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Forest Report from Sydney, Australia

Written by a student of S.C.E.C.G.S Redlands

Class or age : Year 8

Name of Forest: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

KU-RING-GAI CHASE NATIONAL PARK


Lion Island
Lion Island in Broken Bay
to the north of the Park.

HISTORY

Before 1788 the Guringai-speaking Aboriginal people occupied the area of Ku-ring-gai Chase. Their tribes occupied from Broken Bay in the north to Port Jackson in the south and as far west as the Lane Cove River. There were six tribes in the Guringai nation. The largest and most powerful was the Cammeraigal. They occupied the land east of Lane Cove River and north of Middle Harbour.



Aboriginal way of life

The Guringai people lived off the land which meant they ate fish, meat and other things like nuts, berries and fruit. The Guringai people made their weapons out of wood, stone, shell, bone and even teeth. If the weather was fine they would sleep on the ground with a small fire. If it was cold they stayed in a gunyah(bark shelter) or a gibber gunyah (rock shelter).

Arrival of White Settlers

Within six weeks after the arrival of the First Fleet in Port Jackson, Governor Arthur Phillip set out for Broken Bay in a cutter. He and his men were in search of fresh water and suitable farming land to grow food for the colony of New South Wales. On the 2nd of March, they arrived in Broken Bay and first explored Brisbane Water and Cowan Creek.

Xanthorrhoea resinosa
Xanthorrhoea resinosa used by Aborigines for spears.

Exploration by White Settlers

In August 1788 Phillip and his men travelled overland from Manly Cove to Pittwater and back. Just over one year later, in June 1789, Governor Phillip and his men went out on a second exploratory trip of Broken Bay.

Conflict between Aborigines and White Settlers

On his second trip to Broken Bay in June 1789 Phillip came across the Hawkesbury River or (Deerubin) as the local Aboriginal people called it. This led to many years of conflict between the white settlers who went there to farm and the Dharruk Aboriginal people of the Hawkesbury district.

Between 1793 and 1805, a state of the war existed between the two sides. White settlers now farmed the river banks, which were a rich and large source of food for the Dharruk. Lack of traditional foods forced the Dharruk to steal settler's crops. Bitter conflict happened after this. In the end the white settlers won the war with their advanced weaponry compared to the Aboriginal's spears and shields, forcing the Aboriginals to settle further down-stream.

Most Aborigines move away

By the 1840s, most of the aboriginal people had disappeared from Pittwater. Their traditional hunting areas had been taken over by the white settlers. By 1900 a few Aboriginal people were reported as still living in the western foreshores of Pittwater and in Ku-ring-gai Chase.

Working towards a National Park

In 1894 Ku-ring-gai Chase became a National Park through the work of one man. This man was a pioneer, artist, engineer, scholar and philanthropist, called Eccleston du Faur. He worked for many years at his home in Turramurra to have a reserve set aside for public recreation.

Flower Sellers

In the early 1890s, miles and miles of foreshore vegetation around Sydney was being stolen by flower sellers who took it away in cartful and boatful. Du Faur was particularly concerned with the Christmas period when flower sellers camped along the creeks ruthlessly destroying all the native vegetation in different parts of the National Park.

Fishing

Du Faur requested the Fishery department to stop fishing in the National Park.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park formed

On the 14 of December 1894, Ku-ring-gai Chase, named by Henry Copeland ('Kuringai' after its original inhabitants, and 'Chase' meaning an unenclosed park'), was named a national park and placed under the control of 12 trustees, with Henry Copeland as president, and Eccleston du Faur, as the managing trustee. So Eccleston du Faur's lifelong dedication was to protecting Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. He was the managing trustee from 1894 to 1904 and retained an interest in the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust until his death in 1915.

Vegetation in the past

The vegetation there some 150 years ago were things like giant trees, for example iron bark, Blue gum, Blackbutt, Turpentine, Coachwood and Red Cedar. The undergrowth consisted of small trees and shrubs of a thousand species, tree ferns and numerous varieties of palms. The dense crop of ferns grew from four to six feet high.

Vegetation today

The vegetation of Ku-ring-gai Chase today is still rich and diverse, with over 900 plant species recorded in the park, some of them nowhere else in the world. The vegetation is distributed throughout the rugged, predominantly sandstone landscape in a complex pattern of plant communities- heathland, woodland, forest, and warm, temperate rainforest.

Wildlife in the past

In the early days there were grey kangaroos, small marsupials, dingoes and many more birds. Introduced species that came with the Europeans such as rabbits, rats and mice compete with the native wildlife for food, and foxes, cats and dogs eat the native wildlife.

Wildlife today

In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park there lots of birds and sometimes a lizard or snake, the occasional swamp wallaby or echidna, but rarely any other mammals. In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park there are over 160 bird species.

Echidna
An Echidna is a spiny anteater.
Climate

The climate in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is usually warm in summer and cool in winter.

Environmental Concerns

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is a fragile environment like all environments because if you litter, it will some way affect the Park or if you make a bush fire in the wrong place something could go wrong and burn a lot of the park down. Another example is people aren't even allowed these days to let possums into the park that they find around their house because it will mess up their possum count. Introduced animals are also a problem.

Pollution

In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park there are many environmental concerns. Some of the concerns are polluting the park, bushfires, feral animals, weeds and, although not as much as other parks, still tourism has an impact by rubbish dumping.

Water Pollution

Firstly polluting the park is a major problem because of the water pollution. This is a problem because the plants in some parts of the park have adapted to the low nutrient level of the Hawkesbury River sandstone soil. The nutrient rich-water that we use on our gardens would totally upset the ecology of the natural communities.

Noise pollution

Water pollution is not the only pollution there is noise pollution from trail bikes which aren't allowed in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park because firstly their drastic effects on trails and bushland and the erosion that follows. Secondly is the noise that they make disturbs the public and the animals.

Rubbish dumping

Rubbish dumping not only spoils the appearance of an area, there can also be serious consequences for the park. Garden rubbish, including grass clippings, can contribute to the spread of weeds by providing unwanted nutrients as well as the seeds and clippings of exotic plants. Weeds thrive at the expense of native plants. This effect can be seen in great areas of the park.

Fire

Fire
Bushfire

Fire is still a problem in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park but it is also a problem in most National Parks. Lightning still causes bushfires today. However, people start most fires. Careless people burning off on hot days, campers who do not put their fires out properly and smokers who foolishly throw away burning matches and cigarette butts all cause fires. Many fires are also deliberately lit.



Feral animals

Feral animals are a problem at all National Parks. In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park there aren't that many large feral animals like pigs, goats and horses, only small animals like rabbits, foxes etc. The National Parks and Wild Life Service is treating this problem with wired fences and is working with neighbouring land holders.

Feral fox
Feral foxes are a problem


Comparison

This park has been compared with the
Blue Mountains National Park.

Click here to see the comparison.

Blue Mountains
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Reporter: Samir A. of Year 8.

This page has been visited times since 11th Dec, 1996.

Computer Co-ordinator : Judith Bennett : This page was last modified 16th May, 1998