I fail to see how Aboriginal people engaging in hunting, on what is probably their ancestral land, poses a problem for lovers of national parks (see "Spears or 4WDs", Letters, August NPJ). When we consider all the problems facing the park system – underfunding, overuse, illegal hunting and camping, iresponsible firewood collecting and 4WD use etc – I would have thought that allowing indigenous people to access parks for cultural purposes is a wonderful opportunity for the parks to play a tangible role in the reconciliation process.

I have recently had the pleasure of visiting Mutawinji, Gundabooka and Mungo national parks. Learning about the indigenous history of these places, not just the colonial history, greatly added to my enjoyment and deepened my understanding of the history of the parks and the nation. At Mutawintji, for example, dozens of tourists from all over the country sat around the campfire with the local indigenous people, some of whom were the park rangers, telling stories and talking about their love of the park, whilst eating a kangaroo that had been shot that afternoon.

Why assume, as Alex Colley does, that hunting would be undertaken by indigenous people in an irresponsible and meaningless manner? To insist that hunting should be carried out with spears is like saying that Aboriginal people should be compensated in pounds and pence.

John Hadley
By email
8 August 2000

I had an accident and broke my ankle whilst on Brian Corlis’s walk to Mount Pomany in Wollemi National Park, the weekend of 9/10 September 2000. I would like to thank everyone in the party who helped me, by arranging for the emergency and rescue services to get me out.

I would therefore like to thank in particular Brian Corlis, Joe, Nicoletta, Sida, Margaret, Ian and my wife Dianne. Joe and Ian walked out to get help and everyone else stayed with me, making me comfortable on the Sunday night, until the Rescue Service and Westpac helicopter came on Monday morning.

I really appreciated everyone’s help and it is a great endorsement to NPA to have such wonderful members. We are a fantastic walking club, and it is in time of accidents such as mine that you realise the strength of NPA.

My thanks, again, and I hope to thank everyone personally once I get back on both my feet.

John McLauchlan
Northbridge
9 October 2000

How Green are our Games? by Bob Symington and Helen Latham in the October 2000 Journal was a useful summary of the successes and disappointments. There were a few more successes and one disappointment that I know of.

The use of all Australian flora in the Olympic bouquets and the flora segment in the Opening Ceremony, while not direct conservation projects, drew the beauty of the Australian flora to public attention in Australia and overseas, and encouraged Australians to take pride in the indigenous flora. This won hearts and minds. The actual flowers used all came from wildflower farms, not from bush picking which is widespread throughout Australia, a shrub and herb equivalent of forestry. Wildflower farms must be encouraged, just as plantations are, in order to replace bush picking.

The disappointment was that SOCOG revived that old myth that wattle pollen is a common cause of allergies.

Val Williams,
Thornleigh
23 October, 2000