John Benson, ecologist
A new book is out about one of Australia’s greatest conservationists and strategists. The book covers the personal journey of Peter Hitchcock AM. Peter died five years ago and his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald (an appendix in the book) mentions that the conservation world mourned his loss due to his world-wide influence.
Lorraine Cairnes (first female NPWS ranger in Australia) and I spent considerable time editing the writings Peter left on his laptop. We both worked with Peter in the 1970s-80s in what was known as the NSW NPWS Green Machine that established numerous protected areas across NSW and initiated environmental assessments under early environmental planning laws.
In summary, Peter:
- Established much of the NSW reserve system;
- Initiated early methodological methods in reserve establishment;
- Saved NSW rainforest and had it listed as World Heritage (Gondwanan Rainforests of Australia);
- Saved stands of Tasmanian tall forests through his minority report to the Hawke Government in the 1989 Helsham Inquiry;
- Set up the Wet Tropics Authority in Cairns Queensland establishing new areas in wet tropics reserves and gaining World Heritage status;
- Advised on stopping the Jabiluka mine in Kakadu;
- With IUCN and UNESCO worked across 17 countries on World Heritage listings and other protections.
Peter also worked on Cape York assessments and on issues around Cairns unfortunately not covered in the book.
In his NSW days, we enjoyed many bushwalks with Peter into natural lands now mostly protected as national parks. Peter’s use of the NPWS helicopter for biological survey and showing politicians important areas was legendary. The story behind saving NSW rainforest is worthy of a specific study.
The book on Peter Hitchcock can be purchased via the publisher’s web site: https://www.stevennowakowski.com/product-page/peter-hitchcock-defender-of-forests