Alex 100... His Colong Life - by Pat Thompson

When Alex Colley joined The Colong Committee around the time of its inception in 1968, he had already been an active conservationist for more than thirty years. At a time in life when most of us begin to slow down Alex was looking forward to his approaching retirement, so that he might have more time to dedicate to his passion for not only enjoying more of the bush, but to having more free time to protect it.

They were heady days. Our beloved southern Blue Mountains were threatened by the world’s biggest cement company with their advanced plans to commence open cut mining. Then there was NSW Forestry Commission that was undertaking wholesale clearing of native forests to replace them with exotic pines. We were all busy. Alex was still working with the Department of Planning, but in his indefatigable way he found time to work solidly for the cause. his experience as a professional economist was invaluable but it was his willingness to take on the simple task of printing The Colong Bulletin on an old Gestetner Press that impressed me most.
Well we had Saved Colong and the Boyd Plateau by 1975, and it might have been that we all packed up and went home, but this was not to be. It was Alex among others, who realised the battle never, ends. Having received a letter from Russ Maslen about impending rainforest destruction on the Border Ranges, Alex traveled to inspect the area and returning to Sydney he helped persuade the Committee that the State’s remnant rainforest areas must be saved.

From experience we have learnt that it usually takes 10 years to win a major conservation
campaign. The Colong Committee, which by this time Alex had become Secretary, had
its work cut out. Other Sydney societies joined the struggle and by the mid-1980’s much of the rainforest was finally protected and inscribed as World heritage. Alex by now well into retirement was playing a key role. The extent of his involvement being recognised by his being
awarded an Order of Australia for his services to conservation. He was one of the earliest conservationists to be honoured in this way.

With the Rainforest battle behind us, Alex saw that there was still much work to be done. He was editing the Colong Bulletin, which he has continued to edit up until the present time. He was the major donor to our Committee as well. This extraordinary generosity had placed the The Colong Committee on a sound financial footing, which in turn allowed us to commence employing professional staff. With an eye to the future Alex proposed that our action Committee could do with a name change that he believed would give it added prestige and
help attract more donors, so we became The Colong Foundation for Wilderness.

This was a “golden age” for nature conservation. At long last the vision of Myles Dunphy began
to take shape. National Parks with marvellous wilderness was being reserved, especially under
the Governments led by neville Wran and later Bob Carr. It was Bob Carr, as then environment
Minister, who was to introduce The Wilderness Act. It was for the politicians to claim the glory,
but in reality, none of this could have taken place with out the commitment and unflagging
efforts of a dedicated few, and there was no one more important in the movement than the tireless working Alex.

Another project that was dear to Alex was the proposal to make the Blue Mountains, World
Heritage. Let it not be forgotten that Alex was the instigator of this proposal and it was he who
pressed Dr Geoff Mosley to prepare a publication to make out the case. Once again it took 10
years to achieve. At times it looked like it would not happen, but Alex never gave up hope. Finally, when the announcement came the Sydney Morning Herald gave prominence on this
occasion to Alex for his unstinting efforts in achieving this outcome. It was then followed with Bob Carr, now as Premier, offering to pay for the publication of a book, Blue Mountains
World Heritage, written by Alex Colley and combining the photos of Henry Gold.

This is a very potted and abbreviated account of Alex’s great contribution. If I was asked what was the most important - I would probably say, his example and gentle companionship that he has shared with those of us who have been privileged to work and walk with him down through the years.

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Seeing the Gardens by Ian Brown

(This article is based on a report on the recreational and tourism potential of the Gardens of Stone Stage 2 park proposal, jointly commissioned by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society and the Colong Foundation.)

The Gardens of Stone Park Proposal Stage Two (GoS2) was launched by the Colong Foundation in 2005. It covers an area of 40 000 hectares of sandstone escarpment and plateau in the western Blue Mountains , on the western side of the existing Greater Blue Mountains World heritage area park system. The proposal takes in parts of the upper Capertee Valley , Coxs River headwaters, Turon River headwaters, Newnes Plateau and Blue Mountains western escarpment.

The objective of the GoS2 proposal is to achieve better management and protection of this area's many important natural and cultural values. The GoS2 park system is proposed to be a mixture of state conservation area (SCA) and national park tenure. SCA status allows underground coal mining to continue.

The GoS2 area's outstanding conservation values have been well documented in the Colong Foundation's The Gardens of Stone Park Proposal Stage Two (October 2005). There is no doubt that the area's scenery and heritage can also offer a diverse range of low impact recreational activities attracting significant visitor numbers, thus expanding the local tourism industry. One purpose of the current study was to show that GoS2 can deliver significant economic benefits to local communities.

An under-valued landscape

GoS2 offers the part of the Gardens of Stone landscape that is easily accessed and enjoyed by the general public. The nearby parks offer similar features and experiences, but they tend to be accessible to visitors with bush skills due to more rugged topography. GoS2, which is largely of more subdued terrain, brings the unique landscape of the Gardens of Stone to the majority of people.

This article will focus on the northern sectors that make up most of the proposal and which have the greatest potential for improved conservation and recreation management. These include the Airly-Genowlan mesas and Ben Bullen, Wolgan and Newnes State Forests. The other main sector, the western escarpment Crown reserves extending from hassans Walls at Lithgow to Medlow Bath, is already well developed for recreation with increasingly effective management by local councils.

But the existing management regime over Airly-Genowlan and the state forests can best be characterised as lassez faire in relation to recreation and relatively passive in relation to conservation. The dominant land uses of coal mining and forestry have led to a devaluation of the important natural and cultural heritage values of the area in the public mind. Off-road vehicle activity, particularly trail bike riding, has been allowed by neglect to become the dominant recreation, even though most of it is illegal (unregistered vehicles, unlicensed riders and creating new tracks). This has further alienated less damaging activities such as walking, which mainly takes place on the fringes of the plateaus.

The GoS2 area has not yet been presented or promoted to the public as a great place to enjoy a remarkable landscape. Hence, the strong potential of the GoS2 area for low-impact, nature-based recreation and tourism has been under recognised and under-utilised.

A better future

This can be changed by implementing the GoS2 reserve proposal and advancing a recreation and tourism plan for the area. With the right presentation and promotion, environmentally benign recreational use of GoS2 can be expanded dramatically.

The natural and cultural attractions are many, varied, widespread across the area and highly appealing. Some features (e.g. Lost City , Carne Creek gorge, new Hartley mining heritage, Wolgan Valley Rail Trail) have the potential to become iconic attractions. A number of easy wildlife viewing opportunities exist and several Aboriginal heritage experiences are available.

This alternative vision presents an existing network of touring routes for motor vehicles and bicycles, accessing a range of potential camping areas, bushwalks, lookouts and cultural and wildlife experiences. Most of the proposed places of interest can be linked into a ‘Gardens of Stone Grand Tour' which could be taken over one to three days by 4WD vehicle or mountain bike.

Although providing for these recreational activities will have some localised impacts, a number of already-disturbed sites can be utilised. Furthermore, the likely impacts are minor when compared to the existing and future impacts of the current recreational regime.

The current controversy over government plans to expand private tourism development within national parks has been taken into account, and the GoS2 plan seeks to demonstrate how low-key, low impact visitor facilities can provide the backbone of local tourism without damaging the parks with accommodation and similar developments.

The proposed network of visitor experiences would provide the basis of a whole new nature-based marketing initiative for the western Blue Mountains, promoting the Gardens of Stone as the very distinctive other side of the Blue Mountains. Just two hours from Sydney and with all the services any visitor could need in adjacent towns, GoS2 could become an iconic venue for campers, bushwalkers, tourers, cyclists and nature and heritage enthusiasts. The suite of opportunities creates a sound basis for commercial tourism enterprises such as guided tours and local off-park accommodation.

Such a future could realise significant economic opportunities through visitor expenditure, and for both specialised services (tours, eco-accommodation) and more general commercial activity in the surrounding area.

Economic benefits

Estimating tourism to protected areas and resultant economic benefits can be difficult. Based on comparable statistics and studies from NSW, Queensland and Victoria, a conservative upper estimate for tourism to a GoS2 park with the proposed facilities is 50,000 visitors a year. This level of tourism activity has been estimated to produce substantial net benefits to the community in the order of $28M to $38M, depending on the discount rate used. These net benefits may represent a minimum value since management costs savings to Forests NSW have not been able to be included and the levels of timber production and royalties assumed may be conservatively high.

The regional economic benefit produced by 50,000 visitors to GoS2 is estimated as a direct spend of around $3M to $4M. Over and above this would be expenditure on park management, and the expansion of commercial tour activities and the establishment of new visitor accommodation in nearby areas which is likely to follow.

The case for protecting the GoS2 lands for both conservation and direct community benefit is strong. It is now up to the NSW Government to do it.

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