Assignment 1: Blue Mountains

PART 1: HOW DOES YOUR PLACE IMPACT YOU?

Detail the First Nations history in this place.

The Blue Mountains region is a vast area with a rich history; the region’s traditional owners /
First Nations people are the Gundungurra and Darug Tribes. Though both tribes are a part of
the Aboriginal indigenous community, each tribe has its own beliefs, behaviours, and
traditions. However, both tribes used the land as their seasonal home, hunting ground and
proper place (Blue Mountains Web, 2022). The Aboriginal peoples’ knowledge of how to
preserve the land's natural environment ensured the Blue Mountains land always had plentiful
supplies for the next season when the Aboriginal people would come to hunt and gather food.
It is hard to determine how many Aboriginal peoples lived in the Blue Mountains before the
invasion. However, it can be confidently said that those numbers drastically decreased after
the attack by Europeans.

Describe the bioregion of this place

According to World Heritage Convention (WHC) (2000), the Blue Mountains encompasses
1.03 million hectares of eucalypt-dominated landscape with 300-metre cliffs, swamps, slot
canyons, rainforests and waterfalls.

Explain one living system (a river, forest etc.)

Roughly 1% of the Blue Mountains landscape is occupied by rainforests in isolated pockets
and can be classed into any of these three categories, Northern Warm Temperate, Cool
Temperate or Dry Rainforests (Page and Brown, 2022)

Explain one type of native flora or fauna

The rare relict flora Wollemi Pine is found in The Blue Mountains; this flora has managed to
persist in highly restricted microsites (WHC, 2000)

Discuss the more recent histories of this place, and describe one story to which you feel
a connection.
Some history from recent times that resonate with me is from 2002, when under the National
Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW), the parliament declared The Gully as “An Aboriginal
Place”, meaning it is officially recognised as a place with special significance to Aboriginal
culture. In the same year, the Major at the time also made a formal apology for the
destruction of the community in 1957.
Though I don’t remember these significant moments, I feel like these small milestones
provided some small form of healing to Aboriginal people, which corresponds well to the
healing I felt. The more I read about the significance of The Gully and the fight the
Aboriginal people had to ensure the area remains intact for generations connects with me, as I
can understand wanting to keep your home and a place you created memories intact to be
passed on to future generations.

Describe the major industries, corporations, organisations or communities that have

shaped this place over time.
The road established by William Cox across the Blue Mountains helped form a pathway to
Bathurst during the Gold Rush; during this time, hundreds of Chinese people camped in
Springwood, located in the Blue Mountains, which has shaped the community there over
time. The two biggest industries that shaped the Blue Mountains are the mining industry
(which played a significant role in the economy and development for over 150 years) and the
tourism industry (which grew first due to a new road built which allowed horse-drawn
vehicles to pass safely and then again with the invention of motor vehicles).

Reflect on your own experience and connection to this place.

I arrived in Australia from a worn-torn country, and I remember the first time I went to The
Blue Mountains in 2022. Though I was young, I remember feeling so at ease, and the natural
beauty of my surroundings evoked a deep sadness and happiness in me; the sadness came
from missing similar natural beauties from my country. The joy came from this feeling that I
was home again. I was young, but I still remember walking along a trail (which I don’t know
the name of) and finally feeling like I belonged.

PART 2: HOW DO YOU IMPACT YOUR PLACE?

Reflect on how the actions of specific industries, corporations, organisations or

communities are part of this problem
The actions of the mining industry have negatively affected nature in The Blue Mountains;
according to Wright et al. (2022), after the mines are locked up, they continue to pollute our
river systems. An example of this is the underground Centennial Coal mine, which according
to its licence since the 1980s, has discharged its waste into the Wollangambe River, resulting
in the river having ten times normal salinity levels and high levels of nickel and zinc (Wright
et al., 2022). Unfortunately, due to this long-term pollution, both flora and fauna of the region
have been affected, very few animals have been able to survive, and the metals have
accumulated in plants growing on the river bank.

Reflect on how your actions might be part of this problem.

As I was reading about the enormous pollution caused by these mining companies, I reflected
on my behaviours and attitudes till now. Though I didn’t have any direct involvement with
this problem, I believe that by not being vocal about this and not researching and educating
myself more and understanding more about the situation, I have indirectly played a role in
allowing the pollution of one of my favourite places to continue.

Reflect on how this problem might be contributing to exceeding one of the nine
planetary boundaries
This problem, the pollution of the rivers by heavy metals such as zinc and nickel, exceeds the
planetary boundary “Chemical pollution”. These heavy metals can have potentially
irreversible effects not just on living organisms (i.e. cause infertility, genetic mutations etc.)
but also on the environment (causing changes in the climate) (Wright et al., 2022).

Identify an action/intervention you could conduct to reduce your negative impact or

increase your positive impact on a place. Write a paragraph describing why you have
chosen this action/intervention and how you would measure the effect if it were
implemented.
Actions and interventions can take many forms; I believe minor acts can have profound
consequences. I have loved The Blue Mountains for as long as I can remember, I have always
been aware of the risk tourism and humans bring to the place. As a result, I have always
ensured I made the minor imprint possible every time I went there, i.e. I would cycle or walk
for hours to get to the places I loved rather than drive. I believe these actions have had a
positive impact and helped allow me and others to enjoy the natural beauty without feeling
too guilty. However, after doing this assignment, I realised how little I understood about one
of the biggest problems, mining pollution, and I was inspired to try and find ways that I could
help.

After the research was released about the impact of the Centennial Coal mine, the
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) immediately changed the operating licence of the
mine, and the mine swiftly put new regulations in place; as a result, in the long run, we
should be able to see a reduction in the pollution of the Wollangambe river (Wright et al.,
2022). Therefore, I believe the best action/intervention I can take is to support, share and be
vocal about research papers that talk about this problem and, secondly, to reach out to
environmental regulators and those in government positions who can do something about this
issue. I believe that if more individuals voice and contact those in government positions about
the effects of the mine pollution on The Blue Mountains, we can ensure that the place’s
natural beauty stays for future generations.

References:

Blue Mountains Web. (2022). History in Detail. Blue Mountains Australia. Retrieved August
18, 2022, from https://www.bluemts.com.au/info/about/history/history-detail/

Page, A. and Brown, I. (2022). Blue Mountains nature. Blue Mountains nature. Retrieved
August 18, 2022, from https://bmnature.info/index.php

World Heritage Convention. (2000). Greater Blue Mountains Area. UNESCO World
Heritage Centre. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/917/

Wright, I., Fleming, C., Belmer, N., Reynolds, J.K. (2022). Legacy Contamination of River
Sediments from Four Decades of Coal Mine Effluent Inhibits Ecological Recovery of a
Polluted World Heritage Area River. Water Air Soil Pollution, 233(1), 2233-2236
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05487-4