Australian Geographic

IT’S AN inconvenient truth that contemporary Australia is guilty of environmental damage on a grand scale. How else could the world’s driest inhabited continent have been transformed into a thriving First World economy within a couple of centuries? W

MANAGING DIRECTOR Piers Grove EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Chrissie Goldrick CREATIVE DIRECTORMike Ellott SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT EDITOR Karen McGhee GROUP PICTURE EDITOR Nicky Catley CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Maggie Cooper COPY EDITOR Jo Hartmann SUB-EDITOR Elizabeth Gin

THE GREAT Barrier Reef (GBR) has tragically experienced its fourth mass bleaching in six years, causing seasoned marine scientists to despair about the ecosystem’s future, but plenty of young Aussies haven’t given up. Meet nine-year-old Elijah Richar

VETERAN AUSTRALIAN adventure filmmaker Michael Dillon AM has been awarded the Grand Prize of the International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF), for a lifetime of work that’s included more than 100 mountain and adventure film projects during half a

Australia’s second European settlement was at Parramatta – easily reached by boat up Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River from the first settlement at Sydney Cove. It was first called Rose Hill because of the many native roses growing there. But a

SNAPPED by Australian Museum fish researcher Dr Kerryn Parkinson in 2003, this infamous portrait (far left) is of a fish brought up from depths by the NORFANZ Cruise, which trawled deep-sea habitats between Australia and New Zealand to discover more

LOW ISLES What better place to mark World Turtle Day on 23 May than the coral cays of the Low Isles, 15km off Port Douglas in far north Queensland. Snorkellers – and even those who choose to observe from a glass-bottomed boat – are almost guaranteed

DR ALAN HORSUP celebrated two milestones in 2021. It was 50 years since Epping Forest in Queensland was gazetted as a national park – on 7 October 1971, preserving the habitat of the last remaining wild population of northern hairy-nosed wombats. And

Climate change advocate Tim has endured extreme physical hardships as a polar explorer. Without modern equipment, using 1900s-style gear and clothes, he re-created the epic journeys of Sir Ernest Shackleton (see page 50) and Sir Douglas Mawson, from

IF YOU WERE a sea monster wanting to hide from humans, Tasmania’s farflung west coast would be a good place to hang out. So it seems apt that our country’s most infamous sea monster case hails from this rugged, sparsely populated coastline. The ‘myst

By Jack Ashby This is a compelling, funny, firsthand account of our wonderfully unique mammals and how our perceptions impact their future. Think of platypuses: they lay eggs, produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs and can detect electr

Look high in the evening sky at the spectacular Milky Way. Now turn and face the relatively bland northern heavens. Here there are far fewer stars and less obscuring matter, allowing unobstructed views of distant galaxies. The largest gathering, whic

PRINCESS ELIZABETH WAS en route to Australia, via Kenya, when she received news in February 1952 of the premature death of her father, 56-year-old King George VI. She hastily abandoned her trip but visited Australia two years later as the newly crown

We think of “bangers and mash” as a quintessential English expression. But there’s evidence it was coined by Aussies. When tracking down such things, linguists look for citations – written quotations using the expression. For banger meaning “sausage”

We have been tracking Lisa Blair’s progress as she circumnavigates the planet, sailing her way through the wild, frigid waters of the Southern Ocean in her yacht Climate Action Now. As we go to press, she had threaded her way through the Drake Passag

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As a subscriber you automatically become a member of our charitable foundation – The Australian Geographic Society, which supports conservation, scientific & environmental research, community projects and Australian adventurers. Australian Geographic

THE REGIONAL MOVERS INDEX tracks population flows from capital cities to regional Australia. Developed through a partnership between the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Commbank) and the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), it’s powered by analysis of

Explore Australia’s whale watching capital with Pacific Whale Foundation Eco-Adventures Australia; the only tour operator to have conducted more than 35 years of local humpback whale research. Aboard the custom-built Ocean Defender, enjoy unobstructe

The Macleay Valley Coast, situated on the NSW Mid North Coast, is a nature lover’s paradise. With an appealing mix of beautiful coastline and stunning hinterland, the region features an abundance of picturesque trails just itching to be experienced.

Kings Canyon, 440 million years in the making, in Watarrka National Park stands a magnificent 270 metres above sea level in the heart of Australia’s Red Centre. Discovery Kings Canyon is the closest accommodation to the mesmerising natural phenonemno

8 The calves of which mammals whisper to their mothers to avoid detection? 9 The koala is the faunal emblem of which state or territory? 10 In which state or territory is the Pine Rivers Heritage Museum? 11 Karta Pintingga, Australia’s third-largest

•Before European settlement the area around Adaminaby was occupied by the Ngarigo First Nations people. During summer months the Wiradjuri people from the west and the Yuin from the east travelled to the district to feast on bogong moths. •By the 183