‘Terania Creek….
Title: Terania Creek: Rainforest Wars
Author: Nigel Turvey
Year: 2006
Publisher: Glass House Books
http://nigelturvey.com
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190 pages paperback
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Published by Glass House Books, Brisbane [an imprint of Interactive Publications Pty Ltd]
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ISBN 978 187 681 9354; Dewey 333.7516099443
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This book is now out of print and the only remaining copies have found shelter with the author direct.
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A copy may still be purchased ($28 incl GST and postage within Australia) by downloading an order form [http://nigelturvey.com ] AUD$28.
‘Urban refugees Hugh and Nan Nicholson moved onto a property at Terania Creek in northern NSW 30 years ago. They were hoping to escape the rat race and live a self-sufficient lifestyle, but discovered that the forest surrounding their property was earmarked for extensive logging. So began one of Australia’s most fiercely fought environmental battles, the 1979-1982 Rainforest Wars. The wars ended with the formation of Nightcap National Park, which was World Heritage-listed for good measure in 1989. Author Nigel Turvey, a former forester and environmental scientist, stands (respectfully) on the shoulders of those who were there, using their words and pictures to give us an insightful overview of an emotionally charged environmental campaign from beginning to end; he even sets it firmly in its time with references to other newsworthy happenings such as the Azaria Chamberlain case and the Vietnam War. One of the unexpected bonuses of this book is that it offers an inside look at the forestry profession and how it fell from grace (in the public’s eyes) during this campaign, never to recover again. Terania Creek: Rainforest Wars is a real page-turner and a must-read for anyone interested in conflicts in Australia’s natural places.’ Source: http://www.gmagazine.com.au/reviews/516/terania-creek-rainforest-wars
The battle over logging rainforests in Terania Creek in 1979 started the Rainforest War in New South Wales, Australia. Protesters claimed Terania Creek to be the last un-logged rainforest, but for the foresters and sawmillers it was the last rainforest they would plan to log. The Rainforest War with fights between protesters, loggers and hundreds of police, spread across the moist forests and divided the timber communities of the northeast. The peace plan in October 1982, known as the Rainforest Decision, started a process which saw the eventual closure to logging and reservation in national parks of 900,000 ha of native forest, or about one third of the productive State Forests of New South Wales. Now, forest protests are commonplace but in 1979 Terania Creek was Australia’s first.
The story is built on oral histories and juxtaposed memories – from both sides – and documented by newspaper articles, photographs, film and television footage and transcripts and exhibits from the Terania Creek Inquiry. [Nigel Turvey]
Terania Creek ‘… is an excellent objective study of the violent confrontation there in August 1979.’ [Jim Somerville, Colong Bulletin 219 January 2007 ]
‘If we had to pick the moment when “scrub” became “rainforest”, it would probably be in August 1979 when a dispute about logging 77 hectares of forest at Terania Creek in northern New South Wales grabbed national attention on the nightly news. What started as a minor, local incident escalated into a major confrontation and a political crisis for the State Government that dragged on for three years. In Terania Creek: Rainforest Wars, Nigel Turvey explores the original dispute from which so much followed. This is a worthwhile journey, because only one side of the story is told in the previous accounts written by the environmental participants.’ [John Dargavel, Australian Forest History Society Newsletter, December 2006]
