Yesterday a group of invited guests were treated to a very special event as part of the 40th anniversary of Nightcap National Park, at the Rummery Park campground near Minyon Falls.
The event was a chance to celebrate the people, place, history and Widjabul Wia-bal traditional owners that make Nightcap such a special place.
Stories about the history
Stories about the history and music of the protest movement that was a catalyst in the protection of rainforest, old-growth forest and wilderness around the world were delivered from the likes of Nan and Hugh Nicholson, Dailan Pugh and Dr Rob Kooyman, with special video messages from Bob Brown and Bob Carr.
Nan Nicholson said it was great to be a part of the event and celebrate a win.
There are a lot of losses along the way
‘That’s what we were here for. But, I think we need to remember that there are a lot of losses along the way. It’s good to look at the victories and pat ourselves on the back, but think about those failures and what we need to do to keep going despite all those failures.
‘When you’re grief stricken, when your forest burns down and when the facts are just so scary about that global heating – and we’ve got the continued decimation of native forests or probable loss of koalas – it’s all just completely overwhelming. And somehow you need to be able to keep going.’
Gondwana refuge was created over 20 million years ago
Dailan Pugh said the Gondwana refuge was created over 20 million years ago. ‘It was degraded by a century of logging. It’s been protected over the last 20 to 40 years. But I think it’s facing its biggest threat in the next 20 to 40 years because of climate heating, and we’ve got to save it again. And that requires all of us doing something to achieve that.’
John Roberts Jnr spoke emotionally of his father Uncle Goongie, John Roberts Snr, well-known for his efforts to protect the natural places on Widjabul Wia-bal Country.
‘I have a little story of one of the first conversations I had about Nightcap with my father,’ he said.
Uncle Goongie on Nightcap
‘Many, many years ago – my father, when he was about eight or nine years old, he would come out to the Nightcap with his grandfather and his other grandfathers and his own father. On one of these trips he was out with Grandfather Lyle who wanted to go and check on the sites, but his body wouldn’t allow him to get through the terrain. So he sent my father up there to have a look around and tell him what he saw.
‘My father was gone for about two or three hours – he came back and then described what he had actually seen. He’d gone to the many sites that were there. And he noticed there was stones taken, trees cut down, landslips.
‘When he relayed this to Grandfather Lyle, he said the old man wept – tears were coming down his cheek and hit the ground. He turned to my father and said, “We have to get this place protected. It holds all our stories.”
’It was that day that put my father on his journey.’
Other speakers and presenters included Tricia Waters and Dr Rob Kooyman, who spoke about the deep geological history of the park, and the global importance of the area and the species that live there.
They were joined by other scientists and enthusiasts from various specialties including Dave Milledge, Dave Newell, Steve Axford and Catherine Marciniak, along with John Grant, who called for national parks to protect unique soils.
…and music!
Live music was from Neil Pike, Terri Nicholson, Ray Flanagan and Nina Saunders, recalling the tough but inspiring blockade days, along with the humour and joy that emerged from the historic confrontations in the forests that led to the creation of the park and associated World Heritage areas.
NPWS rangers Andrew Rogers and event organiser and team leader Matt Wiseman gave updates on flood recovery works, and passed on the wonderful news that the park was recovering well from both the bush fires and the floods.
The anniversary event closed with a screening of Give Trees A Chance, the classic film of the Terania Creek protests featuring Jack Thompson.
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