Dry Tropics Biodiversity Group Inc.
(inform, educate, enthuse, implement)
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Dry Tropics Biodiversity Group Inc. (inform, educate, enthuse, implement) |
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In late 1996 the Townsville Branch was asked to host the 1998 Biennial Conference. A request that the members of the Branch accepted with pleasure. The previous Conference in Townsville was in 1984, and while there are some current members who attended on that occasion, including the President of the time, the majority had not hosted, or even attended, such a conference. The members of the Townsville branch were enthusiastic about the conference and keen to show the participants the variety of vegetation in the Townsville/Thuringowa area.
Townsville is normally described as a dry tropical city and the vegetation type usually observed is open woodland. In actuality Townsville is at the interface of the wet and dry tropics and the area comprises a wide variety of topography and soils. The combination of these lead to many differing and distinct vegetation types. Included in this area is part of the wet tropics, some very rugged ranges and mountains, extensive littoral and mangrove areas, open and closed forests, and vine thickets. The Conference provided an ideal opportunity to show these areas to their best advantage.
A number of day trips were organised to these different areas and each day had a distinct theme. In order to set the scene and provide information to the participants, the nightly lectures were designed to explain the area and vegetation to be visited on the next day. Extensive plant lists, with over 2,000 species described, grouped by families and also in alphabetical order per location (hot spots list), were prepared and made available to Conference attendees. The Conference provided the impetus for the completion of this list, but it would not have been possible without the expertise of Russell Cumming and the enthusiasm of Doug Silke. Several excellent publications by Associate Professor Betsy Jackes, on the Burra Range and Paluma, were also provided.
On registration, guests were given a carry bag with the plant list, Conference book, writing pads, various other essentials, and the absolutely vital tea/coffee mug. After being shown to, and settling into their accommodation, the preliminary socialising, assisted by the happy hour, was the next step. This was a rare opportunity to meet with members from other branches and enjoy their company. Geoff Goadby, the Chairman of the Queensland Region, officially opened the Conference on Sunday night. This was followed by the first lecture. It was delivered by Russell Cumming and, enhanced with many of his personal slides, brilliantly portrayed the variety of vegetation in the Townsville/Thuringowa area.
The day trips commenced on Monday with the Many Peaks range and Bald Rock areas, near Pallarenda. These areas illustrate closed forest, open sedgeland, mangroves, scrubland and saltpans. The walks, as others on the succeeding days, were allocated considerable time for their completion. However, if they proved too difficult for some people to complete, participants were encouraged to do as much as they wished to. The Branch was fortunate to have a numbers of members who acted as guides and had studied the plants in particular locations. Routes were marked so people could navigate around and please themselves as to what they felt comfortable with. The organisers wanted participants to enjoy themselves, within their own limits, rather than be bound by requirements imposed upon them.
The rest of the day was comprised of a guided tour of the Palmetum (with thanks to the Friends of the Palmetum), an official welcome by the Mayors of Townsville and Thuringowa, and a visit to the Cape York collection in Anderson Park. That evening we had the pleasure of Betsy Jackes delivering the Bill Tulloch Memorial Lecture.
Tuesday involved a trip to the Mt Spec National Park, specifically Paluma. The trip to that village illustrates the gradation from open forest to full-on rainforest with the increase in altitude and rainfall. Betsy's book is invaluable for this area. Many people noted the distinctly cool temperatures(we did warn them) but enjoyed the considerable freedom of the day. They could do as they pleased as long as they were back in time for the bus and lunch. That night's lecture was on "Weeds, the Silent Invaders", courtesy of Greg Calvert. This provided a different perspective on the environment which was reinforced to participants on the Burra Range trip at the Tropical Weeds Research Centre.
Wednesday provided quite different areas to view. The Alligator Creek area is part of the large Cape Bowling Green National Park. Although some plants here are common around Townsville, eg the River She-oak open forest in riparian habitats and the open woodland, 40% of the listed plants for this area are not present at the other hot spots visited. In the small area shown there is great diversity. After the lunch kindly provided at Keith and Barbara Townsends', the group, thankfully using the buses, made the long climb to the top of Mt Stuart to enjoy the panoramic view. Below its steep cliffs, and stretching almost to the suburbs, is the largest continuous area of closed forest around Townsville. Members also pointed out Eucalyptus paedoglauca, endemic to this small area and listed as vulnerable. Then it was back to the Grammar School for the Branch meeting.
The Wednesday night lecture was on "Gardening for Butterflies" and presented by Peter Valentine. Peter is an expert on the subject and his garden was visited the next morning. After a stop at the Mundingburra school revegetation project the group visited John (Branch Chairman) and Margaret Dunn's garden at Black River. Their garden, which has many local native species, is in the Australia wide Open Garden Scheme and obviously the product of much labour. Then it was onto the last hot spot of the Conference. Saunders Beach is an example of littoral closed forest and is the only one of its type in Townsville. Given this, it still has many of the more common species in the area.
The final lecture. 'Glimpses of Green and Gold' was presented by Allan Carr and the subject was the history of Townsville. This was followed by generous thanks to the Townsville Branch by Geoff Goadby on behalf of the participants. This marked the formal end of the Conference. However, for those participating in the Burra Range camping trip, and for all others, a series of slides on the Burra were shown.
About 35 people, plus the Sydney group visited the Burra. It is situated300km west of Townsville and is the southernmost edge of the White Mountains National Park. While the area has been heavily disturbed it is a favoured destination for persons wishing to see native flowering plants. It boastsa wide variety of eucalypts, acacias, jacksonias, and many grevilleas including G. sessilis, G. decora and G. glauca. Fortunately, the last two wet seasons at the Burra have been good and July was an excellent time to visit the site.
In summary, the Townsville Branch appreciated the opportunity to host the Conference and show the plant diversity around Townsville which is not normally obvious to visitors.