One hundred years ago, in 1914, a classic bushwalk took place. Myles Dunphy and Herbert “Bert” Gallop set off from Katoomba for an adventure along the Kowmung River. This walk, in many ways marked the beginning of both the sport of bushwalking and also the conservation of wild places in Australia.
In the 1960’s, Myles’ son, Milo Dunphy was one of the founders of the Colong Committee and became its first Director. They battled to save Colong Caves, one of the areas visited by Myles and Herb on their pioneering walk, from limestone mining. Their battle was successful, and so was a later battle to prevent the nearby Boyd Plateau from becoming a pine plantation. The Colong Committee is now the Colong Foundation for Wilderness.
Myles and Bert were out for about 22 days. A long time in what was mostly wilderness. The walk tested them both mentally and physically. They carried swags, but also carried a newly designed and home made japara tent. They needed a good tent. They had to endure a lot of rain and flooded rivers. The country they travelled through was very rugged and then only carried a few parish maps to aid their navigation. It was a real adventure. Myles was a master mapmaker. All the areas they travelled through – he mapped in extraordinary detail. He later produced large scale maps that benefitted many later generations of bushwalkers. Many of these maps are still available and are treasured by bushwalkers. They seem to show the bush so well. Many of the names given to features by Myles and Bert have made there way to current official maps. Continue reading →
