‘Natural beauty and grandeur’
1879: Australia’s first national park created — (now Royal) National Park, Sydney
‘Natural beauty and grandeur’
1879: Australia’s first national park created — (now Royal) National Park, Sydney
Photo: Alex Proimos, CC BY-NC 2.0
In a snapshot
Australia’s first national park, now known as Royal National Park, was created in 1879 just south of Sydney. It was the second national park in the world. National parks were originally created to help solve public health concerns in industrial cities, such as overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. Today’s national parks often focus more on environmental conservation. Australia now has more than 500 national parks covering 28 million hectares (3.6 per cent of Australia).
Can you find out?
1. What were the main reasons that Australia’s first national park was created in 1879?
2. Why were people who lived in cities drawn to national parks?
3. What did a growing number of people such as Myles Dunphy begin to do in national parks?
Why did Australia need national parks?
From 1788 it took 70 years for Australia’s population to reach one million people. It took only 19 years after this to reach two million. This was partly because of industrialisation which created overcrowded and unhealthy conditions in large cities such as Sydney. Roads and sewers could not be built quickly enough to meet the needs of the city’s growing population, which had grown to 225,000 people by 1881.
Research task
Use Google Maps to find the national park closest to where you live. When was it created and why? Have you been to this national park?
Sydney’s population saw huge changes because of the discovery of gold as well as immigration. The population boom led to many problems, including housing being overcrowded and children being abandoned. These problems were made worse by a variety of epidemics, especially the scarlet fever outbreak in the 1870s.
Parks were seen as a way of fixing some of these problems. People who argued for parks believed that cities with polluted air and dirty water were bad for people’s physical health, and even their morals. The idea that nature could be good for people’s health, argued by some ‘Romantics’, was a key argument for creating national parks.
Australia’s first national park was created on 26 April 1879 and is located on the southern side of the Georges River, about an hour south of Sydney. It was later named the Royal National Park after the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.
‘A toil-worn citizen will be able to recreate himself amid scenes of natural beauty and grandeur.’
Letter to the editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 April 1879
What did people think of national parks?
When the National Park in Sydney was first created it was thought of as a ‘wilderness’ that could be improved so people could go on picnics. The early creation of the park involved damming its rivers, laying new kinds of grass, creating new buildings and planting thousands of trees from around the world. These additions were recorded in postcards of the time. The park was enormously popular, especially after rail lines were built. The number of visitors grew from 38,000 in 1892 to 250,000 in 1910.
A small but growing group of people enjoyed the bushland of the park rather than its picnic areas. One of them was the famous conservationist Myles Joseph Dunphy, who would go on to co-found the Mountain Trails Club in 1914. This was Sydney’s first bushwalking club which campaigned for environmental causes throughout the 1930s.
Research task
The National Museum of Australia holds many of the items belonging to Myles Joseph Dunphy, including his climbing supplies and photographs. Which of these items would you use to create a small museum display about Myles Dunphy?
Within 37 years of the first park being created in 1879 each of Australia’s states had a national park: South Australia (1891), Victoria (1898), Western Australia (1898), Queensland (1908) and Tasmania (1916). Australia now has more than 500 national parks covering 28 million hectares (or 280,000 square kilometres). They allow visitors to enjoy the natural world and also help to conserve Australia’s native plants and animals.
Read a longer version of this Defining Moment on the National Museum of Australia’s website.
What did you learn?
1. What were the main reasons that Australia’s first national park was created in 1879?
2. Why were people who lived in cities drawn to national parks?
3. What did a growing number of people such as Myles Dunphy begin to do in national parks?
