Ninety nine years ago on Friday 29 July 1921 an important meeting took place at the Launceston Mechanics Institute. Held under the auspices of the newly formed Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania, its object was to push for the establishment of a national park in the vicinity of Cradle Mountain.
A reserve had been proposed for the area in the years leading up to World War One, but during the conflict and its aftermath momentum had been lost. Although marked on the map as ‘proposed scenic reserve’ the area had not been gazetted, and several speculators had taken up land.
In 1920 Launcestonians Dr Ray McClinton, Charles Monds, Alderman Frank Heyward, Frederick Smithies and H J King made several trips to the area. Discussions with their host Gustav Weindorfer at Waldheim Chalet led to a plan to make a concerted effort to have a national scenic reserve gazetted in the high country around Cradle Mountain.
To this end the meeting at the Mechanics Institute was called. Those speaking in favour of the proposal included Mr E T Emmett, Director of the Government Tourist Department, and Joseph Lyons, a future Australian Prime Minister, then a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. Lyons observed that the USA, Canada and many countries smaller than Tasmania had national parks set aside for people to enjoy and to foster tourism. ‘It was simply a matter of getting a number of persons to put backbone into the matter’ he said.
A lantern slide show was screened to illustrate the magnificence of the area. A reporter in attendance wrote ‘the rugged beauty of Cradle Mountain from the surrounding country, and of Crater Lake, with its precipitous sides, rivals America’s best scenery.’
At the conclusion of the evening a special committee comprising Alderman Heyward, Dr McClinton, Fred Smithies, George Perrin, Stephen Spurling and Tas Shields MLC, was formed to continue the crusade. In the months that followed, while Weindorfer wooed politicians at Waldheim and Emmett talked up tourism, the committee championed the cause, taking photographs, holding slide shows, rallying the public and lending support to Weindorfer and Emmett.
Today the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park is at the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, meeting seven out of the ten criteria set down by UNESCO. Only one other place in the world – Mount Taishan in China – qualifies on as many levels. The meeting at the Mechanics Institute was a significant moment in the campaign that led to the establishment of one of Australia’s most celebrated national parks.
[1]
Examiner (Launceston) 29 July 1921, p.4.
[2]
Examiner 30 July 1921, p.8.
[3] Ibid
[4] Weekly Courier 17 February 1921, p.17
