Cave Management in Australia II
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ON CAVE TOURISM AND MANAGEMENT
Hobart, Tasmania, 3rd - 5th May, 1977
Edited by G.J. Middelton
Hosted jointly by
National Parks and Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 210
SANDY BAY, TASMANIA 7005
and
Australian Speleological Federation
P.O. Box 388
BROADWAY, New South Wales 2007
CAVE MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA II
Published jointly by
National Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania
and
Australian Speleological Federation
August 1977
ISBN 0 7246 0244 5
Copyright on the papers comprising these proceedings is the property of individual authors. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.
Price: $7.50
Copies of Cave Management in Australia, the proceedings of the first conference in this series, may be obtained from:
Mr E. Hamilton-Smith
P.O. Box 36
CARLTON SOUTH VIC. 3053
price: $5.75, including postage and packaging
INTRODUCTION
Following the success of the First Australian Conference on Cave Tourism held at Jenolan Caves, N.S.W. in July 1973, it was resolved that such conferences should be held biennially. Tasmania was suggested as a suitable State to host the second conference but for various reasons it was four years before the Tasmanian Conference took place. Despite the delay there was considerable interest in the conference and delegates voted it at least as successful as the first. This publication records the formal proceedings.
The Second Conference was jointly sponsored by the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Australian Speleological Federation. Organisation was handled by a committee comprising Messrs R.K. Skinner and A. Culberg on behalf of the Federation and Messrs G.J. Middleton and A.D. Skinner of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Prior to the conference, inspections of Marakoopa and King Solomon's Caves at Mole Creek were arranged and following the conference delegates visited Newdegate Cave at Hastings and were conducted on a wilderness tour of Exit Cave by Mr Roy Skinner.
Since the 1973 Conference there have been a number of developments on the cave management scene. A master plan for Jenolan Caves which would completely revolutionise the operation of that complex has been prepared; major studies by consultants have been carried out at Mount Etna Caves in Queensland, Cutta Cutta Cave in the Northern Territory, Exit Cave in Tasmania and Timor Caves in N.S.W.; considerable progress has been made with the Victoria Fossil Cave redevelopment and associated museum at Naracoorte, South Australia; and there are good prospects for the protection and management of a great many more of Western Australia's fine caves. Unfortunately during the same period southern Queensland's only caves, at Texas, have been inundated, mining has continued at Mount Etna and at Bungonia Gorge in N.S.W., and many important caves, particularly on the Nullarbor Plain, at Chillagoe, North Queensland, and in Tasmania, remain unprotected.
The organisers make no apology for amending the title of the conference to include the word "management"; the emphasis on management in the papers presented clearly vindicates this. It is not intended that the importance of "tourism" be reduced but it is felt that cave tourism must in future be seen and planned in the broader context of cave management. The growing acceptance of this fact has undoubtedly underlain the major developments now taking place in Australian cave management.
It is hoped that the publication of this volume will further assist cave managers in their difficult task and will record the progress being made in this important work in Australia.
G.J. Middleton
Hobart, May 1977
RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONFERENCE
The Conference agreed that:
- The conference series on Cave Tourism and Management should continue and should, among other functions, continue to provide a forum for exchange of practical experience in cave management.
- The Australian Speleological Federation should be asked to establish a Commission on Cave Tourism and Management which would:
- convene future conferences on Cave Tourism and Management, with other appropriate bodies where desirable;
- as requested by such conferences or by individual management authorities, carry out other functions which may assist to develop the standard of cave tourism and management in Australia.
- The next conference be convened in 1979 and the Federation should invite the South Australian Department of Environment and Conservation to join it in convening that conference.
- An informal information exchange newsletter shall be developed by the A.S.F. Commission on Cave Tourism and Management for circulation to cave management authorities and appropriate field staff.
- A brief summary of progress on cave classification be included in the proceedings of this conference, further progress be reported in the newsletter and discussion should take place at the next conference with a view to reaching common understanding on cave classification.*
- It extends to the organising committee its appreciation for the arranging on this conference and thanks the staff of Mole Creek and Hastings Caves and Mr R. Skinner for conducting most interesting cave inspections.
*Footnote: Preparation of this summary had unfortunately not been completed when these Proceedings went to press. The summary will be circulated separately - Ed.
OPENING ADDRESS
(The Conference Chairman, Mr Elery Hamilton-Smith, introduced the Tasmanian Director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Mr Peter Murrell. Mr Murrell welcomed delegates to the conference, stressing the importance of caves to the Service and to Tasmanian tourism. Mr Murrell introduced the Minister.)
Thank you very much for your welcome. One of the advantages of inviting Ministers to open conferences on subjects about which they know little is the fact that you may be able to educate the Minister. I personally see great advantages in that.
I have to confess that my knowledge of caves is very superficial. But I have been invited to open this conference and I have had to find out something about caves — the education of the Minister from time to time is a very desirable thing.
I must say that I looked at you all very cautiously when I drove up. If you have to open a surfing function you know to expect tall, bronzed people; I rather envisaged cave people as being thin and very pale. I am pleased the National Parks and Wildlife Service has been able to sponsor this conference. I am also particularly pleased to be informed that Tasmania has the best caves in Australia. We have, I understand, the longest cave in Australia, Exit Cave near Lune River. I have been somewhat involved with Exit Cave; let me tell you the sort of problems we have come up against in trying to protect this cave. It is wholly in a timber concession given many years ago to a private forest company. It is also in an area that is of interest to mining because of the limestone and it is an area — at least to my knowledge — that has only recently come to our attention. Mr Skinner has been taking people into the cave and making people aware of it but at this stage it is not protected. In fact, there is nothing in theory to prevent forestry interests going there and chopping down all the trees around and over it and there is nothing to prevent mining interests — and they are active in that area — from blasting away and bringing the whole thing tumbling down. That, of course would mean the complete destruction of a natural asset. We are doing everything possible to try to include this cave in a State Reserve and we are trying to establish suitable boundaries. Some time ago the Government had a study done on this and we are trying to implement the recommendations. I suppose Exit Cave does illustrate — and I suppose every state has a parallel experience — that an outstanding asset like this could be lost more or less by carelessness. In this case Australia's longest cave is, in theory at least, in danger. But I am most hopeful that good sense will prevail and we will be able to give it the protection it deserves.
We have the deepest cave in Australia, which I am told is Khazad-dum Cave near Maydena in Mount Field National Park. We have two of the best decorated caves in Australia, Croesus and Kubla Khan at Mole Creek, and now within the enlarged Southwest National Park we have a number of wilderness caves.
We, that is the State, have been in the "cave business" since the early 1900s when we opened our first tourist cave at Mole Creek.
The nature of man has been described as funny. Some people say the state of the world is getting worse and that mankind is coming to an end. But I am more optimistic and feel that mankind is marvellous. For example, he has invented aeroplanes and rockets to go to outer space and he climbs every available mountain, no matter how difficult it might be, and at the same time men delve underground. Now I find great encouragement in man's intelligence, his vitality and his enthusiasm. It is great that we can climb mountains just because they are there and that we can go down holes just to find out where they lead.
Our present policy in Tasmania is to encourage people to visit our caves. We do not want to lock them away from people. But, at the same time, we want to make sure that we don't destroy an asset. One unfortunate thing about tourism is that it may destroy what people come to see. So we have to achieve a balance.
In Tasmania we are very conscious of the tourist industry. We are anxious to have healthy economic development of the State because otherwise our young people have to leave to find jobs and our community is poorer. Tourism is one of the vital parts of our economy and we want to develop it while at the same time ensuring that it does not destroy our basic lifestyle or heritage in the process.
One aspect of tourism development lies in caves. We are currently investigating the possibility of new tourist cave development in the Mole Creek area and we are trying to upgrade the facilities and the access to our existing tourist caves. We are trying too, to improve our national park system. Although we have a relatively large percentage of the State reserved, we have proposals for new areas and some of these include caves.
I am pleased to welcome you all to Tasmania and to declare the Second Australian Conference on Cave Tourism and Management open.