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The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The park is situated north of Sydney and is named in memory of the Australian explorer John Oxley, who passed through the area in 1818 and is one of the largest national parks in New South Wales. The park is part of the Hastings-Macleay Group World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007. The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park (OWRNP) was World Heritage listed in recognition of the extensive dry rainforest that occurs within the park, and the associated rich biodiversity that includes several rare or threatened plants and animals. There are at least fourteen waterfalls in the park. == History == For thousands of years, the Northern Tablelands and these valleys were the tribal lands of the Dangaddi aboriginal people, whose descendants are now concentrated in the lower Macleay River. Some marked trees have been found and a limestone cave shelter has been excavated near Kunderang Brook. In 1818 explorer John Oxley and his party tried to descend the Apsley valley, but steep gorges blocked the way until they proceeded around the head of the Apsley Falls. After Oxley passed through the cedar-getters were the first white people to penetrate these remote gorges and valleys in search of Australian red cedar (''Toona ciliata'') which was floated down-river to Kempsey. There have been cattle grazing through the Macleay River Gorges, called 'The Falls', since the 1840s, with mustering points (yards and huts) occurring at Top Creek, (Sunderlands) Middle Yards, Kunderang, Left Hand, Oven Camp, Youdales Hut, Green Gully, Yarrowitch River and Front Tableland. The recently restored Middle Yards Hut was once part of the East Kunderang cattle station on the Macleay River. In the late 19th century several gold and antimony mines were established around the rim of the gorges, at places such as Halls Peak and Hillgrove, as well as two ambitious hydro-electric schemes to power them, the remains of which can be seen today along the Styx River and at Gara Gorge. In 1976 the Apsley Macleay Gorges were identified as being of true wilderness quality. At that stage the public protection offered to the area was limited to two small reserves in the south, and a few local council run recreation areas at popular sites such as Wollomombi Falls, Dangars and Apsley Falls. With future land-use undecided, the NSW Electricity Commission began surveying the Apsley Valley for a hydro-electric scheme in the late 1970s. The Apsley Gorge National Park of was gazetted followed by the Yarrowitch Gorge National Park soon after. During late 1981 the track to the Apsley River at Riverside was improved and Elcom installed a river gauging station. The project was shelved following a land use study recommending a national park be established. In 1986 the park was gazetted to foster nature conservation, cultural heritage and tourism on the Northern Tablelands. In 1989 East Kunderang Station of passed to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and was proclaimed the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. In 1994 Oxley Wild Rivers National Park was inscribed on the Register of World Heritage sites, as part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia (CERRA); subsequently renamed as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Later of Winterbourne State Forest, also known at the Big Lease, was added to the wilderness. The remaining of Winterbourne and of Enmore State Forests are to be added to the national park. Further inclusions include Green Gully headwaters and of leasehold land in the lower Chandlers River gorge. The Macleay Gorges Wilderness Area was declared in 1996 and extended in 1997 and covers over , mainly in the central part of the park. In December 2009 a lightning strike started a bushfire in the Youdales Hut area. The hut was unaffected, but of inaccessible steep country was burnt out before it was brought under control. Another lightning strike started a large bushfire in the Reedy Creek region of the park. This fire has burnt out over of rough country. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oxley Wild Rivers National Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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