Mossman writer unlocks the Daintree Blockade
DAINTREE
EITHER way, the missing link had been conquered, but with ramifications and consequences that nobody could have foreseen.
This is the poignant final chapter of Mossman-based writer Bill Wilkie’s The Daintree Blockade, the Battle for Australia’s Tropical Rainforests¬ – which involved more than four years of research, countless interviews, letters, first-hand accounts, newspaper reports and untapped archives – and tells the story of how the ‘Daintree Blockade’ of 1983 tried to stand in the way of the development of the road from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield.
After the necessary approvals had been granted and as the Douglas Shire Council was about to commence work on the road, a small group of local residents began what would become one of the most dramatic and publicised protests of the 1980s.
As Wilkie writes: “The blockade set off a clash of ideologies: greenies against developers, hippies against the local council, and anarchists against police.
“In time, the Daintree Blockade would take its place as one of the Big Three of Australia’s early rainforest campaigns – along with Terania Creek and the Franklin River – that helped shape the growing Australian environment.”
Detailed and superbly-illustrated – images of protesters in dugouts buried up to their necks on the roadside, clearly displays the indignation of the time – the book brilliantly articulates the mood of the protesters and how strongly they did not want this development to proceed. And in meticulous fashion, Wilkie’s research provides all sides of the argument.
Before unmasking what became the Daintree Blockade, the author details the ‘missing link’ – an incomplete road that had yet to be conquered – which would eventually become the Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield road.
Delightful anecdotes of how Bunny Adair in 1954 got lost looking for the ‘missing link’ are one of many in this pleasing and historical tome.
Today, the Wet Tropics is listed on the World Heritage register and in his foreword to the book, Dr Jack Thompson, of Earth First, writes: “But more than that, the conservationists who achieved the listing, changed the way Australians thought about, and interacted with the environment.
“These days thousands of visitors flock to the Daintree forests to marvel at their beauty, and tourism that celebrates this natural heritage that contributes millions of dollars to the local economy.”
The Daintree Blockade, the Battle for Australia’s Tropical Rainforests¬ is published by Four Mile Books (2017) and is priced at $39.95.
To order copies or for more information about the Daintree Blockade visit www.daintreeblockade.com.au.
Please leave comments below.
* Readers are encouraged to use their full details below to ensure comment legitimacy. Comments are the opinions of readers and do not represent the views of Newsport or its staff. Comments containing unlawful, obscene, defamatory or abusive material will not be published.
