Gondwana Rainforests

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
250px Box Log Falls, Lamington National Park in Queensland.
Type	Natural
Criteria	viii, ix, x
Reference	368
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	1986 (10th Session)
Extensions	1994
Barrington Tops Main Range National Park Gondwana Rainforests (Australia)

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate reserves totalling 366,500 hectares (906,000 acres) from Newcastle to Brisbane, clustered around the New South Wales – Queensland border.

The Gondwana Rainforests are so-named because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living today. Not all Gondwanan rainforests in Australia are located in the New South Wales – Queensland region; the largest Gondwanan rainforest in Australia is located in Tasmania's Tarkine wilderness. The number of visitors to the Gondwana rainforest reserves in New South Wales and Queensland is about 2 million per year.

The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated initially in 1986, with the area extended in 1994, and carries the following inscription:

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia is a serial property comprising the major remaining areas of rainforest in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. It represents outstanding examples of major stages of the Earth’s evolutionary history, ongoing geological and biological processes, and exceptional biological diversity. A wide range of plant and animal lineages and communities with ancient origins in Gondwana, many of which are restricted largely or entirely to the Gondwana Rainforests, survive in this collection of reserves. The Gondwana Rainforests also provides the principal habitat for many threatened species of plants and animals.

— Brief synthesis of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia as inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 under the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1), 2003 (Cth).

Conservation value

The forests were inscribed to the World Heritage list in 1986, covering only the New South Wales sites of approximately 310,800 hectares (768,000 acres) and extended in 1994 to cover the Queensland sites of approximately 59,200 hectares (146,000 acres) which is a total of approximately 370,000 hectares (910,000 acres). The rainforest reserves have an extremely high conservation value, with more than 200 rare or threatened plant and animal species.

Eight separate areas have been identified as having outstanding heritage significance to Australia and are included on the Australian National Heritage List. The altitude of the reserves ranges from sea level to almost 1,600 m (5,200 ft).

National Parks

The Queensland areas include the Main Range National Park, at its most northern point; and extending south, the Lamington National Park, Mount Chinghee National Park, Springbrook National Park and Mount Barney National Park.

The New South Wales areas include the Barrington Tops National Park, at its most southern point; and extending north, the Dorrigo National Park, Mount Warning National Park, New England National Park, Mebbin National Park, Nightcap National Park, Border Ranges National Park, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Washpool National Park, Willi Willi National Park and Werrikimbe National Park.

The most heavily visited parts are Dorrigo National Park and the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park.

Australian National Heritage List sections

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia are divided into sections for listing on the Australian National Heritage List, from north to south, as below:

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia

Section	Park or reserve name	State	Image	Area		Coordinates	Source(s)
				km2	sq mi
Main Range group; near Killarney	Acacia Plateau Flora Reserve	NSW
	Emu Vale State Forest (part)	Qld
	Gambubal State Forest (part)	Qld
	Gilbert State Forest (part)	Qld
	Goomburra State Forest (part)	Qld
	Main Range National Park	Qld		184	71
	Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park	Qld
	Spicers Gap State Forest (part)	Qld
	Teviot State Forest (part)	Qld
	Wilsons Peak Flora Reserve	NSW
Focal Peak group; on the NSW—Qld border	Burnett Creek State Forest (part)
	Captains Creek Flora Reserve (part)
	Mallanganee National Park	NSW		11	4.2
	Mount Clunie National Park (part)	NSW		14	5.4
	Mount Nothofagus National Park (part)	NSW		22	8.5
	Tooloom National Park (part)	NSW		44	17
	Toonumbar National Park (part)	NSW	100px	149	58
Shield Volcano group; on the NSW—Qld border on the McPherson and Tweed ranges	Amaroo Flora Reserve
	Border Ranges National Park (part)	NSW		317	122
	Lamington National Park	Qld		206	80
	Limpinwood Nature Reserve	NSW		26.5	10.2
	Mebbin National Park (part)
	Mount Chinghee National Park
	Mount Warning National Park
	Nightcap National Park (part)
	Numinbah Nature Reserve	NSW		8.6	3.3
	Springbrook National Park (part)	Qld		62	24
	various Rabbit Board Reserves along the Rabbit-proof fence
	Wollumbin National Park	NSW	100px	24	9.3
Coastal group; on the coast at Iluka	Iluka Nature Reserve	NSW		1.35	0.52
Washpool and Gibraltar Range group; contiguous areas between Glen Innes and Grafton	Gibraltar Range National Park	NSW
	Washpool National Park	NSW
New England group; near Dorrigo	Cunnawarra National Park (part)	NSW
	Dorrigo National Park (part)	NSW
	Mount Hyland Nature Reserve (part)	NSW		25	9.7
	New England National Park (part)	NSW	100px	673	260
Hastings–Macleay group; southeast of Armidale	Fenwicks Scrub Flora Reserve	NSW		1.1	0.42
	Mount Seaview Nature Reserve	NSW
	Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (part)	NSW	100px	1,452	561
	The Castles Flora Reserve	NSW
	Werrikimbe National Park (part)	NSW		333	129
	Willi Willi National Park (part)	NSW		299	115
Barrington Tops group; north of Dungog	Barrington Tops National Park (part)	NSW		765	295
	Mount Royal National Park (part)	NSW		69	27

See also

• Environment of Australia
• Forests of Australia
• List of World Heritage Sites in Australia
• Mount Banda Banda

External links

• World heritage listing for Gondwana Rainforests of Australia
• Introduction to Gondwana Rainforests of Australia