This month marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Yellowstone National Park.
On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law. The world’s first national park was born.
‘Yellowstone National Park provided the inspiration for a Scenic Rim local, Robert Martin Collins who advocated in the late 1800’s for the establishment of national parks in Queensland and, specifically, for what is now the Lamington National Park – the home of Binna Burra Lodge.’ said Binna Burra’s Chairperson, Steve Noakes.
Six years after Yellowstone was declared a National Park, In 1878 Collins travelled to the USA and included a visit to the Yosemite Valley in California, well before the Yosemite National Park was declared in 1890.
In 1896, Collins was elected as President of the Royal Geographic Society of Queensland and also served in the Queensland legislative Assembly. Both positions gave him the opportunity to advocate for the conservation of the McPherson Ranges and it’s easterly sections which became the Lamington National Park in 1915.
Noakes, who also Vice Chair of the National Parks Association of Queensland said the preservation, expansion and good management of national parks and other forms of protected areas in Queensland is vital for many reasons, including the life-sustaining processes that nature provides, biological diversity, conserving wildlife, environmental education and cultural heritage.
About National Parks Association of Queensland
National Parks Association of Queensland (NPAQ) is Queensland’s oldest non-governmental environmental organisation, commencing in 1930. Over the past nine decade NPAQ advocacy has been driven by science, professional expertise, impartial scrutiny and trusted relationships.
About the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (RGSQ)
Established in 1885 originally as the Geographical Society of Australasia (Queensland Branch), the RGSQ was approved by Queen Victoria the privilege of using the ‘Royal’ prefix. Since that time, the Society has pursued its main objective of promoting an interest in and the study of Geography through publications, field-based research projects, public lectures and excursions.
