Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- 199303 [2016/09/30 12:42] – tyreless
+++ 199303 [2016/09/30 13:34] – tyreless
@@ Line 300: / Line 300: @@
 ----
-BALDUR BYLES AND KOSCIUSKO NATIONAL PARK
+=====Baldur Byles And Kosciusko National Park.=====
-by Reg Alder (Originally :published in.Nationil Parks Assn
-ACT-Bulletin DeceMber 1992;)
-. -During the summer cl'1931-32 BaIdur ByTrd, a forester with the Commonwealth 'Forestry Bureau and a- brother of the early environmental. activist Marie-Byles, carried out a six month period tetonnaissance of the mountainous part of the Murray River. His report formed the, basis formoreeffective control of the fragile environment of the alpine areas on the New South Wales side of the Murray which eventually led' to the formation. of Kosciusko National Park. The park was later consolidated
-and extended. because the Snowy ..Scheme needed strict control of erosion..
-In the 1930s all the mountain country Was held under Some form of grazing lease which did not permit the destruction of trees or the lighting of fires in the summer months.' In practice, lessees. lit fires as often as they thought fit, talking about lightning, glass bottles and spontaneous combustion as a reason whilst having the knowledge- of who lit it If the fire happened to burn oneof their own paddocks they had no proof, their only hope being that during the next summer they May be abl6s to get even. with the man who lit the fire. These fires. destroyed thousands'of'acres each year
-Fires, in destroying the alpine woody scrub and alpine ash, initiated erosion in the 'high' country and gullying in the freehold properties below 700 metres. The velocity of the degradationTrOcess was increasing in geometrical proportion to the extent that in Areas where alpine ash had completely disappeared, landslides were occurring. Gutters and 'gullies were forming on the grass slopes of the Kosciusko tops and in the lower altitudes soil had been completely washed' away from under fence posts. Ninety-nine per cent of the fires occurring were lit to clear away the collection of rank unpalatable grasses or to remove scrub from the stock
-routes.
-ipally covered by the alpinevoody, scrub type had been compeltely cleared li'Y'fire. All the species forming this cover are extremely fire sensitive and once burnt out do not coppice and their powers of seed production are light. Where grass formerly grew it may thrive after a fire, however where the soil is too shallow the organic layer dries up and blows away to be followed by the loose sandy soil, leaving bare granite rocks and stones.
-In only one place did Byles see a snow gum stand to the almost natural state, but even then this had been badly burnt around the butts. Although snow gums coppice abundantly after burning, successive'burnings kill them
-altogether. In the more-accessible country no signs of original stands
-were left. Where an original snow gum stand is killed by fire, fairly dense undergrowth comes in which, with 7. urther burnings causes the scrub to disappear and a final stage of snow grass to be reached.
-All of this clearing caused serious drying-up of the swamps'in the plateau country; whereas 30 years previously a swamp in the parish of ,Jagungal could not be crossed by horse, now in an average summer a bullock 'dray could be driven across it. A change in climatic cycle Wasdiscounted
-as a reason for the drying-up as this was not shwn from the rainfall records of the surrounding country.
-When fire destroys an alpine ash stand a good crop of -seedlings comes
-bp in its place. However if fires occur at intervals of five to ten years, the new crop does not reach se-producing age as mature trees need to reach'
--
-a height of near 20 metres at an age of 20 to 30 years before producing seed.
-At the time of the reporCapproximately two-thirds of the area orig-
-.
-MARCH 1993 THE SYDNEY BUSHWALKER PAGE 17
-Baldur Byles travelled on a Saddle horse supported by one pack horse
-and because of the strenuous nature of the work and somewhat poor natural feed, frequent changes of horses were necessary. There were few tracks
-and the locals had little knowledge of areas-which were not of direct interest to them for grazing. In many instances he had to walk from the tops to a valley bottom which frequently involved 12 hours of arduous walking and
-climbing without, the assistance of local guides.
-Whereas today we are used to payed motor roads and fire trails, 60 years ago Kosciusko could have been defined, apart from the grazing, as an almost
-true wilderness area.. The report lists access points: motor vehicles could
-only reach Possum Point on the Tooma River, Khancoban, Wollondiby near. Jindabyne, Adaminaby, Snowy PLain on the Gungahlin and Kiandra. Access was gained by bullock teams to Wheelers selection-and Round Mountain on a track described as very bad; 'grey Mare and Mawsons Hut by bullock team; and from Adaminaby, Pretty Plain and Geehi by pack horse. Groggin was reached by- bridle track from geehi. From Groggin'a bridle track led,up to Dead Horse Gap from where a poorly defined track led to the Pilot and on to Omeo.
-A recent track led from Geehi up to the main range at losciusko and a metre and half track from Groggin to Limestone Creek was impassable because of fallen logs and washouts; From Jindabyne a motor road led to Thredbo River and from there a bridle track led to Dead Horse Gap and on to Kosciusko. The remaining desriptions,only cover bridIe-F._ track routes and from -them it can be seen how much of' the alpine area has been opened-up with:the aid of bulldozers and graders since World War Two.
-It is well to reflect upon how much more of the Kosciusko plateau would have been degraded if Baldur Byles had not drawn attention to the serious erosion occurring in 1931-32. In 1931 Myles' Dunphy did-a grand walking tour of 200 km from Beloka to the Snowy and on. to Mount Kosciusko and Thredbo. It would be probably no coincidence that Myles with his association with. Marie Byles, both of the Sydney Bush Walkers, talked about the degradation of Kosciusko and formed his idea for a national park.
+by Reg Alder
-Baldur, besides being a forester, also had a deep regard for the envir-
-onment and because of his official position would use Marie as his public voice. Myles worked on his proposal for a Snowy-Indi National Park or Primitive Area and displayed his scheme at a public exhibition in Sydney'in.
-. The war intervened and in 1943 he was requested by the Lands Depart-
-ment of NSW to develop further his National Parks and Primitive Areas Council scheme for a national park. Kosciusko National Park was declared in 1944.
-* * *-* * * *
-CONGRATULATIONS!
-Alex Colley's daughter, Fran, who now lives in Adelaide, has given birth to twins, a boy Alexander Robert and a girl Louisa June. A busy time ahead for Mum and'Dad!
-PAGE 18 THE SYDNEY 3USHWALIKER MARCH 1993
-EXPERIENCED' WALKER
-' by Bill Gamble
-The question, allegedly vexed, with which Confederation is grappling,
-namely about what cohstitutes an "experienced walker" for media purposes, reported by Barry Wallace in the December meeting notes (January 1993
-issue, page 16), may not be -without interest, as many members of this Club would claim to be experienced bush walkers of some kind.
-Barry's report reminded me that a beaut little booklet (48 pages put out
-by the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand in 1978, 6th edition, entitled "Safety in 'the Mountains") which I carry on extended walks as a memory jog, contains all sorts of practical' advice, hints and reminders, including a definition of EXPERIENCE.
-The portion of the booklet on leadership, which states that many accidents GC= because the leader is presumed to be more experienced than he or she
-is, definesrexperience thus:-
-KNOWLEDGE SKILLS -I- EXTENSIVE PRACTICE = EXPERIENCE.
-Extensive practice is the most important..
-Instruction courses provide knowledge and skills only, adding that a
-recognised leader needs not only experience but ALSO a positive disposition and physical fitness.
-I do not know if any of this is going to resolve the Confederation's
-dilemma, though it may be of interest to those Club members who lead walks or aspire to do so.
--The booklet weighs about 25 grams and is probably still(available in a
-later edition. The duties of a leader to his or her party en route are alSb -Succinctly put.
-************
-SOCIAL NOTES FOR ,APRIL ' April 7 - Committee Meeting
-General' Meeting
-"A Visit to Mawson's Hut in Antarctica" by John Noble -
-- "Australian Native Plants" - slides and talk by Jill Dark
-*********
+(Originally published in National Parks Assn ACT Bulletin December 1992.)
+During the summer of 1931-32 Baldur Byles, a forester with the Commonwealth Forestry Bureau and a brother of the early environmental activist Marie Byles, carried out a six month period reconnaissance of the mountainous part of the Murray River. His report formed the basis for more effective control of the fragile environment of the alpine areas on the New South Wales side of the Murray which eventually led to the formation of Kosciusko National Park. The park was later consolidated and extended because the Snowy Scheme needed strict control of erosion.
+In the 1930s all the mountain country was held under some form of grazing lease which did not permit the destruction of trees or the lighting of fires in the summer months. In practice, lessees lit fires as often as they thought fit, talking about lightning, glass bottles and spontaneous combustion as a reason whilst having the knowledge of who lit it. If the fire happened to burn one of their own paddocks they had no proof, their only hope being that during the next summer they may be able to get even with the man who lit the fire. These fires destroyed thousands of acres each year.
+Fires, in destroying the alpine woody scrub and alpine ash, initiated erosion in the high country and gullying in the freehold properties below 700 metres. The velocity of the degradation process was increasing in geometrical proportion to the extent that in areas where alpine ash had completely disappeared, landslides were occurring. Gutters and gullies were forming on the grass slopes of the Kosciusko tops and in the lower altitudes soil had been completely washed away from under fence posts. Ninety-nine per cent of the fires occurring were lit to clear away the collection of rank unpalatable grasses or to remove scrub from the stock routes.
+At the time of the report approximately two-thirds of the area originally covered by the alpine woody scrub type had been compeltely cleared by fire. All the species forming this cover are extremely fire sensitive and once burnt out do not coppice and their powers of seed production are light. Where grass formerly grew it may thrive after a fire, however where the soil is too shallow the organic layer dries up and blows away to be followed by the loose sandy soil, leaving bare granite rocks and stones.
+In only one place did Byles see a snow gum stand to the almost natural state, but even then this had been badly burnt around the butts. Although snow gums coppice abundantly after burning, successive burnings kill them altogether. In the more accessible country no signs of original stands were left. Where an original snow gum stand is killed by fire, fairly dense undergrowth comes in which, with further burnings causes the scrub to disappear and a final stage of snow grass to be reached.
+All of this clearing caused serious drying-up of the swamps in the plateau country; whereas 30 years previously a swamp in the parish of Jagungal could not be crossed by horse, now in an average summer a bullock dray could be driven across it. A change in climatic cycle was discounted as a reason for the drying-up as this was not shown from the rainfall records of the surrounding country.
+When fire destroys an alpine ash stand a good crop of seedlings comes up in its place. However if fires occur at intervals of five to ten years, the new crop does not reach seed-producing age as mature trees need to reach a height of near 20 metres at an age of 20 to 30 years before producing seed.
+Baldur Byles travelled on a saddle horse supported by one pack horse and because of the strenuous nature of the work and somewhat poor natural feed, frequent changes of horses were necessary. There were few tracks and the locals had little knowledge of areas which were not of direct interest to them for grazing. In many instances he had to walk from the tops to a valley bottom which frequently involved 12 hours of arduous walking and climbing without the assistance of local guides.
+Whereas today we are used to paved motor roads and fire trails, 60 years ago Kosciusko could have been defined, apart from the grazing, as an almost true wilderness area. The report lists access points: motor vehicles could only reach Possum Point on the Tooma River, Khancoban, Wollondiby near Jindabyne, Adaminaby, Snowy Plain on the Gungahlin and Kiandra. Access was gained by bullock teams to Wheelers selection and Round Mountain on a track described as very bad; Grey Mare and Mawsons Hut by bullock team; and from Adaminaby, Pretty Plain and Geehi by pack horse. Groggin was reached by bridle track from Geehi. From Groggin a bridle track led up to Dead Horse Gap from where a poorly defined track led to the Pilot and on to Omeo.
+A recent track led from Geehi up to the main range at Kosciusko and a metre and half track from Groggin to Limestone Creek was impassable because of fallen logs and washouts. From Jindabyne a motor road led to Thredbo River and from there a bridle track led to Dead Horse Gap and on to Kosciusko. The remaining desriptions only cover bridle track routes and from them it can be seen how much of the alpine area has been opened-up with the aid of bulldozers and graders since World War Two.
+It is well to reflect upon how much more of the Kosciusko plateau would have been degraded if Baldur Byles had not drawn attention to the serious erosion occurring in 1931-32. In 1931 Myles Dunphy did a grand walking tour of 200 km from Beloka to the Snowy and on to Mount Kosciusko and Thredbo. It would be probably no coincidence that Myles with his association with Marie Byles, both of the Sydney Bush Walkers, talked about the degradation of Kosciusko and formed his idea for a national park.
+Baldur, besides being a forester, also had a deep regard for the environment and because of his official position would use Marie as his public voice. Myles worked on his proposal for a Snowy-Indi National Park or Primitive Area and displayed his scheme at a public exhibition in Sydney in 1935. The war intervened and in 1943 he was requested by the Lands Department of NSW to develop further his National Parks and Primitive Areas Council scheme for a national park. Kosciusko National Park was declared in 1944.
+----
+====Congratulations!====
+Alex Colley's daughter, Fran, who now lives in Adelaide, has given birth to twins, a boy Alexander Robert and a girl Louisa June. A busy time ahead for Mum and Dad!
+----
+=====Experienced Walker.=====
+by Bill Gamble
+The question, allegedly vexed, with which Confederation is grappling, namely about what cohstitutes an "experienced walker" for media purposes, reported by Barry Wallace in the December meeting notes (January 1993 issue, page 16), may not be without interest, as many members of this Club would claim to be experienced bush walkers of some kind.
+Barry's report reminded me that a beaut little booklet (48 pages put out by the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand in 1978, 6th edition, entitled "Safety in the Mountains") which I carry on extended walks as a memory jog, contains all sorts of practical advice, hints and reminders, including a definition of __Experience__.
+The portion of the booklet on leadership, which states that many accidents occur because the leader is presumed to be more experienced than he or she is, defines experience thus:-
+__Knowledge + Skills + Extensive Practice = Experience.__
+Extensive practice is the most important.
+Instruction courses provide knowledge and skills only, adding that a recognised leader needs not only experience but __also__ a positive disposition and physical fitness.
+I do not know if any of this is going to resolve the Confederation's dilemma, though it may be of interest to those Club members who lead walks or aspire to do so.
+The booklet weighs about 25 grams and is probably still available in a later edition. The duties of a leader to his or her party en route are also succinctly put.
+----
+=====Social Notes For April.=====
+April 7 - Committee Meeting
+April 14 - General Meeting
+April 21 - "A Visit to Mawson's Hut in Antarctica" by John Noble
+April 28 - "Australian Native Plants" - slides and talk by Jill Dark
+----