Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62[ 3 ] 2. From pastoral leases to parks for people A rich history – a unique heritage These lands bear the signs of close to 50,000 years of human habitation. Middens, scatterings of tools, rock shelters, burial sites and engravings tell of the first Australians, who used fire to improve productivity. Fences, homesteads, dams and windmills tell of the Europeans who came with sheep and cattle from the 1860s on, enticed by the glowing reports of explorers. And old mine workings, shacks and machinery recall yet another influx of people, lured by gold in the late 1800s.1 The pastoralists settled first along the coast, then moved inland along the major river valleys. Initially, sheep flocks were managed by shepherds (often Aboriginal people) close to water. Then as fences were built and wells sunk, grazing spread and stock multiplied. Sheep numbers in the rangelands peaked at 5.5 million in 1934. The history of Western Australia’s pastoral industry has been tumultuous, with booms when wool and beef attracted high prices, and great hardships when prices fell or droughts descended. Sheep numbers in the Murchison fell from 840,000 in the mid-1930s to about 250,000 in 1940 after one savage drought, by the end of which about three-quarters of the saltbush and a quarter of the wattles were lost. Early expectations about the carrying capacity of the country had been far too rosy. Inquiries held in response to downturns concluded that many pastoral leases were not viable.2 Calamity faced the industry in 1991 when world wool prices plunged and the Reserve Price Scheme was abandoned. According to the 1993 report of the Wool Industry Task Force, 30 to 60 percent of the pastoral wool enterprises had no future.3 A significant restructure of the regional economy was required. Colin Broad at the Warriedar homestead, 1955. Diversifying for regional development In 1997, the development of a strategy with long-term solutions was proposed for the Gascoyne-Murchison region. A major focus was to rejuvenate the regional economy by establishing conservation reserves and encouraging new tourism enterprises.4 More than 90% of the region’s vegetation types had less than 10% of their original area protected; many had none. With $6 million from the state and $7.4 million from the Commonwealth, the Western Australian Government bought from willing sellers 32 whole and 28 part pastoral leases for the reserve system.5 These were selected because they contain ecosystems with little existing protection, host threatened species and habitats, or will improve existing reserves. But the intentions for these former pastoral lease properties have not been realised, and they remain in limbo as unallocated Crown land. These properties are rich in human stories. The Create Ranger Parks proposal aims to ensure that this cultural heritage is conserved and the stories are shared. Courtesy Broad family