Historical information

Fern gullies around Jehosaphat Gully

Covered under National Estate.

Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p125

The magnificent Kinglake National Park, fringing Nillumbik’s north, is the largest national park close to Melbourne.
Thanks to the vision and hard work of a band of local people, the park was created from what was rapidly becoming degraded land.
Seeing a threat to Kinglake’s indigenous flora and fauna, several prominent local people campaigned for a national park, which was established in 1928.1
Since then, the park has grown through donations and acquisitions of land, from around 13,800 acres of land (5585ha) to 22,360 hectares. The Sugarloaf and Everard Blocks – of almost 8000 hectares – stand in Nillumbik and the park extends into Mitchell and Murrundindi Shires and the City of Whittlesea. Mt Everard commemorates William Hugh Everard, State member for Evelyn when the park was established.
Before 1928, European settlers had degraded the Kinglake area, which was named after the celebrated English author and lawyer, Alexander William Kinglake.
Remains of gold shafts and diggings in the park are reminders of Kinglake’s first settlers, who hoped to strike it rich at the gold diggings. But like other gold fields in this shire, they proved not very lucrative and soon timber cutting replaced mining in importance.
However, before long, the accessible timber supply ran out, so in the 1920s agriculture took over – particularly potatoes and berry fruits – which involved large-scale clearing.2
The park’s instigator was retired Melbourne University Professor of Music, William Laver.3 As chair of the Kinglake Progress Association he began negotiations to have crown lands on the southern scarp of the Great Dividing Range reserved as a national park.
Even before the park was proclaimed, from 1927, KPA members cut tracks to the major scenic points.
Professor Laver was one of several people who gave land for the park, donating around 50 acres (20ha), including the Jehosaphat Gully.4
Laver chaired the park’s first Committee of Management, which raised money to employ a ranger and provide facilities, including tracks and roads for fire protection vehicles, toilets and shelters. The committee charged fees for firewood collection, some grazing of livestock, and visitor entrance, and obtained small State Government and Eltham Shire grants. In 1957 the State Government provided revenue for national parks.
Then, in 1975, the State Government took over the management and the Committee of Management became an advisory committee, which disbanded in 1978.
Originally, the park covered crown land in the Shires of Eltham and Whittlesea; then Wombelano Falls in Yea and other areas were added. In 1970 the park extended into the Shires of Eltham, Healesville, Whittlesea and Yea.5
Bush fires have been an ongoing problem. In 1939 hundreds of eucalypts and acacias had to be sown around the Jehosaphat Gully to rejuvenate the forest. To manage bushfires, the Committee of Management, then the State Government, worked closely with the Forestry Commission, shire councils and local fire brigades.
Early national parks focussed on recreation. But by the 1980s, conservation, education and scientific research became more important, playing a vital role in preserving representative samples of the natural environment.
Each year many thousands of people use the park’s extensive network of walking tracks amongst the protected plant and animal life as well as camping, cycling and horse riding.
The park, along the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, has lookouts revealing magnificent views of the Melbourne skyline, Port Phillip Bay, the Yarra Valley and the You Yangs.
Vegetation in the Masons Falls area includes messmate forest, Austral grass-trees, ferns and Hazel Pomaderris. In spring, orchids, lilies, everlasting daisies, correas, grevillea and heath appear. Around Jehosaphat Gully are wet and dry forest, fern gullies and banksia.
Animal life includes wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, possums, gliders and bandicoots. Male lyrebirds can be heard mimicking in the Jehosaphat Gully, particularly in the Everard Block in winter.

Significance

This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past.

Physical description

Born digital image file