I note that Brian Walker is taken  to task for saying1 that the
Coast & Mountain Walkers were a "founding member of the Federation of Bushwalking Clubs"

In July 1932 it was moved that the newly formed organisation should be known as The Federation of Bushwalking Clubs of New South Wales. It is true that two years later CMW was admitted to the Federation.

However in September 1936 the constitution was revised and the name changed to The NSW Federation of Bush Walking Clubs. ‘The first members of the Federation shall be the following Associations: the Coast and Mountain Walker’s Club of New South Wales". Hence it is rather semantic to dispute that the club was not a "founding" member.

The Blue Gum Forest Committee came in being in July 1931 made up of delegates from two bushwalking clubs plus the President of the Wildlife Preservation Society. Col Gibson notes that: by February 1932 the leasee had been paid out; and fund-raising to cover the loans would continue for the next two years.

The first time Blue Gum is mentioned in the Federation’s minutes is April 1933, and later in the year the Federation held their camp there. Thus the ‘Federation’ had minimal, if any, role in the initial campaign.

Others say that the Garawarra project, which pre-dated Blue Gum, "was made the first plank of the Federation’s platform, whilst next in importance came the betterment of facilities at Lilyvale Station and the vicinity".

In actual fact the first ‘conservation issue’ was a letter read out by Myles Dunphy "suggesting the necessity and benefit to be derived from the resumption of an area of land adjourning the Lilyvale Railway Station". At the same meeting it was moved that Federation should appoint honorary rangers (to (Royal) National Park) following vandalism and littering in the park. (August 1932)

Subsequent (1932-5) issues were: the removal of wildflowers from the bush for sale in the city; the proposed Garawarra land resumption; the removal of buildings erected on permissive occupancies in National Park; the retention of the Burrawang Palm on the list of protected species; Maitland Bay (Bouddi) in February 1934; and a pamphlet on roadless or primitive areas.

In December 1933 the Wild Life Preservation Society wrote to the Federation offering assistance and financial aid to the Garawarra, and support for, the Blue Mountains National Park Schemes. The latter was part of Dunphy’s grand scheme to dedicate large tracts of bushland as a (grand) national park - first time this is mentioned in the Federation’s minutes although it had been raised earlier in other forums.

For many years the Federation did not have a conservation officer or bureau and relied heavily upon the work of Myles Dunphy and the National Parks & Primitive Areas Council (NPPAC) to be the vanguard. It was only when fund raising was required or signatures needed to be collected that there was large scale participation by bushwalkers.

For a number of reasons relationships between these two bodies deteriorated. The NPPAC believed that they were the guardians of the environment - Federation’s role essentially was to rubber stamp their policies. It was only when Frank Craft, and others, started to insist the Federation should develop its own policies (c.1937) did the relationship all but break down.