The South East Forests National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

located in between the Monaro and

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The national park is situated southwest of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. It features high quality old growth

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

forest and remnant patches of

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

History

The park was created in 1997 by the amalgamation of Genoa, Tantawangalo, Bemboka, Yowaka and Coolangubra National Parks, all of which had been gazetted in 1994. Genoa National Park in turn was the result of the amalgamation of Nalbaugh and Nungatta National Parks, which had been established in 1972 and 1973 respectively. Until 1968, much of the inland southeastern corner of New South Wales was rugged forest terrain known as the Wallagaraugh Wilderness, and was vacant crown land. At the time, a scientific committee appointed by the New South Wales state government recommended the area of around be protected as a national park, however the Japanese company Harris-Daishowa sought to log the area for woodchips, and most of the land was categorised as

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

, with only Nalbaugh and Nungatta National Parks declared in what is now South East Forests National Park. Nearby,

Mount Imlay Mount Imlay is a national park in New South Wales (Australia), 387 km south of Sydney, named after the Imlay brothers, who were early pioneers to the district. It is accessed from the Princes Highway, south of Eden, New South Wales. The ...

and

Beowa National Park Beowa National Park, formerly Ben Boyd National Park, is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney. History The park was established in 1971 covering 8,900 hectares (35 sq. mi.) and was originally named after Benjamin Boyd ...

were gazetted. Logging began in October 1969, and continued for 25 years despite increasing opposition. The

Unsworth Unsworth is a village and residential area of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of Unsworth Ward, as of the 2011 census is 9,492. The village sits approximately north of the city of Manchester and ...

Labor State government had proposed an park as a reelection promise in the 1988 state election, but was not reelected. Later, under the Fahey government, the Genoa, Tantawangalo, Bemboka Yowaka and Coolangubra national parks came into existence in 1994. Combined with the adjoining

Coopracambra National Park The Coopracambra National Park is a national park located in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne and south of Canberra, near the town of . Features The northern boundar ...

located in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

across the Black-Allan Line, the South East Forests National Park forms one of the largest contiguous areas of high quality wilderness in south-eastern Australia that spans from in New South Wales to the town of in Victoria.

Environment

The region is known for its variety of

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

species, and wet

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

(eucalypt) forests cover 42% of the park. Temperate rainforest is found in sheltered areas, and subalpine bogs at high elevations. A great variety of animals are found within the park boundaries, including threatened species such as the

smoky mouse The smoky mouse (''Pseudomys fumeus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae native to southeastern Australia. It was first described in 1934 and its species name is Latin for "smoky". As its name suggests, it is a grey-furred mouse, dark ...

(''Pseudomys fumeus''), and other species which are vulnerable in New South Wales such as the

olive whistler The olive whistler (''Pachycephala olivacea'') or olivaceous whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, the whistlers, that is native to southeastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies Five subspecies are recog ...

('' Pachycephala olivacea''). The park forms part of the

Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area The Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area comprises a strip of coastal and subcoastal land stretching along the southern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. It is an important site for swift parrots. Description The 2100 km2 Im ...

, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith- Warialda ...

Name

The legal name of the park is "South East Forest National Park", as prescribed in the Act of the New South Wales Parliament establishing the park. Common usage and official usage typically pluralises "Forests", which is used in official signage for the Park.

References

External links

{{authority control National parks of New South Wales South Coast (New South Wales) Protected areas established in 1997 1997 establishments in Australia Important Bird Areas of New South Wales

History

Environment

Name

See also

References

External links