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Terania Creek protest 40th anniversary

Protestors meet with police at Terania Creek, in what was to become Nightcap National Park, in the early 1980s. Photo: David Kamp © David Kamp

Protestors physically block a bulldozer at Terania Creek, in what was to become Nightcap National Park, in the early 1980s. Photo: David Kamp © David Kamp

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of creation of Nightcap National Park. Ground-breaking protests at Terania Creek paved the way for the park's creation and international recognition as a Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage site in 1986.

In August 1979, a group of determined protesters first stood in the path of Forestry Commission bulldozers as they pushed towards the dense rainforest of Terania Basin. Loggers intended to cut down swathes of enormous brushbox trees, some more than 1200 years old.

The Terania Creek protest was ground-breaking because it was the first attempt at direct-action forest blockading in Australia. The protesters physically defended the forest with barricades, pioneering a campaign of environmental non-violent resistance.

Today, you can still see the small stand of old growth brushbox trees at Terania Creek in Nightcap National Park. They thrive among thousands of hectares of Gondwana rainforest, protected by the actions of a small group of resilient, resourceful, and fearless protestors.

The Terania Creeks protest represented a turning point in the Australian consciousness around the protection of rainforest, old growth forest, and wilderness around the world. The protest resulted in NSW Government ending all rainforest logging in the state. It also brought about the declaration of Nightcap National Park on 22 April 1983. Three years later, the Gondwana Rainforests area was recognised with a World Heritage listing.