82 
Ciinninghamia 
Vol. 1 (1): 1981 
hundred people) existed in the area above the tunnel during the construction of the 
railway in the 1880’s. Several major roads pass through the study area: the Pacific 
Highway from Calga to Kariong and Gosford, and a main road from Kariong to 
Woy Woy. The Sydney to Newcastle Freeway forms the western boundary of the 
Park. A number of fire trails and walking tracks have been constructed within the 
Park. 
In the cast, the coastal flats along Brisbane Water have been almost entirely 
developed for residential purposes and both north and south of Gosford urbanization 
is extensive. Kariong, Calga and Somersby are small settlements on the boundaries 
of the Park. The northern catchment of Mooney Mooney Creek is bounded to the 
west and east by farms and quarries. Since many creeks originate in this area the 
catchments have been and will continue to be affected by this type of land use. Two 
dams have been built on Mooney Mooney Creek, as part of Gosford’s water supply. 
Strickland State Forest was the site of the first Australian Forestry School but 
it only lasted a few years, until the National Forestry School was set up in Canberra 
in 1925. The trees of Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya pine) planted in the Forest are 
remnants of an arboretum. The forest is now being managed as a reserve, with no 
logging. 
METHODS 
Colour aerial photography (New South Wales Dept, of Lands, 1976, Gosford- 
Newcastle Project Misc. 971. Scale 1:25 000) was used for the initial recognition 
of plant community boundaries. Field work was carried out to check the com¬ 
munity boundaries and to determine the composition and variation in communities 
recognized. Vehicle traverses were made along almost all vehicular tracks in the 
area. Additional traverses were made on foot. 
Plant communities were classified on structure and floristics. Initial classification 
was by structure (according to Specht, 1970), though the gradational nature of much 
of the vegetation made clearcut distinctions impossible. Some communities therefore 
include considerable variation in structure (e.g. low open-forest to open-forest). 
Where possible further subdivisions were made, based on floristic differences, which 
were generally associated with particular habitats. A structural floristic distinction 
based on a moist or dry shrub understorey was also used. A moist understorey 
is one with a strong species component of mesophyllous ‘rainforest type’ shrubs such 
as Backhousia, Aanena and Rapanea. A dry understorey is dominated by sclero- 
phyllous shrubs such as Oxylobium, Pultenaea and Dillwynia. There is a gradation 
between the two types. 
Field work involved recording lists of species for each of the communities, with 
observations on understorey structure, dominant species and effects of fire, dis¬ 
turbance, soil type and aspect. 
The vegetation map was compiled using the New South Wales Department of 
Lands 1:25 000 topographic map series sheets Broken Bay, Cowan, Gosford, Gunder- 
man. Mangrove and Wyong. This map has been reduced to a scale of 1:50 000 for 
publication. 
THE VEGETATION 
The types of vegetation present have been discussed in general terms in Pidgeon 
(1937, 1938, 1940, 1941). Fifteen plant communities have been recognized. The 
most common structural formations are low open-forest, low open-woodland and 
open-woodland with either dry or moist shrub understorey. These extend over the 
ridges and slopes on Hawkesbury Sandstone, which covers much of the total area. 
Open-forest communities are found on cooler aspects and on Narrabeen Group 
outcrops along the watercourses. More restricted communities include sedgelands 
and open-scrub in higher, poorly-drained locations, closed-forest with rainforest 
