Historical State of the Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree Rainforest in 1936
(http://www.douglas-shire-historical-society.org/the_daintree.htm)

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in Australia, almost 135 million years old.  It has lost about 25% of the original cover that was present before the European settlement.  It was first inhabited by about 20 Aboriginal tribes that came from Southeast Asia about 40,000-60,000 years ago.  When they arrived,they used the rainforest in various social rituals.  There is no clear image of what the rainforest used to look like.  However, with 25% of the original rainforest lost, it is imagined that there was a higher level of biodiversity.  (Stork and Turton pg 10)
European expeditions in the rainforest began in the late 1800s with the goal of finding suitable land to grow sugarcane and other tropical crops.  The rainforest was viewed as a place for agriculture and a plentiful supply of timber.  Later, in the 1890s the dairy industry began to take off in the region.  This led further cutting down of the rainforest for pastures.  This continued until the 1950s when the Department of Forestry was created to manage national parks.  After the 1960s, there was a change in how the rainforest was viewed and the government stepped in and made an effort to conserve and preserve the biodiversity of the area.  One thing the government did was stop all logging in 1987.  This allowed the ecosystem to regrow and recover.  (Stork and Turton pg 9-14)    

The biggest controversy that surrounded the Daintree rainforest was the building of the road that runs from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield.  This road runs through the rainforest near the coast.  Not only did it involve cutting down trees, it meant opening up the rainforest to heavy machinery, invasive species, and more opportunities to be affected by humans.  Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1984.  Many conservation groups spoke up to prevent the road from being built in order to preserve the ecosystem.  However, it was still built and is in use today. (Aiken and Leigh, 1987)

This shows the effect the road had on the environment. Poor environment!

(Aiken and Leigh, pg 138)

A picture of the road. Not as pretty as the trees that were there before!

(Aiken and Leigh, pg 138)