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 Contents
Australian Geographic May–June 2017
Your
Society
Find out where
your donations
went in 2016 and
get the latest
news. p125

Features
38 Survival dance 74 An endless quest
The Tasmanian tiger is officially
Seen in their natural habitat, the
riflebirds of Australia are among extinct. Yet as biologists investigate
the world’s most stunning – and plausible sightings in Queensland, it’s
unusual – creatures. clear the search never stopped.

46 Caught in the headlights

An encounter with a kangaroo left to
88 Smells like Australia
Close your eyes, let your sense of
die by the road spurred photographer smell guide you through the bush
Doug Gimesy into action. Now he’s and discover a whole new, exciting
using his images to raise awareness. world of aroma.

54 Into the Wet 96 Winter on the blade

An AGS-supported expedition takes
Ancient geological links connect the
steamy rainforest to the colourful reef on the first winter ascent of one of
in Australia’s tropical north. The best Australia’s tallest vertical climbs,
way to explore both is to get wet. Federation Peak in Tasmania.

68 Coral crusades
Enjoy privileged access to the Great
Barrier Reef with a unique voyage
in partnership with the Australian
A Lumholtz’s tree Geographic Society.
kangaroo in a far north
Queensland rainforest
sanctuary (p54).

6 Australian Geographic
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 From the Editor-in-chief

Beyond the mystery

I
T’S MORE THAN 80 fate already sealed than any shortcom- As we go to press, northern
years since the last ings of the institution, but zoos have Queensland is reeling from the impact
known Tasmanian come a long way and today are bastions of Cyclone Debbie and northern
tiger died in Hobart of animal conservation. They run New South Wales is still suffering
Zoo in September ambitious breeding programs and play severe flooding. Our cover story is
1936, but the mystique an essential role in educating the about the delights of visiting far north
surrounding this public. Zoos cooperate globally to assist Queensland in the rainy season. We
officially extinct and peculiar Australian species under threat and provide an encourage you to keep these destina-
animal only grows. We all love a mystery important connection to nature in our tions on your ‘must-see’ lists. Once the
and this one is as shrouded in mist as is increasingly urbanised society. Sydney’s clean-up is done, they will need your
its last-known stronghold, deep in the Taronga Zoo is a world leader in this support in so many ways and tourism
forests of the Tassie wilderness. Sight- area and its Taronga Conservation is the lifeblood of many communities
ings of Tassie tigers, or thylacines, are Society allows you to adopt a bilby affected by this year’s wild weather.
fairly commonly reported but conclu- or Tasmanian devil, which raises vital
sive evidence is harder to come by, funds for breeding and research
which only seems to fan the ardour of projects for these unique animals. We
dedicated tiger seekers. In this issue we are excited to bring our readers an
meet the passionate people who refuse opportunity to participate in this
to believe in the permanent demise of program and receive a free gift from
this sad emblem of European colonisa- us as part of the adoption package.
tion’s destructive impact on Australia’s Taronga’s ethos is about bringing the Specialist Magazine Brand of the Year
native biodiversity. wild and people together for the
That the Hobart Zoo couldn’t save common good and we share those Follow me on Twitter at:
the hapless creature says more about a values. See page 31 for details. twitter.com/chrissigoldrick

Contributors
PHOTO CREDITS, FROM LEFT: COURTESY JEREMY BOURKE; TIM LAMAN; COURTESY PETA BURTON

Jeremy Bourke Ed Scholes Peta Burton

is a career journalist who’s brings us insight on writes and photographs
written news, motoring, Australia’s stunning riflebirds stories as she travels
travel and even showbiz (see page 38) as no-one else between Australia and India.
articles for newspapers can. This scientist, explorer In this issue she explores
and magazines. Now, as and author is co-founder and Darwin’s famed Beer Can
a freelance writer and editor, he seeks out leader of the Birds-of-Paradise Project at the Regatta (page 120). Peta has walked much of
less-travelled roads and trails, particularly in Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He’s been travelling Australia for her 1000km/30-Day Trek Series;
mountainous regions. For his feature based to Australasia to locate, document and study her book The Ochre Cloak was recently
in far north Queensland (see page 54), he these birds for nearly two decades. Along with launched in the USA; and her documentary on
sampled the rainforests south and west of photographer Tim Laman, he is the author the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, which
Cairns during the Wet, when the power of of the book Birds of Paradise: Revealing the devastated Darwin in 1974, was nominated for
the region’s natural forces is at its greatest. World’s Most Extraordinary Birds. an Australian Commercial Radio Award.

More contributors: Steve Axford, Simon Bischoff, Brian Cassey, Sofia Charalambous, Professor Les Christidis, James Dorey, Don Fuchs, Doug Gimesy, Ken Griffiths,
Dan Haley, Luke Hanson, Heath Holden, Mark Iommi, Darren Jew, Bob Kayganich, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Tim Laman, Jiri Lochman, Marie Lochman, Tim Low,
Peter Meredith, Matthew Newton, Brad Norman, Olivia Page, Will Pringle, Samantha Reynolds, Mike Rossi, Ellen Rykers, Josephine Sargent, Ben Saunders,
Roger Smith, Peter Soltys, Andy Szollosi, Luke Tscharke, Dr Nathan Waltham, Fred Watson, Steve K. Wilson.

May . June 13
 MAILBAG
WELCOMES

YOUR SAY May . June 2017

FEEDBACK
Send letters, including an address
and phone number, to editorial@
ausgeo.com.au or to Australian
Geographic, GPO Box 4088,
Sydney, NSW 2001. Letters will be
edited for length and clarity.
HMAS Pirie leaving
Whyalla, SA, in 1946.
Featured Letter
MODERN-DAY EXPLORER school days in Sydney I had
The article on Dirk Hartog Island learnt about the Dutch naviga-
(AG 134) stirred fond memories tor’s exploits and particularly
for me. The following is an entry about Hartog’s landing on the
from the log of the captain of island and leaving an inscribed
RAN Corvette HMAS Pirie: “16th plate nailed to a post. Of course,
January 1945 at 1145hrs Pirie there was no post or plate
dropped anchor in Turtle Bay.” anywhere on this sandy, scrubby
I was a serving member of shore, but it was enough to have
Pirie’s crew. We had sailed north rowed ashore from a ship as
from Fremantle in exercises with Hartog had likely done, and stood
US submarines USS Bashaw and where he had driven in his post. I
DROP US A LINE! USS Pampanito. At the end of the still cherish the memory. Subse-
Send us a great letter about exercises we entered Shark Bay quently, in 1992, I came upon a
AG or a topic of interest to you and anchored as above. That facsimile of Hartog’s plate in the
for a chance to win an AG afternoon a party of us rowed Fremantle Maritime Museum. It
backpack and bumbag. our whaleboat ashore on Dirk was another special moment.
Hartog Island. In my primary RON VICKRESS, GUYRA, NSW

TALL ORDER Cairns on our way to Chillagoe mother’s ability to defend a nest and
Your issue with the tallest trees (AG when our driver/guide stopped at collect food.” While that is true, I don’t
136) is delightful. Is any consideration Lappa (which we had never heard of think it explains the question. All
being given to making the photo of until then). animals apart from mammals lay eggs.
the tallest tree available for framing and The tin shed is now a little museum All animals tend nests and their young
hanging? I have just the spot on my with the railway siding nearby. An old – some insects, arachnids, fish, reptiles
lounge room wall! house with a modern car parked out and birds – expending time and energy.
We have several tree photos. One is front was the only other building there Birds are descended from dinosaurs,
of the famous grass tree in the Flinders – maybe a caretaker residence? which laid eggs, but did not fly. The
Ranges, which is so precious (the tree, Enclosed are some photos [below]. evolution of mammals allowed tending
not the photos) that the information We always enjoy reading the magazine. of the developing young to occur
centre won’t tell anyone where it is. RON AND CAROLE PRITCHARD, within the mother’s body, freeing her
Another is a Eucalyptus camaldulensis IPSWICH, QLD from this inefficient use of her time
just inside Rawnsley Park Station, also and energy. So the laying of eggs is an

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: WIKIMEDIA; RON AND CAROLINE PRITCHARD
in the Flinders. I would dearly love to FLIGHT MODE earlier stage of evolutionary reproduc-
add your tall tree. Please consider Beautiful brood (AG 134), in responding tion, which continues because it is a
making it available. to “Why lay eggs?” states, “Birds must successful strategy, although superseded
MARGARET WILLIAMS, MITCHAM,VIC be very lightweight to fly. Growing off- by mammalian reproduction methods.
spring in utero is weighty, affecting a ALAN MOSKWA, MAGILL, SA
Steven Pearce says:
The poster is available for $15 + postage
online via our Tree Projects website.We’ll POSTSCRIPT
On page 27 of the March–April 2017
also have posters available at our Canberra
(AG 137) edition of AUSTRALIAN
and Sydney shows. Please see details on our
GEOGRAPHIC, we erroneously stated
website: www.thetreeprojects.com/shop
In Lappa Junction is that since the introduction of
an old railway station- antivenom in 1956 there had been
OUT OF THE WAY cum-pub that now no known deaths from envenomation
In AG 136, on the Your Say page, serves as a museum. by a coastal taipan. According to the
we were interested to read Graham National Coronial Information System,
Beneke’s letter about Lappa Junction, there have been two recorded deaths
south-west of Cairns. In June 2016 over the past 16 years.
we were travelling with a group from

14 Australian Geographic
 READERS’ PHOTOS
FOUNDER, AG SOCIETY PATRON Dick Smith
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Chrissie Goldrick
EDITOR John Pickrell
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mike Ellott
CONSULTING EDITOR Karen McGhee
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Amy Russell
SUB-EDITOR Hannah James
STAFF WRITER Natsumi Penberthy
DESIGNER Katharine McKinnon
PRODUCTION EDITOR Jess Teideman
CARTOGRAPHY Will Pringle
AG SOCIETY ADMINISTRATOR Rebecca Cotton
COMMERCIAL EDITOR Lauren Smith
ONLINE ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Gemma Chilton
COPY EDITOR Frank Povah
PROOFREADER Susan McCreery
EDITORIAL INTERN Jackie Nicoletti

AG SOCIETY EXPERT ADVISORY PANEL

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difficult to stand. But the Apostles had been on my wish list for a while, so I found a WA Chris Eyres 08 6160 8964
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PUBLISHER Jo Runciman
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AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC , journal of the Australian Geographic Society, is

published six times a year (cover dates Jan–Feb, Mar–Apr, May–Jun, July–Aug,
Sep–Oct, Nov–Dec) by Bauer Media Limited (ACN 053 273 546), part of the
Bauer Media Group, 54–58 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000. The trademark
New Holland honeyeater by Ken Griffiths Australian Geographic is the property of Bauer Consumer Media Limited and
is used under licence. All material © 2017. All rights reserved. No part of the
contents of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written
Southern Australia’s New Holland honeyeater is one of our most common birds. During consent of the editor. This issue went to press 11.4.17.
spring the species can form large, chattering groups that can be heard throughout the
bush. I photographed this one feeding on a gymea lily in the Royal National Park, NSW. www.australiangeographic.com.au

May . June 15
 buzz May . June 2017

16 Australian Geographic
 Big picture

Horse Head
Rock
by Luke Tscharke
“A last-minute change in
plans due to bad weather in
Kosciuszko saw us head for
the amazing rock formations
near Bermagui, NSW. Waking
up before sunrise, we walked
along rugged rock shelves
by torchlight to be greeted
by the red glow of the pre-
dawn sky. I’ve been here many
times – and I run photography
workshops here – but still find
it hard to believe this rock has
been carved out to form such
a recognisable shape. Needless
to say, we were happy with
our backup plan.”

The long paddock

THIS IS THE colloquial term for the
great network of stock routes that
crisscross the Aussie bush and outback.
These are distinguished from regular
tracks by being wider, with grass verges
lining the edges. In times of drought,
once all the home paddocks had
turned to dust, stockmen and drovers
would drive their cattle or sheep out
along these stock routes and other
roads to graze on the available green
pick. The stock was said to be “on the
long paddock”. It’s a practice that
persists today.

May . June 17
 TASMANIA

Bathurst Harbour

Wild spirit
An encounter with the Tasmanian wilderness inspired a powerful new
orchestral work by acclaimed Australian composer Nigel Westlake.
Story by Chrissie Goldrick

Nigel Westlake (left)

and Bob Brown during

O
gleaming
UTSIDE THE the trip to Bathurst
shells of the iconic Harbour in 2016.
Opera House, Sydney
Harbour’s frenetic
evening rush hour is
in full swing. Packed ferries churn the
water as they come and go, whisking
commuters to their home suburbs.
Little yellow water taxis weave in
between as a colossal cruise liner slips
its moorings, does an elegant pirouette
and steams up Port Jackson towards its
next destination.
Inside, in the concert hall, which
seats more than 2000, the spirit of a

PHOTO CREDITS, INSET: COURTESY NIGEL WESTLAKE; ABOVE: ANDREW BAIN / GETTY
very different harbour is being evoked whistles, foot stamping and cheers. consciousness, leaving their finger-
through the dazzling artistry of This new composition grew from prints on the concerto score in subtle
virtuoso oboist Diana Doherty and the an unexpected 2016 visit by Nigel and mysterious ways.”
Sydney Symphony Orchestra under with environmentalist Bob Brown to He was in Hobart when Bob invited
the baton of maestro David Robertson. remote Bathurst Harbour in Southwest him to Bathurst Harbour. The two had
The capacity audience is spellbound as National Park, in the Tasmanian met at a conference where both were
Diana plays through the work’s four Wilderness World Heritage Area. guest speakers. “A few months later
contrasting movements. Her technical Nigel was already exploring ideas for I was conducting the Tasmanian
mastery on full display, she moves into a new work with Diana, but the impact Symphony Orchestra and offered Bob
the final climactic section after which of Bathurst on him was profound. “My some tickets, but he said he’d already
the audience springs to its feet in introduction to this place of exquisite booked and was bringing all the family
rapturous applause for an extended beauty became the backdrop to my next – and, by the way, what was I doing the
standing ovation. It’s the premiere project – an oboe concerto commission day after?” Nigel recalls. The next day, a
performance of Spirit of the Wild, a new for the Sydney Symphony,” Nigel small group of musicians and environ-
oboe concerto by renowned Australian explains. “As I pondered the ensuing mentalists flew into remote Melaleuca,
composer Nigel Westlake, and, as the collaboration with Diana, the memories from where they explored the pristine,
man himself steps up to take a bow, the and significance of my expedition tannin-stained waterway of Bathurst
applause rises into a cacophony of with Bob continued to infuse my Harbour, its button grass moors, windy

18 Australian Geographic
 buzz

windswept wilderness. Nigel hopes

In the shadow of Mt
Rugby (above), low- The oboe seems ideal for a Spirit of the Wild, which he describes
growing native shrubs as a hymn to nature, will inspire others
thrive along Bathurst
Harbour’s shoreline,
musical evocation of such to value our natural legacy.
“My trip to Bathurst Harbour
staining its waters
golden brown. windswept wilderness. reminded me of the preciousness of the
wilderness and of our propensity to be
subsumed by materialism,” he says.
“We neglect our connection to
heathlands and breathtaking mountain passion, knowledge and love of the country and the wonders of the
vistas. “You get a feeling of exposure area are so infectious, and that’s what natural world, choosing instead to
and danger, and the elements are all I really took away from the trip.” value only those elements of our
laid out in front of you,” Nigel says. The challenging concerto inter- environment that can be quantified by
“It’s like you are literally at the end of sperses brisk dynamic sections, reminis- monetary worth. Such wild places are
the earth. And, of course, we had Bob cent at times of wild bird shrieks and truly priceless and we exploit and
there shepherding us through these calls or the howl of gales, with quieter, destroy them at our peril.”
beautiful walks, talking the whole time expansive moments reflecting the area’s
about the flora and fauna and the way solitude. The woodwind oboe seems FOR DETAILS of where you can next experience
the Aboriginals used to live here. His ideal for a musical evocation of such Spirit of the Wild see The List, p108.

May . June 19
Infographic

Web and f low battling overflowing inboxes, spare a

About 67%
FOR THOSE of this is
thought for the internet. The amount of data that
passes through the World Wide Web is truly mind- SPAM!
boggling – and continues to grow as more and more
people connect and bandwidths grow. In the 60
seconds you might spend looking at this graphic,
this is what’s happening online... 154,131,000
EMAILS ARE SENT

2,549,000 GB 4,101,000
YOUTUBE VIDEOS ARE VIEWED
OF DATA ARE TRANSFERRED IN ONE 46,000
MINUTE PHOTOS ARE UPLOADED
TO INSTAGRAM
ON THE
3,300,000 FACEBOOK POSTS
INTERNET 149,000
SKYPE CALLS
ARE UPLOADED ARE MADE About 46%
of the world’s

BASED ON 2016 STATS; SOURCE: www.internetlivestats.com; FACEBOOK

population
452,000
About 7%
of the world’s
4,167,000
FACEBOOK LIKES
TWEETS ARE WRITTEN
2016:
population
ARE GENERATED
3.5 billion
2010:

2005:
2 billion
2000: 1 billion NUMBER OF INTERNET
414 million
USERS WORLDWIDE
2000 2005 2010 2016

x1 x10 x100

looking up Naked eye

Rising in the
Binoculars
Each day the
Small telescope
Above Sagitta-
with Glenn Dawes eastern evening sky is Moon occults – obscures rius is the distinctive
the teapot of Sagittarius, – many stars, by passing constellation Scorpius,
tilted over and standing in front of them. This is the Scorpion. Below the
Glenn Dawes is a on its ‘handle’. To its left usually very faint. But on ‘stinger’ of its tail lie two
co-author of the
yearbook Astronomy is a bright ‘star’ easily 4 May, the bright star hazy patches, which are
2017 Australia outshining the members Regulus winks out behind open star clusters. M7
(Quasar Publishing).
of this group. It is the a dark lunar limb: best is more obvious, clearly
planet Saturn. You will viewed from eastern larger and composed of
need a small telescope states and disappearing brighter stars compared
to see its famous rings. about 8pm EST. with its companion M6.

20 Australian Geographic
 buzz

Australian Geographic Society

Satellite tags deployed on
whale sharks by ECOCEAN
researchers are so small
STUDENT they’re barely noticed by
the huge fish they track.
SCIENCE
The AG Society is offering two
schools the opportunity to track
whale sharks around the globe.

A
USTRALIAN WHALE shark
research organisation
ECOCEAN is exploring the
mysteries of whale shark
migration. From May to August, it will
be deploying satellite tags on sharks in
Ningaloo Marine Park for its second the AG Society is sponsoring two schools
Whale Shark Race Around the World, from anywhere in Australia to enter the Race.
which will search for clues on where This usually costs $5000 and has previously
these huge fish breed. Each shark will be been limited to West Australian schools that
assigned to a participating school and its fundraise for the privilege. For more informa-
journey displayed on the ZoaTrack tion and how to enter your school for a
website, www.zoatrack.org. In conjunc- chance to join the Race, see www.australian
tion with our fundraiser (see page 36), geographic.com.au/whalesharks
PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SAMANTHA REYNOLDS; SAMANTHA REYNOLDS; SHUTTERSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK.

Ask an expert
Dr Nathan Waltham, freshwater ecologist,
James Cook University

23,677 SQ.KM Q Why do crabs walk

sideways?

A
Crabs can be found in marine
habitats, such as mangroves
The size of Anna Creek and rocky shore platforms, as
Station in South well as freshwater rivers and
Australia. This cattle creeks. In fact, some migrate
farm is the between marine and freshwa-
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ocypode ceratophthalma

biggest in ter to complete life cycle stages. They are

the world remarkable animals in many ways but perhaps
most notably because they do walk sideways.
and at its
Because we humans have forward-bending knees,
current size is we step forwards to walk. However, crabs have legs
larger than on the sides of their body, and it is because their
many countries. knees bend outwards that they walk sideways.
Having outward-bending knees on their sides
allows crabs to flatten their bodies.

May . June 21
 with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
NEED
TO KNOW Just one tide a day
THE TOWN OF Karumba – at the Gulf of tilted some 23° from the vertical; the It takes 12 hours for a water wave
Carpentaria’s bottom right-hand corner Earth spins every 24 hours while the to slosh across the Gulf of Carpentaria
– experiences only one high tide and one Moon takes a month to loop around our from east to west – and another 12
low tide each day. What’s going on? Earth; water is slowed by friction as it hours to bounce off and come back.
The gravitational forces of our moves across the ocean This 12-hour period is (coincidentally)
moving Moon and the Sun attract floor – and there are a lot the same as the time between two
Earth’s oceans and suck them into more confounding issues. high tides (or two low tides). In the
corresponding watery bulges. The When you factor all this Gulf, the incoming tides ‘cancel out’
normal rotation of our planet in to the equations, you get the outgoing tides, so there are no
brings any point on Earth’s surface about 120 different possible twice-per-day tides.
towards, under, and then away tides each day. There are tides that Now, the next most energetic tides
from these bulging walls of water. happen once a day, twice a day, three are the once-a-day tides. And that’s
This gives the impression of tides times a day, four times a day, and so why you have only one tide a day at
– the ocean rising and falling. on. But the twice-a-day tides, which Karumba. A single tide each day
But the situation is actually have the biggest energy and height, happens for exactly the same reason
more complicated. The Moon are most common. in the Gulf of Thailand, the Persian
doesn’t orbit directly above the In the Gulf of Carpentaria, most Gulf and the Gulf of Mexico.
Equator, but instead swings above of the tidal energy comes from the
and below it. The oceans have Indian Ocean. Hardly any gets through DR KARL is a prolific broadcaster, author and Julius
different depths, continents have the little 150km gap between Cape Sumner Miller fellow in the School of Physics at the
University of Sydney. His latest book, The Doctor,
odd shapes and get in the way of York and New Guinea. So the Gulf is is published by Pan Macmillan. You can follow
the bulging water. The Earth is virtually a closed body of water. him on Twitter: @DoctorKarl.

Ask an expert On this day

Professor Les Christidis, one of the world’s leading experts
on Australian birds, Southern Cross University

Q Why do birds sing at sunrise?

A number of explanations have been put forward

AFTER 19 DAYS of flying,
26-year-old British aviatrix
Amy Johnson touched

A to explain the ‘dawn chorus’, when birds are at

their most vocal. The dawn chorus can start at
different times, usually 30–90 minutes before
down in Darwin to world
acclaim – the first woman
to fly solo from England
to Australia. Born in Hull,
sunrise, depending on the species of bird and England, on 1 July 1903,
season. The intensity of the chorus is loudest Amy’s interest in aeroplanes
during the breeding season. Because it is began just two years before her
PHOTO CREDIT, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SHUTTERSTOCK;

generally males that do most of the singing and record-breaking flight to Australia.
calling, the most likely explanation is that they And it was only in 1929, a year before
are reconfirming their territories and letting this epic journey of almost 16,000km, that she
was awarded her flying licence, after 85 hours
females know their whereabouts. As light levels
WIKIMEDIA; JIM BENSON / WIKIMEDIA;

of flying training – mostly through the London

are poor this early in the day, foraging is not Aeroplane Club. Before that, Amy hadn’t even
practical, and so males are taking the flown over the English Channel. And yet,
opportunity to warn off rival males
OPPOSITE: STEVE WILSON

convinced that women could be as proficient

while females are listening out at flying as men, she set off on her own from
for a suitable mate based London in her DH Gipsy Moth on 5 May
on song quality. 1930 to fly halfway around the world and into
the record books.
 buzz

Life on the edge

This little lizard survives its time in the sun by operating at the very limit of thermal tolerance for a vertebrate.

W
HEN I recently visited strategic colouration a baby dragon
the Australian Age of like this, with a head and body
Dinosaurs museum in length of just 2cm, can avoid
central Queensland, the temperature cooking in conditions that would
hit 42°C. Shade offered little kill anything else. Those skinny legs
sanctuary, but exposure to direct are holding its body high off the
sun, where the conditions were hot metal, while its white underside
up to 10°C higher, was potentially helps deflect heat radiating from
lethal. Yet this tiny, smooth-snouted below. I’m not sure why it wasn’t
earless dragon (Tympanocryptis tucked away under a shaded stone.
intima) chose to bask in full sunlight There was no available food, and it
on a black metal chain atop a was too hot even for ants. And it
concrete post. For me the chain was probably too young to have a
was too hot to touch for even a few territory that needed guarding.
seconds. By careful posturing and STEVE K. WILSON

May . June 23
24 Australian Geographic
PHOTO CREDIT: BRIAN CASSEY
 portrait

Andy Ridley
Reef crowd-puller
A childhood fantasy turns into a global initiative as the citizens of the world
join forces to save our Great Barrier Reef.

A
S A SMALL BOY in Norwich, England, reef and I wanted to see what was really going on
Andy Ridley (pictured left) dreamt and how serious, or not, the issues were.”
of an underwater world so vibrant, so So, in 2002, Andy, his zoologist wife, Dr Tammie
full of life, it couldn’t possibly exist. Matson, and their two young children, Solo and
But decades later, a grown-up Andy Shepard, left the bright lights of Europe for a life
found it in real life – and his underwater fantasy under the stars in Cairns.
world turned out to be even bigger than the UK. Andy, now 46, says one of his most magical reef
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is 344,400sq.km encounters was on an early trip to Osprey Island.
and is so large it can be seen from space. As one of “I’d never seen anything like it,” he recalls. “It was
the world’s most famous marine landmarks, it has a teeming with life, extraordinary.” After this memora-
notoriety that makes it perfect for mobilising crowd ble dive Andy imagined how he could use the reef
power to save it. And that’s exactly what Andy aims to spark change, and the Citizens of GBR was
to tap into. As CEO of the fledgling Citizens of the born. The project will be launched officially in July,
GBR initiative, he wants ordinary people around the although you can become involved now (see below).
world to play a part in protecting this famed habitat, Whether you’re a child growing up in a New
which is suffering from yet another widespread York apartment or a grandfather living in Beijing,
bleaching event. anyone can register as a ‘citizen’ and have a say in
It’s not the first time Andy has taken on such a how the GBR is protected. Registration will entitle
gargantuan task. He co-founded Earth Hour (EH), you to vote online on which projects the initiative
which involves people and businesses turning off funds and be kept updated on the outcomes.
their lights for the same hour each year. Launching “It’s a big task – a big part is to learn more
in Sydney in 2007, the movement saw 2.2 million of about the global issues, like climate change and
the city’s residents participating. By 2014, when Andy pollution, and how we need to dramatically change
moved on, EH was in 7000 cities, across more than the way we’re living in the world,” Andy says. “How
160 countries, reaching a global audience of billions. do we use this as an opportunity to educate? The
It aims to encourage people to think about their reef is a canary in the coalmine but we hope it’s a
environmental impacts and individual footprints and rallying point.” The rise of technology, he says,
the GBR project is looking to follow suit. allows for unlimited social reach like never before:
“The Great Barrier Reef is a mirror on humanity “We’re thinking these issues are a daunting problem
– the health of the reef reflects how we’re treating but they’re an opportunity for us all.”
the planet,” Andy says. “I was working in the JOSEPHINE SARGENT
Netherlands and I started to see the stories about
what was going on in the reef. Since I was knee- SIGN UP now to become a Citizen of the GBR at
high to a grasshopper, I’ve been in love with the www.citizensgbr.org

May . June 25
 TOP 10
Oldest continuously living
things in Australia
The average human life span of 82 years is a mere blip in time compared with these long-lived entities.
BY ELLEN RYKERS

F
ROM ANCIENT trees to primitive cyanobacteria,
Australia’s landscapes and seascapes are home
to some exceptionally old living things.
There’s something about long-lived beings that
surprises, delights and humbles us. Perhaps it’s the
countless perils they have endured or the stupen-
dous stories they would tell (if they could talk). Or
perhaps it’s simply that they illuminate a slower way
of existence. Our list of ‘oldest continuously living
things’ includes both individuals and clone clusters
Stromatolites at – genetically identical plant colonies descended
Shark Bay, WA. from a single continuously living organism.

26 Australian Geographic
 buzz

1 ORANGE ROUGHY 4 BOAB PRISON TREES

Hoplostethus atlanticus Adansonia gregorii
140 years 500–2000 years

These deep-water dwellers, which spawn The barrel-like trunks of boabs, icons of the
around seamounts off southern Australia, Kimberley, become hollow with age and at
are among the world’s longest-living fish. least two are reputed to have served as
Their ear bones suggest they can live for short-term prisons. One, near Derby, is
more than a century, during which they can thought to be 500 years old, and, despite its
reach the size of an average newborn human. roomy 15m girth, has probably never been
Like many cold-water species, orange roughy used as a lockup. But the Wyndham prison
are slow-growing, not reaching maturity until boab, estimated to be 1500 years old, was
20–40 years of age, making them particu- known as the Hillgrove Lockup. In the 1890s
larly vulnerable to over-fishing. Aboriginal people were reportedly imprisoned
in the tree – or chained outside – on their
way to sentencing in the nearby town. 8 ANTARCTIC BEECH
Lophozonia moorei
2 THE GRANDIS
Eucalyptus grandis, 400 years
2000–12,000 years

Gondwana relics, Antarctic beech soar

An exceptional flooded gum specimen, 5 STROMATOLITES above the cool tablelands of northern
Cyanobacteria, 1000+ years
nicknamed The Grandis, towers above the NSW and southern Queensland, in
lush forest of Myall Lakes National Park, These cowpat-like lumps are portals through World Heritage-listed rainforest. These
north of Newcastle in NSW. Tilt your head time. Stromatolites are built up, layer upon ancient trees can reach 40m high – but
to admire the tree’s crown, where hollow layer, over millennia by tiny cyanobacteria – their lifespan is even more impressive.
branches provide penthouse homes for birds microorganisms that were among Earth’s Specimens more than 2000 years old
and arboreal mammals. It’s not only old but earliest life forms, dating to 3.5 billion years line walking tracks in Springbrook
also the tallest known tree in the state. The ago. Until 1961, we only knew of stromato- National Park. In Lamington NP,
Grandis impresses with its superlative lites from ancient fossils. A few colonies have contemporary artist Rachel Sussman
dimensions – an 11.5m circumference at now been found across WA, but the most tracked down a 6000-year-old tree
its base and height of more than 75m. famed at Shark Bay (see opposite) is thought and a 12,000-year-old clonal stand.
to be as old as 1250 years.

3 THE KAURI TWINS 9 MONGARLOWE MALLEE

Agathis microstachya, 900 years Eucalyptus recurva
6 MEELUP MALLEE 3000–13,000 years
Eucalyptus phylacis, 6600 years
Rising from the shores of Lake Barrine in
PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: GEORGETTE DOUWMA / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY; CEPHAS PICTURE LIBRARY /

Crater Lakes National Park, Queensland, The Meelup mallee is known from a single Also known as the ‘ice age gums’, these
are these two giant rainforest pines, ridgeline south of Perth. There 27 genetically incredibly rare eucalypt shrubs literally
Australia’s largest conifers, which have identical shrubby trees – each up to 5m tall fall short of the towering trees on this list
occupied this lakeside spot for almost a and together comprising a single clone – when it comes to stature. But one of these
millennium. Over that time, they’ve grown cluster across an area smaller than a rugby understated bushes may be an astounding
from seedlings to their present-day 50m field. Experts believe this clone, which 13,000 years old and another perhaps
height and 6m girth. Kauris once dominated resprouts after fire, may be 6600 years old. 3000 years old. The species is also one
Queensland’s ancient rainforests, but this This population once had more Meelup of Australia’s rarest eucalypts. There are
species is now restricted to the Atherton mallees, but a scenic lookout was built in the a grand total of five Mongarlowe mallee
Tableland. Today’s kauris appear virtually middle of their range, destroying an unknown shrubs growing across four distinct sites
unchanged when compared with 300- number. When the mallee’s significance was on the NSW Southern Tablelands.
million-year-old kauri fossil specimens. realised, the lookout was removed.

10 KING’S LOMATIA
7 HUON PINES (left) Lomatia tasmanica, 43,600 years
Lagarostrobos franklinii
10,000 years In a remote pocket of south-western
Tasmania, about 500 separate King’s lomatia
ALAMY; RAY WARREN AUSTRALIA / ALAMY

Huon pines are endemic to Tasmania’s damp plants grow. All, however, are clonal, have
forests. On the northern edge of the West three sets of chromosomes and are sterile.
Coast Range, a strange stand of these trees They reproduce vegetatively: when a branch
decks the slopes of Mt Read. All are male drops, it grows roots and becomes an
and genetically identical. Living individuals individual (but genetically identical)
may be older than 1500 years and likely to specimen. Fossilised leaf fragments found
have descended from a single ancestor that’s nearby have been dated to 43,600 years ago,
been propagating vegetatively for millennia. and scientists believe these are genetically
Ancient pollen samples suggest this clonal identical to modern specimens. This
organism has been continuously inhabiting suggests King’s lomatia may have been
Mt Read for at least 10,000 years. continuously growing since the Stone Age.

May . June 27
The f inal
junkyard
…where a floating space debris problem is growing.

M
of human space exploration has
ORE THAN 50 YEARS
resulted in a potentially hazardous band of debris
orbiting Earth. Travelling at more than 28,000km/h,
this space junk is a growing problem. There are about 500,000
pieces of debris currently in orbit that are each bigger than
a marble – meaning they’re large enough to be tracked – and
countless smaller ones, each of which could damage crewed
spaceships or valuable satellites. Possible solutions include
proposals to drag debris down with magnetic nets or lasers.
So, what sort of junk is out there?

Scientists estimate
there are nearly

The oldest piece of space

junk orbiting Earth is the
100,000
objects larger than 5cm
Vanguard 1, the USA’s in Earth’s orbit.
second satellite, which
was launched in Most space junk is
1958. derelict satellites, debris
from collisions of large
pieces of space junk and
stuff left behind from
astronauts, such as faecal
matter and clothing.

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SPL CREATIVE / GETTY; NASA; NASA. SOURCES: NASA; ESA; ABC SCIENCE
Most orbital debris
resides within about

2000km In 1965, during the first

of Earth’s surface.
US spacewalk, Gemini 4
astronaut Edward White
lost a glove. For about
a month, it remained 200
More than
in orbit with an esti- OBJECTS,
mated speed of most of which were bags

Any debris higher than 28,000 of rubbish, were released

by the Mir space station

1000 km/h during its first 10 years

of operation.

kilometres will continue

to orbit Earth for a In 2007 China blew up an old
century or more. weather satellite with a missile,
creating more than 3000
pieces of debris in an instant.
28 Australian Geographic
 buzz

Museum Treasure

A saltwater crocodile called Sweetheart

At the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

H
E MIGHT BE long-dead and outboard motors – he was probably billabong came to an untimely end –
well-stuffed, but Sweetheart is defending his territory, because the but his second life as a museum
a formidable sight. With giant engine sound mimicked the rumbling specimen began soon after.
gaping jaws and a 5m-long body, his vocalisations of rival males. Taxidermists at the Museum and
PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: IMAGE COURTESY THE MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY; WIKIPEDIA;

lifelike appearance is testament to the In early 1979, after a couple of close Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
capabilities of skilled taxidermy. encounters during which dinghy completed the mammoth task of
Sweetheart is an NT icon and famed occupants were tipped overboard, preparing Sweetheart’s skin and
as the largest stuffed saltwater crocodile parks and wildlife authorities decided skeleton in September 1980. During
on display in Australia. But his reputa- Sweetheart should be relocated to a the tricky process they discovered
tion really begins in the 1970s, when nearby crocodile farm – not an easy the remains of pigs, barramundi and
he was a wild croc with a nasty task with the hostile reptile weighing long-necked turtles in his stomach
reputation for terrorising boaties and in at an impressive 780kg. And so on but, thankfully, no humans.
fishers. Back then he patrolled a 19 July that year, Sweetheart was After a year-long national tour,
billabong south-west of Darwin called trapped and tranquillised. But sadly, as Sweetheart returned to the NT where
Sweets Lookout – a popular fishing he was being hauled ashore, he became he’s remained ever since. Four decades
spot and the source of his nickname. entangled in a sunken log and drowned. on, visitors continue to marvel at this
Sweetheart took a dislike to dinghies At an estimated 50 years of age, remarkable animal, and the reputation
and became notorious for attacking Sweetheart’s reign as top croc of the of another Darwin legend endures.

THEN AND NOW

Do you recognise this
iconic street pictured
in 1940 and 2015?
Clue: It’s in the heart
NORTHERN TERRITORY LIBRARY

of Australia. Turn to
page 129 for the answer.

May . June 29
 buzz Research shows massive star-forming disc
galaxies in the early universe (at right) were
less influenced by dark matter (shown
in pink) than in the present day (at left)
because it was less concentrated.

SPACE

Galaxies on the turn

Researchers uncover a new spin on ancient dark matter to reveal a ‘smoother’ universe.

H
OT ON THE HEELS of our gravitational pull, and is known to
story in AG 137 about the astronomers as ‘dark matter’.
slowdown of Earth’s rotation Since then, we have learnt a great FRED ANSWERS
comes another discovery about cosmic deal about dark matter, which we now YOUR QUESTIONS
spin – but this time on a vastly know accounts for about five-sixths
How do you measure light-years?
different scale. And it sheds light on of the matter in the universe. We know
John Barbour, Cowra, NSW
the early history of the universe. it must be made of vast quantities
Most people understand that when of some as yet unknown subatomic
This is a great question and conjures
we look out into space we also look particle, and that today’s galaxies sit in
up images of astronomers with
back in time because the light emitted the middle of dense clumps of it. But
stopwatches timing light beams as
by celestial objects takes time to reach the surprise of this new research is that
they fly through space. Of course,
us. We’re always seeing things as they in the distant past – 10 billion or so that’s not how it works. In fact,
were in the past. Among other things, years ago – things were different. By astronomers don’t even use light-
this gives us the possibility of compar- analysing the rotation of galaxies in years in their day-to-day work. The
ing similar objects at different periods this early phase of the universe, the units of distance they do use –
in the universe’s history, by observing researchers have found that they didn’t called ‘parsecs’ – are measured by
nearby and distant examples. And that’s have their own individual dark matter the slight change in the apparent
exactly what researchers at the Max cocoons. It looks as if dark matter, direction of a star as the Earth
SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION: COURTESY ESO / L. CALÇADA

Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial while not absent in the early universe, moves in its orbit around the Sun.
Physics, in Germany, have now done. was much more smoothly distributed That change is known as parallax,
Their subjects are spiral galaxies – than it is today. It’s puzzling that dark and one parsec is the distance at
gigantic swirling collections of stars, matter didn’t become clumpy until which a star has a parallax of
gas and dust that are often spectacularly after the first galaxies had formed – one second of arc – a tiny angle
beautiful. Our understanding of them an unexpected result. amounting to 1/3600 of a degree.
took a great leap forward in the 1970s, Just for the record, one parsec is
when it was realised they must have an 3.262 light years.
invisible component holding them
together – otherwise, their outer FRED WATSON If you have a space question for Fred,
is an astronomer at the
regions would fly off due to their Australian Astronomical email it to [email protected]
Observatory.
speed of rotation. This invisible
component reveals itself only by its

30 Australian Geographic
 2018
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NATURE WATCH 2 TABLE CORAL

Coral reef scene Acropora cytherea

Size: Up to 3m across
Table coral is a hard, stony
coral that grows horizon-
Three-quarters of the world’s 798 coral species can be found on Australia’s tally in wide, flat, table-like
Great Barrier Reef, and they come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours. formations that are thin
and finely structured. The
STORY BY SOFIA CHARALAMBOUS ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT KAYGANICH ‘tables’ are made up of
lots of short, cylindrical
THERE ARE MORE than 600 coral species in the branches that grow
Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park, which covers outwards and link together
344,400sq.km of ocean. Corals are colonies of tiny in the centre of the plate,
polyps, which are animals related to sea anemones and forming a mass of solid,
jellyfish. A reef begins when a polyp attaches to a rock joined branches. Found
on the seabed and divides into clones. These connect, on shallow reef slopes
creating a colony that functions as a single organism. and lagoons in tropical
Corals are either hard or soft. Hard corals, which environments at
have polyps that produce a calcium carbonate skeleton depths of 3–25m.
1 FINGER CORAL
to protect and support them, are building blocks for
Montipora digitata
reefs. Soft corals are flexible and lack a solid skeleton;
Size: Up to 40cm across
they are instead supported by microscopic, spike-like
A stony, reef-building
‘spicules’, designed to deter predators such as fish.
coral that grows in either 3 HONEYCOMB
Hard corals have a symbiotic relationship with
hand-like or tree-like
CORAL
zooxanthellae algae, which provide them with food and Diploastraea sp.
colonies, with blunt, upright
colouring. High water temperatures cause this relation- Size: Domes of 1m or more
branches. It is covered in
ship to break down; the zooxanthellae are expelled by Like many other hard
very small corallites that
their host corals, and the corals starve and turn white corals, honeycomb coral
give it a rough, sandpa-
in the phenomenon known as bleaching. Surveys car- has a common name that
per-like texture. Like most
ried out by the GBR Marine Park Authority and Austral- describes exactly what it
other hard corals, it gets
ian Institute of Marine Science show that in 2016 more looks like. It grows in a large
its energy from both the
than 60 per cent of the GBR was severely bleached, dome shape and is covered
zooxanthellae that live
leaving 22 per cent of corals dead. It was the worst in a skeleton of corallites –
within its tissues, as well
damage to the reef yet recorded and raised questions the individual calcium
as active carnivorous
about Australia’s environmental stewardship. carbonate cups in which
feeding. Found in shallow
The coral species illustrated here are all found in polyps sit. These are packed
reef environments and
the outer reef at Heron Island, at about 1–3m depth, closely on the surface in
mud flats.
as well as in other shallow reef zones of the GBR. a honeycomb pattern.
Inhabits all reef environ-
ments to a depth of 20m.

32 Australian Geographic
 nature watch
4 COMMON 5 ORGAN PIPE 7 HUMP CORAL 8 SMOOTH
MUSHROOM CORAL Porites densa CAULIFLOWER
CORAL Tubipora musica Size: Up to 15cm across CORAL
Fungia fungites Size: Up to 1m across Common in shallow inner Stylophora pistillata
Size: Up to 28cm across Most soft corals have reefs, but also found less Size: Up to 30cm across
Unlike most corals, does limestone spicules that frequently on the outer Common in shallow reef
not form colonies. provide some structural reef. This small, stony coral areas, particularly those
Mushroom corals are large, support by slightly grows in a rounded hump that are exposed to strong
free-living, solitary polyps stiffening the soft tissues. shape. It prefers to grow wave action, although it
that aren’t attached to the In organ pipe coral, the in the absence of other can occur to a depth of
substrate. They are flat or spicules fuse to create a species, although it can about 15m. It is a hard,
dome-shaped with wide, hard skeleton of pipe-like occasionally be found near branching coral with blunt,
slit-like mouths. Young tubes, with each single algae or other corals. It slightly flattened ends.
mushroom corals begin polyp bearing eight uses symbiotic algae to Colour ranges from cream,
life on stalks and bear a feathery tentacles. photosynthesise by day pink or blue to greens.
striking resemblance to Colonies of organ pipe and filter feeds on plankton
actual mushrooms. Found coral can occupy large by night.
in shallow areas on the reef patches of reef. Inhabits
crest and flat, but mostly shallow waters down to
within cavities on the about 12m.
reef flat.

6 FLOWERPOT
CORAL
Alveopora sp.
Size: Polyps can grow up to
10cm long and 2cm wide
Flowerpot corals are made
up of many individual
polyps joined together at 6
the base of their skeletons
5 to form branches, columns
or dome-shaped colonies.
The individual polyps are
highly flexible and active,
and constantly moving
around and feeding. Their
colonies can spread widely,
growing many metres
across. Found in upper reef
slopes with low wave
action, 5–25m deep.

May . June 33
Wild Australia
MAY . JUNE 2017 Essential wildlife highlights that can’t be missed
SA CUTTLEFISH MIGRATION, WHYALLA
Each May–August, thousands of Australian giant cuttlefish
(Sepia apama) gather to spawn along False Bay’s rocky coast.
Wild Australia
with John Pickrell

Glimpse males in a dazzling courtship display, rapidly changing

the colours and patterns of their skin. There is boardwalk access
at Stony Point and a stairway at Black Point. More info: Call Whyalla
City Council on 08 8640 3444 or visit www.whyalla.sa.gov.au

Big picture

Rain response
By Steve Axford
“These exquisite, short-lived
life-forms appeared after heavy
rain, as so many mushrooms do,
in Nightcap NP, NSW. I’ve long
been fascinated by the beauty of
these gems of the living world
and the critical role they play in
nature. Mushrooms are the fruiting
bodies of fungi, which often live
underground or in dead wood.
They emerge when temperature
and moisture levels are just right
– in many regions of Australia, that
occurs in autumn, except in the
tropics where it occurs in summer.”

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: DARREN JEW; MINDEN PICTURES / ALAMY; STEVE AXFORD. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE

VIC WHALE WATCHING,

WARRNAMBOOL
During winter months, Logans Beach
FROM TOP: Sepia apama; Eubalaena australis; Marasmius haematocephalus

at Warrnambool on Victoria’s southern

coast transforms into a southern right
whale (Eubalaena australis) nursery.
Mothers migrate from the cold waters
of Antarctica to the comparatively
warmer coast of southern Australia
to give birth to calves. To spot them
for yourself, visit the viewing platform
at Logans Beach or join a whale-
watching boat tour.
More info: Call Warrnambool Visitor
Information Centre on 1800 637 725
or visit www.visitwarrnambool.com.au

May . June 35
 QLD
GHOST FUNGUS,
SPRINGBROOK
NATIONAL PARK
After the first rains in early May,
bioluminescent ghost fungi
(Omphalotus nidiformis) begin
fruiting. The species occurs
across southern Australia,
but a good place to find it is
Springbrook National Park, in
the Gold Coast hinterland. The
fan-like fungi resemble oyster
mushrooms – but don’t eat
these glow-in-the-dark mush-
rooms! They’re highly toxic.
More info: Call Queensland
National Parks on 13 74 68 or

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY; GRAPHIC SCIENCE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; TIMOTHY BONHAM / ALAMY; BRAD
visit www.explorespringbrook.com
Each May–June, thousands of giant spider crabs

VIC (Leptomithrax gaimardii) congregate in Port Phillip Bay.

NORMAN / ECOCEAN. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Leptomithrax gaimardii; Omphalotus nidiformis; Solanum centrale; Rhincodon typus
The chaotic blanket of crustaceans is easily viewed with a

NT
snorkel from Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula. The
SPIDER CRAB SWARM, gathering occurs when the spider crabs moult – shedding
their hard exoskeletons in order to grow larger. The crabs
PORT PHILLIP BAY amass in vast numbers to reduce their chances of being
eaten during this vulnerable time. KUTJERA HARVEST,
More info: Call the Mornington Peninsula Visitor Informa-
tion Centre on 03 5950 1579 or visit www.visitmornington
CENTRAL DESERT
peninsula.org Kutjera (Solanum centrale) –
also called bush tomatoes or
desert raisins – are harvested in
late autumn/early winter after
sundrying on the plants. Cherry
HUGE FISH WITH tomato-sized, they shrivel and
BIG PROBLEMS turn golden when ready to eat.
But if eaten unripe, kutjera are
THE WHALE Shark (Rhincodon typus) poisonous. They grow wild across
is the world’s largest fish species, the outback and are cultivated
reaching up to 20m in length and at farms such as Desert Garden
an average weight of more than Produce, south of Alice Springs.
20 tonnes. Sadly, the global population More info: Call Alice Springs
of whale sharks has been falling and the whale shark. For more details Visitor Information Centre on
1800 645 199 or visit www.
last year the species’ conservation about the ECOCEAN project and how
discovercentralaustralia.com
status was upgraded from Vulnerable schools can be involved in the Whale
to Endangered on the IUCN Red List Shark Race Around the World, see
of Threatened Species. The AG Society page 21.
is supporting efforts to rescue the
species by raising funds for ECOCEAN, DONATE Visit www.australiangeographic.
Australia’s only not-for-profit research com.au/society or post a cheque to: AGS Admin-
organisation dedicated to conserving istrator, Level 9, 54 Park St, Sydney NSW 2000.

36 Australian Geographic
 Wild Australia
with John Pickrell

NATURE
Cold comforts
As winter grips the continent’s south and Australia’s upland regions become blanketed by snow,
our alpine plants and animals rely on clever strategies to survive.

W
HEN YOU out in the open to cats and foxes. (see AG 131). Tasmania’s alpine
think of Other small animals, such as reptiles herb fields also have pillow-shaped,
Australia, like the alpine water skink and frogs, low-growing cushion plants that
you don’t typically hibernate during winter and some mature very slowly and are particularly
picture wintry white lizard species have been found nestled adapted to cold and windy conditions.
scenes. And yet parts together in groups of 100 or more in Other alpine species, such as snow
of the south-east, and spaces in snow-gum logs. Corroboree gums, have evolved small waxy leaves
to a lesser extent and Baw Baw frogs are cold-tolerant as a defence against the cold. These
Tasmania’s mountainous regions, receive and inactive in winter; at summer’s pretty eucalypts are sculpted by
significant snow during colder months. end they lay eggs that enter a state of highland winds, and, with boughs
The Australian Alps – the Great paused development until the snow heavily laden with snow, are the
Dividing Range part that stretches from starts to melt again and floods bogs and archetypal image of winter in Austral-
NSW into Victoria – usually begin streams with fresh water. Fish such as ia’s Snowy Mountains. Australian alpine
receiving heavy snowfalls in June. mountain galaxias hibernate in the regions are unique in the world for not
Temperatures here from June to August mud of frozen alpine creeks. having a distinct tree line (the point
regularly fall below 0oC. (Bureau of More than half the bird species of above which no trees grow) and snow
Meteorology data show Australia’s the Alps avoid the winter completely gums can even occasionally be found
coldest ever recorded temperature was by migrating away when it’s coldest. in protected spots near the summits
–23oC, at Charlotte Pass in Kosciuszko For example, olive-backed orioles and of peaks in Kosciuszko NP.
National Park on 29 June 1994.) satin flycatchers head north to warmer So, if you’re lucky enough to visit
It is in June when the many plants climes, while flame robins, nankeen Australia’s snowfields this year, don’t
and animals that live here start to adopt kestrels and pied currawongs move make the mistake of thinking there
key strategies to cope with scarce food, down to lower altitudes where food isn’t much life about: the coldest parts
cold temperatures and long nights. is more plentiful. of our continent teem with life
Wombats are among the few larger Plants also have strategies for coping specially adapted over millions of years
PHOTO CREDIT: ROSS DUNSTAN / AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vombatus ursinus

marsupials that remain active above the with wintry conditions. In Tasmania’s to cope with the harsh conditions.
snowline in winter. Echidnas are also mountains, Australia’s only cold-climate Sadly, this means they are also some of
present in the alpine zone, but hiber- deciduous tree, the fagus – or the our species most vulnerable to climate
nate during the coldest months. deciduous beech – flushes with reds change, because they have nowhere to
Many smaller mammals have learnt and golds in autumn, withdrawing retreat to as their habitats dwindle.
to live beneath the snow. There’s a gap nutrients from its leaves as it drops
known as the subnivean space between them completely ahead of winter
the underside of the snow and the
ground, where native creatures such
as the bush rat, broad-toothed rat,
mountain pygmy possum and Swain- A common wombat
son’s antechinus move and forage in trundles through the snow
relatively constant temperatures. in a NSW ski field.
Some species share body warmth
at night by nesting together and feast
on seeds, grasses and insects, which
JOHN PICKRELL
is a former AUSTRALIAN
are easier to catch in cold conditions GEOGRAPHIC editor.
Follow him on
because they move more slowly. In Twitter: @john_pickrell.
winter these tiny mammals are also
more free to move around than in
summer, when they are vulnerable

May . June 37
Survival
dance
Seen in their natural habitat,
Australia’s riflebirds are among the
world’s most stunning creatures and
offer hope for the future of New
Guinea’s birds-of-paradise.

STORY BY ED SCHOLES PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LAMAN

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ptiloris paradiseus

38 Australian Geographic
 QUEENSLAND

Paradise riflebird
Ptiloris paradiseus NEW SOUTH
WALES

Among birds-of-paradise, looks can

be deceiving. Young males like this
paradise riflebird at Mount Glorious
may look like females in their early
years, but reveal their true colours
when practising courtship displays.

May . June 39
 Magnificent riflebird
Ptiloris magnificus

QUEENSLAND

This male magnificent riflebird at Cape York’s Piccaninny

Plains wildlife sanctuary transforms from a bird into
a fantastic black ovoid form, as it frantically whips its
head sideways while moving up and down to the rhythm
of its unique display.

I
N A PATCH OFrainforest near Mount Glorious, Renowned for their brilliant colours and ostentatious
in the D’Aguilar Range, about 30km north-west mating displays, birds-of-paradise are the result of millions
of Brisbane, I glimpse a male paradise riflebird of years of evolution and are among the world’s most
dart through the trees. Its silky, jet-black body attractive birds. Males often feature large head plumes
glistens as the blue-green iridescence on its breast or fans, vibrant ruffs, flamboyant breast shields and elon-
shield, crown and tail glints in the late spring sunlight. gated adornments, known as wires or streamers. They
Birds-of-paradise in the wild are striking, but most excit- use their ornamentation to attract females, performing

SCIENTIFIC NAMES, THIS PAGE: Ptiloris magnificus; OPPOSITE PAGE: Ptiloris paradiseus
ing about this encounter isn’t the bird itself. It’s what I elaborate dances and poses to garner attention.
see once the bird shoots out of view: the distant outline While most species are confined to New Guinea and
of the Brisbane skyline.What a contrast. the surrounding islands, four live in Australia – a nod to
For more than a decade, wildlife photographer Tim the massive land bridge that once connected these two
Laman and I have ventured to some of the most rugged great lands. These include the trumpet manucode and
and remote New Guinea and Queensland forests in our three riflebirds: the magnificent,Victoria’s, and paradise
quest to scientifically document, photograph, and capture riflebirds.Two of these riflebirds, the Victoria’s and par-
footage of each of the 41 species in the Paradisaeidae adise riflebirds, are endemic to Australia.
family as part of our Birds-of-Paradise Project. In most ways, Australia’s riflebirds resemble their
These are some of the most difficult birds in the world counterparts in New Guinea: they are largish (ranging
to see, generally residing in out-of-the-way locations
and selecting perches inaccessible to people.Yet the par-
adise riflebird, one of only four birds-of-paradise found Ed Scholes and Tim Laman
in Australia, lives in the figurative backyard of millions.
Evolutionary biologist Ed Scholes’ fascination with
These treasures dwell in the highland rainforests of the birds-of-paradise lies in how their beauty and variety came to
vast Great Dividing Range, just beyond earshot of the be. He first joined forces with acclaimed wildlife photographer
bustling cities and towns of northern NSW and Tim Laman in 2003, after which the pair spent more than a
south-eastern Queensland. decade together documenting these extraordinary birds.

40 Australian Geographic
Young male riflebirds try hard to perform like their Wildlife photojournalist Tim Laman peers out from
elders, but can’t without specialised adult feathers. his camouflaged hide near the display perch of a
This juvenile’s pose lacks the distinctive rounded shape magnificent riflebird, deep inside Piccaninny Plains
made by the unusual wing feathers of an adult male. wildlife sanctuary in Cape York.

May . June 41
 QUEENSLAND
Trumpet manucode
Phonygammus keraudrenii

Cape York’s trumpet manucode is a relative of

Australia’s riflebirds. In all manucode species, the sexes
look identical and males don’t perform the flash mating
displays for which most birds-of-paradise are known.

During courtship the true

purpose of their remarkable
from about the size of a rainbow lorikeet to that of a
magpie); they are predominantly rainforest birds; and plumage becomes clear.
only the adult males wear the ‘fancy’ feathers.The males
of all three species are a rich, velvety black and all feature
patches of dazzling metallic blue-green iridescence on
their breast shields, crowns and tails. This colouration movements to create a rhythmic swish-swish-swish
may be what earned them the common name riflebird, sound.Throughout, its black plumage provides the per-
because of its resemblance to the uniforms of British fect backdrop for highlighting the stunning flashes of
riflemen. Females and young birds of both sexes are more shimmering colour, in the same way a jeweller might
demure in appearance, featuring grey-brown striped use dark velvet or silk to line a display cabinet.
plumage that looks a bit like pyjamas. It is these behaviours that Tim and I have worked so
Like all birds-of-paradise, Australia’s male riflebirds hard to document through the Birds-of-Paradise Project,
are beautiful when glimpsed going about their everyday and the results are remarkable. After 18 expeditions to
business. But it’s when they do what they do best – 51 different field camps over the course of eight years,
bedazzle a female into a brief, but intimate, relationship Tim has managed to capture images of all 39 bird-of-
– that they undergo a truly astonishing transformation. paradise species. Most of these were difficult to find and
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phonygammus keraudrenii

During courtship the true purpose of their remark- even more difficult to photograph, which is what made
able plumage becomes clear. More than merely aesthetic, our experiences in south-eastern Queensland so special.
it is a well-designed prop used to enchant their audience Observing Australia’s riflebirds in their natural habitats
during an intricate mating performance. During court- offers hope for the future of birds-of-paradise in New
ing, a male carefully positions itself to capture the sun’s Guinea, where humans are increasingly encroaching on
light on its breast. Then it shines the light into the dis- once remote habitats.
cerning eyes of its female judge. It fans specially shaped Of Australia’s three riflebirds, the magnificent riflebird
wing feathers to create an almost perfect circle; then is the largest and only non-endemic species. Unlike the
rubs the feather surfaces together with special wing other two, it is decidedly not a ‘backyard’ bird. In New

42 Australian Geographic
 In association with

Australian Geographic

Meet acclaimed AG wildlife

photographer and
underwater photography master
DARREN JEW
READER
EVENT D
on’t miss this joint Coral Expeditions and
Australian Geographic Society reader
event featuring Canon ambassador
Darren Jew, one of the stars of National
Hosted by Chrissie Goldrick Geographic’s hugely successful Tales By Light
Editor-in-chief TV series. Hear about his amazing life, including
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC how he photographed a dozen male humpback
whales chasing a single female during a Tongan
‘heat run’, and what it was like to swim with groups of playful sea lions
off Australia’s southern coast on assignment for AG.

Thursday 18 May
2017, doors open 6pm.
Event begins 7pm.

Reef Theatre,
SEA LIFE Sydney
Aquarium
Seated tickets:
$35, or $30 for AG
subscribers/members.

Standing room: $20

Book now via our website. Places are limited so don’t delay.
www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/events
Enquiries to [email protected] or phone 02 9263 9825
Because seating is limited we have made standing places available for this event. The main talk will last for about an hour, and there will be other
short presentations from our partners, plus a Q&A session.
Ticket price includes complimentary access to SEA LIFE Aquarium from 6pm, for one hour before the formalities begin at 7pm.
Ticket price also includes complimentary wine and canapés after the presentation.
 Victoria’s riflebird
Ptiloris victoriae

QUEENSLAND

A male Victoria’s riflebird in full display is a splendour to

behold. Because this species is found in many parks and
reserves in north-eastern Queensland’s Wet Tropics, it
is likely to be the most readily viewed bird-of-paradise. In New Guinea, birds-of-
paradise face forest loss as
Guinea, it is widely distributed in hill forests, but in Aus-
tralia the species is confined to the northern reaches of citiesand towns expand.
Cape York Peninsula, in far north Queensland. In sea-
sonally wet parts of the Cape, the magnificent riflebird
is restricted to narrow corridors of gallery rainforest near
rivers, where it is hard to spot and can be quite rare. In young males in their ‘stripy brown pyjamas’ taking turns
other parts of the cape, such as Kutini-Payamu (Iron practising their awkward displays to one another – Tim
Range) National Park, it is more abundant and easier to and I found ourselves filled with envy.We began joking
encounter. Here, twitchers can find it by listening for the about how we might convince our families to move to
powerful whistles of the male, which signal its presence. Australia from the USA so we too could have birds-of-
Victoria’s riflebird is the best known of the Australian paradise in our backyards.
trio. Its homeland is among the parks and reserves of the But fantasies aside, our time with the Australian
Wet Tropics, between Townsville and Cooktown, in birds-of-paradise gave us hope for the future of this
north-eastern Queensland. Because this area is popular incredible family of birds in their natural stronghold, the
with tourists, there are places where Victoria’s riflebirds wilds of New Guinea. There, they face the imminent
have become used to visitors and it’s not uncommon to threat of forest loss as the country’s cities and towns
see them looking for an easy meal near cafes, ecolodges expand. Australia’s riflebirds show us that it is possible
and other tourist hotspots. On one of our field trips, for humans and birds-of-paradise to cohabitate.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ptiloris victoriae

Tim and I saw this species display in a rainforest patch It gives me hope that in New Guinea these remark-
that was literally in the backyard of a colleague and friend. able birds will survive into the future if intact forests are
Despite being less well known than theVictoria’s, the preserved, cut forests are allowed to regenerate and devel-
paradise riflebird of northern NSW and south-eastern opment is sustainable. AG

Queensland is actually the easiest to spot. After several

days of photographing a handful of these cooperative SEE Tim’s images of New Guinea’s birds-of-paradise
birds in the D’Aguilar Range – including a couple of online at: www.australiangeographic.com.au/issue138

44 Australian Geographic
 exploretnq.com.au

Kayaking along the beautiful tropical coastline at Mission Beach, TNQ

Caught in
the headlights
An encounter with a kangaroo left dying
on a roadside spurred Doug Gimesy into
action. Now this winner of the 2016 AG
Nature Photographer of the Year ‘Our
Impact’ category is using his images to
raise awareness of the issue.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUG GIMESY

46 Australian Geographic
Just a few hundred metres from Kangaroo
Island’s largest national park, speed limits
increase to 110km/h and the killing field
begins – nearly 100km of road that passes
through dense kangaroo habitat.

May . June 47
 SOUTH
AUSTRALIA

Adelaide
Kangaroo Island

T
HE NIGHT was crisp. The stars were spar-
kling. It was July and my partner, Heather,
and I were enjoying a week on wild and
beautiful Kangaroo Island.That was until we
saw the roo, lying on the roadside. Its head
turned as we rolled past, but it didn’t get up. “That’s
strange,” Heather said. “Turn around, I want to see if
he’s alright.” I stopped and grabbed a torch. I’ll never
forget what I saw.
As we approached, it started to stir but didn’t stand
- just feebly pulled itself along a few feet using its front
legs. I swept the beam of my torch from its head to the
lower part of its body, and my heart sank. One of its
powerful rear legs was snapped and pointing in the wrong
direction, bone exposed.A gruesome trail marked where
it had dragged itself as it tried to move off the road.
From dusk to dawn is when many Australian animals are
Its bloody eyes blinked with terror and its breath on the move and their low light–sensitive eyes can become
quickened. Frantically, it tried to crawl towards the safety temporarily disabled by the blinding glare of bright headlights.
of the bush. It was then I realised the term ‘roadkill’ It’s also when driver visibility is reduced.
doesn’t describe the suffering that can occur before you
finally drive past the rigid carcasses that litter our roads.
Often, roadkill isn’t as instant as we think. figures include only accidents reported to the police that
involve property damage of more than $5000.

K
ANGAROO ISLAND (KI), 13km off South Australia, What we do know is that most wildlife vehicle inci-
is the country’s third-largest island. Once the dents reported in SA involve kangaroos or wallabies,
domain of primary industries, KI is now a flour- with data suggesting they account for 94 per cent. Karen
ishing tourism hotspot, with more than 190,000 people Masson, CEO of Wildlife Victoria, says last year her
visiting annually.Touted as a premier wildlife destination, organisation received 4600 calls specifically related to
one-third is dedicated to conservation areas and national these, but many collisions are not reported. It is likely
parks. It is rich in wildlife, including the KI subspecies that more than 10,000 kangaroos and wallabies are struck
of the western grey kangaroo.With no natural predators, each year in Victoria alone.
it is the slowest moving of all kangaroos.

D
Sadly, each year hundreds are either killed, fatally AWN AND dusk are high danger times, when
injured or maimed by cars – along with thousands of the chance of hitting wildlife spikes.And yet KI
other animals, including goannas and echidnas.“It’s dis- still doesn’t have speed-limit reductions in place.
tressing to think that about 50 per cent of kangaroos Some residents have long campaigned for local coun-
and wallabies injured by cars may appear OK and hop cils and the SA state government to reduce speeds at
off into the bush, but the reality is they are just trying these times. SeaLink, the ferry operator that links KI
to get far away from the situation and end up dying a with the mainland, supports driver education.The island’s
slow, painful death,” says Kate Welz, president of the KI Budget car and truck rental office gives customers
Wildlife Network (KIWN). KIWN driver-education brochures. And Mayor Peter
Exact figures on how many kangaroos are killed or Clements also backs actions to reduce wildlife trauma.
injured are hard to find, because official traffic accident Sandy Carey, a dedicated wildlife conservationist
data parameters are very narrow. In SA, for example, who’s lived on the island for four decades, has been

48 Australian Geographic
 A major threat to the Kangaroo Island echidna (above) is motor
vehicle collisions. Yet another koala joey (below) orphaned by
traffic is rehabilitated by KIWN’s Kate Welz.

Kangaroos often come in What to do if you

from the bush looking for a
free breakfast from veteran
hit an animal or find
KI wildlife carer Sandy Carey. injured wildlife
Stop: If it is safe to do so, pull
over and check whether the
animal is still alive. If you spot
pink paint on it, it’s been
checked by a wildlife carer
and there is no need to stop.

Call for help: Contact the

local wildlife rescue group.

Check the pouch: Older joeys

may survive for days in a moth-
er’s pouch and can sometimes
be saved.

Move dead animals away

from the road: Dead animals
attract scavengers and
increase the chance of further
collisions. Even a few metres
will help.

May . June 49
 Travel safe
Beware at dawn and dusk:
Many animals are on the move
at these times, so either avoid
travelling then or slow down.

Use your lights: Turn head-

lights to high beam if driving
more than 80km/hr or low
beam if below 60km/hr.

Don’t litter: Rubbish can

attract scavenging animals
to roadsides.

Go slow: If you see wildlife on

the road, slow down and pull
your vehicle over, if it is safe
to do so, in order to allow an
animal time to cross.

Rescued traffic-orphaned
roo joeys relax safe and warm
in temporary pouches until
A lucky few are rescued and cared for
they are old enough and well
enough to live outdoors. until they are well enough to be relocated.

hand-rearing orphaned joeys for 20 years. She’s also carers are members of KIWN.They make rearing these
spent much time lobbying for speed restrictions. “I just babies a part of their daily routine, feeding them up to
don’t understand why it’s so hard to implement speed six times a day for months.
limits or at least advisory signs at times and in places “You’ve got to give them the attention and love that
where everybody knows there’s a higher chance of an any mum would give them,” carer Pauline Lanthois says.
accident,” Sandy says.“We do it around schools, so why “Feed them, toilet them, wash them, clean their bed and
not in other places? It would only add a few minutes of take them to the doctor when they’re sick.”
travel time here and there.Tasmania has managed to do

S
it so why can’t we?” TANDING NEXT TO the dying kangaroo, I didn’t
Some locals note just 50km of road desperately needs know what to do. I couldn’t kill it so I called carer
dusk-to-dawn speed limit reductions. Yet vehement Sandy Carey, who in turn phoned the kangaroo’s
opposition persists. Local member Michael Pengilly, for location through to the local ranger. Reluctantly, Heather
example, recently rejected the idea, saying the KI com- and I went on our way, hoping the ranger would arrive
munity does “not need to be told how to drive and what swiftly and end the animal’s suffering.The next day when
speed to drive at on the roads at night-time”. I went back to check, the kangaroo was gone. I’ll never
know if it spent hours in agony or whether the ranger

I
F A KANGAROO HAS been injured to such an extent got there in time.
that it requires euthanising, professional help can Later, when I returned home to Melbourne and
sometimes be far away. Sensible gun regulations and edited my images, the shot of this injured kangaroo
laws in Australia mean an animal may need to be killed reduced me to tears. As a photographer, I use pictures
using any rudimentary implements at hand, such as a to highlight the impact humans have on the natural
tyre iron or a rock. world. In the case of the KI kangaroos, I hope they make
On a good day, when people stop to check an injured people think about slowing down and, in the process,
or dead kangaroo, a joey can often be found alive in its prevent much unnecessary road trauma.
mother’s pouch. If not rescued quickly, however, it will I have since dedicated my photographic skills to high-
die from hypothermia, dehydration, starvation or stress. lighting the problem of the safety of our wildlife, like
Young ones can survive a maximum of 48 hours, and the roo we couldn’t save. AG

older ones up to three days.

A lucky few are rescued and cared for until they are SEE uplifting images of animals rescued from road trauma at:
well enough to be relocated. Many of these dedicated www.australiangeographic.com.au/issue138

50 Australian Geographic
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54 Australian Geographic
 T RO P I C A L N O RT H Q U E E NS L A N D A DV E N T U R E S

Into the Wet

Ancient geological links connect the steamy rainforest to
the colourful reef in Australia’s tropical north. The best
way to explore both is to get wet, go offroad and share
a lodge with Lumholtz’s tree kangaroos.
STORY BY JEREMY BOURKE PHOTOGRAPHY BY DON FUCHS

This creek just below the Cardwell

Spa Pool is typical of waterways in
the Wet Tropics: cold, clear, crisp and
hemmed in so tightly by the forest that
the summer sun barely gets a look-in.

May . June 55
Douglas Creek, on the Atherton
Tableland, explodes through a narrow
chute to create the spectacle that is
Nandroya Falls. They plunge 50m into
a broad pool from which the creek then
escapes over a broader but shallow
cascade to the side.
56 Australian Geographic
M ARTY IS DEADLY serious as he
looks at us. “You will get wet,”
he says. The whitewater rafting guide
then breaks into a smile.“You will have
fun…and you will get wet.”
It’s only 9am and already the mercury
is pushing 35˚C. We’re in Tully Gorge
National Park, about 95km south-west
of Cairns in far north Queensland. Our
only cool relief will be from the river.

It’s February, the Wet is in full swing and the river is running
high and fast. Our raft – one of seven – will be commanded by
Dave Macfarlane.The Raging Thunder Adventures guide knows
just how powerful the water is, because the Kareeya Hydro Power
Station above us is at maximum output, hitting an impressive
88 megawatts. He adjusts our route accordingly.
It’s not just the churning Tully River that has benefited from This straight but technically difficult Grade 4 rapid on the Tully River
the deluge.Across the region, the waterfalls are roaring, the look- is aptly known as the Corkscrew, but all seven rafts in our group make
it through the section without losing anyone overboard.
outs are lush and, as a cooling afternoon storm rolls in, the sky
turns from clear blue to a brooding charcoal.
In the rainforest everything seems alive. Day and night, every
bird, bug and frog sings happily among the dripping leaves. The
Wet Tropics are nothing if not loud. Today, our trip is only 12km, but it’s a wild ride and follows a
But today, the attention of our helmeted and life-jacketed strict hierarchy.The river, which changes character daily, tells the
group of 40 is focused on the boulder-filled Tully River that cuts guide what to do, and he then directs us: paddle forwards, paddle
through the 54,300ha national park. backwards, paddle hard, stop, hold on and – in the big rapids – get
Among those on board our raft is Shaun Bennett, who spends down. Sometimes all these instructions are fired in rapid succes-
eight months of the year spreading concrete in Medicine Hat, in sion. But you’re never doing one for more than five or so seconds,
the Canadian province of Alberta, and the other four feeding an and the rest is gentle drifting – both in and out of the raft, which
adrenaline habit. He’s only been in the area two days and has we sometimes exit involuntarily.
already chalked up one tandem skydive and six bungee jumps.

B
Tomorrow he’s diving on the Great Barrier Reef, but I won- EHANA GORGE, about 60km to the north-east, looks sim-
der if the Canadian realises just how closely north Queensland’s ilar to the one we just paddled through: steep cliffs, raging
two great World Heritage areas – the ancient rainforest and col- water and a steamy atmosphere. But here a raft is useless
ourful reef – are linked. Dr Paul Chantrill, a Wet Tropics Manage- – what we’ll be descending is like a giant staircase of water.
ment Authority program manager, says he probably does; the The gorge is a popular swimming spot for locals and Sam Day
interdependence between the two always piques the interest of has been coming here with his mates since they were teenagers.
visitors. The Reef was rainforest 10,000–20,000 years ago and Now he guides professionally through his Behana Canyoning
below the surface is still inextricably connected to it. Fresh water business and for the next few hours we treat it as our playground.
disgorges 20–30km out to sea through ‘wonky holes’.These were In wetsuit tops, life vests and helmets, we leap from ledges into
once river channels that, when the last Ice Age ended and the sea the river, swim against its current, use rocks as waterslides, scoot
level rose, were covered in sediment to form underground pipes. through chutes and finally abseil down to get to Continued page 62

58 Australian Geographic
 Our novice attempts at paddling seem to have little effect
against the force of the white water, but our boat’s guide Dave
Macfarlane assures us that every little bit helps – as long as we
follow his instructions to the letter (below). Even with all this
water around, it’s a hot day on the Tully River (bottom). Waiting
for our boat to get its turn for a refreshing shower under Ponytail
Falls are Chris (at left) and Phil, uni mates from Queensland, and
Canadian adventure-seeker Shaun Bennett (obscured).

May . June 59
 THE WET TROPICS

Reached via the scenic Cardwell Forest Drive,

the Cardwell Spa Pool (right) is a sensational
place to escape the heat. The Fan Palm Walk
(below) is another cool, although slightly less
wet, diversion in Djiru National Park, inland
from Mission Beach, where a 1.3km
boardwalk passes under tall fan palms.

Cardwell Forest Drive.

Wooroonooran NP. Immense buttress

roots (far left) are a
feature of several
rainforest tree species
in the Wet Tropics.
Fan Palm Walk. This one is on the
path to Nandroya
Falls. Umbrella
When to go tree (Schefflera
actinophylla) fruit (left)
November to April is the Wet, when is eaten and spread
the waterfalls and rivers run high and by many rainforest
full. The days at this time are hot and bird species.
steamy: humidity often climbs above
60 per cent and average daily tempera-
tures can regularly reach above 30oC, Where to stay Points of interest
although they are usually tempered This large region has all manner of 1 Behana Gorge
by a cooling storm in the evening. The accommodation. In cosmopolitan 2 Yungaburra
‘dry’ winter months are more temperate Cairns, the Double Tree by Hilton is 3 Babinda Boulders
but also much busier. centrally located on the waterfront 4 Mount Hypipamee NP
and close to all amenities. 5 Nandroya Falls
Five and a half hours drive south-west 6 Mamu Tropical Skywalk
Getting there of Cairns on the Tableland, the Big4 7 Tully Gorge
From Cairns, it’s a 90-minute drive to Atherton Woodlands Tourist Park 8 Fan Palm Walk
Atherton and the southern tablelands at Atherton has single and multi- 9 Cardwell Forest Drive
via either Gordonvale or Mareeba. To roomed cottages and villas, plus 10 Blencoe Falls
the south, Tully is two hours drive caravan sites and camping,
and Cardwell two and a half all in a tropical rainfor-
hours drive. est setting. More information
On the Cassowary Queensland parks
Coast, the Cardwell www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/
Beachcomber
A tightly folded Motel and Tourist Tourism Tropical North Queensland
young king fern
Park offers motel www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au
frond. Mature
fronds can grow up rooms, villas and
to 9m long in the camping areas, all Wet Tropics Management Authority
Queensland tropics. on the waterfront. www.wettropics.gov.au/exploring

60 Australian Geographic
 The cassowary is an
important rainforest
gardener, spreading the
seeds of rainforest trees.
Sometimes the seeds are
so large, no other animal
is able to swallow and
disperse them.
MAP BY WILL PRINGLE

May . June 61
 Water has both sharpened and
smoothed the granite boulders like
an outdoor sculpture park.
an outcrop that Sam’s offsider Dom Godwin calls Paradise Pool.
“Some people say they like to live life on the edge,” Dom says.
“We like to live over the edge.”
Not every Wet Tropics water experience is extreme. About
50km south of Cairns on Babinda Creek is a beautiful wide pool
above the Babinda Boulders, which can be seen only on the
Devil’s Pool Walk, a 1.3km return track taking in three viewing
platforms. Each shows how water has both sharpened and
smoothed the granite boulders like an outdoor sculpture park.
Other tranquil swimming hideaways in the region include
Josephine Falls, Alligators Nest at Tully and the Spa Pool, near
Cardwell, where the creek runs through a depression in its rocky
bed, creating a natural jacuzzi.

T
HIS AREA IScalled the Cassowary Coast, but so far the
1.8m-tall birds have avoided us.We’ve been told our best
chance to see one is on the easy 1.3km Fan Palm Walk
in Djiru National Park, 5km south of Mission Beach. Insects and
tropical birds create a racket around us, but the rustling in the
dense forest is not caused by foraging cassowaries. Rather, it’s the
wind flapping the fronds of the fan palms, which thrive in almost
permanently soggy soil due to their broad shape allowing for
maximum sunlight absorption.
We spot none of the elusive birds on our walk, but next morn-
ing a pair saunters past our motel in Tully. And later, on a scenic
A popular spot in the shadow of Queensland’s highest peak,
drive back up the Tully Gorge, one stands feeding by the side of
Mt Bartle Frere, Josephine Falls is like a water park for locals
the road, barely noticing as we get within 10m to admire its glossy even though it can sometimes be hazardous to enter. This is the
blue-black plumage and striking blue neck. lowest of four separate drops in the Josephine Falls precinct.
Since we’ve been in Tully, there’s been no sign of rain, although
it’s never far away. Tully holds Australia’s record for the highest
annual rainfall in a populated area. In 1950 there was a total yearly
downpour of 7.93m, which looks a mighty lot when measured The vista that Mamu unveils from its 350m-long walkway
out centimetre for centimetre by the Golden Gumboot monu- jutting into the North Johnstone River Valley is truly spectacu-
ment in town that memorialises the event. lar.Via the skywalk, or the alternative forest path, you arrive at a
Records aside, understanding the rain is critical to the region’s 100-step tower. After a breathless climb, you can gaze north up
primary producers. Every day at 9am John Edwards, production the valley to layer upon layer of ridges and peaks that fade off
manager at Tully Sugar, records the gauge reading in the mill’s into the heat haze.
yard. “It’s a tool we rely on,” John explains. “Cane is a grass that This treetop attraction, which is located about 30 minutes
needs sunshine and water to grow. But all field work is mecha- drive inland from Innisfail, was born out of a recent infamous
nised and if you can’t get out there because it’s too wet, we have disaster. In March 2006 Cyclone Larry shredded so much of the
to stop crushing.” rainforest around here that the skywalk was able to be built with
He laments that in Tully “it always seems to rain, but 5km only minimal manual clearing.
down the coast it doesn’t”. That’s because the town sits sand- Advantage was taken of a natural cycle: much like a eucalypt
wiched between the coastal Walter Hill Range and inland Mt forest needs fire, destructive winds break up the rainforest canopy,
Mackay, which creates a moisture trap. allowing sunlight in to ignite the next generation of growth.
While the locals have learnt to work around the rain, the Wet The waterfalls here are also thriving in the Wet – the 18m
has become an export attraction. Mamu Tropical Skywalk cus- Millaa Millaa Falls is easily the prettiest we see. But near Mamu
tomer service officer Sherrill Mehonoshen says the most positive is a 3.5km track to the less frequently visited Nandroya Falls,
comments are from the British: “They love the tropics because which are narrower, higher and more impressive as Douglas
it’s wet, but not cold.” Creek drops 50m from a narrow chute. Continued page 66

62 Australian Geographic
 The distinctively shaped granite Babinda Boulders sit in a
beautiful stretch of Babinda Creek, an area known as Devil’s
Pool, or sometimes Oolana’s Pool. Oolana was a young Wanyurr
woman who, Aboriginal legend says, threw herself into the
water after being spurned by her lover.

Negotiating a tricky rock-hopping

exercise in Behana Gorge, where
the canyoning experience is
totally immersive.

May . June 63
 Clockwise from top left: An Australian giant ‘rainforest’
centipede (Ethmostigmus rubripes) crawls out from under
a rock beside the road; the glorious green of the Girringun
NP section of the Kirrama Range Rd; the spectacular drop
of Blencoe Falls, where the Herbert River plunges 90m;
council workers Shane Flanagan (at left) and Chris Sheely
deal with the first of the ‘roadblocks’; at Tuckers Lookout,
the expansive view is across the Kennedy Valley to the
Cardwell Range, Hinchinbrook Channel and Hinchinbrook
Island, which at 40,000ha is one of Australia’s largest
island national parks.

64 Australian Geographic
 Kirrama Range Road
This historic road that winds through World
W
E’VE BEEN told that if you
Heritage-listed rainforest is considered one of want to experience it all in the
Queensland’s great early engineering feats. Wet Tropics – a stunning vista,
rugged waterfall, rainforest walk and wildlife,
with a bit of adventure thrown in – then take
Kirrama Range Road to Blencoe Falls.
Starting 11km north-west of Cardwell,
via Kennedy, it was built in the 1930s to
serve a tiny timber-cutting community and
was reopened in 2014 after Cyclone Yasi.
The guide says it’s just 62km to Blencoe
Falls – but three hours driving time. As it
turns out, even that’s ambitious.
A kilometre or so up the road, a fallen
tree blocks the way. It’s too big to move, and
we must back-track most of the way to
Kennedy to get phone coverage to report it.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council send
a crew, and we’re soon joined by Shane
Flanagan and Chris Sheely, who, with the
squeal of a chainsaw, have the log gone in
a matter of minutes. Chris continues ahead
to clear more blockages – six in total.
This road still has patches of old bitumen
– left there because “it’s historic”, says
Shane – but even without snags we take
it carefully.
The promised vista finally appears at
Tuckers Lookout, where we gaze down the
Kennedy Valley out to Hinchinbrook Island,
4km off the coast. At Society Flat, an easy
720m circuit introduces us to the giants
lurking in the rainforest. These include
towering kauri pines, which can grow up
to 45m high.
As we descend, the rainforest soon yields
to savannah grassland and we take the turn
towards Blencoe Falls Camping Area. From
here we can walk to Blencoe Falls. We’re
level with the top of this cascade, which
plunges 90m to a cauldron of foam. Yet
just a few hundred metres down the gorge,
the tranquil Herbert River looks as if it’s
barely trickling.
A building storm threatens to block our
path again, so we turn for home. But the
only obstacles we see are animals – cattle,
eastern grey kangaroos, a wild pig, a pair
of turtles crossing a low causeway and a
wallaby bent low as it darts in front of us.

May . June 65
T
HE FINAL BLAZE of the setting sun is a cue for frogs and
other wildlife to begin stirring to feed. Alan Gillanders, a
former teacher who’s run wildlife tours on the Atherton
Tableland for 14 years, has developed a sense for where such
creatures might be lurking, which is handy because it’s pitch black
along the track to Dinner Falls in Mount Hypipamee National
Park, south of Atherton. Suddenly, he stops and swings his light
up to a branch where a prehensile-tailed rat sits.
At ground level he susses out two northern barred frogs, then
again his beam hits the branches above – almost instinctively – and
we spot the white stomach of another frog perched above. We
turn off all our lights to admire luminescent fungi and fireflies.
Then Alan scans the forest with a thermal imaging device and
detects something. “It’s big,” he says, and his spotlight picks up a
red-legged pademelon in a gully.
The next day, Alan takes us to a place favoured by creatures
that are a little shyer. Along Peterson Creek in Yungaburra there’s
a spot where platypus venture at dawn or dusk. But because it’s
mid-morning our attention is turned skyward, where two green
ringtail possums embrace, probably a mother and her young.
“Their diet is quite nasty,” Alan says. “Just about everything
they eat is poisonous, so they look for the least toxic of the species.
They have favourite trees and even favourite branches.” Alan Gillanders inspects a potato
fern (Marattia salicina) along the
This part of the Tableland is volcanic and Lake Eacham is a track to Vision Falls in Crater Lakes
perfect example of a maar crater lake – shallow and broad. But NP. This species has been listed
Alan has a hidden treasure for us to discover in the surrounding nationally as endangered.
Crater Lakes National Park. Near the bridge on Wrights Creek
Road, an un-signposted track takes us down through the rain to
Vision Falls. This forest is dark, but Alan’s seen it darker. “It used wakes at about 2am to feed Dobby, and usually Kimberley is ready
to be like a tunnel in here, but the forest took a caning during to be let outside then. But Margit looks anything but exhausted.
Larry,” he says. “I walked in afterwards and teared up.You could During our excellent German-style breakfast, she cradles both
now get sunburnt in the forest. But it’s still a special place.” Dobby and Monty in her shirt, and then it’s time for Monty to
be reunited with Kimberley in the rainforest.
Kimberley wears a radio-tracking collar and within minutes
The tree kangaroos in this area are she’s located high in a fig tree. Margit puts Monty onto a branch
and Kimberley comes down to greet her son. They sit together
for a few minutes before moving higher in the tree kangaroo’s
a reminder of how vulnerable distinctive style – pulling up with both front paws then pushing
with the legs.
Australia’s tropical north is. They leap to another branch with astounding agility, then
come down to the ground, off exploring until late afternoon,
when Margit will call them in for the evening.
Although the Wet has the tropics flourishing, the tree kangaroos

W
E’RE GREETED in Margit Cianelli’s kitchen by Gerald, in this area are a reminder of how vulnerable Australia’s tropical
a small rufous bettong, while Lily the pademelon suns north is. Primary industry is swallowing up more of the natural
herself in the lounge. Meanwhile, out of Margit’s shirt habitat of these marsupials and they are at risk. But people like
appears Dobby, an eight-month old tree kangaroo who, without Margit – and the other locals who have become guides and help
the protection of her mother’s pouch, needs constant cradling. orchestrate a love affair between people and place – are fighting
This is Lumholtz Lodge, a B&B-cum-wildlife rescue centre, one to protect their home territory.
and a half hours drive south-west of Cairns. AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC thanksTourismTropical North
The Lumholtz’s tree kangaroo is Margit’s specialty and this Queensland, Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Cairns and Avis for assistance
German-born wildlife carer has lost count of the orphans she’s with this story. AG

nurtured during several decades at her private 65ha rainforest

sanctuary at Upper Barron. Tree kangaroos Kimberley, her son SEE more of Don Fuchs’s spectacular Wet Tropics images online at:
Monty and orphan Dobby sleep in Margit’s room at night. She www.australiangeographic.com.au/issue138

66 Australian Geographic
 This northern barred frog, detected on one of Alan
Gillanders’ night-time wildlife tours at Mount Hypipamee NP,
is camouflaged perfectly to blend in with the decaying leaf
litter where it lives on the rainforest floor.

Wildlife carer Margit

Cianelli with Nelson, one
of four tree kangaroos
currently in her care at her
personal sanctuary on the
Atherton Tableland.

Mother and son

Kimberley (at left) and
Monty in the forest at
Lumholtz Lodge, which
Margit runs with her sister
Karin Semmler. Both women
are trained zookeepers.

May . June 67
Coral Expeditions II attaches to an exclusive
permanent mooring on remote Nathan Reef.
From here divers descend directly onto
coral-lined drop-off walls, while snorkellers,
with merely a few flipper kicks, hover over
coral gardens.

68 Australian Geographic
 T ROP ICA L NORTH QUEENSLAND ADVENTURES

Coral
crusades
Enjoy privileged access to the world’s most famed
marine habitat with this unique voyage around the
Great Barrier Reef that will run in partnership with
the Australian Geographic Society in October 2017.

STORY BY JESS TEIDEMAN

Travel AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC

SOCIETY EXPEDITION

May . June 69
 Snorkellers get some
final safety tips on the
lowered platform at the
back of the boat before
moving over the reef.

F
OR MOST VISITORS to our greatest natural icon, inter- named the place Cook’s Town and today it boasts relics and
actions with the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) take place monuments celebrating the event. We have ample opportunity
on day trips out of major tourist hubs such as Cairns, to visit these and this tropical town’s other attractions.
Port Douglas or Airlie Beach, further south. But for From Cooktown our journey continues north-east to reach
a deeper connection with the ebb and flow of daily Lizard Island, where we will finally enter the water for the first
life on the region’s myriad coral reefs and islands, a time. Lizard is a continental island surrounded by fringing reef
ship-based multi-day adventure is a worthwhile option. about 33km off the coast of Cape Flattery. Much of the island is
It’s mid-November and I’m aboard the 35m Coral Expeditions covered in rolling grassland and dense eucalypt and acacia wood-
II, which will be my floating home for the next few nights. I had lands that sprawl all the way down to pink-grey granite rocks on
embarked 24 hours earlier in Cairns, from where we sailed 175km the shoreline. There are also paperbark and pandanus swamps
north to moor off Cooktown for our first night aboard. nourished by rainwater that accumulates underground in the

PHOTO CREDITS, PREVIOUS PAGE: CORAL EXPEDITIONS; THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CORAL EXPEDITIONS; NATURE
British explorer Lieutenant James Cook found safe harbour valley behind Watsons Bay, where our ship has anchored at a
here following a near-fatal encounter with the reef to the south permanent mooring established for the exclusive use of Coral
on 10 June 1770. After sustaining serious damage to HMB Endeav- Expeditions’ vessels.
our’s wooden hull, Cook and his crew careened their broken Nervous excitement ripples through the passengers as we climb
vessel, intentionally running it aground six days later in the mouth into the ship’s tender and head ashore.The water here is crystal-
of what is now known as the Endeavour River.They then spent clear, warm and still and we hurriedly pull on our snorkelling
seven weeks repairing the damage, replenishing their food and gear before stepping out from the beach, impatient for that first
water supplies, and caring for their sick. They are said to have view of the world beneath the water’s surface.

PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY; JESS TEIDEMAN

Hikers congregate on the peak of Cooks Look, Lizard Watsons Bay, where our ship pulled in to anchor at a
Island’s highest point, after a tough one-and-a-half-hour permanent mooring established for the exclusive use
pre-dawn ascent. of Coral Expeditions’ vessels.

70 Australian Geographic
 A giant clam is flanked by The fringing reef around
blue starfish in the clam Lizard Island is perfect for
gardens of Lizard Island. gentle snorkelling.

Suddenly, there it is! We’re surrounded by vibrant pulsating reef

and I don’t know where to look first. A greenfin parrotfish lazily A greenfin parrotfish lazily
swims up to gnaw at coral. I startle a common octopus climbing a
boulder-sized coral, its pale camouflage changing to angry maroon,
warning me to stay away. Sea cucumbers wriggle across the sand
swims up; I startle a common
between brightly coloured starfish.A spine-cheek clownfish pokes
out from a crevasse in the hard corals as soft corals dance in the
octopus climbing a coral.
underwater currents, polyps extended, feeding on phytoplankton.

I
T’S WELL BEFORE sunrise when, on Day 2, moored off Lizard, the reef around the island.We head back down to the ocean for
we head ashore again for a three-hour hike up to 359m-high a cool reprieve at our second snorkelling site – the island’s famed
Cooks Look, the island’s highest peak. Cook climbed here in clam gardens.
1770 to plot a course north through the maze of reefs confront- The deeper waters of the reef system here are a haven for
ing him. Our walk begins on Watsons Bay beach but it’s no idle giant clams, some with shells so huge that they’ve become sub-
stroll as we zigzag across the steep north-west side of the peak. strates for corals, sea squirts and smaller boring clams. Some
We scramble over granite slabs, and push upwards on a tough individuals of the larger of the two giant species, Tridacna gigas,
climb over loose rocks and rough steps. At last, we sign the guest are so big their gaping mantles can’t close.
book at the summit and enjoy the impressive view, as the sun While the fringing reef is spectacular, I’m looking forward to
moves between clouds, its bright light exposing the colours of the next stop on our itinerary: the GBR’s outer ribbon reefs.
PHOTO CREDITS: CORAL EXPEDITIONS

Passengers look through the glass-bottom tender Our own on-board expert about life on the reef,
to the reef below before getting a more close up marine biologist Evie Callendar (at right), secures
view while snorkelling. our glass-bottom boat on Sudbury Cay.

May . June 71
Tne rest of the world seems far away
during sunset drinks on the low-lying
sandy surface of Sudbury Cay.

Escape Reef is filled with

W
E PILE BACK onto Coral Expeditions II and four hours
later are once again pulling on fins, masks and
snorkels as we prep for our first outer reef experience valleys of giant boulder corals
– exploring Ribbon Reef No. 9.
This is one of 10 ribbon reefs fringing the edge of the conti-
nental shelf here for 100km. Ribbon reefs stretch along the east-
the size of VW Beetles.
ern edge of the GBR, between Fraser Island in the south and
Cape Tribulation to the north.
Between them are narrow passages of ocean hiding deep expan- waves, a sight that at more than 65km from the coast is inacces-
sive bommies – submerged offshore reefs that have been built up sible to day-tour vessels.
over millennia and in some places reach down as deep as 40m. Our glass-bottom tender has been specially designed to launch
The uppermost living layers of the ribbon reefs are shallow, just directly off the back of the boat and it takes a group of us, along
five metres below the surface. with on-board marine biologist Evie Callander, over Ribbon
The hard corals here are particularly vibrant, and, in a down- Reef No. 3.
ward cascade from the edge, different species jut out at different Evie deftly steers us over a variety of corals, seaweeds and
angles in a never-ending, slow-moving competition for sunlight. anemones, identifying each species as we cruise along on our own
Brightly coloured bumphead parrotfish move between schools personally guided tour, receiving a privileged expert perspective
of black surgeonfish that swim erratically from coral to coral.The on the life sprawling beneath – a perfect teaser before we enter
PHOTO CREDITS: CORAL EXPEDITIONS

underwater current here is stronger than around Lizard Island the water ourselves.
and I relax against the pull and push of the shallow surface waves Later that day we head south to Escape Reef – and as we slip
as I watch the softer corals sway. into the water it soon becomes clear that this is going to be the
Next morning, as I head down from the upper deck to board most stunning experience of what has already been a trip full of
the glass-bottom boat, I turn to the bow and see nothing but blue spectacular scenery and unique adventures.
touching blue on the horizon. I begin to appreciate the GBR’s Escape Reef is filled with valleys of giant boulder corals the
size and just how far from the coast we are. I can see where the size of VW Beetles. Between them, massive staghorn corals form
outer ocean meets the reef ’s eastern edge, creating a wall of white expansive forests and small fish dart rapidly in and out of their

72 Australian Geographic
 Our writer, Jess,
has a memorable
encounter with a large
(and surprisingly heavy)
pineapple sea cucumber.

The diversity of
coral species living
on the outer reef
creates a spectacular
kaleidoscope of colours.

GREAT BARRIER
REEF EXPEDITION
The AG Society has joined with Coral
Expeditions to create a hosted expedition
specially designed for our members.

On this exciting expedition you’ll discover the

history of Cooktown and the natural beauty
of remote Lizard Island, as well as the wonders
of the Great Barrier Reef – both above and
below the surface. AG Society host Cornelia
Schulze will lead you to the lesser known
ribbon reef systems of the GBR’s north-east,
which are not easily reached by day boats.
You’ll travel with fellow Society members who
share your sense of adventure and exploration
branches. On the side walls of the reef, huge honeycomb corals – all in style aboard Coral Expeditions II.
grow sporadically between equally large brain corals and smaller
cabbage corals. DATES: 30 October – 6 November 2017
Back on board our boat, Evie has arranged some weird and ROUTE: Cairns – Lizard Island – Hinchinbrook
wonderful things for us to explore up close in an on-board touch Island – Cairns
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COST: From $3395pp
I am handed a pineapple sea cucumber, which, to me, looks BOOKINGS: Call 1800 079 545, email
nothing like the tropical fruit and more like something out of a [email protected] or visit
B-grade sci-fi film. coralexpeditions.com
I brace myself for what I assume are hard protrusions covering
PHOTO CREDITS: EVIE CALLENDAR; CORAL EXPEDITIONS

it, but am surprised, not only by their softness, but also by how
heavy the sea cucumber is. It uses its tubular feet to ‘walk’ along
my forearm and I worry I will drop it as it shuffles forward. Once ITINERARY
everyone has taken a look, the on-board visitors are returned to Day 1 CAIRNS – COOKTOWN
Day 2 COOKTOWN – LIZARD ISLAND
the sea floor and we pull up anchor to begin the overnight jour-
Day 3 LIZARD ISLAND – RIBBON REEFS
ney back to Cairns. Day 4 RIBBON REEFS – ESCAPE REEF
As we disembark, I’m acutely aware that I am truly privileged Day 5 ESCAPE REEF – SUDBURY CAY
to have experienced not only being on the GBR, but meeting Day 6 HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL –
and sharing the experience with a diverse group of new-found DUNK ISLAND
friends. As I head for the airport – with sand still in my hair and Day 7 DUNK ISLAND – NATHAN REEF
salt water caked on my skin – I know it has been an experience Day 8 FITZROY ISLAND – CAIRNS
I will never forget. AG
*Itinerary subject to change depending on
weather conditions.
May . June 73
74 Australian Geographic
 A thylacine surveys Tasmania’s Cradle
Mountain landscape in a composite image
created by photographer Herbert John King
in 1940, using a photo he had shot of Hobart
Zoo’s last Tasmanian tiger seven years earlier.
PHOTO CREDIT: TASMANIAN TIGER: PRECIOUS LITTLE REMAINS BY DAVID MAYNARD AND

AN ENDLESS
MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY PUBLICATIONS)

QUEST
XXXXX XXXXX

The Tasmanian tiger is officially extinct. Yet as

VICTORIA

biologists investigate plausible sightings in far north

XXXXX
(QUEEN

Queensland, it’s clear the search never stopped.

I FROM
TAMMY TOP LEFT:
GORDON

STORY BY PETER MEREDITH

CL

May . June 75
 Zoologist John Gould published
this illustration of thylacines in
his 1863 book The Mammals
of Australia. He predicted the
species’ imminent extinction.

A
t about nine o’clock on a 1993 spring night, a for 35 years and is an acknowledged authority on the
truck was travelling eastwards along the Lyell species.The truck driver’s sighting was one of his cases.
Highway through the Tasmanian Wilderness “He was a normal truckie without the slightest vested

PHOTO CREDIT, OPPOSITE PAGE: MATTHEW NEWTON; THIS PAGE: THE MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA BY JOHN GOULD
World Heritage Area. Half a kilometre past the interest in faking it,” Nick says.“He was totally convinced
Franklin River bridge, the driver* negotiated about what he saw and thought we should know.”
a bend and then a rise. At the top of the rise, After visiting the site with the driver, Nick returned
his headlights lit up the dead-straight with a dog, with which he retraced the mystery animal’s
roadway as bright as day. steps to calculate how long it was in the truckie’s sight.
That’s when he saw it. As he reported the next day, a “His reported timing almost exactly matched what I
dog-like animal was crossing the road about 100m ahead. worked out with the dog. That shows he was a good
Coming closer and slowing down, he noticed dark verti- observer and hadn’t exaggerated,” Nick explains.
cal stripes on its brown body. In the driver’s mind there The sighting followed a familiar pattern. Most sightings
was no doubt: it was a Tasmanian tiger, a thylacine. But happen at night and on roads, because roads attract animals
was this possible? The species – the world’s largest marsu- and these days there are more people on roads than in the
pial carnivore of recent times – was officially extinct. bush. They usually happen as a vehicle rounds a corner,
Before the truck reached it, the animal turned back to catching an animal by surprise. Many reports are uncon-
the roadside. The whole sighting lasted perhaps six sec- vincing, but a few give the experts pause. In March,
onds. Fast-forward to 2016. I’m standing where, according biologists from James Cook University announced a new
to the truck driver, the animal left the road. Behind me is study to investigate two plausible sightings in Cape York,
dense bush; in front, on the other side of the road, is a raising the tantalising possibility that a thylacine popu-
sweep of button grass plain called Wombat Glen. Beside lation survives on the mainland.
me is Nick Mooney - lean, grizzled, ebullient and eloquent. The Franklin River area produced several reports in about
Nick was a wildlife officer for the Tasmanian Parks and 1990, Nick says. “There were four or five on this stretch
Wildlife Service until 2009 and is now an independent of road. There was a truckie, a tourist, a guy on a motorbike
wildlife biologist. He has investigated thylacine sightings early in the morning… They didn’t know each other, which
adds credibility. One can be sensibly sceptical but I’m
* LIKE MANY PEOPLE WHO REPORT SIGHTINGS TO AUTHORITIES, THIS WITNESS WANTED
TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. always reluctant to dismiss any half-decent report.”

76 Australian Geographic
Biologist Nick Mooney sets up a trail
camera in bushland for one of his
regular Tasmanian wildlife surveys.
Nick, a thylacine expert, has been
investigating sightings for 35 years.

May . June 77
 This skull – photographed from different angles – and jawbones of a thylacine were donated to the Queen Victoria
Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, in 1903. The museum’s curator at the time, Herbert Scott, cut it open to
compare the animal’s brain size with that of a dog. He found it to be smaller.

T
HE EXTINCTION OF the thylacine was the tragic
climax of a clash between Tasmania’s European

TAMMY GORDON (QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY PUBLICATIONS). OPPOSITE PAGE: TASMANIAN TIGER: PRECIOUS
PHOTO CREDITS, THIS PAGE: DAVID MAYNARD, FROM TASMANIAN TIGER: PRECIOUS LITTLE REMAINS BY DAVID MAYNARD AND
colonists and an ecosystem they seriously misun-

LITTLE REMAINS BY DAVID MAYNARD AND TAMMY GORDON (QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY PUBLICATIONS)
derstood. Conventional wisdom has it that by 1803, when
the first settlers arrived on the island, thylacines had already
been extinct on the Australian mainland for some 2000
years. Nick Mooney estimates there were about 2100 on
the island, and colonists didn’t come into contact with
them until 1805, when a pack of dogs killed one.
From then on this so-called Tasmanian wolf or hyena
instilled an irrational fear in residents, mostly arising from
their total ignorance of the animal. They saw it as a mor-
tal danger both to livestock – mainly sheep – and them-
selves. So they began savagely evicting it from its ancient
habitat – shooting, snaring, poisoning and trapping it. Farmer Wilf Batty shot a thylacine in his yard in May 1930,
By 1909 thylacines were scarce, the slaughter having believing it to be after his chickens. It was the last recorded
been hastened by a government bounty scheme that paid killing of a thylacine in the wild.
out on 2184 carcasses. The last to be killed in the wild
was shot in 1930 by farmer Wilf Batty. The last one caught
in the wild was sold to Hobart Zoo in 1933. It died there later. Since then sighting reports have continued – more
on 7 September 1936 and was thought to have been the than 900 since 1936 in Tasmania and reputedly a similar
last of its kind. In 1982 the International Union for Con- number from the mainland. Interestingly, most mainland
servation of Nature declared the thylacine extinct and in reports are from the south-east and far south-west.
1986 the Tasmanian government followed suit. People who report sightings come from all walks of
But that’s not the last chapter in this sorry saga. Nick life and many have little prior knowledge of the creature
Mooney says it’s “entirely possible” 100 or more thylac- they say they’ve seen. Few seem to have an ulterior motive
ines may have survived in the wild after 1936. A 2016 for making a false report, such as a desire for fame, money
study published in Australian Zoologist concludes that some or to perpetrate a successful hoax. They genuinely believe
may have been around through the 1940s and perhaps they saw a Tasmanian tiger. Continued page 82

78 Australian Geographic
 Last of his kind
Another thylacine myth is laid to rest.

A
 
LTHOUGH THE LAST
Images of captive
captive thylacine was
thylacines show these
recorded as being named usually active hunters
Benjamin, it seems this wasn’t lying idly or pacing in
the case. distress. ‘Benjamin’
A man named Frank Darby (right) was the last to
claimed in 1968 that he had been die in captivity.
a keeper at the zoo, cared for
Benjamin and had given him the
name. However, two former zoo succumbing to cold on the bare floor Tasmanian tigers that had been
employees said Darby had not of his open-air cage after being displayed there. In all, 28 thylacines
worked there and the thylacine had carelessly locked out of his sleeping were exported from Tasmania to
never been called Benjamin. Even so, den for several freezing nights. foreign zoos between 1856 and
the name stuck. The last captive thylacine to die 1926, according to Dr Eric Guiler,
The animal died on 7 September overseas did so in 1931 in London a former University of Tasmania
1936 in Hobart Zoo, reportedly Zoo. It was a female and one of 17 zoologist, who died in 2008.

May . June 79
80 Australian Geographic
PHOTO CREDIT, THIS PAGE: CHRIS LANE / FAIRFAX; OPPOSITE PAGE: TASMANIAN TIGER: PRECIOUS LITTLE REMAINS BY DAVID
MAYNARD AND TAMMY GORDON (QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY PUBLICATIONS)
 First contact
The thylacine’s fate was sealed
soon after Europeans settled
in Australia.

T
HE EARLIEST REPORT of contact
between settlers and the thylacine
appeared in Australia’s first newspaper,
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales
Advertiser, on 21 April 1805, two and a half
years after colonists arrived in Tasmania. It
encapsulated the mindset that led to the
animal’s slaughter in a frenzy Nick Mooney
calls “European predator hysteria”: “An animal
of truly singular and nouvel [sic] description
was killed by dogs the 30th March on a hill
immediately contiguous to the settlement of
Yorkton, Port Dalrymple; from the following
minute description of which, by Lieutenant
Governor Paterson, it must be considered a
species perfectly distinct from any of the
animal creation hitherto known, and certainly
the only powerful and terrific of the carnivo-
The skinned, preserved body of a thylacine (left) is
prepared for display at the National Museum of Australia
rous and voracious tribe yet discovered on any
in 2005. Until then it had been held at the Institute of part of New Holland or its adjacent islands.”
Anatomy, whose director, Sir Colin MacKenzie, collected it In 1863, the naturalist and artist John
in 1930. Sixteen-year-old Clem Penney (above) shows off Gould predicted the thylacine’s fate: “When
the thylacine he shot near the Arthur River, in the comparatively small island of Tasmania
north-western Tasmania, in 1924. becomes more densely populated, and its
primitive forests are intersected with roads
from the eastern to the western coast, the
numbers of this singular animal will speedily
diminish, extermination will have its full
sway, and it will then, like the Wolf in Eng-
land and Scotland, be recorded as an animal
of the past…”

Bushman Albert Quarrell is thought to have

sold this tiger he killed in Tasmania in 1911 to
photographer Charles Brown for £5 ($562 now).

May . June 81
 Surrounded by pertinent
memorabilia and relics, author and
thylacine ‘true believer’ Col Bailey
is in his element in the Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.

PHOTO CREDIT, THIS PAGE: MATTHEW NEWTON; OPPOSITE PAGE: TASMANIAN TIGER: PRECIOUS LITTLE REMAINS BY DAVID MAYNARD
Aside from these many one-off witnesses, there are a he recalls. “To this day I’m not sure what it was. But it
number of dedicated tiger-seekers, both in Tasmania and got me interested enough to inquire about it.”
on the mainland, who spend a lot of money and time Col’s investigation pointed to the thylacine and he’s
searching for what has become one of the world’s legend- been researching and seeking it in Tasmania ever since.
ary creatures. A proportion of these can be said to be ‘true Stories of old-timers who were acquainted with the tiger
believers’ who have absolutely no doubt the tiger is alive. provide material for his books. So do his own bush expe-
Some say they have seen it; others believe they have been riences, including a claimed sighting in 1995 while he was

AND TAMMY GORDON (QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY PUBLICATIONS)
close, either because they have smelt its pungent scent or camping in remote south-western Tasmania.
heard its unusual calls. All hope that incontrovertible proof It happened one morning while he was having “a quiet
of the tiger’s continued existence will one day surface. snoop around” after hearing strange calls. At one point he
And the best proof would be a live animal. saw what looked like a feral dog, but then he followed it
The doyen of the true believers is Col Bailey, a retired and got a better view. “I attracted its attention and it turned
landscape gardener, life-long bushwalker and canoeist and to look at me,” he says. “My eyes ran down its back and
author of three books about the thylacine. His most recent, I saw those stripes near its tail. I knew then what it was.”
Lure of the Thylacine, was published in 2016. Col is almost Col has been on a half-century quest to prove the
80. When I meet him in Hobart at the Tasmanian Museum thylacine exists. So far, like every other searcher, he’s failed
and Art Gallery (TMAG), site of one of the world’s larg- to come up with watertight evidence. But he’s unfazed.
est thylacine collections, he says that after 50 years of “I can’t prove it exists and the sceptics can’t prove it doesn’t
searching for the tiger, it’s time to hang up his bushwalk- exist,” he says. “It’s definitely still there. I know.” And
ing boots. But he’s not short of energy for talking. that’s enough for him.
He recounts that, in 1967, at the age of 30, he was Proof and its absence are a recurring theme in an
canoeing on South Australia’s Coorong wetlands system 80-page book, Magnificent Survivor – Continued Existence
when he spotted a dog-like animal on a beach 200m away. of the Tasmanian Tiger, originally published in 2004 and
It had a heavy head, low-slung body and long tail that available free of charge online. Its author is ‘Tigerman’,
seemed to drag on the sand. “I thought, what is that thing?” a Tasmania-based thylacine researcher who insists on

82 Australian Geographic
He believes that about
200 Tasmanian tigers Him or her
A Tassie tiger’s pouch may
exist in three separate not only have been a place for
carrying babies.
groups on the island.

T
HE WORDS in the thylacine’s scientific
name, Thylacinus cynocephalus, mean
anonymity. He describes himself as a greenie, an egotist “pouched” and “dog-headed”. Its
and a dreamer. closest living relatives are numbats, quolls and
As the book’s title proclaims, it is an undisguised attempt Tasmanian devils. As with quolls and devils,
to prove that the thylacine survives. It’s based on research the female thylacine carried her developing
the author says he carried out over six years. young in a backward-opening pouch. This
In the absence of absolute proof that the thylacine exists orientation prevented the pouch from
today, Tigerman harnesses ‘sub-proof’ – such as footprints, snagging on branches or twigs as the animal
tail drag marks, cave lairs, scats and prey carcasses – to moved through dense bush.
make his case. He believes about 200 Tasmanian tigers Pouch young, up to four at a time, emerged
exist in three separate groups on the island, 100 in the half-grown after four to five months, by which
south-west, 70 in the north-west and 30 in the north-east. time the pouch was hanging almost to the
“It is almost extinct, but not quite. I know that because ground. The male thylacine had a back-
I have seen two,” he writes. But, he adds, “society will ward-opening pouch, too, though it was more a
not protect an animal it thinks is extinct. If the Tasmanian partial or pseudo pouch. The male was able to
tiger is to survive, someone must prove it exists…” draw his testes up into it either to protect them
In the Blue Mountains of NSW I visit the book- or possibly to regulate their temperature.
crammed home of Mike Williams, a fast-talking bundle The male pouch was central to a dispute
of infectious exuberance. Though a mainlander, he’s been about the gender of the last thylacine to die in
searching for thylacines in Tasmania since the early 2000s. captivity – popularly known as Benjamin (see
His interest was originally an offshoot of his fascination “Last of his kind”). Australian naturalist David
with so-called cryptids, creatures that cryptozoologists Fleay took the last still photographs and a
believe exist but that have not been proved to do so. It’s movie clip of the animal (getting bitten on the
a fascination he shares with his partner, journalist Rebecca backside in the process) and a cursory viewing
Lang, with whom he produced and published a book in of the images and film reveals no male
2010 about mysterious big cats reportedly roaming the genitals. In his book The Last Tasmanian Tiger,
Australian bush. published in 2000, author Robert Paddle
“While we were investigating big cats we started to claimed Benjamin was in fact female.
get reports about thylacines,” Mike says. “We went to However, in 2010, Dr Stephen Sleightholme
Tasmania and I spoke with Col Bailey initially, then with of the International Thylacine Specimen
others, and heard of some interesting and even bizarre Database project examined Fleay’s movie
sightings by really good witnesses. Not all of them are frame by frame and in one sequence found
deluded or demented. That started me on my hunt for that the pouch contained proof of Benjamin’s
the tiger.” masculinity. His finding was published in
Mike began following up sightings. He has made Australian Zoologist in 2011.
numerous trips to Tasmania, four of them for major expe-
ditions. He has a fifth expedition planned for 2017. “I will
chase up more witness reports and set up three to five
cameras at different sites and come back and check them
later,” he says.
Although he doubts the thylacine survives on the main-
land, he’s sure it does in Tasmania and believes that sooner
or later a dash cam on a local’s car or a camera trap in the
bush will confirm this. “I am convinced it’s out there, This display of a female thylacine and four
otherwise I wouldn’t waste my time,” he says. pouch young at the Tasmanian Museum and
In 2014 Mike and Rebecca published a book of essays Art Gallery was destroyed in about 1935. The
by different authors entitled The Tasmanian Tiger: Extinct animals were killed in 1884.
or Extant?

May . June 83
 Bill Flowers, an artist and member
of the three-man Thylacine Research
Unit, studies a replica thylacine skull
at his home in Devonport, Tasmania.
In the foreground is a drawing he
produced from an eyewitness report
of an encounter with a tiger.

84 Australian Geographic
 T
HYLACINE SIGHTINGS HAVE been reported in
all mainland states, but Victoria is a hotspot.
One Victorian who’s contributed his fair share
is Murray McAllister, a physical education teacher at a
Melbourne secondary school. In 1998 he was writing a
novel about some children trying to prove the tiger was
alive. While researching his topic, he learnt there had been
54 thylacine sighting reports from Loch Sport, a small
township on the Gippsland Lakes.
“I decided to live the dream of the children in my
novel,” Murray tells me. “I was going to prove to the
world that those animals are still there after decades of
presumed extinction. Thylacine searcher Mike Williams adjusts a trail camera
“I decided to go down there. On my first visit I stayed on a 2015 Tasmania expedition. Although a mainlander, he’s
investigated sighting reports on the island for almost 20 years.
three days and had my first sighting. So it was destiny.
I thought if I kept going there I’d eventually get what I
was after.”
Murray says he’s seen the thylacine 20 times since then greying hair, Bill is a member of the Tasmania-based
and almost trapped it once. Even so, he feels his dream Thylacine Research Unit (TRU). The three-man group
has only partly come true because, despite leaving five aims to apply a scientific approach to evidence and
top-of-the-range cameras in the bush for months, he hasn’t embraces technology such as night-vision gear, trail cam-
captured a convincing image of his quarry. eras, listening devices and drones. It maintains a website
Murray believes the only answer is to catch one. “Then where the public can report sightings.
I’ll build a cage around it, take hundreds of photographs Bill is an artist, filmmaker, herpetologist and wildlife
and lots of video, get hair samples and video myself releas- carer with a particular interest in Tasmanian devils. The
ing it,” he says. “That’ll be the evidence I need.” other TRU members are Chris Coupland, a zoologist,
In Toolangi, about 35km north of the school where conservationist and filmmaker, and Warren Darragh, an
Murray teaches, lives Bernie Mace, a former industrial IT professional and former telecommunications officer
scientist with a lifetime interest in natural history. While with the Australian Army.
working in Tasmania in 1966–69 he heard what he Bill says the trio started out by investigating and
believes are credible reports of thylacine sightings. debunking myths about the tiger. All were initially scep-
“I’d gone there convinced the thylacine was extinct,” tical about the animal’s survival, but then Bill had a
Bernie says. “But those reports persuaded me it might still
be around. That was the beginning of my journey.”
On returning to Victoria, Bernie began hearing reports
of sightings in his home state, particularly in East Gippsland.
If thylacines were around in
Ever since, he has been following up the better reports in
the 1980s, they could have
PHOTO CREDIT, OPPOSITE PAGE: MATTHEW NEWTON; THIS PAGE: PHILLIP BIGGS / FAIRFAX

Victoria as well as other states including Tasmania. “I’ve

been developing long-range spotlights and investing in
night-vision goggles,” he says, “and I have half-a-dozen survived till the 21st century.
motion-sensor cameras.”
He’s writing a book about his 50 years of thylacine
research and is reluctant to reveal too much before
publication. However, he hints that it will contain key couple of experiences that punctured his conviction. One
evidence about the thylacine’s survival:“I’ve heard vocal- was hearing a mysterious animal call in prime thylacine
isations over the years that convinced me something unu- habitat while investigating a sighting report in 2015. The
sual was around.” other was seeing a plaster cast reportedly made in the 1980s
of a young thylacine’s footprint. In appearance it matched

H
OPE IS THE fuel that powers all true believers. almost exactly a sketch he’d made of a thylacine foot in
But not only them. Among tiger-seekers there the TMAG.
are some who are not sure if the animal survives. If thylacines were still around in the 1980s, they could
They keep an open mind and are more likely to question have survived till the 21st century, Bill reasons. “That was
evidence. Even so, they allow themselves to hope now earth-shattering for me,” he says.
and then. Interestingly, so do many sceptics. Not that he’s now a true believer. “I err on the side of
Bill Flowers was a sceptic once. A mountain of a man probable extinction. Most likely they’re extinct, but there’s
with a measured manner of speaking and a torrent of a chance they’re not.”

May . June 85
 a-dozen species once lived in

Long lineage Australia and New Guinea. They

apparently became extinct on the
mainland 2000 years ago, possibly
This meat-eating group of due to competition from dingoes.
A rock etching of a thylacine
marsupials first appeared Tasmanian Aboriginals, who called on an island in the Dampier
millions of years ago. thylacines coorinna, laorinna, lagunta Archipelago, off WA.
or laoonana, are believed to have
hunted the animal occasionally. In

T
HE THYLACINE WAS the last their book Tasmanian Tiger: Precious wallabies and kangaroos, providing
member of a family of ancient Little Remains, authors David Maynard a food supply for both themselves
dog-like carnivorous marsupi- and Tammy Gordon suggest that by and the thylacines. So, by forcibly
als that survived to modern times. conducting regular burnings, the removing most Aboriginals from
The history of the thylacine goes back Aboriginals created a landscape that Tasmania by 1835, European settlers
30 million years and more than half- attracted herbivores such as hastened the thylacine’s demise.

S
O, ARE THEY unquestionably extinct? Or might a ouring its existence,” Mike Williams says. “We treated it
few be holding out in remote bushland somewhere? savagely, we did horrific things to it, but if we find it we’ll
Unfortunately, despite the hopes, dreams and pro- know we haven’t destroyed it and could say we humans
digious efforts of a surprising number of people, there’s aren’t as bad as we thought we were. It would be a form
not a shred of conclusive proof of this possibility – no of redemption.”
convincing photographs or video, no verifiable footprints Eric Schwarz, a senior wildlife management officer in
and no roadkills. Tasmania’s Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water
“Nowadays fast roads go through just about all the and Environment, agrees. “There’s definitely an element
high-quality thylacine habitat and there are plenty of of guilt in this,” he says. “I think people hope that a wrong
reported sightings, so we should have had a roadkill by will be righted by the knowledge that we didn’t extermi-
now,” Nick Mooney says. nate it. It’s almost as if we’d be exonerated.”
Kathryn Medlock, senior curator of vertebrate zoology

A
at TMAG in Hobart, agrees. Even though there are more FTER 35 YEARS of thylacine work, Nick Mooney
people in Tasmania than ever and hundreds of remote remains open-minded. “It could be out there, but
cameras (up to 500 by some estimates) operating in the it’s unlikely,” he says. “On Mondays, Wednesdays
bush at any one time, none have come up with any and Fridays I think it’s there, on other days it’s not. If
convincing evidence, she says. somebody found one, I would be elated but not surprised.
“All the fauna people do their surveys using remote Perhaps we haven’t found it yet because we are simply
cameras,” Kathryn explains. “They’d be the first to say if much less good at finding very rare things than we think
they’d photographed a thylacine. There are hundreds of we are.”
thousands of roadkills every year but none of thylacines. Kathryn Medlock would be overjoyed if one were
There’s not even a manky skeleton that’s been lying beside found. But she’s not optimistic that government bodies
a road for 20 years.” or the public would ever hear about it because most PHOTO CREDIT, OPPOSITE PAGE: MATTHEW NEWTON; THIS PAGE: WIKIMEDIA
Tammy Gordon, the collection officer at the Queen tiger-searchers insist they’d tell no-one if they were suc-
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston and cessful. And that means the myth of the thylacine’s survival
co-author of the book Tasmanian Tiger: Precious Little will probably never die and the hunt will go on forever.
Remains, says no thylacine has been brought to the museum In 1986 AG 3 carried an 18-page feature about the
in the past 80 years. “The museum has a file of sightings Tasmanian tiger written by Andy Park. In it he quoted
dating from the 1930s, but in the 30 years that I have been Michael Archer, currently a professor at the University of
here I have not seen anything I would consider evidence.” NSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental
And yet the search goes on. Why? Are tiger-hunters Sciences, and a former director of the Australian Museum,
deluding themselves? Are the true believers too starry-eyed where he became involved in a plan to clone the thylac-
to face the facts? What drives them? ine. The belief that the species survived, Michael told
Some searchers may have quite basic motives, such as Andy, was “a stunning example of over-optimism”.
a desire for fame, notoriety or fortune. Others say they But 30 years on, Michael wrote the foreword for Col
love the bush and that looking for the thylacine gives them Bailey’s latest book and in it he generously praises Col for
a good excuse to be in it. But a number raise more com- his absolute conviction that the tiger survives. Then he
plex issues. “By searching for this animal I feel I’m hon- adds, “With all my heart, I hope he is right.” AG

86 Australian Geographic
The preserved body of a
three-month-old thylacine
pouch pup in a jar, in the hands of
Kathryn Medlock, the Tasmanian
Museum and Art Gallery’s
curator of vertebrate zoology, is
a poignant memento of a unique
vanished species.

May . June 87
The white-plumed grevillea throws
its flowers high so insects and birds
can easily find them, but why
the flowers smell of old socks is
not understood.

Opposite: Hundreds of pale glands

in the leaf of a coarse-leaved
mallee contain pinene, an aromatic
compound common in pine needles,
and cineole, a common component
of eucalypt leaves.
 Close your eyes, let your sense
of smell guide you through
SCIENTIFIC NAME, OPPOSITE PAGE: Grevillea leucopteris; THIS PAGE: Eucalyptus grossa

the bush and discover a whole

new world of aroma.
STORY BY TIM LOW
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIRI AND
MARIE LOCHMAN

May . June 89
 1

NE AFTERNOON IN Tasmania, while

driving along a back road, I saw something
black jump out and slink into a culvert
2
below. A Tasmanian devil!
I pulled over and was quickly at the drain with
a torch, peering at a shaggy rear end shuffling away.
Racing to the other end I was met by an unhappy face
and the damp doggy odour of devil breath and fur. That
pungent smell in a tight space made this encounter my
defining Tasmanian devil experience. It was probably also
the devil’s defining moment with a human, with my smell
contributing to its experience.
We depend on our eyes and ears outdoors, but our noses
can also deliver unique sensations full of insight. From
another experience in Tasmania I recall a hillside grazed
bare but for large groves of bushes cloaked in white daisy
flowers. I entered the paddock, crushed the leaves between
my fingers and inhaled their strong musky fragrance. The
plants turned out to be dusty daisy bushes (Olearia
phlogopappa) and I suspect they were thriving because essen-
tial oils in their leaves rendered them unappetising to sheep.
3
PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SHUTTERSTOCK; WIKIMEDIA; HANS AND JUDY BESTE; HEATH
HOLDEN. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Eucalyptus salmonophloia; Olearia phlogopappa;

A
USTRALIA IS RICH in aromatic vegetation, covered
as it is with vast tracts of pungent eucalypts and
paperbarks. Scented shrubs such as boronias, mint
bushes, daisies and more vie for space beneath. Dame Mary
Gilmore – the author and poet on our $10 note – said
that Australia smelt like the Spice Islands. “The winds
stooped as they passed because of her blossom; ships knew
her before they came to her,” she wrote in 1934 in her
book Old Days, Old Ways: a Book of Recollections.
Australian soldiers after two world wars were welcomed
home by eucalypt perfume as their ships approached land.
Nineteenth-century medical practitioners attributed a low
incidence of malaria and other ‘fevers’ to the healing vapours
of aromatic eucalypt groves. Colonial botanist Baron von
Mueller called for the construction of mountain sanitariums
where tuberculosis patients could best inhale them.
He believed that “the whole atmosphere of Australia is
more or less affected by the perpetual exhalation of these
Sarcophilus harrisii

volatile bodies”. The cry went out for a eucalypt to be

planted in every garden and the word spread. On six con-
tinents, Tasmanian blue gums, whose heady fragrance
inspired the loudest claims, won acclaim as ‘fever trees’,

90 Australian Geographic
 Australia’s woodlands are more
1 fragrant than most in the world
because they often contain eucalypts
such as these salmon gums with aromatic
oils in their leaves.

The Tasmanian devil has a

2 pungent smell and uses odours in
communication. It will sometimes drag its
rear end along the ground, apparently to
leave a scent.

The dusty daisy bush has strong-

3 smelling leaves as well as pretty
flowers, and while the flowers attract
insects, the leaf aromas probably repel
herbivorous animals.

Writer Dame Mary Gilmore portrayed

4 “Australia as she was when she was
most Australian”, and, for her, the aroma of
the bush formed an essential component
of that evocation.

4
May . June 91
 1Colin (at left)
and Tobias
2 Native to
south-eastern The fragrance of the Aussie bush
Ferguson sniff Australia, the blotchy
weeping tea-tree, an
aromatic plant they
mint bush is a fragrant
member of the mint
is a statement about plants on
use to combat colds
and blocked noses.
family, along with true
mints and other herbs. poor soils defending themselves
with cheap ingredients.
1 2

and partly as a result of that perception, they are now found poor soils defending themselves with cheap ingredients.

PHOTO CREDITS: TIM LAMAN. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, FROM LEFT: Melaleuca quinquenervia; Prostanthera walteri
widely, from California and China to India and Algeria. The main oil in eucalypts, known as cineole, or euca-
Understanding the chemical source and purpose of lyptol, is the source of a liniment smell. Because it is pro-
aromas can help show us how ecosystems work. For exam- duced by many native plants, including paperbark, mint
ple, the essential oils that give some plants strong odours bush and the liniment tree (Asteromyrtus symphyocarpa), it
repel bacteria and fungi, while also deterring grazing provides the signature smell of the Australian bush.We’ve
mammals and insects. So it’s not surprising that eucalyp- employed it in cough lozenges, wound sprays, antiseptics,
tus oil serves well in toilet cleansers and tea-tree oil is a grease removers and cigarettes. German scientists recently
valued germicide. found that it benefits asthma sufferers, which would not
Aboriginal healers similarly employed fragrant plants, have surprised those 19th-century doctors who prescribed
especially paperbark, emu bush (Eremophila sp.) and north- eucalypt cigarettes.
ern sandalwood (Santalum lanceolatum). Even birds use them: Hold the leaf of an aromatic plant to the light and, if
eagles and other birds of prey often place eucalypt sprigs it’s not too thick, you can usually see the translucent dots
in their nests, apparently for sanitation. of oil glands that release the aromas, sparkling like stars at
Many plants produce chemical defences that are stronger night (a magnifying glass helps). On some plants, they are
than essential oils. The most potent, including alkaloids, so large the leaves look warty. Oil glands can make up to
contain nitrogen, an element that is scarce in Australia’s 20 per cent of dry leaf weight, and often leave fingers sticky
infertile soils. Large numbers of our plants rely instead on when foliage is crushed.
nitrogen-free defences, including aromatic compounds Aromas are handy for botanists, who, by crushing and
that typically contain only the three freely available con- sniffing, can tell if an unfamiliar heathland shrub is a citrus
stituents of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. or eucalypt relative and whether a rainforest tree is one
These compounds are produced in mixtures that give Backhousia species or another. One orchid, the hooded
each plant its own protective bouquet. Because of this, the caladenia (Caladenia cucullata), distinguishes itself from the
fragrance of the Aussie bush is a statement about plants on look-alike musky caladenia (C. gracilis) by having flowers

92 Australian Geographic
 A multitude of This Bosisto
3 oil-filled glands
4 Parrot Brand
shows why the oil Eucalyptus Oil label
mallee is a valued is from 1871 but the
source of eucalyptus product is still sold
oil, rich in highly today to help relieve
aromatic cineole. cold symptoms.

3
OIL
ESSENTIALS
In November 1788 1L of
steam-distilled oil from

Sydney peppermint gum

4 leaves was sent to England
by John White,
surgeon-general to the colony:
reportedly the first useful natural
product sourced from Australia.

Australia’s essential oil industry,

based largely on compounds that
produce the ‘aroma of the bush’,
with a citrus smell. Aromas come up in diagnostic keys continues to grow annually.
published in journal articles, for example, to tell one daisy Today our most successful
PHOTO CREDITS, FROM LEFT: SHUTTERSTOCK; STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eucalyptus

bush from another. In lilly pillies (rainforest plants that are essential oil is

tea-tree oil.
part of the same family as the eucalypt), the density of oil
glands is one feature used to separate allied species.

H
UMANS CAN REPORTEDLY identify 700 different
odours, but that’s nowhere near as good as it
Each year up to 900 tonnes
sounds. We have more trouble putting names to
familiar scents than to sights and sounds.The areas of the of pure Australian tea-tree
brain responsible for classifying smell and language don’t oil are produced and in
have strong connections, leaving us without a good vocab- 2015–16 a total of
ulary for smells or an accepted classification system.
This shows through in the inconsistent descriptions of
some plants. Sprouting along river flats in coastal New
620 tonnes
South Wales, for example, the odd-looking incense plant was exported around the globe.
(Calomeria amaranthoides) has a smell often likened to
bananas, hops and incense, three items that don’t smell
alike. Chocolate lilies have a delicious scent similar to
vanilla, caramel and chocolate, and I am never sure which
descriptor fits best. One fungus has a smell that compares
with iodine and aniseed. In the same way, wine is described
by critics using words such as buttery, earthy, fleshy and
kochii

jammy, none of which make much literal sense.

May . June 93
 Shield bugs
1 and other
stink bugs produce
repulsive odours that
help protect them
by deterring hungry
predators, such as
lizards and birds.

Fortunately, we don’t need much skill at naming smells

to enjoy them or to use them for identification purposes. Why does WA’s white-plumed
Leaves that smell fragrant when crushed declare that a
shrub in heathland or coastal woodland is likely to fall grevillea have flowers
into one of just four family groups – those of the eucalypts,
citruses, mints or daisies – and knowing that is a boon
to identification.
that smell like old socks?
A large number of plants in these groups have acquired
telling names. There are eucalypts called peppermints or
lemon-scented gums, daisies called curry bushes, kerosene
bushes and the fruit-salad plant. poisonings, would bring less strife if heed was paid to its
Smells produced by animals don’t attract as much atten- disinfectant smell. Stinkhorns smell like sewage or rotten
tion.Visit a creek on a wet night and any frog-lovers you meat, to attract the flies that spread their spores. Australia
find will be using calls to identify these amphibians. How- also has plants that trick blowflies into spreading their
ever, noted Australian frog researcher Mike Tyler says they pollen, including stinking lilies (Typhonium spp.) in rain-
could be sniffing instead. forest and, in heathland, stinking roger (Hakea denticulata).
“Several frog skin odours are comparable to culinary If you’re in arid or semi-arid eastern Australia during
herbs, but there are others that are more like curry powder,” wet or humid weather and detect an intriguing whiff of
Mike, who is based at the University of Adelaide, explains boiled cabbage, you can be sure that you’re among a stand
in his book Frogs. “In fact, with a little experience of what of stinking gidgee (Acacia cambagei) trees.
different species smell like, a sniff is almost as good as a

T
glimpse as an aid to identification.” HE EASIEST WAY to enjoy wild odours is to crush
If we all had a dog-like devotion to olfaction, our field and sniff leaves on walks. The sensation can be
guides would be telling us that Peron’s tree frog smells of dramatic when one anonymous shrub among many
citrus while the green-and-golden bell frog is reminiscent releases a burst of aniseed or lemon.
of the kitchen herb thyme. The effect invites curiosity about the plant’s identity
Like plants, some animals use odorous compounds for and the purpose of the smell.There are many plants I greet
defence. Many small snakes and freshwater turtles, when after an absence by taking a good sniff, including lemon
handled, will smear you with potent-smelling faeces that myrtle, celerywood and Tasmanian blue gum. For me, their
make your hands smell awful for an hour or so. Stinkbugs aromas are central to their identities.
release their foul smell from glands between their front Sniffing vegetation carries little risk, but frogs can be
pair of legs. unsafe. Green tree frogs can bring on nausea if you inhale
The larvae of swallowtail butterflies absorb aromatic their peanut-butter odour for too long. Theirs is another
oils from their food plants and emit them on soft ‘horns’ smell with a story: green tree frogs will rest on your hand
known as osmeteria, which protrude above their heads rather than leaping off in fear because they have poison
when they’re harassed. Orchard swallowtail caterpillars glands to protect them, announced by their odour. They
smell of citrus and blue triangle butterflies of camphor. smell strongest when stressed.
Fungi can surprise us when, in strange shapes and col- But many smells remain as mysteries for the keen
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Poecilometis sp.

ours, they are summoned by rain from musty earth or observer to explain. Why does Western Australia’s white-
crumbling wood. Their mystique is often enhanced by plumed grevillea (Grevillea leucopteris) have flowers that
curious smells that can recall cucumber, radish, garlic, curry, smell like old socks? And what exactly does the curry
aniseed, apricots, pear drops, fresh flour, cedar, cooked flower (Lysinema ciliatum), also growing in WA, attract to
shellfish, urine or ether. its spicy-smelling flowers?
The yellow-staining mushroom (Agaricus xanthodermus), Mysteries like these are guaranteed to keep me sniffing
which looks inviting enough to have caused many my way through the Australian bush. AG

94 Australian Geographic
 2

3 4
PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM FAR RIGHT: ALAMY. SCIENTIFIC NAMES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Curry flowers, Frogs often It looks like

Lysinema ciliatum; Agaricus xanthodermus; Litoria caerulea

2endemic to
3 have distinctive
4 an edible
south-western WA, aromas; the green mushroom, but this
have an aroma that tree frog emits a yellow stainer has a
vindicates their ‘nutty’ odour before smell likened to ink,
name. Moths seen secreting noxious carbolic soap and
at the flowers may defensive chemicals disinfectant. People
appreciate the odour. from its glands. who eat it fall ill.

May . June 95
 WINTER
ON THE
BLADE
An AGS-supported climbing
expedition takes on the first winter
ascent of one of Australia’s tallest
vertical climbs, on Federation Peak in
the remote Eastern Arthur Range of
Tasmania’s Southwest National Park.

STORY BY OLIVIA PAGE

Australian Geographic Society supported

96 Australian Geographic
 Mick Wright (at left) and Mark
Savage took turns leading the
precarious world-first winter-
time ascent of Federation Peak’s
North West Face Direct via
Blade Ridge, in Tasmania.
PHOTO CREDIT: ANDY SZOLLOSI

May . June 97
 I
N THE DARK belly of the Tasmanian wilderness I slip
thigh-deep into glutinous, peaty mud. Desperately, I grasp
at a slimy tree root, my fingers too numb to feel whether
I have a good hold. If I fall I’ll be stuck helpless like a
turtle on its back and my companion, who’s crawling
behind, will have to pluck me and my 30kg pack from
the vertical entanglement of Moss Ridge.
From its outset, this Winter on the Blade expedition had fallen
into the ill-advised category. Now here I am, after hours of strug-
gling to stay upright and moving forward, wondering whether
we’ll all make it back alive.

O
UR INTENT with the adventure was to film a climb never
before attempted – the first winter ascent of the North
West Face Direct route combined with the Blade Ridge
route on Federation Peak. To take on the 640m route was such
an immense challenge that outdoor enthusiast Andy Szollosi
decided to approach documentary maker Simon Bischoff to film
it, and together they set about putting together a team.
The peak is a steep headwall on the edge of a glacial valley in
the Eastern Arthur Range in Tasmania’s Southwest National Park,

Just months before our Winter on the Blade

team set out, an experienced bushwalker
had tumbled 150m to her death here.

98 Australian Geographic
 I
and is located about 90km south-west of Hobart. It’s a 1225m-high, T WAS THE afternoon of 21 June 2016 – the Winter Solstice
incisor-like, quartzite spire sometimes referred to as Australia’s only – when our team gathered nervously in Andy’s living room
true mountain. It was first summitted in 1949 by a party led by before finally setting out. Hobart’s Derwent River looked
John Béchervaise, an Australian writer and photographer renowned distorted through wet window panes and our romantic notion
for his mid-20th-century exploits in Antarctica. of leaving in the dead of winter was beginning to seem foolhardy.
Hikers reach the summit via Bushwalkers Route, a deceptive When conditions are good, the Farmhouse Creek Track access
name for a severely exposed and sometimes near-vertical scramble. to Bechervaise Plateau is manageable. With overflowing rivers
Barely 100 people make it to the top each year. In early 2016, just and heavy packs, we knew the 21km trek would be a nightmare.
months before our Winter on the Blade team set out, an experi- On a reconnaissance trip weeks earlier, volunteers had dropped
enced bushwalker tumbled 150m to her death here. off 120kg of food and equipment at the plateau. But much of the
The walk into Federation Peak has the reputation for being remaining gear, including 35kg of camera equipment, had to be
Australia’s toughest. It is an unmaintained trail that guarantees divvied up between us.Then there were the 3kg of salami, 7kg of
submersion into thick mud and is lined with dense vegetation cheese and two loaves of halva Andy had packed! Continued page 102
that impedes your every step.The walk’s allure is further tempered
by its exposure to the famously strong Southern Hemisphere
westerly winds known as the Roaring Forties. In winter, when Olivia Page
consistently wet conditions can flood the rivers here, making is a documentary photographer. Nature, adventure
them unsafe to cross, it’s an even tougher challenge. Despite the and travel dominate her work. She was one of three
risks, Simon and Andy managed to attract five other participants videographers to film the first winter ascent of the
to their expedition – climbers Mark Savage, Mick Wright and North West Face Direct via Blade Ridge, alongside
Nick Grant, videographer Dan Haley and me, the photographer. Dan Haley and chief filmmaker Simon Bischoff.
PHOTO CREDIT: OLIVIA PAGE; INSET: ANDY SZOLLOSI

Mick Wright peers down into the

amphitheatre in preparation for
climbing Blade Ridge the next day.
Devils Thumb protrudes upwards
near the middle of this picture.

May . June 99
FEDER ATION PEAK
It’s not the highest mountain in Tasmania, but
Federation Peak’s sharp spire and high cliffs make Federation Peak
it the state’s most desirable summit for serious 1225m
climbers looking for a technical challenge.
Dan hung from a
rope here to film North West Face Direct
ascending climbers. 220m, Grade 18
CARTOGRAPHY BY ROGER SMITH Bushwalkers Route
to the summit
(partly obscured
behind Federation Peak)

Simon and Olivia

filmed and
photographed
from here.

e
Bechervais base camp
Plateau

access trail from

Farmhouse Creek
Trailhead

FARMHOUSE CREEK BUSHWALKERS Blade Ridge

420m, Grade 17
TRACK ROUTE
In good conditions, Hikers reach the summit
this 19.2km access via Bushwalkers Route,

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: OLIVIA PAGE; OLIVIA PAGE; ANDY SZOLLOSI; SIMON BISCHOFF
route to Bechervaise a severely exposed and
Plateau is manageable. occasionally near-verti-
But in mid-winter, with cal treacherous scram-
overflowing rivers and ble. In early 2016, only a
heavy packs, its deep few months before the route taken to bottom of
mud-pits make it AGS expedition, an Blade Ridge
almost impenetrable. experienced bushwalker
took a fatal 150m fall TALLEST CLIMB
Key:
from here.
Two tough Grade 17
Key: vertical ascents – Blade
Ridge and the North
Gaston West Face – combine to
Lake create Australia’s tallest
vertical rock climb. The
Winter on the Blade
expedition took the
slightly shorter but
technically tougher
Grade 18 North West
e
Lak ens Face Direct route.
Pay Key:

100 Australian Geographic

 Geeves Bluff
Mick Wright on the upper
section of the Blade. 1165m

Hanging Lake

BASE CAMP TO
BLADE RIDGE
Devils
This was a two-hour bush Thumb
approach to reach the
start of the Blade Ridge
route up to the peak.
Key:
HANGING LAKE
Hanging Lake is among
THE NORTH WEST ARTHUR RANGE the many features in the
FACE DIRECT landscape here created
This range comprises the by past glaciation. There
ROUTE Western Arthurs and are also moraines and
Eastern Arthurs, of hanging valleys, created
Combined with Blade which Federation Peak by glacial erosion.
Ridge, this ascent is just is the highest peak.
110m short of being the
tallest vertical climb in
Australia. This is the Thwaites Plateau
first time it has been
completed in winter.
Key:

DEVILS THUMB
Along with Geeves Bluff,
Devils Thumb is one of
several steep peaks in
the Eastern Arthurs.
TH
NOR

Thwaites Plateau

May . June 101

 Mick Wright and Mark
Savage (at left) brave
the night and dropping
temperatures to continue
climbing up the North West
Face of Federation Peak.

Simon Bischoff traverses Andy Szollosi at camp, trying

a slimy log on Moss Ridge. in vain to dry the team’s gear. Each
Eventually the team adapted team member was limited to one
to using micro-spikes designed set of wet clothes and one set of
for ice to stay upright in this dry. Sleeping bags succumbed to
slippery forest. the relentless moisture.

T
Our departure was delayed by a forecast for 80mm of rain and in a constant sideways drizzle. We were

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: DAN HALEY; DAN HALEY; OLIVIA PAGE. OPPOSITE PAGE: SIMON BISCHOFF
HE WEEK PASSED
snow down to 600m, but three days later we arrived at the trailhead halfway through our expedition when we found ourselves
of Farmhouse Creek Track and I realised what Nick had meant huddled in a tent around possibly the only flame flicker-
when he’d warned me previously that the word ‘track’ was mean- ing in the state’s entire south-west, waiting for Mick to return
ingless. As first light drifted through the canopy, my mind swam from his daily ritual of donning wet boots and sprinting up above
with thoughts of the leeches, moss and swamps ahead of us. But the plateau to download weather updates.
I soon forgot all that as I hoisted my pack – more than half my Suddenly the zip flew open and Mick burst in, beaming.“We
bodyweight – onto my shoulders. might have a weather window,” he said. We agreed to place all
As we trudged for two days through rain and sleet, we gave up bets on this sliver of a chance, although it meant we’d have to
guessing which mud-pits were ankle-deep and which would stretch food supplies from 12 to 17 days. The remainder of the
devour us whole. But, against the odds, rivers were passable, the evening was spent rationing. Unlike Mark, whose lunch on one
leeches tolerable and dinners warm enough. The never-ending mountaineering trip had once been the rinsed remains of aVege-
snakes and ladders of Moss Ridge didn’t break anyone’s ribs as mite jar, Mick and Simon struggled with the concept.
they’d done on the reconnaissance trip and the mountain drew And so we waited for our weather window to open. Mornings
ever closer until finally we dragged ourselves onto the Bechervaise continued to be bleak with most of us lying in as long as we could,
Plateau, dishevelled but elated.We were relieved to find our supplies savouring our one daily hot drink. Simon would make the morn-
safely hidden in the snow. ing porridge, his saturated sleeping bag and deflated mattress hav-
Next morning, as dew drops woke me, I found my mattress ing little allure, and would then suck every last calorie from his
floating and sleeping bag sodden. It had been a grim night, but coffee grinds as Mick licked the cooking pot clean. Our hunger
morning brought unexpected breaks in the cloud and so Simon and boredom were slightly alleviated by taking turns playing chess.
and Mick headed out to explore.We farewelled them in sunshine Occasionally lukewarm sunshine filtered through the fog and
but soon it was sleeting.They returned at dusk, traumatised.“Solo- we’d rush out of our tents, feet wrapped in plastic bags and Crocs,
ing up that slab in snow was one of the scariest moments of my cameras in tow.When it lasted we explored Thwaites Plateau, or
life,” Mick said, as Simon explained they’d had to rappel off the scaled the peaks behind Hanging Lake to view the columnar cliffs
mountain by slinging a mound of shards held together with mud. of Precipitous Bluff that tower towards the Southern Ocean.

102 Australian Geographic

A crazed wail reverberated
up the wall and we knew one
of them had slipped.

Dan Haley rappels down the North West

Face in search of good filming angles.

May . June 103

 Mark Savage (at left) and
Mick Wright made the
most of light rains to
explore the mountain
before their final attempt
at scaling Federation Peak.

The evening was eerily still,

even though an Antarctic
weather system was blasting.

A
S PREDICTED, OUR glorious weather window opened up Simon and I captured the action as, for three long hours, Mark
on day 13 but we made the difficult decision to leave and Mick swung leads up.They arrived at the top of Blade Ridge
the climb to the next day – our last – on the chance the cold, dehydrated and fatigued. It had taken them longer than
rock would dry off and the waterfalls would subside. Mark and expected to get to the North West Face and in fading light they
Mick organised their climbing equipment, Simon pulled the weighed up the risks of continuing to climb into the night with
camera gear out of the rice-filled ziplock bags where it had been dropping temperatures. A few days earlier Mick had declared
shielded from the relentless moisture and Andy disassembled the he’d “never seen rock so wet that I’ve still wanted to climb so
mess tent for reassembly on the summit as a four-person bivvy much”. As night fell, they made the decision to carry on.
in case of emergencies. One by one stars came out to join the two minuscule head-
That night, as we ate dinner beneath a brilliant Milky Way, lamps that had begun to scale the ominous black wall – Mark’s
the team was abuzz with anticipation. We were all acutely aware chance to make up for his previous failed attempt. They made
that 24 years earlier Mark had been part of a team that had failed good time, until dancing shadows revealed Mick struggling close
an attempt to climb Federation Peak via Blade Ridge. And in to the top.
a shared knowing moment, we embraced in a circle as Mark Dan, hanging above him, filmed as Mick jammed his blood-
highlighted our priorities by quoting the famed British climber ied hands into the cracks of the 45-degree angled roof – the
Roger Baxter-Jones: “Come back alive, come back friends, get hardest part of the climb. Suddenly a tiny beam of light hurtled
to the top. In that order.” down the face. It came to an abrupt stop, a crazed wail reverber-
As we went to bed below the mountain, a blanket of ice ated up the wall and we knew one of them had slipped.“I really
crystals grew over the camp, and I awoke before dawn to a bit- didn’t think the gear would hold,” Mick later admitted.
terly cold but beautiful winter wonderland, with frost everywhere

F
and frozen socks thawing atop the steaming coffee pot. At 6am IFTEEN LONG hours after their day began, Mark and Mick
Andy departed with Mark and Mick in a chorus of good wishes reached the summit under a crescent moon. It then took
for a two-hour bash through dense overgrown forest to the base another two hours for them to abseil down the gully.
of the climb. We’d achieved – although only just – both our objectives: to
As first light painted the cirrus clouds pink, I poured hot water complete and film a first winter ascent. Unbeknown to most of
into my frozen boots and threw on my pack. Dan’s mission was the team, the drone that was giving a bird’s-eye view to our film
to hike to the summit via the Bushwalkers Route to abseil down had almost plummeted into the gully, twice, after discharging its
the North West Face to capture footage. Simon and I were headed own propellers.
towards the eastern ridge where we could film the Blade. Back at camp, reunited, we sat in stunned silence, passing around
Micro-spikes aided our scramble up. I set up my tripod and a beaten-up plastic bottle of celebratory Glenfiddich, as Mick
peered down into the amphitheatre.Three razor-sharp steps rose rocked in agony holding his feet.The evening was eerily still, even
from an abyss of spiralling mist. Brilliant warm light filtered though an Antarctic weather system was blasting our way.
through the chilled heavy air, illuminating the Blade’s three sheer Our near future involved dry clothes, fresh oranges and fried
flaked ridges that led up to the massif of Federation Peak, where eggs, but these luxuries seemed of little consequence. A strange
the North West Face reared up, waiting for Mark and Mick. feeling of emptiness fell on the group – an anticlimax. Clearly
We estimated it would take a couple of hours for the climb- the journey we’d shared was of greater value than completing the
ers to reach the top of the first ridge.The hours ticked past and climb and the film.
PHOTO CREDIT: DAN HALEY

my eyes stung from the wind blasting up the gully. I thought of Andy sighed and leant back to take in the sky. In a quiet
Dan dangling uncomfortably in his harness on the North West understatement he observed, “Wilderness evokes something in
Face. Finally, just as I was warming a camera battery against my the human spirit that is really difficult to define.” AG

skin, Mick flopped onto the first step at a very delayed 1pm.
Loose blocks, questionable anchor points and prickly scoparia LEARN more about the expedition at www.winterontheblade.com
bushes had slowed his and Mark’s ascent. A film will be released in late 2017.

104 Australian Geographic

 SUBSCRIBE TO One of James Dorey’s
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC stunning macro photos of
at australiangeographic.com.au, native bee species Nomia
or call 1300 555 176, or ask at (Hoplonomia) rubroviridis.
Australian Geographic Stores.

Join us
next issue
Australia’s bees
Find out about scientist and photographer James PLUS:
Out late Dorey’s quest to capture the amazing variety and Giant kelp forests
June diversity of our native bees through his macro
photos. Explore SA’s rugged Limestone Coast and
Aussie native species
turned pests abroad
the people who call it home and take a peek inside Conserving Antarctic huts
the workings of a vast Kimberley cattle station. Hairy scary spiders
PHOTO CREDIT: JAMES DOREY

While you’re waiting for your next issue, get your daily hit of fascinating AG stories and stunning photography at:

www.australiangeographic.com.au
 TRAVELLERS’
2016 CHOICE AWARD
5 out of 5

TOP 25 HOTELS
IN AUSTRALIA Weekend Away Review – January 2015

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The Seven Peaks Walk is Lord Howe Island’s premier 5 day
guided adventure that takes you from pristine beaches and
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After a memorable day, you’ll return to Pinetrees for a hot shower,
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king bed. The walk is for experienced
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Contact Pinetrees Travel on (02) 9262 6585 or visit pinetrees.com.au

 SPECIAL AGS EVENT
108 Spend an evening with underwater
photography master Darren Jew.
travel visit listen view read download

120
BEER CAN REGATTA
Meet the seafarers behind the Top End
tradition that’s all in the can.

Walkabout

110

Be a citizen scientist on
stunning Lord Howe Island
and explore the unique fauna of this
PHOTO CREDIT: RACHEL LEWIS / GETTY

extraordinary World Heritage site.

May . June 107

 The

Special AGS Event

List travel visit listen view read download

Visit

An evening with underwater

photography master Darren Jew
Thursday 18 May 2017
Reef Theatre, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium Dark Mofo
8–21 June, Hobart, TAS
J OIN US at this special AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC

D
reader event in partnership with Coral Expeditions. ARK MOFO is a weird and wonderful celebration
You’ll meet Canon ambassador Darren Jew, one of the of the winter solstice, masterminded by the folks
stars of the hugely successful Tales By Light television series. at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in
Hear how he photographed a dozen male humpback Hobart. Over two weeks, public art, music, films and
whales chasing a single female during a Tongan ‘heat run’. delicious food enchant some 270,000 festival-goers. The
And find out what it was like swimming with groups of closing ceremony features a cacophony of banging pots
playful sea lions off Australia’s southern coastline on and pans and the cremation of an ogoh-ogoh (Balinese
assignment for AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC. Ticket demon sculpture). Now in its fifth year, Dark Mofo is
price includes access from 6pm to SEA LIFE Sydney a quirky feast for the senses, and includes both family-
Aquarium for one hour before the talk begins at 7pm. friendly and free offerings. For more information visit:
Wine and canapés will be served after the presentation, www.darkmofo.net.au or call 03 6277 9900.
which will take place in the unique aquatic-themed
surrounds of the Reef Theatre. Book early because tickets

PHOTO CREDITS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JASMINE CAREY; COURTESY MONA, HOBART /
are limited for what will be a very popular event. For
more information and tickets visit: www.australiangeographic. Download
com.au/society/events
Mangrove AU
Listen Mangrove Watch Ltd, $13.99
Spirit of the Wild MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS
protect our coastlines from
10 July and 11 July storms, floods and erosion. If
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank, Vic
RÉMI CHAUVIN; COURTESY MANGROVE WATCH

you want to get to know these

botanical heroes better, download
this guide compiled by mangrove

N
IGEL WESTLAKE’S new oboe concerto Spirit of expert Dr Norman C. Duke. This
the Wild (see page 18) – inspired by a visit to detailed app provides images and
remote Bathurst Harbour in Tasmania – will be information so you can identify
performed by the Australian Youth Orchestra, conducted and learn about these incredible
by Nigel himself and featuring virtuoso oboist Diana trees. You can also contribute
Doherty. For more information and tickets visit your own photos and sightings to
www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2017/lior-and- help scientists better understand
the-australian-youth-orchestra Australia’s mangrove species.

108 Australian Geographic

 Walkabout

Read

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Bush Life Nurtured Banjo the Poet
Jennifer Gall, NLA Publishing, $44.99
ROSE PATERSON was the mother
of revered Aussie bush poet Banjo
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house on a remote pastoral station, Visit
Rose’s surviving letters bring
19th-century rural Australia into
focus. Her story provides a glimpse Lustre:
into Banjo’s early life and the
environment that shaped his writing.
Pearling and
Australia
Until 13 August, Australian
The Natural History of Edward Lear National Maritime Museum,
Robert McCracken Peck, ACC Art Books, $54.99 Sydney, NSW

D
ISCOVER AUSTRALIA’S
FAMED AUTHOR of The Owl and the
Pussycat Edward Lear is best remem-
fascinating pearling
bered for nonsense writing and limericks.
heritage, from the birth
But before his career with words, Lear of pearling in Australia 22,000
was an accomplished natural-history years ago to today’s modern
illustrator. This beautiful book explores pearl farms. This exhibition
his foray into scientific publishing, illuminates the raw, fascinating
beginning with his spectacular parrot stories of the people behind
work aged just 18. Author and scholar pearls, drawing on Aboriginal,
Robert McCracken Peck assembles more Asian and European experi-
than 20 years of research to illuminate ences. See a 2000-year-old
Lear’s superb artistry and lasting natural pearl discovered in a
influence on natural-history illustration. rock-shelter in the Kimberley,
and marvel at lavish jewellery.
LACEPEDES RIJI: COURTESY AUBREY TIGAN GALIWA; COURTESY CYGNET BAY PEARLS
PHOTO CREDITS, FROM TOP: AALINGGOON RIJI: COURTESY AUBREY TIGAN GALIWA;

For more information visit:

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The New Nature: Winners and Losers 02 9298 3777.
in Wild Australia
Tim Low, Penguin Books, $22.99
FIRST PUBLISHED 15 years ago the
Enter
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remains compelling and relevant today. Australian Geographic Universal Atlas.
From continents and oceans to rivers and
This thought-provoking, rigorously
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challenges our conceptions of wilder- profiles on each country, there’ll be no
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species hiding in plain sight in our cities curious, this atlas is the ideal reference.
and backyards. Low has revised and Enter at: www.australiangeographic.
updated this edition to reflect develop- com.au/issue138
ments in his case studies and stories.

May . June 109

CSIRO entomologist Bryan
‘The Fly Guy’ Lessard catches
insects on the last rope on
the climb up Mt Lidgbird to
Goat House Cave.

110 Australian Geographic

 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY UPCOMING EXPEDITION

Lord Howe
under the
microscope
New friends and discoveries abounded on the first
Australian Geographic Society Lord Howe Island scientific
expedition. Find out how you can join us again this year.

STORY AND IMAGES BY LUKE HANSON

May . June 111

 Guests enjoy a sunset drink at the
Pinetrees Lodge boatshed after a long
day of walking and snorkelling. Pinetrees
guests have been relaxing at this spot
for more than a century.

Bryan Lessard inspects his new Citizen scientists tread warily over a
species of soldier fly. He will also get rocky route to the Herring Pools on the
to name it: his previous discovery was remote north coast of Lord Howe Island.
named Plinthina beyonceae after the Timing is critical because waves wash
pop star Beyoncé. through this ledge at high tide.

112 Australian Geographic

 T
HE INAUGURAL Australian Geographic
Society Expedition to Lord Howe set out
last year to explore the island’s insect diver-
sity. Run in partnership with Pinetrees
Lodge and the Lord Howe Island Board
(LHIB), it was a five-day experience hosted
by Society chair Jo Runciman and led by entomologists
Andreas Zwick and Bryan ‘The Fly Guy’ Lessard, both
from CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection
(ANIC) in Canberra.They were joined by 20 Australian
Geographic readers turned citizen scientists, all keen to
help identify, describe and classify insects.
Andreas runs the ANIC’s molecular laboratory and
much of his research involves mapping and sequencing
insect genomes to better understand evolutionary processes.
Every insect that passes his molecular scrutiny stands to
contribute something to humanity: perhaps a cure for
cancer or the source of a pest-resistant crop. Regardless of
the eventual outcomes of this field trip, it gave both scien-
tists the opportunity to get out of the lab and hang with
an enthusiastic bunch of helpers in a setting that’s as close
to paradise as you’ll find anywhere on earth.
Our volunteers were a mixed bunch from all over
Australia. There was a sculptor, army captain, pharmacist,
writer, statistician, publisher, retired zoologist, ecologist and
several high-school science teachers.Two were champions
in the competitive orienteering sport of rogaining, which
came in particularly handy in remote parts of the island.
Our first day involved a 5km reconnaissance walk from
Soldiers Creek to Mutton Bird Point through distinct for-
est types. The scientists were keen to find good locations
for day and night-time trapping.We were met en route by
ex-ranger and ecologist Dean Hiscox, who explained Lord
Howe’s volcanic origins and six-million-year geological
history. Dean led the famed 2001 climb of Balls Pyramid,
24km south-east of the island (see AG 88), which rediscov-
ered the Lord Howe Island phasmid (Dryococelus australis),
so his presence on the team was invaluable.After lunch, we
took the opportunity to explore exposed rock pools and
coral reefs at Middle Beach and were thrilled to see sooty
tern chicks just hours after hatching.
In the evening, we helped Andreas and his volunteer
Some of the expedition’s citizen assistant from CSIRO, Glenn Cocking, set up moth-trap-
scientists take a break to watch ping stations in Stevens Reserve and later collected moth
red-tailed tropicbirds ride the species under bright UV lights. We caught more than 50
thermals around Mt Lidgbird. different species, some multi-coloured, some translucent
and others looking as if they’d been draped in gold leaf.

May . June 113

 After a 200m near-vertical climb
from Old Settlement Beach, guests
catch insects in yet another forest
type on the ridge near Kims Lookout.

O
N DAY TWO the group split, with some guests work-
ing in the lab with Andreas to classify, sort and
preserve newly collected specimens to be sent to
Canberra. Others, brandishing insect nets, climbed the 777m
Mt Lidgbird to Goat House Cave.Along the way,‘Fly Guy’
Bryan established a series of tent-like Malaise traps to cap-
ture passing insects and, after a short detour due to a wrong
turn, he announced he’d located a previously undescribed
soldier fly species he’d been hoping to find. He couldn’t
keep the grin off his face for the rest of the day!
In the afternoon, we ventured through an ancient Juras-
sic Park-like forest of banyan trees and kentia palms to
Little Island – beneath Mt Lidgbird’s dramatic cliffs – and
explored coastal boulders and the intertidal zone.
The next day,Wednesday, brought clear skies and a light
sea breeze, so we boarded a local glass-bottom boat and
headed to North Bay for a seabird survey with Darcie
Setting up a Malaise trap in the kentia palm forest below
Bellanto, an LHIB ranger.The sooty tern colony on North Smoking Tree Ridge. Expeditioners returned three days later
Bay’s beach has been growing in recent years, and, without to gather trapped insects that had been preserved in ethanol.
adequate funds or field staff to conduct a full survey, there
was only a rough estimate of the number of breeding pairs.
The board designed a survey for our citizen scientists and mesmerised, with binoculars trained on the thousands of
we counted an average of 90 nests in each 45m survey sooty terns, red-tailed tropicbirds and brown noddies on
plot: a lot of birds! the Malabar cliffs high above. The final activity on this
Later we snorkelled on the wreck of the MV Favourite exhausting day was a cruise with Lord Howe’s turtle whis-
and walked around the rocks from the Old Gulch to the perer, Pete Busteed, to find green and hawksbill turtles in
Herring Pools – a series of coral-lined rock pools nestled the North Passage. Pete found eight large turtles, but with
among red basalt dykes. Some of us began swimming, all the excitement and twists and turns of the boat, it could
jumping, slipping and having fun the way kids usually do have been the same turtle eight times, although we were
splashing around in rock pools. Others stood, seemingly assured that probably six of them were previously unknown.

114 Australian Geographic

 Calling all budding
Inspecting our moth collection after five days of sampling.
citizen scientists!
This collection is available for viewing at CSIRO’s Australian
National Insect Collection in Canberra.
Join us for the second Australian Geographic
Society Lord Howe Island Scientific Expedition
They were some of the biggest I’ve ever seen in the Lord

J
oin Jo Runciman, chair of the AGS,
Howe Lagoon, and triggered many comments from our research scientists from CSIRO and
group along the lines of “wow” and “best day ever!” members of the Lord Howe Island Board
On Thursday, some people were needed for lab work for our second Lord Howe expedition. If you
back at Pinetrees Lodge while a smaller group – assisted have a thirst for knowledge, a passion for
by fit young hotel staff – carried generators, fuel, lights, nature and conservation and a good level of
traps, camping equipment and provisions over to Rocky fitness (i.e. can walk 5km in 1.5 hours and are
Run for Andreas and Glenn to continue their moth sur- sure-footed in steep mountain terrain), you
vey in the melaleuca forest. can help discover potential new insect species
on this island paradise. You don’t need any

A FTER DAYS of insect sampling, our final contri- scientific training! Many species remain
bution to Lord Howe conservation was in the scientifically undescribed or unrecorded since
lagoon with Dean Hiscox. During the past dec- 1978, so the expedition stands to make a
significant contribution to conservation. After
ade, Dean has been surveying Lord Howe’s population of
each memorable day, you’ll return to Pinetrees
McCulloch’s clownfish as an indicator of reef health. Most
Lodge for a hot shower, sunset drink, excep-
of our guests donned wetsuits, masks, snorkels and flippers
tional four-course dinner, great wine and
and counted these clownfish across several reefs. It’s not as comfortable bed. You’ll experience the perfect
easy as it might seem because they all look the same and balance between physical exercise, mental
swim around a lot. Our results reflected the tricky condi- stimulation, social interaction and some of
tions, with counts on some bommies ranging from eight life’s more enjoyable treats. Plus, there’s no
to 45. Luckily, the final figure for each reef was consistent mobile phone coverage on Lord Howe!
with previous surveys: good news indeed because it indi-
cates the reef here continues to be one of the most pristine
in the world. Being 600km from the Australian mainland, DATES: 15–22 October 2017
and outside of the vast coral bleaching zone in the Coral
COST: From $4250pp, twin share
Sea, certainly helps.
Our last day was all about consolidation. Some guests INCLUSIONS: Return airfares from Sydney;
went with Bryan to collect his Malaise traps, others stayed local transfers; seven nights accommodation
with Andreas and his microscope, while still others sneaked plus breakfasts, lunches and dinners at
away for some walking, kayaking and golf. Late in the day, Pinetrees Lodge; sunset drinks and afternoon
we met on the Pinetrees verandah and were stunned to teas; bushwalking.
see the size and beauty of the moth collection we had ACTIVITIES: Six days of invertebrate
accumulated from five days of sampling:Andreas estimated field research with breaks for seabird and
we had about 150 species. Bryan confirmed he’d found coral surveys; hands-on training from
two new species of soldier fly – the second one was located CSIRO scientists.
in Pinetrees’ organic garden. Imagine his smile!
Thanks to Hank Bower and Penny Holloway at the Lord BOOKINGS: Call Pinetrees Lodge on
Howe Island Board for designing and approving the research pro- 02 9262 6585 or email [email protected]
posal, and for understanding the importance of citizen science. AG

May . June 115

 On sale now

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Since its launch in 1986, Australian Geographic has sought to
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 In association with

Save the date

Wednesday
1 November 2017
Australian Geographic
Society Gala Awards 2017

Legendary environmentalist
Dr David Suzuki fires up the crowd
with his powerful words at the 2016
Australian Geographic Society
Awards at the Sofitel Wentworth
Ballroom in Sydney.

Visit our website for more information:

www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/events
Enquiries to [email protected] or phone 02 9263 9825
 A vibrant bunch of determined
milllennials makes a strong start
on board their soft-drink-can
craft, Duke’s Mob, during the
regatta’s main race.
LAT LONG: 12° 26’S 130° 49’E

The Darwin Lions

Beer Can Regatta
Darwin captured international attention 44 years ago with the world’s first regatta
for boats made from beer cans. Today, the Top End tradition still draws an eclectic
seafaring fleet and would-be naval architects, all keen to claim line honours.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETA BURTON

T
Big Smoke Bottle Boat,
INNIDEX, LASER,
Good Glitter, Black Pearl and Duke’s Mob
are ready to race and thousands will see
them do battle at Mindil Beach.
It’s the 2016 Darwin Lions Beer Can
Regatta and competitors are set to paddle self-built,
aluminium-can-clad craft around a one nautical mile
course in Darwin Harbour. While thong-throwing,
tug-of-war and sandcastle competitions occupy the
audience, the regatta’s dedicated crews make minor adjust-
ments to their unorthodox vessels – as well as to their
outfits and plans to win the coveted Beer Can Cup.
Since the regatta began in 1974, its gold-coin entry
fee has raised more than $1.47 million for Northern
Territory causes.Worthy projects supported by the funds
range from a new ambulance to the non-profit Riding
for the Disabled.The regatta is a feel-good event buoy-
ant with fun, camaraderie and clever creations.
One local known for his beer-can constructions is
Mick Keeley, who has previously won the Superboats The first Darwin Beer Can Regatta
Class for his vessels Grogmonsta and Extravacanz. “Both poster, from 1974 (above).
carried 80-plus people but Extravacanz was a 30,000- Thong-throwing (right) needs
can, two-storey catamaran and even had a water cannon,” focus when you’re only this high
the non–beer drinking fitter and turner informs me. surrounded by a crowd of 16,000.
Darwin marine technician Paul Rich started with a
tri-hull, kayaks and boogie-board boat before building
Coke-A-Dile, which claimed a best Soft Drink Boat
honour.Then he created Pure Blonde Croc.“They were
beauties, but, for me, it’s about involving my kids and At 3pm, the starter horn blasts and a flurry of alu-
seeing families and school kids take part in this iconic minium exits the foreshore to begin the race. Lutz
HISTORICAL IMAGE: LUTZ FRANKENFELD

event,” he says. Frankenfeld, aged 74 and the founder and former chair-
Winning is the drawcard for other competitors. man of the regatta, watches on.
“We’ve driven our [5000] plastic wine-bottle craft, Big “This event has come a long way,” he says.“In 1973
Smoke Bottle Boat, [almost 5000km] from Sydney to Swan Brewery approached Paul Rice-Chapman from
take the trophy off the Territorians,” says Alan Jones. NT News about staging a sports event in Darwin. He
Although enthusiasm and commitment help with then sought my input and six months later I’d built the
finishing first, success also requires mathematics and world’s first beer-can boat prototype. Dry Ark was made
engineering knowledge, ingenuity and even heroism. of 780 cans with 25 horsepower on the back. I set up

120 Australian Geographic

 12° 26’ S 130° 49’ E LatLong

An original image of Darwin’s first trade mission to

Singapore on Can-tiki. The trio on board achieved
315 nautical miles on their best day. Can-tiki also
earned an official Seaworthiness Certificate 1.

An anchor made from cans:

such ingenuity among would-be
navigational architects has been
running strong for decades.

The 2016 winner, Laser, with

its crew ready to celebrate, no
doubt with a few full cans!
Beer-can boatbuilding comes in
all shapes, sizes and brews (left).

May . June 121

LatLong 12° 26’ S 130° 49’ E

BEARINGS: MINDIL
BEACH, DARWIN
Formerly named: Darwin World Cup
Beer Can Regatta
Record holder: Darwin’s Dean Wakley won five
times straight, lost, then won the cup back
Fundraising tally since 1974: $1,470,000
2016 event raised: $49,000
Fee: Gold-coin donation
Next regatta: Sunday 9 July 2017
More information: www.beercanregatta.org.au

An original image of Can-tiki, built by Lutz Frankenfeld. It Clubs to take over the regatta in 1978, when it was
won the 1980 regatta on a 200hp Evinrude motor. moved to Mindil Beach.The other major change came
in the mid-’80s when steel cans were replaced by the
a course to see what it could do and reached six knots. aluminium variety, which crush at high speeds, leading
So we upgraded to 40 horsepower and she flew.” to the abolition of the powered boat category.
On 16 June 1974 – six months before Cyclone Tracy “We’ve seen some extraordinary sights over the years
devastated Darwin – 22,000 people lined Vesteys Beach and ‘thou shalt compete and have a bloody good time’
to watch 60-plus steel-can boats, some with outboards, has always been one of our 10 CanMandments,” says
race in the first Darwin World Cup Beer Can Regatta. William ‘Spud’ Murphy, Lions regatta commentator.
“It was and still is such an original event,” Lutz says. Other CanMandments, he says, include: “‘Thou shalt
“People picked up cans littered across Darwin, which build thy craft of cans’, which must be drink cans, open,
ignited the first Keep Australia Beautiful campaign, so emptied and in more or less original state. Any attempts
we cleaned up the city, turned a by-product into boats, to enter a submarine [a craft made of full cans] will
created a carnival-atmosphere festival and captured result in confiscation and disposal by the Committee.”
Australia and the world’s imagination.” “‘Thy craft shall float by cans alone’ is another Can-
NT News promotions and postcards of regatta mas- Mandment,” says William, explaining that cans must
terpieces helped spread the word. So too did a fancy- provide at least 51 per cent of a craft’s flotation. They
dress ball and Lutz’s interstate lectures on beer-can boat- can be stuck together with anything as long as this rule
building. He even included details about constructing isn’t broken.The outer hull must also be made of cans,
aViking ship commissioned by the Australian National two-thirds of which have to be uncovered and visible.
Maritime Museum in Sydney. Beer-can boats made The finish of the 2016 race is imminent, and William
world headlines but the real buzz was about to unfold. returns to his mic, yelling, “Crikey, folks, Laser has just
“Clem Jones, who was the post-Tracy reconstruction taken the lead and look at it speed home!”The Mindil
chairman appointed by [former prime minister] Gough foreshore erupts.
Whitlam, asked if I could build a beer-can boat that The ecstatic crew from the 2000-beer-can craft
could travel from Darwin to Singapore,” Lutz remem- launch themselves onto the sand and the boat’s builder,
bers. “So I did, and on 3 September 1977 Can-tiki set Jeff Ottway, is beaming. “She just flies,” he says. The
sail with Clem as captain, me as builder-mechanic and electrical store worker and his team of co-workers spent
Paul Harding navigating by compass and the stars. Inter- 30-plus hours constructing the 3m speedster.“It comes
HISTORICAL IMAGE: LUTZ FRANKENFELD

national media followed our 12-day voyage, which down to design and the correct weight ratio, which is
became one of the greatest PR exercises Australia had two cans per pound for flotation. She weighs more now
ever undertaken.” though ’cos we took on water,” Jeff says. “But we’re
Lutz says it highlighted Darwin’s close proximity to darn proud to win and the trophy’s going on the front
overseas trading partners and showcased the rebuilt city counter at work.” Once more the Territorians have held
as being open for business. fast to those esteemed beer-can bragging rights.
Committed to the Can-tiki project, Back To Darwin AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC thanks Lutz Frankenfeld
festival and Darwin Rebirth, Lutz invited Darwin’s Lions and the Lions Club of Darwin for their assistance. AG

122 Australian Geographic

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 Australian Geographic

BE INSPIRED!
Come and join us for
an evening of courage and
inspiration with three of
READER Australia’s most outstanding
EVENT women adventurers.
Hosted by Chrissie Goldrick
C
AROLINE PEMBERTON, presenter of the AG
Editor-in-chief Adventures TV series and the AG Explores
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC documentary series, celebrates the spirit of
adventure with special guests Jade Hameister and
Sandy Robson. Hear their inspiring stories of
dedication and tenacity in the face of huge odds.

Thursday 31 August 2017 at

6.30pm for a 7pm sit-down in
the theatre.

JADE HAMEISTER SANDY ROBSON

HEAR HOW MELBOURNE schoolgirl MEET SEA KAYAKER Sandy Robson and
Jade Hameister walked into the history hear about her five-year, 22,000km solo
books in 2016 when she became the kayak journey from Germany to Australia
youngest person to trek one of the more through 20 countries, completed in Museum of Sydney, corner of
difficult routes to the North Pole at the November 2016. She was inspired by Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney.
age of 14. She faced dangerous condi- German canoeist Oskar Speck who,
tions, freezing temperatures and the between 1932 and 1939, paddled a Tickets $35, or $30 for
threat of polar bears. In May she will ski folding kayak along the same route. Sandy AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC
540km from coast to coast across retraced his steps in the hope that her subscribers.
Greenland – the world’s second biggest journey would inspire women adventurers
ice cap. Jade is living proof that age is and to highlight the importance of taking Complimentary wine
no barrier to achieving your dreams, no care of our oceans. Come along and hear and canapés.
matter how big those dreams may be. the story of her epic journey.
In association with
Book now via our website. Places are limited so don’t delay.
www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/events
Enquiries to [email protected] or phone 02 9263 9825
 May . June 2017

Your Society
Australian Geographic Society news & initiatives

Your subscription is
essential to the work
of the Australian
Geographic Society
EVERY SUBSCRIBER to this journal
automatically becomes a member of
the not-for-profit AG Society. Your
subscription helps us fund the work of
Australia’s scientists, conservationists,
adventurers and explorers. The Society
also raises money through six annual
fundraisers in AG retail stores and is
supported via your direct donations.

To subscribe call
AGS 2016 Young Adventurer of the
1300 555 176
Year Jade Hameister (right) with Sue
Badyari, CEO of World Expeditions,
sponsor of the award.
Who are the Australian
Geographic Society?

Recognising achievement Patron: Dick Smith AC

Chair: Jo Runciman
Secretary: Adrian Goss
Directors: Kerry Morrow,
IT’S THAT TIME when we invite you to nominate your
Andrew Stedwell, Jo Runciman
candidates for our annual adventure and conservation awards. Advisory Council: Jo Runciman
Each year at our grand awards ceremony – which will this year (chair), Chrissie Goldrick, Adrian Goss,
be held in Sydney on 1 November (see page 119) – we honour John Leece OAM, Tim Jarvis AM,
outstanding accomplishments by inspiring Australians. We are Anna Rose, Todd Tai
always keen to hear about your heroes and encourage you to Society administrator: Rebecca Cotton
send in your nominations.You can do this via the AG Society
pages on our website www.australiangeographic.com.au/society, where you can THE SOCIETY runs two sponsorship
download a nomination form. The deadline is 30 June, so don’t delay. rounds per year – in April and November
Last year’s amazing Young Adventurer of the Year was Jade Hameister, who – during which its specialised adventure,
science and community committees
in 2016 skied to the North Pole at the age of 14 and, as we go to press, is
consider applications and disperse grants.
attempting to traverse the Greenland Icecap on skis. After she returns, she’ll be These grants are directly funded through
speaking at a special AG Society event at the Museum of Sydney on 31 August the Australian Geographic business.
(see page 116) celebrating the outstanding achievements of Australian women
PHOTO CREDIT: MAX GOODMAN

The Society also awards the Nancy

adventurers. Jade is an extraordinary young woman and role model. Also on the Bird Walton sponsorship for young female
adventurers and hosts annual awards for
bill that night will be Sandy Robson, who in November completed an epic
excellence and achievement in conserva-
three-year kayaking journey from Germany to Australia. Sandy and Jade, tion and adventure. It runs six wildlife
together with our fearless AG TV presenter Caroline Pemberton, will be fundraisers per year through AG retail
celebrating Aussie women adventurers. Hope you can join us there. stores and the AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC
journal’s multiple platforms. Each year the
Society gives in excess of $300,000 to
Australian conservation and adventure.
Jo Runciman, AGS chair

May . June 125

Field notes
We’re catching up with some of our sponsorship recipients so you
can see how your contributions are helping to conserve our natural
history and keep alive the Aussie spirit of adventure.

C ONGRATULATIONS TO Liam Suckling, who has com-

pleted the first phase of his 1SKY.earth expedition. In January
Liam reached the summit of Mt Vinson, Antarctica’s highest
point, then completed a 200km ski traverse to Union Glacier. Liam has
now departed for the expedition’s second phase: an overland motorcycle
circumnavigation of the earth. The final stage will be a five-month trek
on foot from India’s Bay of Bengal to Mt Everest’s summit. Find out
more at www.1SKY.earth
Southern Cross University researchers are
teaming up with Cape Byron Marine Park to Amy Cutter-Mackenzie.
support local young people plan and conduct
a campaign to reduce beach litter left by visitors during schoolies
week in Byron Bay. Professor Amy Cutter-Mackenzie is leading
the recruitment of local youth volunteers, who will create and run
programs to reduce the environmental impact of the holiday period.
Ana Gracanin has literally taken to the trees for a unique
AGS-supported survey of marsupials in canopies. Ana’s project involves
Ana Gracanin. climbing dozens of eucalypts in Budderoo National Park and spending
days and nights in the canopy. Using 20 cameras, she will collect photo and
video footage of arboreal life, and then analyse it for details on abundance,
distribution, community assemblage and behaviour. Ana hopes to record the
elusive and cryptic greater glider.

AGS PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS AND WORKSHOPS WANT

TO GET
JOIN US LEARN NOW! INVOLVED ?
SUBSCRIBER
DISCOUNT
THE BEST WAY to support the
Society is by subscribing to PHOTO CREDITS: COURTESY ANA GRACANIN; AMY CUTTER-MACKENZIE

this journal (see page 52) and

purchasing our products sold
through Magshop and the
Australian Geographic retail
stores. Participating in our
scientific and travel-partner
PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE – trips is also a great way to enjoy
FREE ONLINE VIDEOS unique experiences while helping
Who: Chris Bray Photography
Ultimate small group travel to the most to raise funds for the Society.
Who: Chris Bray Photography
extraordinary wildlife, landscape and cultural Previously $480, Chris’s popular course
experiences on earth. is now available as a series of videos online. CONTACT AGS administrator
Rebecca Cotton at society@
ausgeo.com.au or visit
FIND MORE INFORMATION AND BOOK www.chrisbrayphotography.com
www.australiangeographic.com.
or email: [email protected]
au/society

126 Australian Geographic

Discover Australia Your Society
May • June 2017

The AG Society’s expedition program and those of its selected travel partners
provide informative, inspiring and unique experiences for readers. Your
participation in these adventures supports the Society’s mission to foster
the spirit of discovery and adventure and contributes funds to our work.

AG SOCIETY SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL EXPEDITIONS

WHEN: 7–12 and 14–19
LIGHTNING RIDGE FOSSIL DIG August 2017
THE AGS offers you a chance Your discoveries will further COST: $2200pp. Includes all
to hunt for fossils on the opal establish this museum collection activities and many lunches
fields. Join us in this endeavour as a world-class scientific and and dinners.
and pitch in with the fieldwork. cultural resource. The week will BOOKINGS:
Guided by experts, you will go also feature a series of lectures Call 0467 974 018 or email
to special locations, seeking on opals and gems, mining history, [email protected]
new specimens for the collections opalised fossils, dinosaur hunting
of the Australian Opal Centre. and new dinosaurs.

DATES: 15–22 October 2017

LORD HOWE ISLAND SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION COST: From $4250pp
COME WITH the Society to the beetles and other insects that are INCLUSIONS: Return airfares
South Pacific to survey biodiversity. thought to be close to extinction. from Sydney; local transfers;
Run in partnership with Pinetrees Many species on the island remain seven nights accommodation
Lodge and the Lord Howe Island undescribed or unrecorded, so and meals at Pinetrees Lodge;
Board, this scientific expedition is a the expedition stands to make sunset drinks and afternoon
unique opportunity for 20 readers a significant contribution to teas; bushwalking activities
to enjoy bushwalks and nature conservation. Opportunities for coral BOOKINGS: Call Pinetrees
experiences while helping CSIRO and bird surveys will be available and on 02 9262 6585 or email
scientists to survey endemic snails, evening lectures will be provided. [email protected]

TRAVEL PARTNER EXPEDITIONS

WHO: Odyssey Travel
DINOSAURS OF ARGENTINA DATES: 19 September–
A SMALL group tour led by former Trelew in Patagonia. This 17-day 5 October 2017 (17 days)
editor of AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC adventure gives you the chance COST: From $9995pp (twin
John Pickrell to a series of important to meet some of the top guides share)
dinosaur sites and museums. This to and experts on Argentina’s
BOOKINGS: Call Odyssey on
trip includes three days of fossil-dig palaeontological treasures. You will
1300 888 225, email info@
activity and a visit to a brand-new visit key sites and dig at the Lago
titanosaur (possibly the largest Barreales Paleontology Center odysseytravel.com.au or visit
dinosaur ever discovered) at (Proyecto Dino). www.odysseytraveller.com.au

LIMITED KIMBERLEY COAST – GREAT BARRIER

SPACES WITH MIKE CUSACK REEF CRUISE
REMAINING
2017 MARKS THE 30th anniversary of Join AG Society host Cornelia
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC ’s first ‘Wilderness Schulze on an exciting expedition to
Couple’. To celebrate, Mike Cusack will lead discover the history of Cooktown and
four Aurora Kimberley Coast expeditions. the natural beauty of remote Lizard
In 1987 Dick Smith chose Mike and his wife, Island, as well as the wonders of the
Susan, to spend 12 months living off the Great Barrier Reef – both above and
land in the Kimberley, and Mike will share below the surface. Living in style for
his knowledge and adventurous spirit on eight days aboard Coral Expeditions
these trips. Coral Expeditions I will lead II, you’ll explore the lesser known
you to the waters of the Indian Ocean, ribbon reef systems of the GBR’s
where you will enter one of our most exotic north-east, which are not easily
regions. Using Zodiacs, you’ll also visit sites reached by day boats. See page 68 for
accessible only by sea. more information.

WHO: Aurora Expeditions DATES: Darwin to Broome: 2–12 June or WHO: Coral Expeditions DATES: 30 October–6 November
23 June–3 July Broome to Darwin: 12–22 June or 3–13 July COST: From COST: From $3395pp BOOKINGS: Call 1800 079 545, email
$7990pp BOOKINGS: Call 1800 637 688 or visit www.auroraexpeditions.com.au [email protected] or visit www.coralexpeditions.com

May . June 127

Discover Australia Your Society
May • June 2017

TRAVEL PARTNER DISCOUNTS

WHO: Aurora Expeditions
A GALAPAGOS ODYSSEY DATES: 18–26 September
WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS archipelago, famous for its 2017
of Charles Darwin on isolation and extraordinary COST: $7100pp
Aurora Expeditions’ biodiversity. Alongside BOOKINGS:
NEW nine-day cruise SAVE expert naturalists, www.auroraexpeditions.
to the Galapagos
Islands. Aboard the 10% enjoy breathtaking
birdwatching, snorkel
com.au
or call 1300 076 131
40-passenger Isabela with sea lions and walk
II, you’ll explore the amid bizarre wildlife and
magnificent and unique great geological wonders.

WHO: Outback Spirit

TASMANIAN WILDERNESS ADVENTURE DATES: Sep-Dec 2017
EXPLORE THE WONDERS Apple Isle for 12 days under the COST: From $6545pp
of Tasmania aboard this fully care of our expert guides. The (twin share)
inclusive small-group adventure includes a host of BOOKINGS: Call 1800
wilderness adventure. outstanding attractions, OUTBACK (1800 688 222)
Discover the Freycinet SAVE including the Bruny or visit www.outbackspirit
Peninsula, Cape Grim,
Cradle Mountain and
$700
PER COUPLE*
Island Wilderness
Cruise, a scenic
tours.com.au

the West Coast as helicopter flight over

you journey around the Wineglass Bay and more.
*Available for new bookings only, valid for $700 is per couple and is reflected in the
bookings made by 30 June 2017. Saving of tour fare quoted here.

WHO: Coral Expeditions

CRUISE THE REEF DATES: May, June, October
DISCOVER THE REEF, islands access to the pristine outer and November 2017
and rainforests of the reef and exclusive mooring Great Barrier Reef cruise
World Heritage-listed destinations. Book any departures. Conditions apply.
Great Barrier Reef
aboard a small-ship
SAVE three-, four- or
seven-night cruise by
COST: From $1650pp
(twin share)
cruise from Cairns.
Coral Expeditions’
purpose-built vessel
10% 30 June 2017 on the
selected travel dates,
and you will save 10 per
BOOKINGS: Call 1800
079 545, email cruise@
coralexpeditions or visit
carries a maximum of cent off the total cruise fare. www.coralexpeditions.com
just 44 guests and gives you Quote AusGeo Exhibitions offer.

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS FOR SUBSCRIBERS

T
10% DISCOUN
T 10% DISCOUN
T 10% DISCOUN
AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AUSTRALIA ZOO – AS WILD
GET 10 per cent off entry to Spiders Alive MUSEUM, ADELAIDE AS LIFE GETS!
& Deadly at the Australian Museum, Sydney. AG MEMBERS get a 10 per cent discount on AUSTRALIA ZOO, one hour north of
See more than 400 spider specimens and see entry to paid exhibitions. Offer ends 31 December Brisbane, is the home of ‘The Crocodile
live spider milking at the Venom Lab. Use code 2017. Simply identify yourself as an AG reader at Hunter’, Steve Irwin. Use code AUSGEO10
AUSGEO10 when booking online at: the ticket office. Visit the museum’s website for to get 10 per cent off the entry price when
www.australianmuseum.net.au. exhibition news: booking online at: www.australiazoo.com.au.
Offer expires 16 July 2017. www.samuseum.sa.gov.au Offer expires 31 December 2017.

128 Australian Geographic

 From the field

Answer to
Then and Now:
Pictured on page
29 is Bath Street,

The rivers wild viewed from

Anzac Hill, in
Alice Springs,
NT. The images
54 INTO THE WET shown are from
1940 and 2015.

O
RPHANED LUMHOLTZ’S tree
kangaroo Nelson took an
instant shine to long-time AG
photographer Don Fuchs, on assignment
for us covering far north Queensland’s
Wet Tropics during the Wet. “Getting
close to these elusive and irresistible rain-
forest animals ranks as the all-time favour-
ite animal encounter in Australia,” Don
says. Nelson was being looked after by a
wildlife carer who specialises in nursing
Taken by the reef
orphaned or injured tree kangaroos back 68 CORAL CRUSADES
PHOTO CREDITS, FROM TOP: JEREMY BOURKE; JESS TEIDEMAN

to strength before returning them to the

B
rainforest. Travelling between Cairns and Y EXPLORING the Great Barrier on the other side of the ribbon reef is the
Cardwell during the Wet was a huge eye- Reef with Coral Expeditions, wide open ocean – and behind you land
opener for Don. “Water,” he says, “is the AG production editor Jess is many hours out of reach,” Jess says.
defining element.” It can be a headache Teideman was able to tick off a long-time “Snorkelling the reef this far from shore
when in oversupply or a pleasure when entry on her bucket list – snorkelling on – remote and isolated – made the experi-
it provides refuge from the oppressive the reef. On assignment she visited ence particularly special.” Other high-
humidity. It creates the area’s iconic exclusive moorings specifically located to lights of the assignment included the his-
waterfalls, swimming holes and wild river highlight the three main reef types visited toric village of Cooktown and climbing
playgrounds for adventure seekers, rafters by Coral Expeditions and ventured Lizard Island’s highest point. But it is, Jess
and canyoners. And it nurtures the ancient kilometres out to sea beyond the reach says, the wonders of the world beneath
rainforests, where rare creatures such as of day boats. “It was amazing to be stand- the waves that will remain most vivid
tree kangaroos still find a habitat. ing on the deck of a boat and know that in her memory.

May . June 129

 PARTING SHOT
Stop the quiet
slide into oblivion
Even uncharismatic plants and reptiles, TIM LOW explains, are worthy
of our love, attention and protection from extinction.

I
N 2013 I SAW the last Christmas The even rarer narrow-leaved it threatens similar species numbers
Island forest skink in captivity on malletwood – known from fewer than with extinction. Why is invertebrate
the island, eight months before its 30 wild trees in a central Queensland conservation so often about butterflies
death marked the loss of its species. national park – is not being managed at and rarely about moths, spiders or
What disturbs me about this is not all. A cultivated specimen died within grasshoppers, which, ecologically, can
only its extinction, but the lack of two years of rust infection. Will the be more significant? The endangered
interest it aroused. There were few species be saved? It’s poorly known golden sun moth is an exception that
media reports to mark Australia losing with an unappealing name, living in a proves my point. It’s a pretty day-
one of its unique animals. remote location. I fear for its future. flying moth that looks like a butterfly
There was far more attention four I do not fear for unassailably popular and is found around Melbourne and
years earlier when the Christmas koalas. They’re likened to teddy bears Canberra. So it gets attention, but for
Island pipistrelle, a bat, became and biologists have suggested they tug reasons that reinforce my concerns.
extinct. And there were news reports at our heartstrings because they have I want to live in a country where
in June 2016 when a rat, the Bramble the head-to-body ratio of a young every species is valued and saved,
Cay melomys, was declared extinct. child. They receive plenty of media not just those that tick certain boxes.
Mammals are more newsworthy than interest and conservation funding. I sometimes see heartening signs that
lizards, it seems. Imagine if attractive people received conservation efforts are beginning to
The lizard’s extinction would surely privileged hospital treatment and include species that occasionally attack
have made the news had it occurred special government grants. We’d reject people, such as calls for better protec-
near a major city. The endangered that world as unfair, but that’s how tion of sharks. The Victorian govern-
striped legless lizard, found around I see Australia’s conservation approach. ment placed a stinging bull ant on its
Canberra and Melbourne, and grass- As a signatory to the UN’s Conven- list of threatened species deserving
land earless dragon, a resident of tion on Biological Diversity, Australia protection, and provided a water
Canberra, sometimes feature in the is legally bound to protect all species. supply to help the rare but drab Mt
media, unlike most rare reptiles. All biodiversity has intrinsic value Donna Buang wingless stonefly.
Importantly, and unlike most threat- and species have ecological roles in the I don’t want less spent on mammals
ened reptiles, they attract significant communities they inhabit. and birds. But I would like a discourse
conservation funding. All species should be saved, not just on favouritism that lifts public con-
The forest skink would probably those we find appealing.Yet, in practice, cerns about funding shortfalls. As one
have made the news had its demise, mammals and birds get most funding. of the world’s wealthiest countries, we
like that of the melomys, been This suits many in government, who should be doing much more to help
blamed on climate change, but the don’t want to give all the funding our wildlife. The Christmas Island
main culprit seems to have been the required to save dwindling species. forest skink attracted very little
introduced Asian wolf snake. The lizard Australians should think seriously government assistance and can’t now
was far away and succumbed to a less about the distorting influence exerted be saved. But Australia has many
newsworthy problem. by favouritism. Questions should be species that would benefit from a more
Vast numbers of plants and inverte- asked about why the feral cat problem inclusive approach to conservation.
brate species could follow quietly into receives so much funding while little We can all help with that by
oblivion. In April 2016 I attended is spent on myrtle rust, despite the fact donating to campaigns that benefit less
a workshop about myrtle rust, the charismatic species and by making our
ILLUSTRATION: BEN SANDERS

frightening South American pathogen voices heard on social media and to

killing Australian plants. Work is relevant organisations and governments.
underway to save two species in dire
TIM LOW lives in a state When we see favouritism at play, we
of perpetual surprise at
straits – the angle-stemmed myrtle and everything wild and alive. need to remind the public and the
Sunshine Coast myrtle, which grow Read more from him at his powers that be that many Australian
near Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. blog on the AG website. species are not getting a fair go.

130 Australian Geographic

 3
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