Lamington National Park celebrates its 100th birthday on World Ranger Day

The Gold Coast hinterland’s Lamington National Park celebrates its 100th birthday this Friday (31 July), which is also World Ranger Day.

Minister for National Parks Dr Steven Miles said the centenary was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate 100 years of conservation and the work of rangers.

“Lamington National Park, covering more than 20,500 hectares of the McPherson Range, is an internationally recognised landscape valued for its natural and cultural aspects,” Dr Miles said.

“The world heritage national park features one of the most diverse areas of vegetation in the country, and has found a place in the hearts of many who have visited over the last 100 years.”

Dr Miles will mark the centenary at Green Mountains with descendants of Robert Collins and Romeo Lahey who fought to have the area preserved as national park, and members of the Groom and O’Reilly families whose names have long been connected with the park’s conservation and tourism.

Seven years after Mick O’Reilly was appointed the park’s first paid ranger in 1919, his family opened a guest house, now famously known as O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat.

Third-generation Managing Director Shane O’Reilly said guests were educated on the importance of conservation and protection of the park and Lamington’s remarkable flora and fauna.

“Our continuing commitment to Lamington National Park has remained paramount from the day we opened our first slab huts at the Rainforest Retreat 89 years ago,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“We are excited to be part of the Lamington 100^th anniversary and look forward to celebrating the Park's heritage, with presentations from O’Reilly family members and guided rainforest walks available to all visitors.”

Lamington National Park Ranger in Charge Wil Buch said Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers continued to protect and promote the park.

“You can still enjoy most of the original walking tracks, which were constructed in the 1930s with the establishment of the Binna Burra and O’Reilly guesthouses,” Mr Buch said.

“Much of the track building was done by gangs undertaking Great Depression relief work, and we still use many of the same techniques today in track building and maintenance.”

Dr Miles said World Ranger Day was an opportunity to acknowledge our rangers.

“Our national parks are world-renowned, and Queensland park rangers do a terrific job protecting our natural heritage, through fire, pest and weed management,” Dr Miles said.

“Rangers also ensure our campgrounds, walking tracks and lookouts are safe for visitors.

“Rangers are on the front line, and World Ranger Day is a chance to recognise the Thin Green Line Foundation and the International Ranger Federation.”

Visit www.npsr.qld.gov.au for more information about the Lamington centenary and World Ranger Day.

Fast facts:

• Lamington National Park features approximately 130 kilometres of walking trails, over 500 waterfalls and 390 species of Australian wildlife – some of them only found in Lamington.
• A mountainous, forested area of 19,035 hectares was declared Lamington National Park on 31 July 1915 –– It was the state’s ninth national park, just seven years after the first, Witches Falls (Tamborine Mountain), had been declared in 1908.
• The battle to have Lamington National Park declared had been a hard-fought victory against those who wanted the area kept for timber harvesting or dairy farming.
• The campaign began in the 1890s when grazier Robert Collins began lobbying to preserve the area as national park, a fight he continued in Parliament as a member of the Legislative Assembly.
• Parliament passed the State Forests and National Parks Act in 1906, and in 1911 Romeo Lahey joined the campaign and petitioned the Government for an even larger area to be protected, and Lamington was gazetted four years later.
• The first official paid ranger or ‘working overseer’ Mick O’Reilly was appointed in 1919, with his brothers acting as unpaid honorary rangers, to help protect wildlife and plants in the park.
• In 1926 the O’Reilly family opened the Guest House, now known as O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Binna Burra Mountain Lodge opened in 1933, founded by Arthur Groom and Romeo Lahey. Both lodges have been welcoming and hosting nature lovers from around the globe ever since.

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