.” In the reporter’s estimation, this was
during the Trust’s first five years, “thirty-two miles “simplythe rescue from neglect ofa beautiful piece of
ofroads were cleared, and a considerable length was wild country, and bringing it forth for the enjoyment
fonned and finished for traffic.” With the growing ofman” (Anon. 1879e: 4). Tellingly, the enthusiastic
popularity of the Park as a “recreation resort”, road public response to the decision to reserve the Park in
construction operations were extended. “From that March 1879 was strongly linked to the expectation
Fig. 1. Audley Road, National Park (Government Printing Office, 1888). Photograph courtesy ofthe
National Library ofAustralia (Digital Collection; Call Number ‘PIC/8476/13 LOC Album 1037’).
160 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014
.
LUNNEY
D.
that it would accelerate the planning for the long- which underscored the management of the Park, the
awaited Illawarra railway line. With this means of Deed clarifies that the Park’s natural resources are
transportation, the park would be “a sanctuary for subservient to public need. It continues:
the pale-faced Sydneyites, fleeing the pollution,
physical, mental and social, of that densely packed “. it shall be lawful for the Trustees of the National
.
&
city.” [quoted in Pettigrew Lyons (1979) but no Park to grant licenses to mine upon and under the
source cited. M. Maack (2002) attributes quote to said land for and to take away and dispose of, as the
John Robertson; “NSW Confederation Conservation licensees may think fit, all coal, lime, stone, clay,
History”, The Bushwalker, Vol. 28, No. (August brick, earth or other mineral (excepting gold or silver)
1
2002), p. 3], that may be found in the said lands.” (1891 4)
:
The 1887 Deed ofGrant formalised the Trustees’
responsibilityto the public. It empoweredthe Trustees In her work-in-progress, entitled European
“touseandpermittobeusedthesaidlandsasaNational history of Royal National Park revisited Judith
',
Park for the recreation of the inhabitants of the said Carrick examines the history of attempts to mine the
colony” and specified the Park’s legitimate uses. Park inmore depththancanbe explored here (Carrick,
These included “ornamental plantations oflawns and in press: 18-20). For our purposes, it is illuminating
gardens”, “zoological gardens”, an “artillery range” to note that the dominant conception of the Park as
and the “exercise and encampment ofmilitaryornaval a space for public use coexisted in relative harmony
forces” (N.S.W. 1891: 3). The rest and recreation of with a deep appreciation of its perceived beauty.
the public were high on the list of priorities (Fig. 2). There seems to have been little concern, for example,
In alignment with the broader utilitarian philosophy when the Park’s tableland was extensively cleared in
Fig. 2. Unknown boy on banks of river, National Park (Charles Bayliss, ca. 1880-1900). Photograph
courtesy ofthe National Library ofAustralia (Digital Collection; Call Number ‘PIC/7985/164 LOC
Album
100’).
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 161
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Fig. 3. Encampment Ground, Loftus Heights (Government Printing Office, 1888). Photograph cour-
tesy ofthe National Library ofAustralia (Digital Collection; Call Number ‘PIC/8476/11 LOC Album
1037’).
1884 for use by the military (Fig. 3). That this was flora had not yet received comprehensive legislative
NSW
considered a routine matter of management and not protection. Indeed, the first statute enacted in
environmental degradation points to the historical addressing the issue offauna protection, the Animals
specificity ofthe naturalists’ relationship to the fauna Protection Act of 1879, listed as its primary purpose
and flora which they studied with fervour. However, the “importation and breeding” of alien species. The
despite these disturbances the Park retains many ofits protection of native fauna (the list of which includes
biodiversity values (Adam 2012; Schulz & Ransom no mammals) rated second - and only applied “during
2010; King2013) and continuesto meetcontemporary the breeding season” (N.S.W. 1879: 56).
criteria for designation as a National Park. This stipulation reflects the acclimatisation
movement’s selective approach to the issue of
preservationmoregenerally.Itsupportedtheprotection
POINTS OF CONVERGENCE: THE of certain native fauna on the basis of its utility. As
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NSW Pettigrew and Lyons (1979: 18) argue, its proponents
believed that the contemporary rates of exploitation
To a twenty-first century ecologist, the attitudes had to be regulated not for conservation purposes, but
and priorities of the nineteenth-century naturalists to ensurethatthereremained sufficientpopulations for
seem bizarre. Particularly incomprehensible is the future generations to exploit. Furthermore, although
Zoological Society’s interest in the acclimatisation it was largely comprised of naturalists passionate
of foreign species at a time when native fauna and about the natural environment, the acclimatisation
162 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014
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D.
movement was, from the vantage-point of the through donation. According to the 1893 Guide they
,
A
contemporary conservationist, quite arrogant: it thrived and rapidly multiplied (Elwell 1893: 13).
believed it could ‘improve’ nature. Few saw anything special Deer Park was established to house the deer
problematic in this objective; on the contrary, many near the Port Hacking River (Fig. 4), and more deer
were drawn to it by a sense of boundless possibility were later purchased. Yet, as the Guide records, “for
As the Sydney Morning Herald commented, “It is them nine-wired fences did not a prison make. [...]
difficult to set limits to the attractiveness which this these ruminants broke bounds, and are now roaming,
fortunate national reserve may be made to possess” fancy free, over the wide domain” (Elwell 1893: 54).
(Anon. 1879e: 4). As early as 1893, Carrick notes, there was a complaint
This conception ofthe Park, and ofthe fauna and about deer escaping and destroying a neighbouring
florawithin its shifting boundaries, persisted well into garden. By 1912, the Trust refused an offer of more
the twentieth century. The Official Guide of 1914, for deer, and by 1923 the Trust was attempting to ‘donate’
example,isredolentwithreferencesto ‘beautification’, them to other parks. The management of deer,
and boasts of the successful introduction of multiple particularly the Javan rusa, remains a most difficult
non-indigenous species, including trout and perch. issue to this day (Keith and Pellow2005).
Yet the Guide hints at an introduction which would Gundamaian was also home to the Scientists’
prove a headache: that of deer at Gundamaian. By Cabin. According to Carrick, the Cabin was built in
1886, the Trustees had acquired seven fallow deer, 1924 forthe Zoological Society, althoughAllen Keast
some white angora goats, and five valuable red deer remembers that it “had formerly housed the timber
Fig. 4. Fountain cottage and the fountain at the Deer Park, Port Hacking River (Government Print-
ing Office, 1888). Photograph courtesy ofthe National Library ofAustralia (Digital Collection; Call
Number ‘PIC/8476/4 LOC Album 1037’).
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 163
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
workers” engaged in logging operations before the argues that the word ‘national’ denoted, in 1848, the
Society occupied it in the “late 1920s” (Keast 1995a: inclusion of all individuals in a locality irrespective
28). Itwas inthevicinityofthe sawmill bytheHacking of denomination and social standing. In view ofthis,
River,just above the Upper Causeway. During its time one could reasonably extrapolate that, in 1879, the
there, the Society conducted valuable research into the National Park was dedicated for all inhabitants ofthe
native birds of the Park, particularly the bower-bird. colony. At the very least, it was certainly understood
The Society was granted sole use of the cabin, but this way: the Sydney Morning Herald for example,
',
was given notice to leave in 1935 because it could not makes fewreferences to Sydneysiders when speaking
agree to the new terms of the permissive occupancy. ofthe Park’s use, preferring inclusive language such
Carrick notes that records show that the Society was as “the people ofthe whole colony” and “the people of
still there in 1941. Concerning the eviction of the this country” (Anon. 1879d: 3; Anon. 1879e: 4).
Zoological Society, Keast bitterly recalls that “the end On a related note, it is difficult to discern whether
of the Cabin came ignominiously about 1944 when JohnRobertson was inspired by a foreignmodel when
most members ofthe Society were absent at the war: he created Royal National Park - and ifso, which one.
it was pilfered bit-by-bit for seaside cottages on the There is certainly some merit to the claim that the
adjacent Park beaches” (1995a: 29). isolatedYellowstone would be anodd model forapark
Anotherinterestingpointofconvergencebetween located so close to the inner city (Pettigrew and Lyons
the Park and the Zoological Society is the push within 1979). It is more likely that ifRobertson had a model,
both for the addition of the prefix ‘Royal’ to their it was London’s recently established common parks,
titles. As public recognition oftheir value grew, so did located on the border ofthe metropolis, though this is
their stature. To the management ofboth the Park and in need offurther research. In Carrick’s view, the links
the Society, the insertion of ‘Royal’ would suitably between theAmericantrajectory and developments in
reflect their growing importance in the eyes of the Australia are ambiguous and in need ofmore probing
public. By 1908, almost 30 years after its fonnation, study. In my perspective, the debate over which
the Society had risen in prominence to the extent national park was first in the world - Yellowstone
that its President, Dr. T.P Anderson-Stuart, sought in 1872, or our local candidate - is distracting. It is
A
permission to add the ‘Royal’ prefix to the name. more productive to examine the claims to originality
Royal Charter was duly granted in September 1908. critically and within their political context, as Robin
On 10 February 1909, the Society changed its name to (2012) has done in an intelligentpaper. The ecological
New
‘The Royal Zoological Society of SouthWales’. ideas of the 1870s (not, of course, conceived in
Three decades later, the Trustees ofthe National Park twenty-first century ecological terms), are equally
discussed renaming it to Royal National Park, while interesting. Their echoes are still present in NSW,
other parks (namely, Ku-ring-gai) would be National whether the current public debate centres on marine
Parks. Forthe Park, it was the visit ofQueen Elizabeth parks, mining under the parks (such as the coal seam
II in 1954 which would prove to be decisive: the Park gas proposals for the Pilliga forests in north-western
was renamed in 1955. NSW), or hunting on public lands.
The addition of‘Royal’ can be interpreted as both
a political and cultural statement. It is distinctively
British, it carries certain class overtones, and it was MAPPING ROYAL NATIONAL PARK
a fashion statement which the Royal Easter Show,
Royal SocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals We live in a tenure-bound society. Maps are a
(RSPCA) and the Royal Flying Doctor Service also manifestation of our preoccupation with boundaries,
reflect. Its connotations raise the question of exactly and of our specific relationship to the natural
which sectors ofcolonial society were to benefit from environment, although they have a long history ofuse
the dedicationoftheNational Park in 1879. It is indeed innavigation. Theyaretoday so commonplacethat it is
far from clear as to whether the National Park was difficultto grasptheirinitial novelty. Theearlymaps of
dedicated for the poor ofthe inner suburbs for health Royal National Park were among the first inAustralia
and recreation, or for a more privileged group that ofa natural area enclosed by a boundary for the sake
could consider importing and releasing exotic species, ofdemarcatinganareaconsideredto bepurelynatural.
the very ones we now call alien invasive species. Until these maps were designed, natural history in
One should read the press release and accompanying Australia did not have set boundaries within whichthe
documents with a critical eye. For historians, there natural environment could be managed. The mapping
is some digging to do here, particularly concerning ofRoyal National Park fundamentally challenged the
the meaning of ‘national’. Carrick, for example, dominant exploitative approach to the land as a place
164 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014
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to be colonised, cleared, and farmed. It gave emphasis futurePark areato remain ‘unused’ (in acontemporary
to an emergent perspective ofthe natural environment land use sense) until 1879. Consistent with this, in the
which was not primarily valued in commercial terms earliest existing parish map ofWattamolla - undated,
and which was beginning to recognise, by the late but appraised to have been constructed between 1835
nineteenth century, that forests could not be exploited and 1870 - the sentence “barren land destitute of
in an unregulated manner (Lunney & Moon 2012). timber” was inscribed across what we now know as
Thatthis was apublic area owned and managed bythe Royal National Park (Fig. 6). This phrase remained in
State in perpetuity remains one ofthe great landmarks subsequentmaps lithographed intheearly 1870s(Figs.
in world nature conservation. Royal National Park 7-8). This indicates that, for successive governments,
initiated the integration of nature study with the this land had been surveyed and had no commercial
management ofnatural areas. In so doing, it made an value.
extensive part of New South Wales’ pre-settlement In contrast to the 1 845 map, a map of the Park
environment accessible to a large number of people dated 1879 (Fig. 9) displays clear tenure boundaries
who otherwise may not have come into contact with in the typical block fashion, with the leaseholders’
some of the most beautiful specimens ofAustralian names printed neatly on their respective portions (a
fauna and flora in their natural settings. close-up ofthis part ofthe map is provided in Fig. 10).
For these reasons, it is worth turning our This map was found by Allan Fox “crumpled in the
attention to the maps of Royal National Park. Many corner of a room” in Royal National Park in the late
observations can be gleaned from examining the 1970s, whenFoxwas helpingto assemble information
maps in sequence and in context of the surrounding for the celebration ofthe Park’s centenary. Fox states
areas. In what follows, I examine a series of maps he found it “in a pile of rubbish to be thrown out”
chronologically in order to draw out some of the (pers. comm, 2013). The land which it depicts is
factors which have contributed to the dedication of representative ofthe original boundary which became
the Park, and to illustrate the changes in the Park’s the area dedicated in 1879 in three jiarts: the first on
m
tn
boundaries and management over time. the 26 ofApril, the second on the 6 ofOctober, and
The earliest map of the area of relevance to this the third on the 25th ofNovember (NSW Government
studyisdated 1845 anddepictsthe“countrysouthward Gazette 1879b, 1879c, 1879d). The upper left-hand
,
ofSydney, shewing the Road lately opened through it corner of the map states that it is a “tracing shewing
to the Illawarra” (Fig. 5). Operationally speaking, this National Park &c., County ofCumberland”. Although
road came to define the Park’s boundaries, prefiguring the map does not provide the name ofthe surveyor, it
thewesternborderofthePark. Thattherewerenoroads resembles an official document, perhaps prepared in
in this area prior to 1845 can be seen as evidence that readiness for the Park’s dedication that year. Given
the land was oflittle commercial value: in comparison the pencil marks on the map, it has the appearance
tothearable soil oftheCumberlandPlain, forexample, of a working map. Interestingly, the words “Reserve
the land which was later to comprise Royal National from sale pending selection of railway line” cover
Park had not been opened up for grazing crops or a large area on the Park’s western boundary which
farming estates. Consistent with this, the map shows would later be excised (see below). Most importantly,
a clear absence of landscape differentiation, with no however, the tenure boundaries ofthis map provide us
references to ownership. Indeed, it resembles more with a timeframe within which to assess the changing
an explorer’s map than the careful result of a set of management ofthis area of land. They show us that,
surveyor’s decisions. As Surveyor-General, Thomas between 1845 and 1879, decisions were being made
Mitchell (whose signature appears at the bottom of on its potential use. What in 1 845 had no formal land
the map) would have well understood the importance use designation was beginning to be dissected in 1879
of tenure boundaries as a reflection of political and for other uses. In view of this, it becomes clear that
administrative decisions regarding land use. The had the decision not been made to dedicate the area as
absence oftenure boundaries onthis map points to the a National Park, the vast majority ofthis land would
fact that, in 1845, there had been no decisions made have been cut up into private holdings by the turn of
on the potential use of this area of undifferentiated the century.
Australian bush. Instead, it had escaped 57 years of The gazettal notice of 26 April 1879 states that
colonisation without being surveyed and considered 18,000 acres were dedicated and gives a detailed
SW
for agricultural and commercial use. With Sydney writtendescriptionoftheboundary(N Government
We
growing in a pattern that fitted the arable lands, it was Gazette 1879b). have used contemporary GIS
a chance of geography, soil fertility, and the ready technology to draw the boundary according to this
access to more productive landscapes that allowed the original description. The calculated area stands at
Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 165
ROYAL NATIONAL PARK IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Fig. 5. ‘Country southward of Sydney, shewing the road lately opened through it to the Illawarra’.
Sydney: Thomas Mitchell, 1845. Map reproduced courtesy ofthe Mitchell Library, State Library of
New South Wales. Call number ‘Cb 84/18’.
166 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014