Yarrangobilly Conservation Plan
Workshop Community
Interest In Future Of Caves February 18, 2000 Tumut &
Adelong Times |
A
wide range of community interests from Adaminaby, Cooma and Tumut were
represented at a workshop held at Yarrangobilly
Caves last week as part of developing an updated Conservation Management Plan
for the caves. About
35 people attended the workshop run by the National Parks and Wildlife
Service (NPWS) and consultants Jill Sheppard Heritage Consultants, which are
preparing the draft Conservation Management Plan. Among
those attending were several Tumut residents whose association dates from the
early days of tourism at the caves. The Hoad
family, whose name is well-known in relation to the caves, was represented by
Bruce Hoad and Colin Hoad.
Others
attending with long-term associations included Clarrie
Dunn, who lived at the caves as a teenager, and Phyllis Dowling, whose
grandparents arc buried at the Glory Hole. Others
at the workshop included former Snowy Mountains Region Advisory Committee
member Marjery Smith, a number of representatives
from the local Aboriginal community, representatives from the Adaminaby and
Talbingo progress associations, Tumut and Cooma tourism organisations and
operators, speleological interests, the National Parks Association and NPWS
staff. NPWS
caves manager, Jo Ingarfield, said a revised
conservation management plan is being prepared to set the future direction
for the caves area and the workshop was the first phase of community
consultation. "The
previous plan is now eight years old and there have been a number of changes
since then, including amendments to the Heritage Act as well as changing NPWS
and community expectations," Ms Ingarfield
said. "In
addition, over the past four years there have been significant achievement in
infrastructure maintenance and improvements to the existing facilities at the
caves, thanks to $200,000 of Heritage Assets Maintenance Program funding, as
well as another $100,000 of NPWS funding." Ms Ingarfield said she was really pleased with the number of
people who showed such a keen interest at the workshop, particularly the
local Aboriginal people, and their enthusiasm. "This
was a great help for the consultants to gain an understanding of the strong
feelings about a range of issues at Yarrangobilly.
"We recognise that some members of the community have strong historic
ties with the caves, as well as extensive local knowledge and expertise and
we wanted to be sure that the knowledge is incorporated in the development of
the plan," said Ms Ingarfield. "The
strong representation from tourism interests in the Cooma and Adaminaby area
showed there are a lot of opportunities to work together with the local
tourism industry in developing and promoting Yarrangobilly
Caves as a significant regional attraction." Consultant
Jill Sheppard explained that in developing the conservation management plan,
it was important to identify factors such as Aboriginal and European
heritage, the landscape and community values to establish the relative
significance of the site. We
will then look at factors which affect the site, including legislation,
financial viability, existing services, local association and tourism
opportunities," Ms Sheppard said. The
workshop then looked at the important things about Yarrangobilly
Caves, the challenges in its future development and opportunities. Workshop
participants acknowledge that the spectacular natural environment of the Yarrangobilly gorge and its unique caves and karst features, as well as its Aboriginal and European
cultural landscapes, were the values which must be preserved. Among
the challenges identified were funding, the ability to balance conservation
values with economic viability and a lack of information and promotion of the
heritage and cultural values. There
were seen to be many opportunities for Yarrangobilly
Caves, including provision of accommodation, local Aboriginal involvement in
interpretation, links with regional tourism and use as an educational
facility. Following
the workshop the consultants will prepare a draft Conservation Management
Plan for NPWS input. There will be further opportunities for public input
when the draft plan is placed on public exhibition in late March. |