The Uniqueness and Fauna of the Kosciuszko National Park

The Kosciuszko National Park is filled with unique wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. It is home to many threatened animals and plants unique to the area. The alpine and sub-alpine environments of the Australian Alps are unique with a vast ecosystem and landscapes, from high altitude peaks to deep glacial lakes. The Kosciuszko National Parks aboriginal history dates back many thousands of years with the first known settlements in the early 1700s. The geological history of the Australian National park dates back over 520 million years. The Australian Alps has a unique geological history beginning with the stretching of the supercontinent, Gondwana.

Around 180 million years ago the landmasses we now know as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula made up an ancient supercontinent which split to make our unique landscape we now know as Australia. What makes the Kosciuszko National Park unique? From high altitude peaks to deep glacial lakes, the Australian Alps have a myriad of unique ecosystems and landscapes. The sub-alpine and alpine environments allow for unique cool climate-adapted plants and animals to thrive. The Kosciuszko National Park is home to many threatened animals including the Northern Corroboree Frog, Alpine Water Skink, Alpine Tree frogs and the Mountain Pygmy-Possum. Considering Australias mostly dry and hot climate, the Kosciuszko National Park is an Australian staple.

The Australian Alpine environment is diverse and allows for a myriad of natural life forms unique to the Australian Alps. Its unique climate creates conditions ideal for snowfall and in turn, creates one of the few ski resorts in Australia. It is home to the tallest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciuszko, rising to 2,228 meters and remaining snow-capped for the majority of the year. Kosciuszko National Park History Geological History The Kosciuszko National park has taken over 490 million years to form into what it is today. Around 520 million years ago, Australia, was part of a supercontinent known as Gondwana. The land was vast, flat and dry and sat in the interior of this super landmass. The southeastern Australian coastline has only existed for around 350 million years, and its appearance has changed dramatically in that time. Before this coastline formed, there were oceans and island masses where there is now dry land we now know as New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland (​Formation of The Australian Alps​ 2018). Over the next 80 million years, the vast areas of the ocean were covered by a thick sheet of sand and mud, over time turning into the sedimentary rocks sandstone and mudstone. These rocks form most of the Australian Alps (​Formation of The Australian Alps​ 2018). Around 250 - 300 million years ago, the Earth entered a global ice age (​Formation of The Australian Alps, 2018).

At this time South Australia sat close to the south pole. It was covered in layers of ice and snow and Victoria and New South Wales preserved many of the glacial deposits. Around 60 - 100 million years ago, mantle below the Earths surface began to split apart parts of Eastern Gondwana, this resulted in Antarctica, Australian, New Zealand and New Caledonia breaking apart into separate continents. Magma began moving upwards causing the land to heat and expand, this resulted in a 2000m high plateau in the site of what is now the Australian Alps. Since then erosion has placed deep valley’s and formed the shape of the Australian Alps as we see today.

Natural History

The Australian Alps are home to many unique species of wildlife, one of which is the Mountain Pygmy Possum.The Mountain Pygmy Possum is the only marsupial in the world known to store food and hibernate for extended periods. It is also the only Australian mammal adapted to live in the alpine zone (Carter, L 2018). The Mountain Pygmy Possum feeds on Bogong Moths, seeds and fruits and only have one little following snowmelt during spring (Carter, L 2018). Indigenous History Before the first European settlers found themselves in the Kosciuszko National park, the Walgal and the Ngarigo people used it as home. They lived in the highlands of the region and occupied the land for thousands of years. During the summer months, many Aboriginal groups would gather as an annual pilgrimage to the Bogong and Snowy Mountains (Office of Environment and Heritage, 2018).This would bring together men from different tribes to feast on the Bogong Moth, a unique food source to the Aboriginal people.

The traditional lifestyles of the local Aborigines, including the annual Bogong moth feast, were disrupted from the late 1820s when graziers brought stock into the area and this tradition had ceased by 1850 in this and nearby bioregions (​HO and DUAP 1996​). The Aboriginal history of the area is long-standing and is a part of the Australian culture to this day. European History During the 1830s, European settlers occupied the majority of the Australian Alps for grazingIn the 1860s the settlers realised the potential in alpine grazing. They would move their stock into the alpine areas in the summer then into the valleys for Autumn (Office of Environment and Heritage, 2018). The discovery of gold in Kiandra sparked a gold rush lasting until 1861, supporting over 10,000 people with new jobs and opportunities. It was at this time the skiing was introduced by the Northern European miners. In 1949, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric power scheme was started, only to be completed in 1979 with it costing a total of $820 million. On completion in 1979, the Scheme consisted of seven power stations, 16 major dams, 145 kilometres of inter-connected tunnels and 80 kilometres of aqueducts (Snowy Hydro, 2019).

Over the time of the build, 22 years, 100,000 people were hired to work and 121 of those lost their lives in industrial accidents (Monument Australia, 2010). During the construction, the popularity of skiing grew dramatically, altering the Kosciuszko National Parks bioregion both physically and demographically. How has the park has been used for recreation in the past and how it is currently used today? During the 1800s, recreation in the Kosciuszko National Park was limited to Bushwalking and trail waking. With the introduction of skiing around 1961 by the European miners, the worlds first skiing club was created, the ‘Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club’. The popularity of skiing in the winter has grown dramatically with around 3 million people visiting the Kosciuszko National Park annually. Some of the more popular activities now include bushwalking, skiing mountain biking, fishing and horse riding.

Feral Horses (Wild Brumbies)

Feral Horses, also known as Wild Brumbies have been sewn into Australian culture through novels like Banjo Pattersons ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘Silver Brumby’. Since the introduction of Horses in 1788, the population of Wild Brumbies has grown immensely to around 400,000. As they were first used for farm work and transportation, they were kept on farms with poor fencing which led to populations escaping and becoming wild. Farmers would also release horses that were no longer needed or no longer able to work into the wild which contributed to the overpopulation of the Brumby. As they are considered a wild animal there has been several management plans to reduce the Brumby population to help decrease the rate of which they reproduce and damage unique Flora and Fauna. Brumbies have proven to cause huge ecological damage, particularly to the high alpine environment.

The Kosciuszko National Park contains some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes, animals and plants including the sub-alpine and alpine areas of New South Wales, Snowy Mountains. Due to this, it is hard to find a balance between protecting the unique environment and protecting Brumbies which are apart of Australian history and culture. Although Brumbies are apart of our culture they are creating a detrimental effect on the precious environment which needs to be controlled. Soil degradation is one of the many negative impacts Brumbies have on the Environment. Due to the increasing amount of Brumbies, the number of herds is being increased also. The trampling caused by the horses is compacting the soil so that water filtration and nutrient filtration is affected. The decrease in water filtration then affects vegetation growth negatively. Water quality is also affected due to the run-off of the soil after Brumbies walk next to waterways. Not only do brumbies affect the environment they also pose a threat to motorists.

The increased number of brumbies is causing them to roam towards roads which can cause harm to drivers if they collide with a Brumby. As the Kosciuszko National Park is heritage listed the impacts of brumbies is damaging the area’s history. Brumbies are negatively affecting Australia’s natural heritage in the area with water quality and supply being one of the main concerns due to the Snowy Hydro running on local water supplies. The Wild brumbies have many negatives as discussed above but they also have their positives. Often people overlook the connection between brumbies and the Aboriginal people the traditional owners’ of this area had a talent for controlling the wild horses in the area. They would round up horses and break them in so they could then be sent to Sydney for use in the military. More recently it would provide jobs for locals to round up and train brumbies.

Horse riding in the Kosciuszko National Park is a long-standing tradition which brings tourists from around the world. Although it is a popular activity it is damaging the unique wildlife and landscapes, for the activity to continue, it would require a well thought out plan to reduce the effects on the environment. To ensure that the environment is not damaged any further, we should put in place designated horse trails that are clearly marked and easy to follow. Also allowing horse riding to be on roads throughout the park as they are already existing and riding on those roads won’t damage the precious ecosystem and environment in the alpine areas. Horse riding should only be allowed by approved groups that follow designated trails and tracks and anyone found to not follow regulations should have to pay for the damage they caused to the area. Regular assessments of the area and updates to the management plan will ensure that horse riding won’t affect the environment furthermore.