FOREWORD 
Since 1969 the National Herbarium of New South Wales has been involved in 
mapping and describing the vegetation of New South Wales as part of its ecological 
programme. It has also carried out more localized vegetation surveys and detailed 
studies of particular plant communities for use in environmental enquiries, impact 
studies and conservation-value assessments. The results of these and future studies 
will be published in Cunninghamia. 
Both the number and the cost of scientific journals have increased rapidly in 
recent years and the decision to start yet another may be questioned. There is a 
real need in Australia, however, to provide avenues for the publication of vegetation 
maps and their accompanying memoirs, and of baseline ecological data (including 
community descriptions and floristic lists) of value for land use and environmental 
impact studies. Because of the particular field of responsibility of the National 
Herbarium of New South Wales, papers dealing with New South Wales, or with 
comparative data from New South Wales and neighbouring States will be given 
preference over those dealing exclusively with other Australian States, or other 
countries; the latter will be considered on the basis of their relevance to New South 
Wales. 
The first issue of Cunninghamia includes research papers and articles covering 
several aspects of ecology in New South Wales. Professor Noel Beadle, a pioneer 
in vegetation mapping of the State, kindly accepted our invitation to write an intro¬ 
ductory article and has provided us with an interesting and lively account of an early 
trip through western New South Wales. The other papers indicate something of 
the range of investigations and data which Cunninghamia will report. In addition, 
some issues will comprise exclusively descriptive memoirs accompanying vegetation 
maps of substantial parts of New South Wales. 
The journal is named in honour of Allan Cunningham (1791-1839), Colonial 
Botanist and Superintendent of the Sydney Botanic Garden from March to December 
1837. As Botanical Collector for the Royal Gardens at Kew, he accompanied 
Lieutenant John Oxley and Captain Phillip King on their early expeditions (1817— 
1822) and later himself explored northern parts of New South Wales and the Darling 
Downs of Queensland (1823-29). He collected widely in New South Wales and 
many other parts of Australia; his observations on topography, geology, soils, 
drainage patterns and other environmental factors, and comments on plant distribution 
patterns are amongst the earliest ecological information available in the country. 
L. A. S. Johnson, J. M. Powell, 
Director. Editor. 
