Great Walk Networking, also known as Great Walk Network, is a

bushwalking Hiking is a long, vigorous walking, walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: ...

community in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. The Great Walk started in 1988 as a protest walk from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

to Parliament House in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, to raise awareness of logging in Western Australia's

old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

s. The organisation of the first Walk was also an

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

celebration to appreciate the environment of

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...

, which is home to a relatively small but unique tall forest heritage: the world's only ''

Eucalyptus marginata ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...

'' (Jarrah), '' E. diversicolor'' (karri), '' E. jacksonii'' (Tingle), ''E. wandoo'' subsp. ''wandoo'' (Wandoo), '' E. patens'' (Blackbutt) and '' E. gomphocephala'' (Tuart) forests grow there. Since 1988, different people have organized walks a few times each year. Most Walks are still organized with a focus on raising awareness of conservation and land use issues. Great Walk Networking is a non-profit voluntary organization.

History

The Conservation Movement in Western Australia, 1970s – 1980s

The Western Australian forests have been extensively challenged by significant threats: earlier destruction due to settlement patterns and later clearfelling for

woodchipping Woodchips are small- to medium-sized pieces of wood formed by cutting or chipping larger pieces of wood such as trees, branches, logging residues, stumps, roots, and wood waste. Woodchips may be used as a biomass solid fuel and are raw material ...

, mining for mineral sands and bauxite, as well as forestry practices that showed little interest in long term sustainability. Many of the Great Walk Networking participants had been involved with other organisations that formed before 1988 to address significant threats to South Western forests of Western Australia. As early as the mid 1970s the

Campaign to Save Native Forests The Campaign to Save Native Forests (W.A.) (CSNF) was the name of a grassroots organisation which grew from a campaign started in Perth, Western Australia, in 1975, as a response to the development of a woodchipping industry in the south-west jar ...

(CSNF) and

South West Forests Defence Foundation South West Forests Defence Foundation (SFDF) is a group that has been involved in the conservation of the jarrah and karri forests of the South West region of Western Australia for more than four decades. It was formed at approximately the same ti ...

(SWFDF) had been seeking to address the forestry and mining proposals for woodchipping and mining in the forests. The Manjimup wood chip proposals of 1976–1977, and the Wagerup mining proposals in the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

consumed the energies of the CSNF and the SWFDF, as well as other groups based either at the Environment Centre of Western Australia or associated with the

Conservation Council of Western Australia The Conservation Council of Western Australia is the umbrella body for conservation groups and organisations in Western Australia. It has been the co-ordinator, publisher and guiding body for issues of woodchipping in the South West of Western Au ...

. As the older groups changed due to resolution of some of the issues - subsequent groups like Great Walk Networking absorbed members from the earlier groups.

The Great Walk (20 March – 14 April 1988)

On 20 March 1988, 200 people set out from Denmark, on Western Australia's south coast, to walk through the forests of the State's south west on a 650 kilometre trek north to Perth. The Great Walk was launched with an Aboriginal dance ceremony to "protect the walkers, and attune them to the country through which they would travel." Over the next 26 days, over 1000 people would take part, ostensibly to express their appreciation and concerns for the environment. These expressions were felt to be conveyed by a document called the Great Walk Tree Charter, which was carried to Parliament House where it was presented to the

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...

. The Great Walk required a great deal of planning and coordination: the route had to mapped, checked and marked on the ground, support crews and equipment assembled, transport arranged, child-care, first aid and medical personnel coordinated and a mobile catering system put together, able to serve 200-500 people at a time. For the most part, sections of the Walk were co-ordinated 'tag-team' style, with new coordination teams assembled for sections of the Walk. During the 26 days from March to April 1988, the Great Walk formed an entirely self-supporting, mobile community of 200 to 500 people that supported itself on contributions from participating walkers per day.

''Bambooroo''

''Bambooroo'' was a magazine published by Great Walk Networking from May 1988 to May 1990. Its focus was on environmental issues of concern primarily to the South West region of Western Australia. ''Bambooroo'' means "

message stick A message stick is a graphic communication device traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians. The objects were carried by messengers over long distances and were used for reinforcing a verbal message. Although styles vary, they are generally ...

" or "message bearer" in the Nyoongah language. During the first Great Walk, a bambooroo was presented to the Walkers at a

corroborree A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the ...

held in Kirup, Western Australia.

Ken Colbung Kenneth Desmond Colbung AM MBE (2 September 1931 – 12 January 2010), also known by his indigenous name Nundjan Djiridjarkan, was an Aboriginal Australian leader from the Noongar people who became prominent in the 1960s. He was appointed an MB ...

described the bambooroo to the Walkers and supporters who collected at Parliament House on 20 April 1988 as a "spiritual message stick" that "protected (the Walkers) from the weather." He later said a message stick "has a very special spiritual significance for the messenger, and when we dedicated it at Kirup it then took all the hopes and realisations of the people present that they would have a walk that would not be caught up in the elements, so that rain would not flood them out or that mud would not be there, that the winds would not be too strong, but the elements would be very controlled and it'd allow the Walkers a peaceful walk up to Perth."

Article references

Other media

''The Great Walk: The documentary of an historic environmental statement in WA - The Great Walk from Denmark to Perth, 20 March - 15 April 1988.'' (1989) Documentary. Directed by Noeleen Harrison. Film and Television Institute, funded by Great Walk Networking.

External links

* * {{cite web , title=Great Walk Network , website=HikeWest , url=https://www.hikewest.org.au/member_clubs/great-walk-network/ Environmental organisations based in Australia Organisations based in Western Australia Nature conservation in Western Australia 1988 establishments in Australia