As this magazine hits the streets, a public launch of stage two of the Dunphy Wilderness Fund will be taking place at the Bondi Pavillion on Tuesday 15th May. Premier Bob Carr is to launch the fund and speak on its achievements to date.

The Fund was established in September 1996 by the NSW Government in recognition of the contribution made by Myles and Milo Dunphy to conservation. It has provided one million dollars per annum over five years for the purchase of private and leasehold lands within wilderness areas. On completion of five years of expenditure, approximately 45,000 hectares of land will have been acquired for addition to National Park estate.

In addition to government funding, public donations to support the wilderness acquisition program of the fund now total $73,100. Almost the entire amount was contributed by environment group The Budawang Committee, for the acquisition of leasehold land in the Budawang wilderness.

Many acquisitions under this fund have directly improved the connectivity of the core reserve system. The example shown here from Guy Fawkes River National Park in the northern tablelands, clearly demonstrates the conservation benefits achieved so far. The grey area shows the park as it was in 1996, while the dotted areas have all been purchased over the past five years. Over twenty seven thousand hectares in total, with most of the formerly isolated sections of the park now connected.

Other significant acquisitions have been achieved in Washpool, Morton, Oxley Wild Rivers National Parks and the greater Blue Mountains.

Revenue for the fund was to lapse in July 2001, but representations by environment groups produced a commitment that the NSW Government would make resourcing of the Dunphy Fund part of normal budgetary processes and additional to the existing NPWS budget (the fund to date was revenue normally allocated to the capital works budget of the NPWS).

The launch coincides with a public exhibition of Henry Gold’s wilderness photography by the Colong Foundation. This runs from 14 to 17 May at the Bondi Pavillion Gallery (Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach) and is in support of the wilderness 2000 campaign.