ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evolution of the various campaigns to preserve rainforests in Queensland, with a particular focus on the complex debate that led to the creation of the Lamington National Park. The Lamington Plateau is located on the Queensland–New South Wales border, 80 kilometres south of Brisbane and ranges from 600 to 1,150 metres high. The idea for declaring the Lamington Plateau as a national park is generally credited to Robert Collins, a wealthy pastoralist and member of the Queensland Parliament. The discussion of potential sites was very brief, and it was strange that Bell referred obliquely to a site on the New South Wales border, rather than simply naming the Lamington Plateau. The push for farming the Lamington Plateau resulted from the expansion of the dairying industry and the successful opening up of other rainforested mountain areas throughout Australia.
