Kosciuszko National Park
Kosciusko National Park
* The Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia *
The highest peak in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko is also surrounded by a 690,000 hectare national park of the same name in the southeastern corner mainland of New South Wales. It is also contiguous with the Alpine National Park of Victoria in he south and the Namadgi National Park of the Australian Capital Territory in the Northeast. “Cabramurra” is the highest town in Australia in the park along with Jindabyne, Tumut, Cooma, and Thredbo. The Park consists of rugged mountains, alpine forests, and snowy terrain which is a major draw to winter recreationists especially skiers, snowboarders, and bushwalkers. The Snowy River, the Murray River, and the Gungarlin Rivers run through the park. The Park became a part of Australia’s National Heritage list in November of 2008. The region through history was visited by the Aboriginals though not habitated by them due to the harsh winters only being habitated by whites after contact. Some aboriginals would hunt the bogong moth during its mating season across these mountains as part of their ceremony. The first whites to settle in the area were cattle grazers by means of mountain huts scattered through the area that the Park now covers. Some of these huts are historically preserved and maintained throughout the Park. After discovery of gold on the high plains near Kiandra, the gold boom took to the hills by the 19th century, leading to the development of Kiandra as a mining town with a population of about 4,000 and upwards of 14 hotels. This town eventually turned into a ghost town by 1974. The Park was established on December 5, 1906 as the “National Chase Snowy Mountains” and officially a state park by 1944, and a National Park by its current name in 1967.
During the last ice age approximately 20,000 B.P. in the Pleistocene, Mount Kosciuszko experienced climates favorable for glacier formation much of which can still be seen today around Lake Cootapatamba which was formed by ice spilling down Kosciuszko’s southern flank. Lake Albina, Club Lake, Blue Lake, and Hedley Tarn were also all created by glaciers. The Park is home to Australia’s most threatened species, the Corroboree Frog, as well as the Mountain Pygmy Possum (also endangered), the Dusky Antechinus, a large population of wild horses, some Emu, some wombat, some kangaroo, as well as numerous botanical species. The park is dominated by alpine woodlands characterized by the Snow Gum tree, the Alpine Ash, and the Mountain Gum. In 2003 the park suffered a major wildland fire that destroyed much of the woodlands. The park is popularly used for recreation from skiing to hiking, snowboarding to camping, bushwalking to canoeing, swimming to caving. Other attractions include whitewater rafting, trail riding, the Yarrangobilly Caves, Cooleman Caves, Tin Mine Falls, and Valentine Falls. Camping is permitted throughout the park except within sight of a road or near a watercourse. Populations and habitations of the Park and the Snowy Mountains took place with development of the Snowy Mountains Scheme that consists of a broad array of tunnels, dams, generators, and hydro-electric schemes and systems.
