PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ON CAVE TOURISM AND MANAGEMENT

Yallingup, Western Australia,
September 1981.

 

Edited by J R WATSON
National Parks Authority,
Western Australia.

 

Hosted jointly by

Busselton Tourist Bureau
22 Causeway Road
BUSSELTON, WA 6280

 

and

 

Australian Speleological Federation
P0 Box 388
BROADWAY, NSW 2007

Cover: The Epstein Sculpture, Easter Cave, WA
(Photo: R Webb).

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CAVE MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA IV

Published Jointly by

National Parks Authority, Western Australia

and

Australian Speleological Federation

August, 1982.

 

ISSN 0159-5415

 

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 permission.

 

 

Price: $6.00

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INTRODUCTION

We are indeed pleased to present here the fourth volume of proceedings of the Australian Conference on Cave Management and Tourism. These conferences now provide an important forum for managers throughout Australia, while the published proceedings are rapidly building a body of valuable information for future use.

Distances and financial constraints somewhat limited attendance at this fourth conference, and that is to be regretted. However, all present would agree that those unable to attend missed a valuable opportunity to see some of Australia's finest tourist caves with rapidly improving levels of management. At the same time, delegates will remember the remarkable hospitality lavished on all present by the Busselton Tourist Bureau, the Augusta-Margaret River Tourist Bureau, and many others.

Although the Conference is perhaps the most visible function of the Commission on Cave Tourism and Management, there are others. A team from the Commission has recently completed a draft management plan for the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park in South Australia; a further issue of the Cave Management Newsletter is in preparation at the time of writing this; further management studies are now underway and will be reported shortly. Last but by no means least, arrangements are in train for the fifth conference to be held at Lakes Entrance and Buchan during 1983. We look forward to it.

 

Elery Hamilton-Smith

Convenor
Commission on Cave Tourism and Management
April 1982

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RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONFERENCE

1. This Conference recommends unanimously that the report of cave classification prepared by Graham Worboys, Adrian Davey and Clyde Stiff, and printed elsewhere in these proceedings, be considered for adoption by all cave managing agencies in Australasia.
2. The Conference also requests that all cave managing agencies consider a possible need for classification of types of cave users (see paper by Hamilton-Smith, this volume)
3. The Conference recommends that Andrew Skinner be requested to report on his review of cave regulations through the medium of the Cave Management Newsletter.
4. The Conference recommends that Miles Pierce be invited to convene a committee comprising Lloyd Robinson, Ross May, Peter Macrow, Elery Hamilton-Smith, and himself to
   1. liaise with the Standards Association of Australia with the aim of developing supplementary wiring standards for cave lighting installations
   2. prepare a set of aesthetic guidelines for cave lighting.
5. The Conference recommends that interested persons be encouraged to use the Cave Management Newsletter as a means of sharing ideas and that the bibliography on cave management (see appendices, this volume) should be continually updated.
6. The Conference recommends that the Fifth Australian Conference on Cave Tourism and Management be held in April 1983, at Lakes Entrance, Victoria, being hosted by the Buchan Caves Advisory Committee and the Victorian Speleological Association.