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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-23 Daily Xml
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CONSERVATION PARKS

The Hon. I. HUNTER (15:07): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation a question about conservation parks.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. HUNTER: South Australia's many conservation parks not only conserve our native flora and fauna but also the cultural connections of our traditional owners to their lands, as well as honouring the role of early Europeans in South Australia. They are important to our state's cultural history and provide a valuable connection to our past. Will the minister inform the council of the latest moves to better recognise the cultural heritage of our parks and of early Europeans in South Australia?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I am pleased to inform the chamber that today I announced that the state government has renamed part of the Horsnell Gully Conservation Park to recognise the land acquired from its original owners, the Giles family. Horsnell Gully Conservation Park (for those in this chamber who have not had a chance to visit it) is about 10 kilometres east of Adelaide in the Mount Lofty Ranges, between Greenhill Road and Norton Summit. The process of recognising the contribution of the Giles family to this park has, indeed, been long and very drawn out, but today's announcement honours an undertaking given when the State Planning Authority purchased the land at the eastern end of the park from the Giles family in 1979.

Until now this section of land has not been properly recognised, merely incorporated into the 125-hectare Horsnell Gully Park. This was a matter that the government was keen to correct, given the Giles family's important connection to this section of land, so I am pleased to be making this announcement today.

Charles Giles was a pioneer of the horticultural and floricultural industries in this state. I am told he purchased the land while living on a South Road property and walked to the summit every Monday with a week's provisions, returning home on Saturday—hard lives, indeed, in those times.

There was no road up the valley to Third Creek, which meant that expeditions such as these were the only option. Visitors to the site may still see the ruins of the workers' huts, which were part of the extensive nursery founded by Mr Giles in that particularly fertile gully. It is therefore important that we reflect the history of this land and recognise Mr Giles's role in the conservation park we enjoy today. The Giles section of Horsnell Gully Conservation Park may already be known to those who visit the area below Norton Summit. However, proclamation of its own entity provides the status deserved by the park that is part of the greater Mount Lofty parklands.

The Giles Conservation Park is not only an important reminder of one of our pioneering Europeans but it is also home to some very rare native flora and fauna. The creeks and rocky areas are home to the bush rat and elusive yellow-footed antechinus, while the upper slopes of the valley remain home to some fantastic examples of native plant life, including brown and messmate stringy bark forests. Of course, there are also some great bushwalking trails and, with the warmer weather already upon us, it is a great opportunity for everyone to get up there and experience the heritage of this park.

The Giles Conservation Park will continue to be managed by the Department for Environment and Heritage in accordance with the objectives of management under the National Parks and Wildlife Act. A management plan will be prepared outlining the specific objectives and strategies for management of its assets. The government's move to rename the park has been supported by the Surveyor-General and the Adelaide Hills Council, and I am pleased to have their support on this matter. It is a long overdue but fitting recognition of the Giles family and, in particular, Charles Giles.

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