Cloud land : the dramatic story of Australia's extraordinary rainforest people and country
Van Oosterzee, Penny2023
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A sweeping account of Australia's wet tropical rainforest country, from deep time to the legendary time of Australia's first peoples; from the killing times and maniacal destruction of the forests by European settlers, to the present time of growing awareness of forests as the life-force of the planet. Wreathed in morning mist, the rainforest is a place where evolution and legend rule. Here the thunderbird once roamed, now kangaroos climb trees and towering trees strip water from clouds. On their property on the Atherton Tablelands, Penny van Oosterzee and her husband are regenerating rainforest from paddocks, reconnecting fragments into a living corridor that will run to the Daintree and beyond. She weaves this personal experience into a sweeping account of Australia's rainforests, from their swampy birth millions of years ago to the present. Creation stories and science bleed together for rainforest people who remember through legend the volcanic creation of the Atherton Tablelands. People They managed country for thousands of years, stitched into the patterns of the forest. Then came the European settlers and the killing times. The giant cedars were pillaged in a frenzy, and the richest rainforests in the world were cleared to make way for small unsustainable cattle farms for the settlers. After bitterly fought battles against logging, much of Australia's remaining wet tropical rainforest is now World Heritage listed and some once again managed by Traditional Owners. Will the unique capacity of these rainforests to counteract climate change be their salvation, or will they continue to be vulnerable to exploitation for short term gain?
Main title:
Cloud land : the dramatic story of Australia's extraordinary rainforest people and country / Penny van Oosterzee.
Author:
Van Oosterzee, Penny, author
Imprint:
Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2023.©2023
Collation:
312 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits (some colour), maps ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781761068409 (pbk)9781761068409
Dewey class:
577.340994577.34
Language:
English
BRN:
528120
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumaris Library | Adult Non Fiction - Indigenous | 577.34 VAN | Available |