The Tarkine: Too Precious To Lose

THE TARKINE

From Senator
Christine Milne
2 — 3
I dream of restoring a virtual Gondwanaland through a network of protected
places. My time as Global Vice President of the International Union of the
Conservation of Nature gave me the confidence to know this dream is possible.
During the 2004 World Parks Congress in Durban I ventured to the wild coast
of South Africa and felt immediately at home amongst what seemed familiar
vegetation, in spite of never having been there before. Similarly, in South
America and New Caledonia that same sense of belonging and instinctive
knowing seeped into my being. Imagine the fantastic opportunity we now have
to study the evolutionary processes from a common origin of place and species
and to celebrate both similarity and difference.
It is not beyond us in 2014. Technology makes it possible to demonstrate the
links between these landscapes. But it won’t happen unless we have a shared
vision and the political and community will to protect and nurture what
remains.
Tasmania is “my blood’s country”. i This beautiful, wild, remote island on the
edge of the world, is globally recognised with a World Heritage listing for its
wilderness, its tall forests and its Aboriginal cultural heritage.
But it is the Tarkine, the wild and beautiful north-west of Australia’s island
state, that links my home to places as near as Western Australia and as far flung
as Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, New Caledonia, South Africa, Madagascar,
the Arabian Peninsula and India. We share the inspiring, life affirming
evolutionary story of Gondwanaland.
I was born in north-west Tasmania and grew up there. The cleanest air in the
world was what I breathed, and the small towns along the coast, dotted between
rich patchworks of farmland, forests and mountains, was my life’s experience. It
wasn’t until I began travelling overseas that I realised my landscape connected
me with so much of our shared humanity.
We must save the Tarkine and make it a national park. It is the missing link
in restoring Gondwanaland. Most of the other outstanding examples of
Gondwanan heritage are already protected; we need to place the Tarkine into
that global story.
Of itself it is a place of exquisite beauty, of magnificent karst systems, of aweinspiring
myrtle beech forest, of wild coast. It is home to the world’s largest
carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil. Its skies are home to the soaring
wedge-tailed eagle. Its forest floors are decorated with fungi found in few other
places in the world. It is rich in cultural heritage and continued significance for
Tasmania’s first people; on its coast you can find their middens and rock art. It
stands alone as an example of nature’s wonder but as part of a bigger story, as
the last piece in the global restoration of Gondwanaland, it is compelling.
I will not rest until the Tarkine is protected. So little of the natural world
remains intact. The ravages of habitat loss, inappropriate development, invasive
species and the overriding impact of climate change make the task urgent and
overwhelming.
Now is the time. Please help us to protect the Tarkine as a national park and
let’s celebrate our common humanity and restore a virtual Gondwanaland.
Photo above: Senator Christine Milne in the Tarkine, Rob Blakers;
Opposite: Giant Myrtles, Mt Lindsay Minesite, Rob Blakers.

The Tarkine region is a vast, complex mosaic of ecosystems
covering nearly 500,000 hectares, with a heart of cool temperate
rainforest that has its origins in the great supercontinent of
Gondwanaland.
A last wild place
This ancient rainforest core is threaded with tannin-stained
rivers, wet gullies and unique karst systems; and surrounded
by mixed forests, expansive buttongrass plains and flowering
coastal heaths. A rugged coast of sweeping beaches, dotted with
towering sand dunes and extraordinary Aboriginal archaeological
remains forms its western boundary.
Such is the immensity and diversity of the Tarkine that it often
defies description, but there is little doubt about its impact on
those who experience it.
It is home to more than 60 rare and threatened species; and
a global hotspot for endemic plants, invertebrates, reptiles,
amphibians, birds and mammals. It contains 2000-year-old trees
and other species that have not changed for tens of millions of
years. Its fungi and lichen species are so extraordinarily diverse
that scientists estimate it will take decades to completely
describe them.
The Tarkine is one of the world’s last great wild places. While
not a wilderness in the sense of being uninhabited, its expansive
vistas of uninterrupted rainforest and open plains, coupled with
its remoteness and grandeur, speak to our universal longing to
experience wild places free of modern human impacts.
The Tarkine’s temperate rainforest, in particular, is a wellspring
of spiritual inspiration, universally recognised for its beauty and
link to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland.
As Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick writes, “the forests
[of the Tarkine] have a harmony, complexity, detail and lushness
[that is] irresistible … and emotionally overwhelming”. ii
When you walk in these forests you are transported to a world
that once was, and yet also still endures.
Photos clockwise from top left: Tarkine, Dan Broun; Mt Lindsay, Dan Broun; Mt Lindsay, Dan Broun.

Photo: Tarkine, Dan Broun.
Such is the immensity and diversity of the
Tarkine that it often defies description,
but there is little doubt about its impact
on those who experience it.

Living Gondwanan link
Photo: Tarkine, Luke O’Brien.
While tropical rainforests have received
much conservation attention in recent years,
temperate ecosystems that have borne the brunt
of human development in recent centuries are
not only severely cleared and degraded but also
poorly reserved and protected.
The heart of the Tarkine is a stronghold of
primal, cool temperate rainforest spanning
nearly 200,000 hectares. It is the largest tract
of intact temperate rainforest in the southern
hemisphere and the second largest in the world.
This ancient ecosystem, remarkable for its
evolutionary resilience over more than 100
million years, is characterised by species that are
the living remnants of the great forests of the
southern supercontinent of Gondwanaland.
Towering myrtle beech trees, from the iconic
Gondwanan Nothofagus genus, create a
cathedral-like callidendrous rainforest. Other
signature Gondwanan species include tree ferns
that evoke the age of the dinosaurs, Tasmanian
leatherwoods iii , famous for their honey, and
speciality timber species including sassafras,
huon pine, celery-top pine and king billy pine iv
are relatively abundant through the Tarkine
rainforest lower canopy and understory.
The similarity of the Tarkine rainforest to other
Gondwanan forest remnants on the Australian
mainland, in New Zealand, South America,
New Guinea, New Caledonia and the fossil
record of Antarctica, provide a powerful living
illustration of continental drift and its influence
on species distribution.
In their overview of the global significance
of the temperate rainforests of Australasia,
Kirkpatrick and DellaSala note the presence
of unusually large flora and fauna species in the
Tarkine, invoking the stature and grandeur of
Gondwanaland’s original ecosystems. v
Giant tree ferns form part of the understory,
and in places the world’s largest flowering
plant in the world, mountain ash, soar up to
100 metres. vi The Tasmanian sub-species of
the wedge-tailed eagle, vii considerably larger
than its mainland Australian cousin, is an apex
predator, along with the world’s largest extant
carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil. viii
The Tasmanian giant freshwater lobster, ix the
world’s largest freshwater invertebrate, inhabits
the Tarkine’s streams. x
The rich fossil deposits in the Tarkine provide
an invaluable opportunity to trace the history
and evolution of the forests, and the processes
that shaped them, and also record a diversity of
species now lost.

Tarkine’s first people
6
— 7
The connection of Tasmania’s Aboriginal
people to the Tarkine is reflected in its name.
The region is named for the Tarkinener clan,
who along with the Peerapper, Manegin, and
Peternidic clans lived in north-west Tasmania
for thousands of years before the arrival of
Europeans.
Photo: Tarkine, Dan Broun
The known archaeological record of the
Tarkine, mainly along the wild west coast,
is incredibly rich, and has been described
as “one of the world’s great archaeological
regions”. xi Seal hunting, hut depressions, large
shell middens, artefact scatters, petroglyphs
and quarries for stone tools and ceremonial
ochre are well-documented, and all speak
of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people’s deep
cultural connection with the land and sea.
Other evidence points to a strong interest
in astronomy, the active trade of quarried
materials and valuables across the island, and a
deep spiritual life.
For the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, the
Tarkine is not a wilderness or a museum, but
a landscape shaped by their ancestors over
thousands of years and a living connection
between past and present. The rich cultural
heritage of the Tarkine offers a unique
opportunity to showcase an extraordinary and
sophisticated culture that has lasted tens of
thousands of years. The enduring connection of
the Tasmanian Aboriginal people to the region
is an opportunity for shared collaboration in the
Tarkine’s future management.

Photo: Mt Livingstone and the Meredith Range, Rob Blakers.

North-west and
West Tasmania
The communities in north-west and west Tasmania are in large
part defined by their historic and ongoing interactions with
the Tarkine. European colonists described both their efforts to
conquer a region they viewed as inhospitable and their awe at its
natural beauty and grandeur.
Extraction of the Tarkine’s natural resources began in the 19th
century and has remained an enduring focus of the regional
economy, principally consisting of logging, pastoralism and
mining. Governments have largely supported these activities as
the principal source of local income and jobs, a view not always
in accord with the local community and emerging opportunities.
In fact, the combination of wresting a livelihood from a land
remote from government attention while appreciating the
Tarkine’s spectacular natural landscapes has forged a unique
community character. Local historian CJ Binks wrote:
There was a recognition from the beginning that west coasters were
a people apart, who had to fight for whatever they needed in a world
which tended very easily to forget their existence. They joined battle
with unresponsive governments just as persistently as they battled
against an unresponsive country to establish a place for themselves
and carve an industry and society out of a wilderness. From this
fight they emerged with a strong political and social identity. xii
From the earliest days Europeans mimicked the local Aboriginal
population’s reliance on the Tarkine’s abundant wild foods.
A love of the region’s seafood, bush meat and leatherwood honey
is an integral part of the local culture.
The Tarkine has also remained a source of local spiritual and
artistic inspiration and recreation for residents and visitors alike.
The long-established practice of using basic coastal shacks for
recreational fishing and holidaying continues today. Four wheeldriving,
hiking, freshwater fishing and surfing the spectacularly
rough coastal seas are beloved traditions that celebrate the
wildness and connection between the Tarkine and its community.
8 — 9
Photos from top: Tarkine, Luke O’Brien; Tarkine Coast, Rob Blakers.

Globally recognised
significance
The combination of vast tracts of
intact temperate rainforest and other
ecosystems; evidence of ecological and
evolutionary processes; Aboriginal
archaeological remains and heritage;
and rare biodiversity and geodiversity
have seen the Tarkine repeatedly
recognised as a region of outstanding
national and global significance.
Efforts to have part of the Tarkine
conserved in a national park began in
the 1960s. Since 1989, the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature
has recommended that the Tarkine be
nominated for World Heritage listing,
to be added to the existing Tasmanian
Wilderness World Heritage Area. xiii
The region was nominated for
inclusion on Australia’s National
Heritage List in 2004, and in 2010
the Australian Heritage Council
concluded that 433,000 hectares met
the criteria. However the federal
and state governments rejected the
recommendation, and instead in 2012
the Australian Government listed
a strip of the Tarkine’s coast on the
National Heritage List in recognition
of its outstanding Aboriginal
archaeological values. The rest remains
largely unprotected from logging and
mining
In the same year, an expert heritage
verification of several Tasmanian
regions found, “the Tarkine emerged as
an area of outstanding heritage value of
World Heritage significance”. xiv
Conservationists, scientists and
the broader community are still
campaigning for the protection of
the Tarkine as a national park. It is
extraordinary that the Tarkine has
survived intact to this day, and presents
a remarkable opportunity to create a
protected area of national and
global value.
Photos from top: White-fronted chat, Dan Broun; Mt Lindsay buttongrass, Dan Broun.

Photo: Tarkine dunes, Rob Blakers.
The Tarkine is universally recognised
for its beauty and link to the ancient
supercontinent of Gondwanaland.

12 — 13
Choice and opportunity
Today, the north-west Tasmanian economy
is in a state of profound transformation.
The collapse of the woodchipping industry,
transience of local mining operations and
persistently poor returns for farmers producing
bulk commodities, are sparking a new wave of
innovation and resilience.
The north-west’s prime agricultural land is
being repurposed towards production of high
quality, low-volume produce with associated
fine dining experiences. There is increased
marketing of and a premium placed on wild
foods strongly associated with the Tarkine,
including seafood and leatherwood honey. New
wine, beer and whisky producers are beginning
to thrive, and the region is experiencing
increased tourism numbers as a result of
marketing which boasts “the cleanest air in the
world” and authentic wilderness experiences.
The potential in showcasing the heritage of the
Tasmanian Aboriginal community, one
of the oldest continuous cultures in the world,
remains largely unrealised.
Protection and promotion of the Tarkine as a
national park could provide jobs in a sustainable
and prosperous tourism sector, and help
underpin the growing premium Tasmanian
food and beverage brand. Creation of a Tarkine
National Park is the key to realising this positive
transformation of the north-west Tasmanian
economy.
Photo: Wolfgang Glowacki.

References
i
J Wright, 2007, “South of My Days”, The Poetry of Judith Wright.
ii
J Kirkpatrick, 2012, “Tarkine a question of values: mines versus
ancient rainforest”, The Conversation, viewed 24 October 2014
.
iii
Eucryphia lucida.
iv
v
Atherosperma moschatum, Lagarostrobos franklinii, Phyllocladus
asplenifolius and Athrotaxis selaginoide respectively.
J Kirkpatrick & DA DellaSala, Temperate rainforests of
Australasia, Temperate and boreal rainforests of the world: ecology
and conservation, Island Press, Washington DC, 2011, pp 195--212.
vi
vii
Eucalyptus regnans.
Aquila audax fleayi.
viii
Sarcophilus harrisii.
ix
Astacopsis gouldi.
x
J Kirkpatrick & DA DellaSala, op.cit.
xi
T Richards & P Sutherland-Richards, “Archaeology”, in DN
Harries (ed), Forgotten Wilderness: North-West Tasmania, A report
to the Australian Heritage Commission, Tasmanian Conservation
Trust, Hobart, 1992.
xii
CJ Binks, Explorers of Western Tasmania, Launceston, 1989.
xiii
G Mosely, 2013, “Australia’s world heritage nominations:
what are our missing icons and what can be done to resume
progress?”, Keeping the outstanding exceptional: the future of
World Heritage in Australia, Australian Committee of the IUCN,
viewed 24 October 2014 http://aciucn.org.au/wp-content/
uploads/2013/08/35_Mosley2.pdf .
xiv
P Hitchcock, An assessment and verification of the ‘National and
World Heritage Values and significance of Tasmania’s native forest
estate with particular reference to the area of Tasmanian forest
identified by ENGOs as being of High Conservation Value’, Report
to the Independent Verification Group for the Tasmanian
Forests Intergovernmental Agreement 2011, Canberra, 2012.
This publication would not have been possible without
the generous donation of work from the following
photographers: Rob Blakers, Dan Broun,
Wolfgang Glowacki and Luke O’Brien.
Photos clockwise from top: Mt Lindsay, Tarkine, Mt Lindsay, Astacopsis gouldii giant freshwater lobster, Dan Broun.
Photo opposite: Norfolk Range, Rob Blakers.
Printed by Tuggeranong Officeworks, 215 Scollay St, Greenway ACT 2900.
Authorised by C. Milne, L1 Murray St Pier, Hobart TAS 7000.

Find out more about the Tarkine at
http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/tarkine
Contact Senator Christine Milne
facebook.com/Senator.Christine.Milne | twitter @senatormilne
E. Senator.Milne@aph.gov.au | A. L1 Murray St Pier, Hobart, TAS
T. +613 6224 8899
Cover photos: Front - Mt Livingstone and the Meredith Range, Rob Blakers; Back - Ventura Falls, Mt Lindsay Minesite, Rob Blakers.