Introduction
Ranger David Noble discovered the Wollemi Pines in
September 1994 after stumbling across a group of strange looking trees whilst
canyoning. Accordingly, scientists were
first puzzled and then amazed by this discovery.
The tree was identified as being one of the world’s
oldest and rarest tree species belonging to a 200 million year old plant
family. It was known from fossil records and presumed extinct until this
discovery,
In the wild the trees reproduce in two ways. One way is these trees sucker from the roots
of nearby adult trees throwing up new trees.
They also can propagate from seeds.
When these trees first covered the earth, there were no birds or bees as
we know them today to transfer pollen to fertilise the seeds. So nature had to
find another way to fertilise these seeds.
Female and male cones are produced on adult trees and in Spring, October
and November, the male cones release their pollen into the air where it comes
into contact with the female cones. When
this happens all the male cones release at the same time and the air is filled
with pollen spawns. Spawns landing on
the female cones fertilise them and the seed cones are formed. Seed cones mature 16–19 months later in late
summer and autumn and appear to be produced annually.
On Sunday 30th July 2000, we had what may
be the most ultimate experience we will ever have! Charna and I were lucky
enough to be in on a discovery of a small unknown stand of these trees that would
add valuable scientific knowledge to the world’s rarest and oldest living tree
species – the Wollemi Pines. A bold statement for sure and one I’ll try to
justify.
King Billy - The tallest pine in the Wollemi National Park
Setting the Scene.
Most maps of Australia depict an almost continuous
line of mountains, The Great Dividing Range, running north south along its
eastern flank. Near Sydney, its fortress-like wall created a barrier which took
Europeans more than a quarter century to breach after they first settled in Australia
in 1788. To the east of the range lies a narrow strip of land with temperate
rainforest, lush pastoral land and beautiful sweeping beaches familiar in
travel brochures. Conversely, the western side heralds the beginning of dry
country turning into grasslands and then desert country, which extends for
thousands of kilometres across the fabled outback before abruptly ending on
Australia’s western shore and the Indian Ocean.
Within the dividing range is a fairly narrow six by
two hundred kilometre strip stretching from Katoomba in the Blue Mountains,
through Wollemi to Goulburn River National Park that us outdoor enthusiasts
call the “Canyon belt”. It’s within this labyrinth of gorges that Charna and I
spend our summer weekends exploring pristine wilderness whilst pushing
ourselves to the limits both physically and mentally. The scenery is nothing
short of spectacular and to quote a recent article, “Wollemi is a metropolis of
sandstone skyscrapers, every bit as dramatic as Manhattan, in fact, if the
Empire State Building were dropped into one of the deeper canyons of the
wilderness, only its mast would be visible”. Due to the extremely rugged
terrain, it’s not known how many canyons are actually there, but it’s estimated
to be well over 500 in number.
It’s within these remote areas of Wollemi is where
you can find original ecosystem, which have scarcely changed, not just since
the Europeans conquered the continent, but for thousands of years before that.
In fact, scientists claim that visiting this world of forests, swamps, cliff
lines and ice-cold streams is the nearest thing to seeing the continent when it
was a land of dinosaurs rather than of kangaroos and emu. In 1994 this very
point was proven to be true when a young National Parks Officer named Dave
Noble stumbled across a tree he couldn’t identify whilst out canyoning.
Plucking a leaf for identification purposes, he and his party retraced their
steps back to civilization and unknowingly brought with them evidence that a
dinosaur plant was alive in Wollemi!
After showing the leaf sample to a few knowledgeable
workmates, a botanist felt it was something truly unique and warranted a
separate research trip. Branches were taken with “sexually active material” in
the form of pollen cones. They took a piece of the strange bubbly bark as well.
The botanist noticed the trees were multi-stemmed and they had at least two
different leaf types, totally flat juvenile leaves and twisted adult leaves. He
also found seedlings scattered through the forest that meant the trees were
thankfully reproducing. To study the environment at a more leisurely pace, still
photos and videos were shot for further analysis.
Back in the lab, DNA testing revealed these trees
were impossibly perfect clones of one another. This goes against conventional
theories which state that you need genetic diversity for survival as scientists
have deemed low genetic variability as a fast track to extinction. They have
since found fossil records of this tree species dating back 120 million years.
This means we have a living dinosaur from the Jurassic period. The mind
boggles, doesn’t it?
The so-called “botanical find of the century”
created untold excitement. Their location was kept a well-guarded secret with
all researchers entering the area being helicoptered in and blindfolded and
those who weren’t, sworn to secrecy. Extensive aerial mapping and a 6-week
ground search uncovered a second stand of trees one kilometre downstream from
the first. All up, 38 adult trees were counted, sampled, tagged and named.
These prehistoric oddities can reach up to 35 meters in height, the tallest and
biggest tree affectionately known as “King Billy”.
Media hype increased while word spread globally
regarding this most amazing discovery. International interest became so great
that a German research team decided to come here and investigate the pines for themselves.
For 6 months, using every trick in the book, they tried to learn the location
of the pines but Australian National Parks officials felt they were quite
capable to carry out their own research, therefore kept the location
undisclosed. Foiled, the Germans returned home empty handed. Since then,
botanists have developed a propagation program and by 2004 were determined to
“flood the market” with juvenile trees which would hopefully reduce the demands
currently placed on the original trees.
Katoomba, capital of the Blue Mountains is Mecca to
Sydney’s yuppies, most of whom sport outrageously expensive hiking boots and
leather upholstered Range Rovers, neither of which makes it off the pavement. A
favourite attraction for most visitors is the giant screen IMAX theatre with
larger than life images and deafening Dolby surround sound. Fortunately this is
where you can view a meticulously filmed hour long movie on the area’s natural
history. Apart from the adrenaline pumping, visually beautiful canyoning sequences
and death defying spider-like rock climbing shots, enthralled audiences become
absorbed as they learn about the rare Wollemi Pine.
Strapped to the undercarriage of a Bell Jetranger
helicopter, the viewer is plucked from the comfort of their seat and whisked
away on a gut-wrenching rollercoaster that catapults you through a maze of
gorges until, pale faced you’re hovering above these mysterious trees. The
helicopter eases you down onto the relative security of the sandstone
escarpment where your white-knuckle flight hesitates momentarily. While you
catch your breath, abseiling gear is fitted, then you’re instructed to lean
backwards and fling yourself into the void below. Safely tethered, you plummet
blindly in a heart stopping 40 meter freefall ending only as the rope tensions
when you apply resistance. So real is the visual sensation that it literally
forces the audience to dance in unison as your brain is tricked into a sharp
sideways lean or a lurching stop. I must admit, after seeing the film twice,
I’m still in awe of it’s technical achievement, not to mention the intriguing
subject matter. It’s also kind of neat being able to take friends there so they
can experience what canyoning is like (a picture is worth a thousand words).
With this in mind, you can probably imagine our
unbridled excitement when a member of our bushwalking club asked us if we would
like to accompany them for a visit in to the pines. Charna and I couldn’t
believe our luck; an opportunity to fulfil most bushwalker’s dreams had been
set in our laps. We asked no questions as to how they knew where the pines
were, decided on a date, readied our gear and loaded the film into the cameras.
There wasn’t any chance of us not recording this most privileged occasion,
should we actually find the pines.
Several
months later Alwyn and Margie decided we would explore further down the
watercourse and try and find a second way out of this canyon system. Also, like David Noble they were looking for
new enclosed canyons to abseil and explore.
Many years ago they had learnt that Mother Nature had created and hidden
some of her most beautiful secret places in the depths of these canyons some of
which still remained to be discovered.
It was this second trip that Charna and I managed to get a place on..
The People in the group
Our party for the trip consisted of seven people,
Alwyn Simple, Margaret (Margie) Smith, Ross Wilson also referred to as Roscoe,
Leslie Wilson, George Alexander and Charna and myself.
Alwyn Simple
Alwyn Simple was our leader and guide. He was an experienced bushman who had led
many canyon trips and backpacks into wilderness areas and was a competent
navigator using topographical maps and a compass. He was
also the Training Officer with the Watagan Wanderers Bush Walking Club and had
written the training manuals for the club’s abseiling activities. Alwyn had already led a trip into the
location of the Wollemi pines and both Margie Smith and Leslie Wilson had been
on that first exploratory trip with him to find their location.
Their infatuation with these ancient remnants of
nature started many years before when on a canyon weekend in the Blue Mountains
National Park. The group had abseiled
Militia Point and were staying in Blackheath for the night. This abseil was close to the road so they did
not have to walk the long distances to reach the start of the abseil. Also after the abseil it was a short walk to
the scenic railway which they caught to get back to the top of the large
cliffs. Having completed the abseil by
lunch time, they went to see “The Edge”, a movie showing at the IMAX Theatre in
Katoomba that afternoon. This movie
made the blood and adrenaline flow and Alwyn and Margie made a pact that they
would go to all the places they had seen on the screen. The difficulty was that the Wollemi Pines
location was a highly guarded secret with few people knowing their
location. Within six months they had
worked out which watercourse they believed that the pines were in and their
approximate location. Margie along with
Diann Mackenzie went into the area to research it further. It was on this trip that they met a bushman
who lived as a hermit in the area and he told them roughly where there was
often helicopter activity. They knew that they had hit pay-dirt and believed
they had the area and location where these pines were. Armed with this knowledge, their small group
of five people planned a pack walk into this area in the hope of finding these
secret pines. It had taken them two years of research.
They found the original stand of pines that had been
first documented in 1944 by David Noble almost exactly where they believed them
to be. Alwyn had said only 400 metres
before finding them that they were close but they had still managed to walk
past the first trees before they sighted the main stand. Because of the distance they had travelled
within the creek system along with the tough going, they could only allow themselves
a short time in the area. They were
careful not to touch the trees being well aware of the importance of keeping
this special stand of living fossils safe and germ free. After the obligatory photos they backtracked
the several kilometres back along the creek system and climb up to where they
had camped the previous night. Their
objective had been achieved and they were well pleased with themselves although
they knew others might not be.
Margaret Smith
Margie
Smith was an extremely fit five
foot tall bundle of strength and energy.
She could walk all day carrying a backpack almost a third of her weight
through any terrain. She was a keen pack-walker,
abseiler and canyoner and along with Alwyn had done most canyons in the Blue
Mountains Sandstone area. Alwyn always
said he would take Margie along so when he was not sure of which way to go, he
would ask Margie and then go the opposite way.
She was a determined lady who, when she wanted something, she would go
out to get it. This is why she was
successful in tracking down the location of the Wollemi Pines.
Ross Wilson (Front) with Neil & Charna
Ross
Wilson was a school teacher but
his love was to be in the wilderness.
Every opportunity he had he spent abseiling and exploring canyons. Ross
taught abseiling to the school children where he worked. He was also an experienced bushman. Ross, Alwyn and Margie were all members of
the Watagan Wanderers and had done canyon trips together.
Leslie
Wilson was no relation to Ross
Wilson. She often abseiled and canyoned
with Alwyn and Margaret and had done several pack-walks with them. She had been on the first trip when they had
found the original stand of pines.
Although the quite type, she was very resilient and never required
assistance preferring to manage by herself and not be a burden on the group.
George
Alexander was the father of the
group at age 74. George no longer did
these hard backpacks but the lure of seeing Wollemi Pines was too much for
George and the old aluminium frame and pack came out of the cupboard for this
trip. George had been a Professor of
Agriculture and had had overseas postings while he was teaching. He had a special interest in botany and to
see these pines was for him a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Neil and Charna Manson
Charna
and I were the only couple on the
trip. We were friends with Ross Wilson
and had done several canyon and diving trips with him. Ross asked Alwyn if we could come along and we
could not believe our luck when he came back and said yes. The only condition was we could not release
any information that would reveal the location of these trees. For that reason no name places have been used
in this story.
The second Trip – Finding new Wollemi
Pines
Friday 28th July 2000
The others had left Singleton around midday and
driven to a camping spot on the western side of the Wollemi National Park. They wanted to be ready for an early start
the following morning. As they watched the
sun set that afternoon, the western sky radiated the last of the reddish rays
through a clear sky. The brightness was
there but there were no clouds for the sun to reflect under and change their
colour to enhance the beauty of the sunset.
That night the atmosphere was crystal clear and the
sky was filled with the sparkle of the millions of stars in the heavens. They observed several stars fall to a fiery
end that night. It was cold and the next
morning would be colder still. Snow had
fallen in the area the day before and it had still not melted. Several patches of the white carpet had
managed to outlast the sun that day reflecting the chill in the air.
Charna and I set out from Newcastle Friday night
after work with our canyoning friend Ross. Mr Wilson (as we jokingly call him
because he is a school teacher, or Roscoe) is a very dear friend and one of the
nicest fellas we know. The three of us have had some great adventures and seen
some amazingly beautiful countryside over the years. Anyway, about 5 hours
later, just on midnight, we drove into our rendezvous point where the others
were camped.
Stepping out of “Snowflake” (Roscoe’s 4x4 truck) we
unceremoniously discovered the temperature had dropped from a balmy 16° to a bone chilling -5° where we had planned to camp for the night!
(I opted for a room at the pub but was outvoted). Accordingly the tent was
hastily erected, mattresses inflated, sleeping bags unrolled and the three of
us dove for cover. Man it was cold! Thank God for long-johns that’s all I gotta
say! Luckily Ross informed us these people we were going in with are quite slow
starters, so we figured we’d probably get going around 8:00 am.
Saturday 29th July 2000.
I couldn’t believe my ears as reveille sounded at 6
am! Sleepy-eyed, I turned to Roscoe who conveniently opted for that holier than
thou look you get when caught with your hand in the cookie jar. In the most
sincerely polite terms possible I called him a peculiarly interesting
anatomical anomaly. To combat the bitter cold, I put on all the clothing I
brought then hauled myself out of the tent only to be greeted by Alwyn standing
there in shorts and a lightweight top and wearing thongs! Good grief, was this
to be our leader, some weird masochist? Turning on my heel, I stared in disbelief
at our tent as it was frozen solid and had a layer of ice about 2 millimetres
thick all over the fly. The moisture
from our breath had turned to ice inside the tent. We had heard this person had
no fear but we now knew he had no feelings either. Great, our next night we’re supposed to camp
in a cave without a tent. What had we let ourselves in for, are we nuts or
what? Rhetorical question!
Alwyn had left a two litre bottle of water outside
the tent that night and by morning the first 50mm from the top had turned to
ice. He poured half a pannikin of water from
another bottle from inside the tent and dropped in a Berocca but the surface of
the water in the pannikin had frozen and turned to ice before the tablet had
finished it effervescent dissolving. It
was very cold.
Pulling ourselves together, we packed up our gear,
rolled the ice-encrusted tent into a plastic drip bin then met the rest of our
bushwalking party. Alwyn, Margaret and Leslie we had seen previously at a club
abseil training day. The only person we didn’t know was George, an older chap
who apparently joins the club on many of their Wednesday walks. His gear looked
ancient but his exuberance was youthful.
Since neither Charna nor I relished the thought of
frozen porridge, we instead chose the local bakeshop for our breakfast. Both of
us ordered up bigtime. Tossing the weight watcher's guidebook out the window,
we bought sausage rolls, 2 small pizzas, a sweet bun and some chocolate milk.
Breakfast of champions! Think I have that carbohydrate loading diet down pat.
Puddles on the track were frozen into small patches
of ice and even the large dams had a covering of ice on them this morning. We guessed the temperature to be between –6
degrees and –8 degrees this morning, bloody cold whatever it was.
As we all ate brekkie on the road, Roscoe skilfully
guided Snowflake following Margie’s Landrover Discovery about an hour until we
came onto some private property. Margie had been out a few weeks previously
smoothing the waters and gaining us access to our walk’s starting point. We
chatted for a few minutes with the property manager and he told us of another
access road into the area that goes over public land. It’s always handy having
options when you have to gain access over private property. He then drew us a
mud map to get through the property, pointed us in the right direction and off
we went.
Driving across the various fields we could see it
had been a bloody cold night as there was snow on the ground and a layer of ice
on the irrigation dam! As we started down a slight decline, SnowFlake (Roscoe’s
four wheel drive) decided it was time to wake us up by doing a 360° turn. Roscoe couldn’t do a thing about it
and since there was nothing solid he could hit we all sat back and enjoyed the thrill.
A minute later SnowFlake gave an encore performance so we locked in the front
hubs, making us a little more sure-footed and drove in four wheel drive the
rest of the way.
In the southeast corner of a large paddock we parked
our vehicles beside a gateway apparently being the start point of our walk.
Alwyn raised his tent so it would be dry for the return trip home while the
rest of us sorted out our backpacks. Alwyn and co-leader Margie poured over the
topographical maps and took their compass bearings. Then, like the 7 dwarfs in
search of Snow White, off we marched. Hi ho, hi ho it’s off to the pines we
go…….
Initially the walking was quite easy as we traversed
some fairly open plateau country then following an old logging road we began a
slow descent towards the valley below. The sun’s rays warmed the land and the
temperature rose so we all decided to take off a few layers of clothing. Mobs
of kangaroos were out in the open grassy areas getting warmth from the early
morning sun. As we walked along the
ridges lyrebirds could be heard in the bush around us. We stopped to inspect their campsite from the
previous trip. Something had dug out
where they had lit a small fire but except for this the area appeared
undisturbed. We had seen brush turkeys in
the area and Alwyn suspected they had dug up the fire site. At morning tea break, a drink of water and a
chocolate bar were consumed as we sat on the ridge overlooking a deep valley.
In the distance to the west we could see cleared fields and livestock. Such a
peaceful scene, I really didn’t want to leave, but the lure of the pines proved
too strong so on we went heading east into the wilderness.
Approximately half way down into the valley, we
veered off the old trail and picked up a barely visible walking track that lead
down to a small saddle. At this point we changed direction and left the
relatively comfortable walking track and started our bush bash into the creek
system that we were to follow. We
dropped off the ridge into the watercourse where we worked our way towards the
original stand of pines. We were
backpacking lightly without tents and sharing stoves to keep the weight down
because of the rough terrain in the creek systems we were going to be
travelling along.
Once down to the creek, it really became a matter of
pick a route and go. We had to work our way through blackberry vines and
raspberry bushes that had overgrown the open area. These clung to us and tore at our clothes and
bodies as if acting as a natural living barrier set in place to block our
access into the Wollemi Pines. No trail
or track to follow, just Alwyn who occasionally looked at the compass and map
and a gut feeling as to the path of least resistance. After an hour or so of
this we found a picturesque spot so decided it was time for lunch. Thank God as
my sausage roll wore off hours before and I again needed food.
Leslie, Alwyn and Margie had been here previously
and that experience prompted them to bring garden gloves to protect their hands
against everything imaginable. Within minutes Charna and I could see their
value and made a mental note to include gloves on our essential equipment list
when ever and if ever we went bush again with Alwyn!
As the sides of the gorge closed in, fallen trees
that supported the many clinging vines like a natural trellis blocked access up
the creek. At times the undergrowth was
so dense we were unable to see the person in front. We explored the side canyons as we moved up
the main creek system. All came to a blocked end that prevented further
exploration from below but all had been interesting in their formation.
Heading on down the creek, I was glad I didn’t
overeat as the walking wasn’t getting any easier. It was at the stage that if
Alwyn didn’t know where we were we were in real trouble as no one else had any
idea. Like a prize fighter we “bob and
weaved” through another couple of hours until we came across a large sandstone
overhand.
Alwyn had marked this spot as one of the very few
suitable campsites in this canyon system on their previous trip although they
had not stopped here. This overhang was
approximately 25 metres deep and around 60 metres high. The creek of slightly milky water flowed into
the overhang below a small bank at the northern end forming a tight U-section or
hairpin bend before returning to follow its original course.
People here call these structures “camping caves”
and apparently this was to be our home for the night. Judging by the look of
the ground, we should be dry even if it rains, that is as long as there’s no
wind to drive moisture sideways. The time was somewhere around 3 pm when we
arrived at this campsite and Alwyn said we could go and have a look at the
pines that afternoon. So with growing anticipation, we dropped our packs and
headed downstream for our first sighting of these ancient and mysterious trees
whose location was so secretly guarded. I must admit, I felt like a little kid
on Christmas Eve.
Alwyn, Charna and I were walking out in front ahead
of the rest of the group. About 15 minutes
from the camp cave, he said “You guys tell me when you’ve spotted your first Wollemi
Pine. We looked at each other and I thought no sweat. I mean how hard could
this be, look for the weird bubble bark and presto, that’ll be the one. With
eyes peeled, Charna and I slowly continued downstream alert to any subtle clue
that might give away our quarry. Barely audible was Alwyn chuckling to himself.
Turns out we had been standing in their midst when he asked us in the first
place! At this point the canyon was quite narrow creating an isolated haunting
ambience we all felt. Even in mid summer, sunlight probably only reaches the
forest floor for a couple of hours. A canopy formed by the gums and pines keep
it cool and dark, almost primeval. The atmosphere is tailor made for the
prehistoric trees contained within the walls of this inconspicuous gorge.
Charna and I had expected the pines to be grouped closely together, not orderly
like a plantation but certainly not as sparsely scattered as they were.
It was so neat the feeling that swept over me when I
began to recognise some of their unique features. The bark looks a bit like
exposed aggregate used in pathways or for garden stepping stones. I tried not
to touch the trees, but curiosity got the better of me. Pebbly yes, but quite a
smooth feeling. One old tree had been damaged either by fire or lightning and
you could see a cross section of the bark. It is disproportionably thick when
compared to any other tree I’ve ever seen.
Margie came over and pointed out an interesting
feature about their leaves. The juvenile leaves are all in the same plane on
opposite sides of the single leaf stem. As the leaf ages, the 2 rows of needles
on each side start to separate from one another, one going up and the two
beside it going down all the way along the leaf stem, and if viewing a fallen
leaf, they form an angle of about 20 degrees between each needle. Highly
unusual!
Not much else was said as individually we entered
our own personal world of spellbound fascination. It was one of the most
emotionally moving experiences of my life and one I’m grateful to have shared
with Charna. I know some mightn’t understand the feeling that passed through
our group, but those who are intrigued by the wonders of “mother nature” would
have been equally touched by the honour of being there.
After an hour or so it was decided to head back to
camp and prepare our evening meal. Charna reckons it’s so much easier doing
this in daylight when possible rather than by the light of a small headtorch. We gathered a small amount of firewood to
allow us the luxury of a small campfire that night. Most of the timber in the canyon was either
large or badly decayed by the numerous types of multi-coloured fungi that
derived their sustenance from these fallen branches and trees rotting the
timber in the process.
We lit our fire on the sandy section of the creek
bank to avoid any possibility of leaves catching fire although once outside the
overhand I doubt that anything would burn due to the moisture and greenery of
the trees. We set the billy cans on the
fire to boil as we sat back and watched the flicker of the flame from the small
fire reflected light off the uneven roof surface of the large overhang. It reminded us of a distant storm as the light
of the lightning flashes bounced off the overhead clouds. We seemed to wait for the rumble from a
distant strike but the silence was never broken except for the continuous
burble of the water flowing over the pebbles in the creek.
I asked Alwyn how many people may have viewed these
trees and he felt possibly as few as 100 others. Knowing this made today all
the more special for me. As darkness fell, one by one our group slipped away
into their sleeping bags under the rock shelter for a well deserved rest.
The seven of us were camped closely together, taking
full advantage of the rock overhang for shelter and used fallen leaves to act
as a mattress for comfort. Roscoe had brought a large ground sheet to sleep on
so Charna and I crashed on it as well. It was quite amusing laying there
listening to my fellow walkers fine tune the old proboscis until they were in
time. The cacophony of noise produced by snoring hikers continued throughout
the night until dawn. This had only been disturbed twice during the night by the
sounds from the powerful owl.
Sunday 30th July 2000.
Morning broke late down in the Canyon but most of us
were up early. Surprisingly enough, we didn’t have any ice on us and the night had
not been as cold as the previous one. Being deep in the canyon and having the
rock overhang definitely made a difference. The plan now was to go back to the
pines, spend an hour or so, and then head out via a different creek system that
Alwyn had plotted on his map. He said we
would come out about 2 kilometres north of the cars up on the plateau.
Hopefully this would be an easier route than the way we had come in. We packed
our sleeping bags, ate our breakfast and buried the charcoal from the fire of
the previous night before inspecting the campsite to ensure there were no signs
that we had ever been there. Alwyn said
“the quicker we break camp, the more time we’ll have with the pines”. By
dangling this carrot we all sprang into overdrive and cleared the camp area by
8 AM.
We headed along the creek system to the location of
the original stand of pines and were soon back on “hallowed ground” where we
took off our packs, synchronised watches and decided if we went off alone to
meet back at this spot again at 10 am. Oddly enough, we all seemed to stick
together, searching for a way to higher ground to gain as much height possible
that would give us a view of the trees from above as we wanted photos of the
pines from above the tree line. We found
a way up past the first vertical rock faces out of the creek coming to a place
where a couple of trees had been knocked down to give a better picture of the
pines. I have since seen a photo taken
by National Parks from this location in a publication. We continued around the base of the second
cliff line and found a slot in the cliff face leading up to a flat ledge where
we had unrestricted views of the southern section of the stand.
The view was mind boggling. From above, the trees
look something like a monkey tail pine crossed with a tree fern. Their
strikingly distinctive foliage sets them apart from the surrounding trees
making this small collection seem all the more vulnerable. As I gazed into a
scene from a prehistoric world, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see a
Brontosaurus browsing below us. I had this feeling only once before, in Palm
Valley in the Northern Territory while staring out from a rock shelter at the
rare Red Cabbage Tree Palms. Once more, Charna was at my side. It was disappointing that we were unable to
get a photo of the large tree at the northern end of this stand of pines known
as King Billy. We were able to see
sections of it from behind some other trees.
The only good photos I have seen of this tree have been taken from a
helicopter.
Unfortunately time got the better of us, and we
needed to make a move. Shouldering our packs, we headed downstream for 700
meters before making our way up a side creek. Alwyn had not been this way
before so this would be a test as to his ability to navigate using his map and
compass. GPS units would not work in these
canyons as they could not get clear contact with the satellites so it had to be
all compass work. The going through here
was extremely rough and most of us managed an abrasion or two. After an hour or
so of hard work we stopped in the dark creek bed of a fairly narrow canyon for
a snack and to let Alwyn do a little map reading to check our position. Most of
us stared off into space, lost in reflection of the trip until Margie brought
us crashing back to earth by shouting “Isn’t that a branch of a Wollemi Pine up
there!”
A chorus of “WHERE” echoed through the gorge as
Margie directed our eyes toward her find. George and I were temporarily
sequestered in a hollow, so could not see above the rocks alongside the creek.
The rest of the group were about 2 meters above us and the conversation was
going between “Yes they are” and “No don’t think so”.
After several minutes, Alwyn and Roscoe agreed to
climb the side of the gorge to make a positive identification. What could be seen from our position in the
creek through a small hole in the canopy was a small clump of leaves on the end
of a branch. Up on the ledges the now
familiar leaves were lying on the ground.
The pines were now clearly visible.
We climbed up between a tree and the rock face to find a stand of three
trees with suckers and a single tree nearby.
These were all young trees with the tallest tree around 15 metres
high. Just one pine broke through the
canopy and only slightly at that. The
absence of any mature trees at this site was noticeable. These pines were
growing in a drier location than the other trees we had visited and higher up
the side of the canyon. Also they were
in canyon a running in a different direction to where the original trees were
growing giving them different sun conditions.
It was believed we may have found the second stand of pines known to
NPWS – we knew that there was a second stand.
Alwyn and Roscoe checked for tags and found that none of these trees
were tagged. The excitement rose, this
had been a chance discovery, had we found a new stand of these rare pines?
Enthusiasm overtook all of us and we could hardly
wait to find out if these were an undiscovered stand of trees. We followed our new route
out of the canyon. Except for the
occasional animal track the going was rough and on several occasions we had to
backtrack and drop back into the creek or cling close to the cliff face to
avoid overbalancing and falling. Once out of the canyon system we still had to
negotiate the prickly and thorny shrubs while working our way back up to the
ridgeline and onto the plateau. Gaps in
the trees allowed us to see over the area where we had just been. The features we knew were there were not
distinguishable as the treetops stretched for miles. We were able to pick out peaks in the area and
using these Alwyn was able to plot our position on the map. A lone Wedge tail eagle was visible at one
stage as it soared in the updraughts over the valley below.
We found a lovely grassy spot for lunch complete
with a convenient log to sit on. The climb up out of the creek system had been
arduous and we all felt exhausted. Talk turned to fitness and ages and it
turned out I was the youngest at 42, Roscoe next at 44, Charna at 45, Leslie
around 50, Margie 55, Alwyn 56 and leading the age race was George at 74! We
were super shocked as we had thought he might be 60. Man! what great shape he’s
in to have done the hike we did. To be honest, I really don’t know many people
who could have finished up so well. I only hope I’m still capable at that age.
Think I’ll live by Granny’s adage “I’d rather wear out than rust out”.
After we’d all been fed and watered like packhorses,
Alwyn cracked the whip and we started the final leg to the cars. Apparently they
were just over an hour away, but the previous uphill climb had worn us out. The
pace was rather slothful, but we managed to reach the cars by 3.30. The
navigation had been spot on and after walking two days in thick bush and
canyons we had managed to complete a circular walk and come back to the place
where we had left early the morning before.
Since we had such a long drive ahead of us, we couldn’t dilly-dally so
said our good-byes and made our way out to the highway.
As we drove out, the property manager happened to be
working beside the road with his two young children, so Roscoe stopped and
spoke with him. After some time (Mr Wilson does carry on a bit) the manager
said if we happen to see the owner, tell him we had cleared our access with
him. Margie passed us in the Discovery so we said thanks and followed her out.
Notifying National Parks and Wildlife
Services.
Monday 31st July 2000
The next day, Monday, Margie phoned National Parks
to enquire about the Wollemi Pines. She spoke with Dave Crust who was the
manager for the National Parks in the Mudgee District and responsible for the
protection and security of these pines.
I guess both her and the Parks Officer were sparring
around like boxers trying to feel each other out. At first he didn’t believe we
had been into the area (they were quite naïve thinking nobody else knew where
the trees were) but after Margie described the tree tags and the fact they had
left an aluminium step ladder, he conceded that we had indeed been there. He
then suggested that we had seen the 2nd stand of trees downstream
from the first, ones they already knew about. Margie then explained to him that
we were actually up a side creek that ran into the main stream where the known
stands were. Besides, none of the trees
had tags on them.
He told Margie that we could each be up for a
$20,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail as these trees were out of bounds to the
public and it was an offence to enter the area. After that he wanted the coordinates and for
all of us to sign a confidentiality statement that we would neither reveal the
location nor go back to it. Hmmmm, maybe I’m a little thick, but I really think
at this point Margie was in the driver’s seat, and not “Ranger Dave”. She refused to reveal the location to them or
give them the names of the people in the group.
With Dave Crust from NPWS now showing real interest,
Margie agreed to his request to meet to discuss the location. She wanted guarantees that no action would be
taken against the group or she would not reveal the location. A meeting was arranged within three days
showing the importance of our information.
She contacted Alwyn and told him of the meeting as he would also be
there. At 1.00PM on Thursday 3rd August 2000, The NPWS Ranger, Dave Crust, arrived
at her home for the prearranged meeting.
Having reached an understanding Alwyn pointed to the spot on the
map. The NPWS Ranger shook his head and
said are you sure. Alwyn was sure. He then confirmed that they did not know this
stand existed. He said that they had a
team of people in that area for seven weeks searching for any Wollemi Pines and
they had come back saying that there was nothing in that area. Dave asked them to keep the location of the
pines secret as they were concerned traffic into the area could be detrimental
to the survival of these trees. The
National Parks people believe that pathogenic Fungi, which is common in local
grapes, would be fatal to the Wollemi pines if it were to be carried in on
boots or other clothing etc. The trees have no resistance to this type of
disease. Margie and Alwyn never
revealed the names of the other people in the group to the National Parks
people. This book is the first time the
names of the group have been revealed.
The following week, a ground team of two rangers was
sent in to confirm the find and location.
When they returned from the site Dave rang Margie and informed her that
the information she supplied to him was spot on. The pines were where Alwyn had marked them on
the map. He also told her that this
could be a very important find as all the other Pines had the same DNA and it
was hoped that this stand would have a different DNA. What this meant was trees with the same DNA
all came from the same parent tree. If
these trees had a different DNA it would mean they came from a different parent
tree. It was a little like In-breeding
where weaknesses develop.
With conformation of the discovery, Margie was
informed that the Minister for the Environment was going to release a media
statement on the discovery of a third stand of Wollemi Pines. All this had happened within two weeks. Dave Crust said that the statement would say
that a small party of bushwalkers had found the pines. They would not release names as they were
concerned we would be swamped with people wanting the location of the pines and
could be offered large bribes for this information.. We were in agreement with this approach. However, when the statement was released by
the Ministers office (Mr Bob Debus) the bushwalkers were forgotten.
Since meeting him, Margie and Alwyn have developed a
trust and confidence with Dave Crust at NPWS who is responsible for these
trees. They believe Bob Debus, like all Politicians
told the story to suit his own ends, changing Dave’s wording. Because of the absence of these details NPWS
appear to be credited with the find. I
can now say the exception to this is the report in the “Mudgee Guardian” on
Tuesday 15th August 2000 by Dave Crust where bushwalkers were credited with
finding these pines.
It is disappointing that bush walkers get so much
bad publicity and when the opportunity for good publicity arises they are
denied it.
The Follow-on
Since their meeting at Margie’s place on the 3rd
August 2000, Dave has kept Alwyn and Margie informed on the pines and has even
presented them with Wollemi Pine plants.
They were invited to the Official Release of the first Wollemi Pines in
Sydney and have been flown into the site by helicopter with NPWS while Dave Crust
collected seed pods from the pines while suspended below the helicopter. They were not in the helicopter during the
operation of seed collecting but were dropped out while this took place and
picked up again later.
Sadly Dave advised them that the Trees found by
Margie had the same DNA as all the other known Wollemi Pines.
Both Margaret and Alwyn have developed a high
respect for Dave Crust and have found him to be a man of his word and
trustworthy.
None of the group except Alwyn and Margie knows the
location of the Wollemi Pines. We were
told by Alwyn that he would lead and no one was shown the map which he
kept. All I can say is I have been
there but I do not know where it was that we went.
It’s been some time now since our group walked
amongst the “dinosaurs” and I’m still awestruck when I think about it. To be
fortunate enough to view the original stand of trees is one thing, but to have
been in on the discovery of a new group is an honour very few people will ever
know. I realize we didn’t really do anything but still, we were there as it
happened. It makes one wonder how many more secrets Mother Nature has, or is
willing to share with us?
The third stand of Wollemi Pines circled on Photo
It is now fifteen years since
that trip into the Wollemi National Park when we found the new stand of Wollemi
Pines and I often think about it and the friendships we made as a result of it.
This was Charna’s and my first
trip with Alwyn and Margie and it was the start of a great friendship and many
adventures together along with Ross Wilson into the canyons of the Blue
Mountains and Wollemi National Parks.
Margie and Alwyn have never been
acknowledged or credited with this find except by Dave Crust, the Manager of
the NPWS Mudgee area. I wrote the
initial story after the trip mainly to send to family in Canada. I
have now decided to print it in book form so it can be recorded
My greatest love, after my
wonderful wife who is always at my side, is to be free in the wilderness areas
with an abseil rope and descender dropping into an unknown canyon to see what
nature has placed there. The other great
freedom is to put an air tank on my back and enter the underwater world where
the beauty leaves me breathless as I slowly swim over the coral reefs.
I hope that you enjoy this story.
On behalf of the group
No comments:
Post a Comment