282 



iplace in the enconomy of Nature is of so much importance, and, 

 alas, so little realized by the majority of people. 



Having thus referred at some length to the importance of 

 forests, let me now allude to the subject of 



National Parks. 



As I said at the beginning, they are inter-related, because 

 'each park is, or ought to be to some extent, a forest reserve. 

 But it is more. It is, if properly conducted, a safe refuge (a 

 sanctuary) for our native fauna and flora. As most of you are 

 aware, the fauna and flora of Australia are unique, being to a 

 large extent the living representatives of those bygone ages, 

 the remnants of which are elswhere buried in rocks many hundreds 

 of feet below the surface. May I just mention such creatures as 

 the kangaroo, opossum, the echidna, platypus, the marsupial mole, 

 i;he emu, bower bird, lyre bird, laughing jackass, pelican, and pen- 

 guin. Then, in the order of plants, the gums, acacias, pea-like 

 and heath-like flowers, and the beautiful and curious orchids, etc. 

 Twenty years ago the importance of preserving the indigenous 

 plants and animals was emphasized in a series of interesting ar- 

 ticles written for the Register by one of our then members, the 

 late Mr. A. F. Robin, of whom I shall have more to say later, and 

 who indicated various means by which the preservation might be 

 'effected. Mr. J. G. 0. Tepper, F.L.S., I understand suppBed 

 Mr. Robin with much useful information on the subject. Fore- 

 nmost among the methods advocated was the reservation of large 

 areas as National Parks. "The chief merit," said Mr. Robin," "of 

 such reserves is that they serve the purpose specified in the most 

 natural way by retaining to a great extent the primeval beauty of 

 the country. And the beauty of our land is like that of no other. 

 With the vanishing of our native fauna and flora will pass types 

 not differing but little from those of other parts of the world, 

 but in a large measure essentially distinct." This disappearance 

 is reiterated in the latest book just published on "The Animals 

 of Australia," by A. H. S. Lucas and W. H. Dudley Le Souef, 

 who say "the kangaroo and wallaby are going. Last week there 

 passed through the Sydney market alone the skins of 58,000 

 native bears, over half a million kangaroos and wallabies," and 

 we hear later that opossum slaughter is again in full swing, as 

 much as £15 a week being made from this source. 



Of course, the popular conception of a National Park is a 

 place for recreation, and this idea has grown and developed to 

 such an extent in regard to our own park that when one sees or 

 hears of the thousands who visit it on public holidays, and in lesser 

 numbers, but still considerable, on other days, one wonders where 

 these crowds went before the National Park was available. A 

 people's playground is a very desirable and beneficial undertak- 

 ing, but it was, of course, not the main objective when this Sec- 

 tion laboured to secure this reserve. That objective was the 

 preservation of our native fauna and flora. 



I shall, in the first instance, make a few observations on our 

 own National Park, and then proceed to deal with those of other 

 States. 



The National Parks of South Australia. 



BELAIR. 



This has always had a warm place in the hearts of the members 

 of this Section. It was to that place, then known as Government 



