text:
Talk:House of Commons of Canada

Older entries
quick fix for someone, Duceppe was not the last non-incumbent to be elected as an independent, in the most recent election a former radio dj from quebec got elected

Updated party standing. -1 Liberal, +1 vacant. Mr. Richardson (Liberal, Perth-Middlesex, Ont.), resigned 11 Oct. 2002. On second look I see that a few more members have resigned and changed affiliation than I knew about - a full update is coming as soon as I get back from Thanksgiving. - Montrealais 19:12 Oct 13, 2002 (UTC)

Removed reference to being like the US House of Representatives. The US and Canadian systems are so very different that that comparison is very misleading.

Roadrunner

I removed the following:

''Under the Westminster system, the House of Commons appoints the Prime Minister of Canada who is the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties. '' Utterly wrong. Under the Westminster system a prime minister is appointed by the head of state or representative of the head of state from the HofC. He/she is NEVER elected. Indeed very few parliamentary democracies allow parliament to elect a pm. Most give to the head of state the role of commissioning someone to form a government. This is a basic error in this article. FearÉIREANN 01:24 17 Jun 2003 (UTC) -

 * Um... the PC party and Canadian Alliance haven't fused their caucuses yet. - Montréalais 06:49, 17 Dec 2003 (UTC)-

Colours
we need to come to agreement on colours. here are my thoughts. we need colours that both A- represent the parties and B- are different and distinct enough to see

the major problem is that both the Bloc and Conservatives claim blue as their colour. we cannot, therefore, have 2 parties with the same shade of blue. it would also not make sence, IMHO, to have a light blue tory party (AKA royal blue) light blue BQ, light orange NDP, and a dark red liberal party. this is why I changed the tories to be blue (regular ole blue) if you go with a variant of blue for the tories you need a variant of red for the grits IMHO.

here are some suggestions: Blue:

Red:

Orange:

Others:

thx for the new bloc colour, I couldent find a good one Pellaken 02:11, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC)

--- I have/will edit(ed) the seat distribution. in the table with colours. its a real ...annoyance... to have to fiddle with those seats, and change row after row just to get one seat moved from one party to another, etc. Therefore, like in the real parliament, the backbenches will have indepednents, etc. I will place them where parties meet. so you will end up with things like this

I would use the real seat distribution, but I cant find it. either way, this makes it easier to edit. I will still stack vacancies on the right as much as I can. Pellaken 05:15, 5 Feb 2004 (UTC)

- I'd like some feedback?? I dont wanna do this if its not going to be popular. who made the table, anyone know? Pellaken 06:52, 6 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Committees
The article needs a list of House of Commons committees (which should, in turn, have their own articles).Homey 03:38, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Someone might want to repair the article, it seems it has been spammed.

Province Links
The article is locked right now, otherwise I would wiki-link-ify all of the entries in the first table under "Province or Territory".

 * Unprotected. Sorry, I didn't realize it was on the mainpage! *.* - Mailer Diablo 18:15, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Chuck Cadman
In the article, in section "Members and Elections" it says that Chuck Cadman was re-elected in 2000 as a member of Conservative Party. This is factually inaccurate though, because Conservative party did not exist then yet, and he was actually a member of the Canadian Alliance party. Ikh 17:28, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Fixed.--Anchoress 22:20, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Procedure
I will made the following changes:

 * the seating in the House of Commons (HoC) is not benches, but assigned seats.
 * The sides of the HoC are not two sword-lengths apart. This is a myth of unknown origin.
 * Ministers are not referred to as 'front-benchers'.
 * I have also inserted a reference to the Official Opposition and the shadow cabinet.
 * I have also added a reference to the varying schedule of the HoC.

aathorp 20:26, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

 * They may be assigned seats but they are refered to as Benches ie: "Back Bench" "Front Bench" "Opposition Benches" and ministers are indeed refered to as front benchers, because they sit in the front bench, in the same way that Private members are refered to as "Back Benchers" – 68.144.211.103 00:05, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Can you cite a source saying the two sword-lengths is a myth? It is mentioned frequently on the House of Commons internet site.  HistoryBA 00:31, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

 * As for the two sword-lenghts, it was part of an internal training document for Parliamentary guides.

I respectfully disagree on the point regarding Benches. I have never heard of ministers being referred to as front benchers. Is there a reference for that? aathorp 14:42, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Here is a reference to "front bench" from a major Canadian newspaper today - Jord 17:07, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Sword lengths
someone may wish to include that part of the duties of the party whips include rounding up enough members to make quorum (this is, in fact, their main duty). also, i realize an anonymous comment is hardly concrete proof; but having been in the House on several occasions, i can attest that the distance between the two sides is certainly more than any two normally-sized swords. 69.199.42.108 09:54, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

 * The distance between benches (which the article used to claim was two sword lengths) has now inflated to 2.5. The story I've always heard was 2 lengths, but pictures of the chamber show them to be much farther than that. I wonder if the traditional story of "two sword lengths" was transferred from Westminster to Ottawa without the actual distance being transferred as well. Indefatigable 04:17, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

 * I have visited various provincial legislatures where the 2 to 2 1/2 sword lengths measurement is referred to. I think it is fair to say that the distance is "traditionally said to be two sword-lengths apart". Even the literature provided by the British House of Commons Information Office refers this to this as a traditional belief rather than a fact. Fluit 03:07, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Just out of Curiosity, which Legislatures?  Keeperoftheseal 22:09, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Just to point out, the requirement was that the distance between the front two rows of seats be at LEAST two sword lengths apart. This comes from the days in the British Parliament when members would actually sit with swords, and so having them at least two lengths apart ment that they couldn't actually fight each other from where they were sitting.  It is not a requirement that they be exactly two lengths apart. Grizzwald 04:00, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Dual Mandates
Gentlemen, are inter-Commonwealth dual mandates permitted, provided that candidates possess the qualifications of citizenship?--Anglius 00:45, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

Bill C-1
I just landed on Bill C-1 when clicking on a random article. I thought it was interesting and would like to know more, also nothing links to it yet. I imagine this page could link to it fairly naturaly, but I couldn't think of where 141.151.90.148 20:21, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

 * It should defiantly be linked somewhere in this article, but I don’t know where. I spent a while trying to figure out what the heck Bill C-1 was, since all list of legislation on the net start at C-2.  I finally found some stuff and added it to the stub article, while moving it to Bills C-1 and S-1.  That article now needs some stuff to link to it.  --Arctic Gnome 07:19, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Committee Chairs
I was under the impression that committee chairs were elected by the House of Commons as a whole, and not by the committees themselves; is this incorrect? My basis for this is a recollection of Liberals loyal to Paul Martin passing a change to standing orders (opposed by Chretien) to have the votes for committee chairs be by secret ballot, thereby preventing them from being whipped.Sarcasticidealist 09:40, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

 * Evidently I was mistaken. Sarcasticidealist 22:01, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Infobox
It looks like we have a difference of opinion as to the inclusion of an infobox in this article. Personally, I think the info box is of some use, but that needs to be weighed against the decreased prominence it gives to the template. What do others think? Sarcasticidealist 22:01, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Can-pol w.jpg
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BetacommandBot 05:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Wisdom from beyond the grave?
One of the references cited is stated to be published in 2003 and credited to an author who died in 1991, and linked to a website using a version published more recently (2005 or later). It is an excellent resource by the way, I have copies of both the 5th edition which is cited, and a more recent 6th edition in print form at home, but perhaps it should be cited in a different way? The website that is linked to here actually links to the latest edition not the 5th edition as cited in the references list for the article - are there any major editorial changes or updates we should be aware of? P.S. I agree that the majority of the credit for this fine reference book (1st edition published 1980) should indeed go to the late Senator Forsey but editions printed subsequent to his death have additional contributors and perhaps do we need to be more clear on which edition we have drawn our references from? I don't know for sure yet how extensive each update has been since his death in 1991, however the preface in the 6th edition does indicate that the revisions are kept "to a minimum" and intended to "preserve the integrity of Senator Forsey's historical judgements and writing style". Garth of the Forest (talk) 20:04, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

 * I've gone ahead and made the change to cite the 6th edition (2005) as a general reference. If there is sufficient content difference between the 5th and 6th editions that is directly referenced to support specific details in the article, please be bold and identify it! Otherwise I'm assuming for most purposes we want to reference the most recent edition, while perhaps remaining vigilant in case partisan politics leads to anyone trying to sneak any revisionist history into subsequent versions that have been published since the original author's death. We need to keep the Library of Parliament and the Department of Canadian Heritage true to the author and his authorized successors, while recognizing that the views published in this reference guide may not (and probably given the current balance of power, do not) necessarily reflect those of Parliament.Garth of the Forest (talk) 20:21, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Article Status?
This article was demoted in October 2007 and now has "former feature article status". Looks like the main (most recent) issue was a perceived lack of in-line citations, but perhaps I'm missing something from a brief review of the archives. If putting in a few more in-line citations and references is all that is required, is anyone else interested in taking another run at it or is the FAR process too onerous for those of us in Canada who actually care about this topic enough to care about considering trying FAR again? I'm just thinking, as a relatively new editor, that if this article and/or topic has a reasonable shot at achieving FA and/or Featured Topic status in the near future, now is the time to get on it because I expect we will have another Canadian federal election soon after all the excitement dies down in the USA over the presidential race, and it may actually be a timely topic to be considered for FA or Featured Topic status for Wikipedia during that occasional brief moment that happens once in a while when some Americans look up from their navel gazing to notice what is going on in the world around them, just a few feet away from aforementioned allegorical navel. Or should we just acknowledge right here and now that articles about Canadian politics in any form are far less feature-topic-worthy than articles about heavy metal thrash bands and their songs (most of which I've never heard of), and just get on with our good ol', out-of-the-limelight, steady but apparently boring Canuck existence? Garth of the Forest (talk) 21:01, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

 * This article is key for WikiProject Canada, and we should absolutely get it back to FA. I'll do a mock assessment to see where we need the most work.  --Arctic Gnome (talk • contribs) 02:25, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Assessment

 * 1) It is well-written, comprehensive, factually accurate, neutral and stable.
 * 2) * (a) "Well-written" means that the prose is engaging, even brilliant, and of professional standard.
 * 3) * (b) "Comprehensive" means that the article does not neglect major facts and details.
 * 4) * (c) "Factually accurate" means that claims are verifiable against reliable sources and accurately represent the relevant body of published knowledge. Claims are supported with specific evidence and external citations; this involves the provision of a "References" section in which sources are set out, complemented by inline citations where appropriate.
 * 5) * (d) "Neutral" means that the article presents views fairly and without bias.
 * 6) * (e) "Stable" means that the article is not the subject of ongoing edit wars and that its content does not change significantly from day to day, except for edits made in response to the featured article process.
 * 7) It follows the style guidelines, including:
 * 8) * (a) a concise lead section that summarizes the topic and prepares the reader for the greater detail in the subsequent sections;
 * 9) * (b) a system of hierarchical headings and table of contents that is substantial but not overwhelming (see section help);
 * 10) * (c) consistently formatted inline citations using either footnotes or Harvard referencing (Smith 2007, p. 1), where they are appropriate (see 1c). (See citing sources for suggestions on formatting references; for articles with footnotes or endnotes, the meta:cite format is recommended.)
 * 11) It has images and other media where they are appropriate to the subject, with succinct captions and acceptable copyright status. Non-free images or media must meet the criteria for the inclusion of non-free content and be labeled accordingly.
 * 12) It is of appropriate length, staying focused on the main topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).

Quotient
The numbers in the table that show the distribution of seats do not add up. For example BC's population 4 113 487 divided by 107 220 is 38.36, not 36. Perhaps we are using up-to-date population figures while the reference site and Elections Canada uses old population statistics?

Tristanridley (talk) 23:04, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Seat counts are based on the last major cencus, which is now a few years ago. --Arctic Gnome (talk • contribs) 01:47, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

 * There is a major census every year 1 of each decade. The last one then occurred in 2001.--RXcanadensis (talk) 04:00, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

 * Actually, that used to be the case until the 1950's. Now, it's every 5 years, on the YYY1 and the YYY6. The latest one was in 2006. Here's the official website: http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/index-eng.cfm --SmartlyStupid (talk) 05:04, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

 * I've corrected the table to show the correct numbers for how the number of seats is calculated right now based off of the correct reference census (2001). We're good until October.--CFnavymars (talk) 04:12, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Etymology
The intro to the article says: ''It is widely thought that "Commons" is a shortening of the word "commoners". However, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective "communities" of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality.'' Part of this was sourced to the official guide to the House of Commons. However, that guide does not mention this issue at all, so I removed the cite and added a fact tag. Does anyone have a source for this? On the talk page for the main House of Commons article, it was suggested that the comparison to the French name for the Canadian House of Commons is an example of folk etymology. PubliusFL (talk) 19:25, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Our article on A. F. Pollard read: "One of his most influential books was The Evolution of Parliament published in 1920, still read today as a leading history of the English Parliament." I have a provided a source from that book for the communes > commons etymology. Srnec (talk) 23:30, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

House of Commons Elections
Sorry for moving this up but my previous comment got erased.

Have moved in links regarding fixed election dates. There is a non existent page link regarding an election needing to occur every five years. I couldn't find a way to link it that would work...this part wasn't material that I had added in I just saw the problem (or created it by accident, I think it linked before but took the whole sentence to do it.Marcie (talk) 18:05, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Procedure - Project of law
How does a project of law get passed? How many lectures are there? When does the project of law get voted on?

 * I'm not entirely sure what you mean by a "Project of Law", but if you mean "How is new legislation passed?" the article covering that is Act of Parliament. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.144.101.143 (talk) 05:37, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

'Project of law' sounds like a direct translation of the French term 'projet de loi', which means 'bill.' And 'lectures' is French for 'reading', another parliamentary term. Grandma Roses (talk) 19:36, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Fixed Election Dates
The article current states in the opening that "MPs hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for limited terms of up to five years after an election.." and later in the article mentions "A law regarding fixed election dates has been passed but has not yet proven effective". While the second statement is technically true, it is also very misleading. The first statement is simply wrong.

The Fixed Elections Act quantitatively restricts any session of the House to not more than four years. The confusion about this act stems from Mr. Harper having called an election before the four year mandate. However, if one actually reads the Act, one would find that it specifically states that anything with in the Act has no effect or power on the Governor General's authority. Thus, many people THINK that Mr. Harper broke his own Election law, when he really only beat the hell out of the spirit of it.

I plan on changing the article to reflect the reality of the law, unless anyone wants to discuss it? Dphilp75 (talk) 14:52, 6 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you think is incorrect. You are quite correct that Harper did not break his fixed election law, as it was nothing but a fiction in the first place.  As for the first statement, it makes reference to the 5-year constitutional limit of a parliament.  Would you mind clarifying?  Forgive me if I'm just being slow.PoliSciMaster (talk) 18:04, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

 * No worries at all. My exception to the first statement is that thanks to the amendment to the Canada Elections Act, no duration of HoC can last 5 years.  The amendment is not "fiction" in so much as it absolutely limits any duration to a maximum of 4 years, period.  In fact, limiting the session to 4 years is about the only thing that the amendment actually accomplished.

 * My issue with the second statement, is that the "..law regarding fixed election dates..has not yet proven effective.." *IS* misleading. First of all, there was no "law" passed, but an amendment to a current act. (Not withstanding what I wrote above! I was/am just getting over a head cold! LOL)  The "law" hasn't had a chance to run its course since it was changed, but when the 4 year limit is reached, an the PM will be forced to go to the GG and request the dropping of a writ.  There is no longer ANY method by which a PM can legally attempt a 5th year, such as they could before this amendment.

 * I hope that is a little clearer..? But again, I'm just getting over a head cold, so maybe my ability to command the English language is a little compromised at the moment! :) Dphilp75 (talk) 18:51, 7 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Edit; Sorry, I am incorrect in saying that there is NO mechanism, the duration of Parliament *COULD* last longer than 4 years "In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection". Dphilp75 (talk) 21:00, 7 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I understand what you are saying now, although I'm not sure I agree with you.  The power to dissolve parliament is a prerogative of the Governor general.  If the powers of the GG aren't affected, then that discretion remains, despite what the Canada Election Act says.  It could be argued that this not allows the GG to call an earlier election, but a later one.PoliSciMaster (talk) 22:41, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

 * Hmmm.. Actually, you have a point there. Then I guess I would move my position from "flat out wrong", but I would keep the "misleading" as the odds of the GG allowing a duration of Parliament to go beyond the Canada Elections Act. I still think this needs to be reworded to reflect both the political reality and the "legal" reality... Dphilp75 (talk) 22:47, 7 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm assuming when you said "...argued that this not allows the GG to call an earlier election, but a later one." you mean "...this allows not only an earlier one, but also a later..." ? Dphilp75 (talk) 23:33, 7 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The law isn't just a fiction, it's a mess. It purports to reduce the maximum term from five to four years, but doesn't repeal s. 50 pf the Constitution Act, 1867. It calls for an election at a specified date, but it doesn't actually call for a dissolution before an election, meaning members could serve up to their successors' writs are returned. Or maybe later—what a fine constitutional mess that would be. Then, on top of all that, it adopts what some of the provinces, including British Columbia have: a mechanism for the prime minister of the day to simply circumvent the law when it is inconvenient as Harper did in 2008.

 * Notwithstanding the crappiness of the law, it should be handled better in the description here. Does anyone object to the passage being recast in a way that explains the conflicting sources for the four- and five-year terms? -Rrius (talk) 08:26, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Leader of Government..
The leader of government is Stephen Harper, not John Baird. John Baird is the government house leader. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.222.168.63 (talk) 16:30, 30 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The full title of the Government House Leader is "Leader of the Government in the House of Commons", which is presumably the text that spurred your objection. -Rrius (talk) 08:05, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Officers in infobox
It seems to me that the infobox shouldn't list the Government House Leader and the Leader of the Opposition as though they are opposite numbers; the more sensible thing would be to list the Government House Leader and Opposition House Leader. The British House of Commons article's infobox lists the Speaker, Leader of the House, and Shadow Leader of the House (the latter being the equivalents of the Government and Opposition House Leaders). Does anyone object to the change? -Rrius (talk) 03:09, 16 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, isn't the "Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons" the Opposition House Leader? PARLINFO seems to think so. -Rrius (talk) 03:33, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Members and electoral districts - TABLE
I think updating this chart to reflect updated population numbers is appropriate. Akiracee (talk) 16:44, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

Seeing no disagreement, I'm going to update the chart based on 2011 Census population data. Akiracee (talk) 17:28, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Recent changes to lead
Sub-headings and topically-grouped paragraphs comprised of non-conceptually-redundant sentences constitute improvements to readability. The first section contains two general topics, one as to the composition of the House, and the other as to the method of election and term of office. Grammatical improvements, elimination of run-on sentences, contextual-specificity and comparative-specificity. --Paul63243 (talk) 06:10, 31 March 2013 (UTC)
 * The lead section is meant to be a summary of the article. It is not subdivided into sections. Your phrases like "federatively subdivided" are not very good. (By the way, phrasal adjectives containing an -ly adverb are not hyphenated.) -Rrius (talk) 06:33, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

 * And leave the article alone until there is consensus for your changes (some of which you certainly will never get it for). -Rrius (talk) 06:36, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

 * Yes, it is clear now how the improvements to readability, topical organization and grammar constituted by my superior erudition would be viewed by you as outrageous and unacceptable. I apologize, as I did not mean to embarrass you. --Paul63243 (talk) 06:43, 31 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Your so called improvements to the lead aren't improvements; offense doesn't come into the matter. There are no section headings within lead sections, and it is as simple as that. Leads are meant to repeat things from the article. Your phrasing is not terribly good. You take simple, readable prose and turn it into a stiff, wordy muddle. And Wikipedia works by consensus, which means if you attempt to make changes and someone objects, you discuss it on the talk page until a consensus emerges to support or reject your changes. -Rrius (talk) 06:49, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

 * By the way, that's "so-called improvements" not so "called improvements". Your conclusoriness is arbitrary and capricious, rather than reasoned. There's very little point in seeking to squelch superior erudition by simply stating it to be the lack thereof, simply to vent your own anger and frustration. I was only trying to help and make things better. The only reason my contribution is a "stiff, wordy muddle" is because you're declaring that it is, not because it actually is--although, in contrast to you, I might concede such, if it were proven by constructive, logical and objective reasoning, rather than through conclusory, non-reasoned declaration, as you seem to be given to on this occasion.
 * Hyphenating "so called" is a personal style choice because it is a set phrase. The argument against doing so is that there is zero chance of any rational human being reading it as so "called improvements". Mostly because that has no meaning. As for your supposed erudition, phrases like "federatively subdivided" are clunky. If you can't see that, you shouldn't write. -Rrius (talk) 20:12, 31 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Are you really trying to assert that organized, non-redundant paragraphs, not comprised of run-on sentences, with correct grammar, and plain, descriptive headings, are not desirable and an aspirational goal? Why don't you just admit that you're pissed off at my superior erudition. No others reading this are going to be distracted from that by nothing more than your declaration of my contributions to be rejected by you as a "stiff, wordy muddle".
 * No reasonable editor is going to agree that two- to three-sentence paragraphs, topically organized with brief, descriptive sub-headings constitutes a "stiff, wordy muddle". Such a rationale belongs to and with the Simple English Wikipedia, not here. --Paul63243 (talk) 08:37, 31 March 2013 (UTC)
 * It is your ham-fisted phrasing that is the problem. The aim is readability, not to prove that Paul63243 has a vocabulary. And I have told you several times that a lead section is meant to summarize the article and is not subdivided into sections. You have not bothered to address that. Should I take that to mean that you now understand that? I suppose I should have provided a link to WP:LEAD, but you've been here long enough that you should have learned that already. If from nothing else than by seeing hundreds of Wikipedia articles and noticing that none of them has subsections in its lead. -Rrius (talk) 20:12, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

Peter Goldring
Goldring has been welcomed back into the Conservative caucus, according to a statement released by the PMO. – Jwkozak91 (talk) 00:08, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

Parlement's diagram
I noticed that Andreas11213 changed the diagram of the Canadian Parlement to a semi-circle instead of the (British style) rectangular style that it actually is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.195.81.199 (talk) 21:36, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
 * He has been doing this to parliaments all over the world. Without consensus, every time he doesn't get his was he edit wars. One look at his talk page shows this.115.42.1.112 (talk) 15:41, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Full protection
I have asked, and received, full protection for this article due to the slow moving edit war with at least one (auto)confirmed account. I have no opinion on the matter either way but please work it out here instead of continuing to revert over and over again. Thanks. --Majora (talk) 00:15, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
 * As per the House of Commons website the Opposition is referred to as "the Opposition" - not HM Loyal Opposition or any other term. Same goes for the government. This article should reflect such. Jon Kolbert (talk) 00:34, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
 * The official term is "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition" or in French "L'Opposition Loyale de Sa Majesté" and this is how it appears in official documentation. "Official Opposition", and "Opposition" are commonly used informal terms.

Mediatech492 (talk) 21:52, 14 April 2017 (UTC)
 * If you need more sources I can provide them. There are literally thousands of them on the Parliament of Canada website alone. All official government documents, excerpts from parliamentary debate and so on. Mediatech492 (talk) 21:59, 14 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Again, if you search those records "the opposition" is used much more often than Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Also, you aren't even using the term Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the article, you're using "HM Loyal Opposition" which isn't even used in the parliament records. Please wait until consensus is achieved here before restoring the disputed version that was only added not too long ago. Jon Kolbert (talk) 22:35, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

As a non-Canadian, I would like to request that the article clearly distinguish between proper nouns and common nouns, and that "HM Opposition" or "Official Opposition" be used as "HM Government" or "Canadian Government" would be, in order to set these specific entities aside from common nouns such as government, opposition, etc.. Personally, I would prefer that the term "HM Loyal Opposition" be rarely if ever used, as it would imply that a "HM Disloyal Opposition", or other nonsensical entities, could exist. "HM" and "Loyal" are redundant. I believe that the historical term is "His Majesty's Opposition", circa 1826. Although I appreciate the brevity of "the Opposition", I feel that unless it is quoted, that it may be too easily confused with a common noun. I would like for it to be clear, that not every opposition, is the Opposition. T.Randall.Scales (talk) 19:02, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I would like to clarify that I am in favour of using "Official Opposition" and "Government" in the infobox - I was just demonstrating that HM Loyal Opposition was not used in the texts Mediatext referenced. Jon Kolbert (talk) 06:51, 20 April 2017 (UTC)

 * Still need more evidence? How about this [| official letter] of condolence from the Governor General on the death of Jack Layton. It says "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition" not just once, but three times. A formal letter on an official occasion from the highest office of government in the country, and the word "official" does not even appear once. Mediatech492 (talk) 15:33, 21 April 2017 (UTC)

Scheduled election
Please stop changing the next Elections the ion from "scheduled" to "on or before". Saying something is scheduled doesn't mean it can't be changed while on or before is much too vague. Hungarian Phrasebook (talk) 01:00, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

CCF today?
I noticed that the CCF is listed as having one elected member in the present House of Commons. Wasn't the CCF succeeded by NDP in 1961?--TM 18:18, 21 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Erin Weir was elected as an NDP member, but has since parted ways with the party, and declared himself to be CCF. Since the Federal CCF was officially disbanded in 1961 this is a debatable stance. He certainly can claim to be CCF as there is no extant party to say otherwise. As far as Parliamentary rules go, since his "party" does not hold 12 seats he is not considered to be a party in the House and is officially considered an independent. Mediatech492 (talk) 20:05, 21 October 2018 (UTC)

ABC — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2409:4055:49B:A0BF:0:0:1C5A:18A0 (talk) 14:04, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

Opening sentence is confusing and/or ambiguous
This is the sentence in its current form:
 * The House of Commons of Canada (French: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general) and the Senate of Canada.

It could suggest to the arbitrary reader that the "House Of Commons" = lower chambre (or lower house) + upper house (Senate) + the sovereign.

However, I had known that the Parliament of Canada = House of Commons (lower house) + Senate + sovereign; a fact that I had to double-check by reading the related article on the Parliament of Canada. The rest of this article makes it clear what the facts are, which takes the ambiguity away, to be fair.

My suggested change:
 * The House of Commons of Canada (French: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Canada, which also comprises the sovereign (represented by the governor general) and the Senate of Canada. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jark-Gluon-Plasma (talk • contribs) 16:51, 21 October 2020 (UTC)

Supply and Confidence Agreement
Looks like we’ll be getting the first supposed ‘supply and confidence agreement’ at the federal level here in Canada. We should discuss how to progress with this page once that is official. Mcnasty1point0 (talk) 12:58, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:House of Commons of the United Kingdom which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 12:31, 5 October 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:House of Commons of Canada


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Keppel Bay Islands National Park

Keppel Bay Islands are part of both a national park and a scientific national park in Queensland, Australia, respectively 538 km and 518 km northwest of Brisbane. Keppel Bay Islands National Park includes 13 islands, positioned in Keppel Bay, off the coast of Yeppoon and Emu Park on the Capricorn Coast. The largest island in the Keppel Group, Great Keppel Island, is a popular tourist attraction and not part of the national park.

North Keppel Island
From the early 1950s to about 1994, a small resort of about twelve cabins on North Keppel Island was operated by Mr Walls, a former train driver. “Old” Mr Walls was assisted by his daughter, Geraldine, and her husband, who also lived on the island. His son Tim Walls operated the boat service to the island, firstly in a boat called the Somerset, out of Ross Creek, Yeppoon, then in a larger boat called the Keppel Star, out of the Roslyn Bay Boat Harbour.

More recently the island has been run by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Camping, reef walking, boating, fishing, wildlife watching, diving and snorkelling are all popular activities within the park.

North Keppel Island is an environmental school that teaches their students about their environment at North Keppel Island.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Keppel Bay Islands National Park


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Kondalilla National Park

Kondalilla is a national park in the Blackall Range of South East Queensland, Australia, 91 km north of Brisbane. William Skene founded this area on his property while searching for lost cattle. He named it Bon Accord before giving it to the Queensland Government who, during the fifties, renamed it Kondalilla which is an Aboriginal word for running water. The area was first officially protected in 1906 as a recreational area, becoming a national park in 1945.

Access is easiest by road from Flaxton, east of the park. There is a large picnic area where there are toilet facilities (non potable water). There are two tracks which lead to the upper falls swimming hole. A longer circuit track will take you to the bottom pool which is not suitable for swimming. Allow at least two hours for the circuit trip, which in some places is close to the cliff edge and is not fenced.

Camping in the park is not permitted.

Bonyee festival
For countless generations, the Blackall Range has held spiritual significance for many Aboriginal people throughout South East Queensland.

Abundant bunya pines growing throughout this area produced large nut crops, providing enough food for huge gatherings. When the nut crop peaked every three years, Kabi Kabi and neighbouring Wakka Wakka people hosted the Bonyee Festival. Many invited guests travelled great distances from coastal and inland areas to share food, songs and dances, arrange marriages, and other social interactions. A large grassy area near Baroon Pocket was an important gathering place.

Pastoralists and timber-getters
From 1842 until 1860, the Blackall Range was part of a large reserve declared by Governor Gipps to protect the bunya pine food source for local Indigenous groups. It was illegal to settle or clear land where bunya pines occurred.

When reserve status was rescinded, pastoralists and timber-getters came. In the 1880s, prized timber including red cedar, white beech, bunya pine, blackbutt and tallowwood was logged in the Blackall Range. The forest around Kondalilla was logged heavily and the ring-barked trees can still be seen today along the Picnic Creek circuit. Widespread clearing of the tableland forests ensued as settlement proceeded. However, some small areas were set aside for recreation.

Recreational use
From the early 1900s, people began visiting this area for its "natural scenery, waterfalls and spectacular views".

The first area to be protected was Kondalilla—in 1906 it became a recreational area, then a national park in 1945. Since then, reserves have been added across the Blackall Range to protect remnants of its natural communities. Kondalilla National Park (327ha) was linked to Obi Obi National Park in 1988. With other additions, including former State forest, the park has increased in size to 1591ha.

Mapleton Falls (26ha) became a national park in 1973, after being a reserve for recreational and scenic purposes for 38 years. Mapleton National Park (10064ha) was gazetted on 28 March 2014 and is an amalgamation of Mapleton Forest Reserve and Delicia Road Conservation Park.

Fauna
The park provides habitat for 107 bird species. It is also home to the rare Pouched Frog. The vulnerable plant species, Macadamia ternifolia, also known as the Bopple Nut, grows in the park.

Flora
Protected within the park is remnant subtropical rainforest. The park contains stands of piccabeen palms, pink ash, hoop pines and casuarinas as well as eucalypt forests and rainforest. The stand of bunya pines is the most easterly in Australia.

Walking Tracks
Picnic Creek Circuit (Class 2)

Distance: 1.7 km

Time: Allow 45 minutes

Kondalilla Falls Circuit (Class 3)

Distance: 4.7 km

Time: Allow 2hrs

Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk
Distance: 58.8 km

Time: At least four days It leaves from Baroon Pocket Dam and passes through Kondalilla National park on Day 1.

title: Kondalilla National Park


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Kroombit Tops National Park

Kroombit Tops is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia. It is between Monto and Calliope. It is two parts. The largest part is within the localities of Tablelands, Valentine Plains, Cania and Boyne Valley, while the smaller part is in the locality of Mount Alma. It is 399 km northwest of Brisbane. Cania Gorge National Park is located approximately 25 km to the south.

In February 1945, an American Liberator Bomber, "Beautiful Betsy", crashed into what is now Kroombit Tops National Park. The wreckage was discovered on 2 August 1994.

Recreational activities conducted in the park include birdwatching, off-road driving and bushwalking. Camping is permitted.

Fauna
The park provides refuge for the Kroombit tinker frog, which has only been found within the park. The species is so rare that estimates of their number only range in the hundreds;, it was estimated fewer than 200 remained in the wild, all in various discrete areas in the rainforest. However, in the same month, the first froglet of this species was bred in captivity at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, raising hopes that it may be saved from extinction.

In 2013, a new species of marsupial, the silver-headed antechinus, was described, also only found in the national park.

A small population of brumbies roams the park; they are sometimes mustered to reduce numbers.

Abundant in the park is the Kroombit Tops Assassin Spider (Austrarchaea alani).

Crash site
On 2 August 1994, the wreckage of a United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24D Liberator, Beautiful Betsy, was discovered in the park. The aircraft had gone missing in stormy weather on 26 February 1945 while on a "Fat Cat" run from Darwin to Brisbane - transporting men and supplies as part of a regular flight. Eight servicemen lost their lives; six of the men were American aviators and two were British Royal Air Force Spitfire pilots. The crash site is well-presented, with a plaque erected by National Parks (approx -24.46441°N, 150.91426°W).

title: Kroombit Tops National Park


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Kurrimine Beach National Park

Kurrimine Beach is a national park in Queensland, Australia, which lies 1,295 km northwest of Brisbane. It is part of the Coastal Wet Tropics Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of lowland tropical rainforest birds.

title: Kurrimine Beach National Park


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Lake Bindegolly National Park

Lake Bindegolly is a national park in Dynevor, Shire of Bulloo, South West Queensland, Australia, 871 km west of Brisbane and 40 km from the town of Thargomindah. It is in the Mulga Lands bioregion and was established to protect a population of the rare plant Acacia ammophila. It has three lakes, two saline and one freshwater.

Birds
A 318 km2 area of the lake and its surrounds has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it has supported over 1% of the world populations of blue-billed ducks and red-necked avocets as well as populations of the biome-restricted inland dotterel, Bourke's parrot, slaty-backed thornbill, grey-headed honeyeater, black honeyeater, pied honeyeater, Hall's babbler, chirruping wedgebill and chestnut-breasted quail-thrush.

title: Lake Bindegolly National Park


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Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

Rinyirru (Lakefield) is a national park in Lakefield, Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia, 1,707 km northwest of Brisbane and 340 km north-west of Cairns by road, on Cape York Peninsula. At 5,370 km2 (2,073 sq. miles) - making it bigger than Trinidad and Tobago and almost as big as Brunei - Rinyirru is the second largest park in Queensland and a popular place for fishing and camping.

The park stretches from Princess Charlotte Bay in the north to the town of Laura. It covers 537,000 ha of land, and includes sections of the Normanby River, Morehead River and North Kennedy Rivers, as well as lakes, billabongs and wetlands. There are more than 100 permanent riverine lagoons in the park.

There is one main, unsealed road (Lakefield Road) through the park but it is impassable through much of the wet season, when the park closes. There is a ranger station within the park which can assist with information or give help in emergencies.

Climate
From early December to April is the wettest time in Rinyirru National Park. The average rainfall is about 1,200 mm. At times monsoon rains fall and cause the rivers to overspill their banks. In the distinctly drier months, the plains of the Laura Basin become parched and dusty.

History
Before Europeans settled in the area around the 1870s, numerous Aboriginal clans occupied the fertile coastal strip. Aboriginal cultural heritage sites are located at Hann and Kalpowar crossings.

The first explorer to visit the area by land was Edmund Kennedy. Another early explorer of the region was William Hann. Laura Homestead was established in 1892 or earlier and is one of the oldest, intact, pastoral homesteads in the region. Lakefield Station, extending for over 150 kilometres from Musgrave Station in the north on Princess Charlotte Bay to the northern boundary of Laura Station to the south, an area of about 25,000 km2., ran about 1,500 - 2,000 head of Hereford-cross cattle until about 1964 when its owner, Tarrawinebar Agency, introduced Brahmain bulls into the herd in an effort to improve the breeding stock. The bulls were offloaded from a Scandanvian cattle ship at a dock on Princess Charlotte Bay near the northern border of the Station. Management was also attempting to improve pastures by seeding Townsville lucerne and dividing the station into stock management blocks by means of an extensive fencing program. In 1960 the original Lakefield Homestead was replaced by a new homestead, located a few hundreds of metres to the southeast, and in 1965 the old stockmen's quarters were replaced by a new building further to the east, nearer to the airstrip and the horse paddock. At that time the station supported five Caucasian stockmen and several Aboriginal stockmen and their families.

Princess Charlotte Bay in the north to Lakefield was gazetted in 1979, after the Queensland Government purchased several cattle stations, including Lakefield, the previous year. In 2005, a Townsville man was attacked and killed by a crocodile while he was canoeing with his wife at the Midway waterhole on the Normanby River.

Fauna
The park is known for its populations of waterbirds such as the brolga, sarus crane, black-necked stork, comb-crested jacana and magpie geese. In the woodland and grassland area the agile wallaby, northern nailtail wallaby and Australian bustard may be found.

Threatened species which are found in the park include the golden-shouldered parrot, star finch, red goshawk, Lakeland Downs mouse and the spectacled hare-wallaby. Termite mounds are scattered across the park, particularly on the Niland Plain.

Reptiles, amphibians and mammals are also present, sometimes in quite large numbers. Mammals include, dingoes, wallabies, possums, foxes, feral cattle and wild pigs. Wild pigs sometimes reach such large numbers that they have to be culled. Reptiles are represented by numerous species of snakes, with the brown snake, death adder and the taipan being the three most dangerous. All three are highly venomous and potentially lethal. Monitor lizards (goannas) are also fairly numerous, especially the yellow-spotted monitor Varanus panoptes. Frogs are also fairly numerous, especially the green tree frog, Litoria caerulea, but there are many others. The introduced cane toad is present in the park, and may be competing with some of the native animals. Other introduced species, such as pigs, cattle and horse roam throughout the park.

Tourists should keep well aware that there are numerous crocodiles in the various waterways of the park. The park has the largest concentration of crocodiles in Queensland. There are two species of crocodile in the park: fresh and saltwater, both of which are native to northern Australia. The freshwater variety are not as big and seek smaller prey and are not so dangerous to humans. The saltwater species can be very large and are potentially dangerous to humans. There have been several crocodile attacks in the park in recent times and some have been fatal. Saltwater crocodiles are a protected species in Australia, and they appear to be breeding successfully, although the habitat is not as suitable as in the Northern Territory where breeding appears to be prolific.

Flora
The dominant vegetation in the park is eucalypt woodland and gallery forest associated with waterways. There are a variety of eucalypt species, including bloodwoods and Moreton Bay ash. Wattles are also relatively common including northern black wattle and lancewood (northern golden wattle). Paperbarks are also present especially near water, such as the weeping paperbark. Melaleuca cajuputi is also present and has white bottlebrush-type flowers.

One of the attractive species in the park is the beautiful palm, Corypha utan. They tend to grow close to waterways and cope well with flooding that occurs during the wet season (monsoon). At the end of the life of the palm, which may be 75 to 100 years, it produces a large terminal inflorescence about a metre high with a prodigious number of flowers. One estimate is that they produce one million flowers. When flowering and seeding is complete the palm dies. Regeneration of Corpyha is quite healthy at Rinyirru. The common name for the palm locally is "Kennedy palm" or "Gebang palm". Corypha utan is confined to Northern Australia but is not endemic, being also found in the Philippines and India. Nearer the coast there are also healthy mangrove ecosystems and salt flats.

Fishing
The national park is one of many in Queensland that permit fishing. Fishing is allowed at all campsites and other places with the exception of areas where cultural restrictions apply. Species which may be caught in freshwater include barramundi, tarpon, catfish and tarpin. Saltwater species found in the park include mangrove jack, fingermark, cod, trevally, queenfish and salmon.

Access
It can be accessed by road either through Cooktown or Laura. The easiest route is via the Peninsula Development Road north of Lakefield on the Mulligan Highway. The Starcke Track provides another route more popular with four-wheel drive vehicles. A northern route exists from Coen via the Musgrave Roadhouse.

It is remote and visitors should stock up on food, petrol and other supplies before leaving Cooktown, Lakefield or Laura. Roads may be closed in the park very shortly after rain to stop the road surface suffering damage.

Camping
There are many bush campgrounds throughout the park, and two camps with toilets and showers (Kalpowar Crossing Campground and Hanns Crossing Campground). There are other campsites without facilities across the park. Permits are all obtained via self-registration at the boards located throughout the park. *This has recently changed, no self-registration possible anymore (April 2013)*. Some campsites permit the use of generators that operate at 65 dB or lower. Due to the threat from crocodile attacks camping should not occur within 50 m of any body of water.

title: Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park


text:
Lamington National Park

The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is 85 km to the southwest and Brisbane is 110 km north. The 20600 ha Lamington National Park is known for its natural environment, rainforests, birdlife, ancient trees, waterfalls, walking tracks and mountain views. The park protects parts of the Eastern Australian temperate forests.

Protected areas to the east in Springbrook National Park and south along the Tweed Range in the Border Ranges National Park around Mount Warning in New South Wales conserve similar landscapes. The park is part of the Shield Volcano Group of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007. The park is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of several species of threatened birds.

In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Lamington National Park was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".

Geography
Most of the park is situated 900 m above sea level only 30 km from the Pacific's ocean shores. The plateaus and cliffs in Lamington and Springbrook National Parks are the northern and north western remnants of the huge 23-million-year-old Tweed Volcano, centred around Mount Warning. Elevation in the south of the park is above 1000 m in some parts. The land declines to under 700 m in the north. Some of the mountains in the park include Mount Hobwee, Mount Widgee, Mount Toolona, Mount Cominan, Mount Roberts and Mount Bithongabel, containing much of Australia's few cloud forests. The Nerang River, Albert River and Coomera River all have their source in Lamington National Park. Eastern parts of the park feature high cliffs which rise above the Numinbah Valley. The park is within the City of Gold Coast and Scenic Rim Region local government areas. Southern Lamington and sections of O'Reilly, Binna Burra and Natural Bridge are protected with Lamington National Park.

History
For at least 6,000 years, Aboriginal people lived in and visited these mountains. The Wangerriburras and Nerangballum tribes claimed home to the plateau territory. Bushrangers Cave, which is close to Mount Hobwee and is 60 m long, was once an aboriginal camp. This site shows Aboriginal occupation going back 10,000 years.

Captain Patrick Logan and Allan Cunningham were the first European explorers in the area. The timber cutters soon followed, including the Lahey family who owned one of Queensland's largest timber mills at the time. In 1863 a survey of the Queensland/New South Wales border was conducted. The task was carried out by Francis Edward Roberts and Isaiah Rowland, both surveyors, who had to define the border along the highest points in dense rainforest where there were very few clear lines of sight. Robert Collins campaigned heavily for the protection of the area from logging from the 1890s. Collins entered state parliament and saw a bill passed that preserved state forests and national parks but he died before the McPherson Range was protected. Later it was another local, Romeo Lahey who recognised the value of preserving the forests. He campaigned to make it one of the first protected areas in Queensland. The O’Reilly family established a guesthouse near the park in 1926, now named O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. Lahey wanted the O'Reillys to cease land clearing, for their land to be bought and for the O'Reilly family to leave the mountain. Lamington National Park was established in 1915. The park was named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1902.

Founding members of the National Parks Association of Queensland built Binna Burra Lodge next to the park in the 1930s. In 1937, Bernard O'Reilly became a hero when he rescued the survivors from the Airlines of Australia Stinson Model A airliner City of Brisbane, which had crashed in the remote Lamington wilderness. In typical Australian bushman fashion he embarked on his rescue mission taking only onions and bread to eat. Only a small portion of the original wreck remains today, 10 km (6.2 miles) south of the O'Reilly's guesthouse.

In 2019, bushfires burnt holes in the rainforest canopy. Prolific weed growth occurs in these gaps. Weed eradication programs have been funded by the federal government. The Queensland Conservation Council has commissioned research showing significant funding is required to maintain the Gondwana Rainforests of Main Range. Water bombing planes were used to subdue fires in the national park.

Natural heritage
Rugged mountain scenery, waterfalls, caves, rainforest, wildflower heaths, tall open forests, creeks, varied wildlife and excellent bushwalking in Queensland are protected in Lamington National Park. Lamington is the core of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area along the adjoining Border Ranges National Park in New South Wales. The park is home to more than 200 rare and threatened plant and animal species.

David Attenborough visited and filmed the park while making the 1979 television series Life on Earth in which beech trees and bowerbirds were featured.

Flora
The national park protects one of the most diverse areas of vegetation in the country. The park's lush rainforests include one of the largest upland subtropical rainforest remnants in the world and the most northern Antarctic beech cool temperate rainforests in Australia. The roots of the oldest Antarctic beech trees are over 5,000 years old. Around Mount Widgee numbers of Antarctic beech appear to be increasing. The park protects one of the country's largest remaining forests of hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) which are found on the drier slopes.

Below 880 m the white booyong and black booyong are commonly found. In higher elevations the yellow carabeen, red carabeen, pigeonberry ash, rosewood and soft corkwood trees predominate.

Many of Lamington's plants are found nowhere else on earth, such as the Mt Merino eyebright and Everlasting Daisy which are subalpine relics from the last ice age. In 2006 it was realised that an old collection of the eastern underground orchid (Rhizanthella slateri) from Lamington was actually a separate species and has been described as the Lamington underground orchid (Rhizanthella omissa). This orchid, like the two other related species, has no chlorophyll and depends entirely upon a symbiotic fungus for survival. It is also one of only four flowering plants on Earth to complete its life cycle entirely underground. Sadly, one of Lamington's more than 100 fern species is now presumed extinct; Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum was known from only a single plant which has since died and no other plants have been found. Lamington is also home to a large number of threatened plant species such as the ravine and blotched Sarchochilus orchids. Strangler figs are also found in Lamington.

Fauna
The area is one of the most important wildlife refuges in the region. Lamington is home to an incredible variety of wildlife including rare and threatened animals such as the Coxen's fig parrot, eastern bristlebird, Albert's lyrebird, Richmond birdwing butterfly. The blue Lamington crayfish is found only on the Lamington plateau in pools and streams above an elevation of 450 m. In damp conditions, they also move about the forest floor. The vulnerable large-eared pied bat is found in the park. Other rare species include the rainforest cool-skink, elf skink and numerous frog species including the Fleay's barred frog, giant barred frog and the cascade treefrog. Red-necked pademelons can be seen near the edges of the rainforest and platypus may be spotted in the deeper rock pools. The regent bowerbird and the crimson rosella are often seen in Lamington.

The beetle Lamingtonium binnaberrense, the only species in the genus Lamingtonium, is found in Lamington National Park.

Geology
The Lamington National Park is located on the northern side of the Tweed volcano. This large shield volcano is over 100 kilometres in diameter, and extends from Tamborine Mountain in the north to Lismore in the south. The volcanic plug of Mount Warning marks the centre of the volcano. This volcano was active around 23 million years ago when this part of Australia was above a hotspot in the mantle. Both basaltic and rhyolitic lavas were erupted, and erosion of these lavas from rain and running water has formed the many spectacular landforms including cliffs, now observed in the park. Under these layers is a layer of tuff made from volcanic ash and fine rock which is up to 60 m thick in some places. The basalts of the Lamington Plateau originate from the Focal Point volcano. Near Binna Burra the maximum thickness of the basalt layer is estimated to be 700 m.

Waterfalls
The park is claimed to contain more than 500 waterfalls, including popular tourist falls Elabana Falls and Box Log (Tullerigumai) Falls located in the Green Mountains Section. Yarrabilgong Falls and Coomera Falls both flow into Coomera Gorge. Morans Falls is another cascade that is passed on the 6 km long Morans Falls Track. Nugurun Falls, Box Log Falls, Upper Ballanjui Falls, Lower Ballanjui Falls, Stairway Falls and Nagarigoon Falls are also located in the national park.

The claim of 500 waterfalls was confirmed by a local explorer in April 2022 when he reached his 500th documented waterfall in the park.

Bushwalking
The park is covered by more than 150 km of clearly marked walks that were constructed during the Great Depression and designed by Romeo Lahey. Lahey studied dairy cow movements on the surrounding hills, noticing that their paths never had a gradient of greater than 1:10. He laid out the parks tracks in a similar manner so that walkers would not be out of breath. Where steep terrain was unavoidable, steps were used instead of a steep track.

Some are short and others are steep and take up to seven hours to complete. The well maintained and signed Border Track, follows the border between New South Wales and Queensland along the top of the McPherson Range. This track links Binna Burra Lodge to the O'Reilly's guesthouse at Green Mountains, a distance of some 23 km, which can be completed one way in a day or in 7 to 8 hours.

A number of other well marked and varied walks connect with this Border Track creating a network which can be easily negotiated by relatively inexperienced bushwalkers. These include the Box Forest Circuit, which is 10.9 km or 4 hours return from O'Reilly's; Toolona Creek Circuit, which is 17.4 km or 6 hours return, and the Albert River Circuit, which is 20.6 km or 7 hours return to O'Reilly's—to name some of the best known. While the Border Track remains reasonably level for most of its length, many of the other tracks descend to lower elevations of 750 m or less and provide access to some of the diverse variety of flora, fauna and geography to be found in the park.

Another attraction is the Tree Top Walk, suspended 15 m above the ground. This walk provides the opportunity to safely walk through the canopy of the forest along a series of suspension bridges. Climbing a ladder up a strangler fig takes visitors to an observation deck 30 m above the ground.

For experienced walkers there are also numerous trails traversing the park. These trails do not have clear tracks; in many cases there are only occasional markers in the natural forest and it is inadvisable to use them without the company of an experienced bushwalker who knows the area. The walk to the Stinson wreck is long and steep in places. Map reading and good navigation skills are a necessity and National Park Rangers should be notified before commencing. Camping overnight is not permitted without a permit. There are a number of natural hazards such as leeches, snakes and stinging trees that bushwalkers should be aware of.

Accommodation
In addition to guest houses, there is also a campground available in the Green Mountains section of the park (adjacent to the O'Reilly's guest house), and a privately managed campground adjacent to the Binna Burra section of the park. Both camping areas have facilities. Limited bush camping is available between February and November.

title: Lamington National Park


text:
Boodjamulla National Park

Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park.

The park lies on the traditional land of the Waanyi (part of which was previously part of Injilarija land). In the 1870s European settlers moved into the area and started running cattle, with a number of smaller properties amalgamated to create Lawn Hill Station, one of Queensland's largest cattle stations. An area of station land was given by the owner to the government as Crown land in 1984 (with a further grant in 1992), to be used for public benefit. The Waanyi people were granted native title in 2010.

The land lies across sandstone ranges, with creeks and rivers crossing it. The outstanding attraction is Lawn Hill Gorge. The park is home to a wide range of native wildlife, and is classified as an Important Bird Area.

the park is jointly managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Waanyi people.

History
The Waanyi people have lived in the gorge area for at least 17,000 years and know this place as Boodjamulla, or Rainbow Serpent country. Lawn Hill Gorge is sacred to the Waanyi people. Midden heaps, camp sites, grinding stones, and rock art evidence the importance of this place. Today, the Waanyi people help manage the park. Part of the land around Lawn Hill was occupied by the Injilarija people, until they became extinct around 1880 and the Waanyi took over their land.

The park has a rich pastoral history and until December 1984 was part of Lawn Hill Station, which was once one of Queensland's largest cattle properties. The cattle station was formed from several leases originally granted in the 1870s, and for some time was run by the notoriously cruel Jack Watson and Frank Hann, who regularly hunted down and shot Aboriginal people living in the area, cutting the ears of their corpses and nailing them to the walls of the homestead. The Aboriginal outlaw Joe Flick shot dead a Native Police officer and wounded Frank Hann during a shootout at Lawn Hill in 1889.

Sebastião Ferreira Maia, who owned that station from 1976, returned 122 km2 on the lease to the state in 1984, on the condition it be managed for the public's benefit. In 1992, another 1,350 km² was given to the crown to extend the park's boundaries.

The Riversleigh and Musselbrook sections were amalgamated into the park in 1992.

The national park was gazetted on 8 August 1994 under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 by regulation, Nature Conservation (Declaration of Nature Refuges) Amendment (No.1) 1994; then amended by regulation, Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment (No.5) 1999.and again by Forestry (State Forests) and Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment (No.1) 2003.

A native title claim was lodged by the Waanyi people in 1994, which was finally granted in 2010 that they received native title rights over the region.

The park was formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park. On 7 June 2022 the new Boodjamulla National Park Management Plan was published, officially introducing joint management of the park between the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Waanyi people.

Geography
The park is in the Gulf Country region of northwestern Queensland. The park is 340 km northwest of Mount Isa or 1,837 km northwest of Brisbane, in the Shire of Burke in Queensland.

The main attractions in the park are the sandstone ranges with deep gorges and a limestone plateau with significant fossil fields. Other attractions include crystal-clear green waters, lush vegetation and canoeing. Surrounding the park are numerous resources reserves, set aside for mineral exploration and mining.

Description
The Riversleigh Fossil Fields Section of the park is a World Heritage Site and contains many fossil remains. Animal bones dating back 25 million years are preserved in the sediments.

The park contains several permanent creeks, waterholes, gorges, and sandstone ranges. Boodjamulla's ancient sandstones and limestones have been gradually stripped away over millions of years leaving behind rugged escarpments, gorges, and rock outcrops. There are four main habitats contained with the park: riverine, alluvial flats, rocky hills, and clay plains.

Lawn Hill Gorge, the primary attraction in the park, cuts through the sandstone plateau of the Constance Range, on the eastern extremity of the Barkly Tableland. The gorge has been carved out by Lawn Hill Creek, which flows all year and is fed by numerous freshwater springs from the limestone plateau to the west. The gorge is a rich oasis with cabbage palms and other tropical vegetation.

Also located in the park are the Gregory River and O'Shanassy Rivers which flow all year round. The park contains 20 km of walking tracks.

Flora
On the sandstone hills are spinifex, acacias, eucalypts and grevilleas. Growing on the river plains are western bloodwoods and mitchell grass. Paperbarks, river red gums, figs, ferns, pandanus and cabbage palms are found along the creek and river banks. A diverse range of aquatic plants such as waterlilies, ferns, mosses, sedges and bulrushes grow in the creeks.

Fauna
Freshwater crocodiles can be found in the gorge; however, they pose little threat because they prefer to stay away from humans. They may become aggressive if disturbed when mating or protecting their young.

The park is home to the most easterly distribution of the nocturnal rock ringtail possum. Other animal species found in the park include the rock-haunting ringtail possum, agile wallaby, olive python, catfish, wallaroo, dingo, and echidna. In the creeks are archerfish, the endangered red-bellied short-necked turtles, northern snapping turtles as well as numerous fish species.

Fishing in the national park is not permitted with the exception of Gregory River in the Riversleigh section. Lawn Hill and the surrounding regions are also inhabited by feral pigs which cause extensive damage to the land close by the creek systems.

Birds
The park is classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. It is home to more than 140 bird species, including the buff-sided robin, great bowerbird, red-collared lorikeet, crimson finch, zebra finch, kestrel, spinifex pigeon, barking owl, brolga, budgerigars, and the wedge-tailed eagle. It supports a large population of the Carpentarian grasswren and small numbers of the painted honeyeater. The rare purple-crowned fairy-wren is the park emblem.

Management
Since 7 June 2022, the park has been jointly managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Waanyi people. At this time, there were five or six Indigenous rangers, with the number expected to increase.

Access
The park is 100 km west of Gregory. From Mount Isa visitors travel along the Barkly Highway north. The easiest way to get to the park is via the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. The road is unsealed and may be impassable after rain. The wet season is from October to March. Because the park is so remote it is advised that visitors bring excess fuel, food and water.

Camping
Camping is allowed in two areas; Lawn Hill Gorge and Miyumba bush camp near the Gregory River. The Lawn Hill Gorge site provides toilets and showers. This site allows only one vehicle per camp site and is not suitable for caravans or vehicles larger than 4 m in length. Permits are required and bookings are essential from Easter to October.

title: Boodjamulla National Park


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Lindeman Islands National Park

Lindeman Islands National Park is a national park covering the Lindeman Islands in Queensland, Australia, 885 km northwest of Brisbane.

title: Lindeman Islands National Park


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Littabella National Park

Littabella is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia, 336 km north of Brisbane.

The park protects a mostly palustrine wetland within the catchments of Baffle Creek and Kolan River. Three rare or threatened animal species and one plant species have been found within the park.

title: Littabella National Park


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Lizard Island

Lizard Island, also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra, is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, 1624 km northwest of Brisbane. It is part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island, and also part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire. The traditional owners of the Lizard Island group are the Aboriginal Australian clan known as the Dingaal (or Dingiil) people.

History
Archaeological excavations and studies have shown that human occupation of the island dates to 6510–5790 cal BP, which shows that Jiigurru was the earliest offshore island occupied on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef.

Lizard Island was known as Dyiigurra to the Dingaal people, an Aboriginal clan who have occupied the island for thousands of years. Today this is usually rendered Jiigurru, and the local people are sometimes referred to as Dingiil. David Horton's 1996 representation of Norman Tindale's map shows the lands of the Guugu Yimithirr people extending from south of Hope Vale to an area which covers Lizard Island. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority states on their website that the traditional lands of the "Guugu Yimidhirr Warra Nation" extend from Lizard Island to the Hope Vale region. The website "Dingaals Lizard Island" states that the island has been in the custodianship of the Dingaal people for thousands of years. According to the Cairns Institute and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Dingaal people are the traditional owners of the Lizard Island group. the senior elder of the Dingaals is Gordon Charlie. The Dingaal believed that the Lizard group of islands had been created in the Dreamtime. They saw it as a stingray, with Lizard Island being the body and the other islands in the group forming the tail. The island has along been regarded as a sacred place, used for ceremonies and trading.

Pottery found on the island has been dated at more than 1,800 years old, showing that pots were most likely made by Aboriginal people using locally-sourced materials. The 2024 study showed that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated skills in building ocean-going vessels as well as navigation. (See below).

The name Lizard Island was given to it by Captain Cook when he passed it on 12 August 1770. He commented, "The only land animals we saw here were lizards, and these seem'd to be pretty plenty, which occasioned my naming the Island Lizard Island." Cook climbed the peak on Lizard Island to chart a course out to sea through the maze of reefs which confronted him and the island's summit has since been called 'Cook's Look'.

By the 1840s, the island was being used by sea cucumber (trepang, or bêche-de-mer) fishermen who found that the waters contained substantial quantities of the creature which was a popular delicacy in Asia. Scottish naturalist John McGillivray visited the island in the Julia Percy in 1861, and wrote that there had been bêche-de-mer vessels operating there from Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong for 15  years prior. In 1879, Captain Robert Watson with his wife Mary Watson, two servants and baby son, modified an abandoned cottage left on the island by the crew of the Julia Percy. The ruins are still visible. Captain Watson was a sea cucumber fisherman, and his Mary Watson was only 21 when she arrived at Lizard Island. During one of the captain's absences in September 1880, Mary, her son Ferrier, and two Chinese servants, Ah Sam and Ah Leung, were left on the island. A group of Guugu Yimmidir or Dingaal people travelled on a regular seasonal trip by canoe, or went to investigate smoke at a sacred site on the island The Watsons' home was close to the only source of fresh water, and Mary may have unknowingly trespassed on a ceremonial ground reserved for adult men. The visiting men attacked, killing Ah Leung and wounding Ah Sam. After the attack, accompanied by her child and Ah Sam, Mary attempted to flee to the mainland in an iron boiling tank used for boiling sea cucumber, a large rectangular tub. The vessel floated away from the coast and all three died of thirst nine days later on the waterless No 5 Howick Island. Their bodies were found three months later along with Mary Watson's diary. The boiling tank can be seen in the Queensland Museum, and the State Library of Queensland holds two diaries by Mrs Watson. One is about her last nine months on Lizard Island, and the other comprises notes documenting her last days.

In retaliation to the attack, a punitive expedition was mounted against Aboriginal peoples, and many innocent Aboriginal people were massacred in retribution, a part which has often been left out of the story. This devastated Aboriginal communities and their traditional economies in the region, which had already been affected by expanding agriculture and the discovery of gold, leading to the establishment of Cooktown in 1873. In 1886 the first Aboriginal mission was established at Elim Aboriginal Mission by German Lutherans. The mission, along with Cape Bedford Mission, was the foundation of the present Hope Vale settlement, where many Dingaal people continue to reside.

In 1939, all of the islands in the group were declared a national park.

The Lizard Island  Research   Station was established by the Australian Museum in 1973, the waters surrounding the island were declared a marine park in 1974, and Lizard Island Resort opened in 1975.

In 2014, the resort was damaged by Cyclone Ita, and had to close for repairs.

Geology and geography
Lizard Island is located in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, 27 km directly off the mainland, north of Cooktown and Cape Flattery. It is a granite island about 10 km2 in size, with three smaller islands nearby (Palfrey, South and Bird). Together these islands form the Lizard Island Group, and their well-developed fringing reef encircles the 10 m deep Blue Lagoon. The highest point is Cook's Look, 370 m above sea level.

It is a continental island, once around 20 km inland and separated after the post-Pleistocene flooding, around 7000 years ago. It was created mostly by an orogenic pluton of porphyritic biotite and muscovite, formed during the Permian age around 300 million years ago.

There are many beaches on the island, including Mangrove Beach, Freshwater Beach (also known as One Tree Coconut Beach), Watson's Beach, and Casuarina Beach.

Archaeology
The oldest occupation layers on the island date to 6510–5790 cal BP, which shows that Jiigurru was the earliest offshore island occupied on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef. There are numerous shell middens, stone arrangements, and art sites on the island, showing signs of occupation of the island for thousands of years. In the 1990s, two Aboriginal rock art sites were observed in rockshelters formed by large granite boulders, in which red ochre was used.

Site 17
Site 17 is an archaeological site located on a hill above Freshwater Beach (also known as One Tree Coconut Beach) of Lizard Island, which was found to contain granite-derived, quartz sand temper. The midden is quite large, covering a total area of 7000 m2. Site 17 was first observed by Jim Specht in 1978-9, then excavated by Robynne Mills in 1992. The site was further excavated by a team including Specht in 2009, who created a 100 cm X 50 cm x 150 cm trench, and identified six stratigraphic layers. It was observed through radiocarbon dating that the basal layer (6) produced a range of 3358-2929 cal BP on charcoal found at the 120–130 cm depth. In October 2009 Lentfer, Specht, and a representative of the Dingaal people, Johnathan Charlie, began excavating a new trench 2 m east of Mills trench. This new trench was 60 cm x 40 cm x 140 cm, and showed six layers of stratigraphy similar to Mills trench. There were recovered pieces of quartz, granite, and pumice discovered from the basal levels of layer number 6, which using radiocarbon dating were dated to be from 3815-3571 cal BP to 3206-2959 cal BP.

Mangrove Beach
In 2006, New Zealand archaeologist Matthew Felgate found pottery in an intertidal zone by chance when he was on holiday on the island, on Mangrove Beach. This was the first pottery found, and was reported in a 2010 study by Felgate; however, it could not be reliably dated at that time. Later, Sean Ulm, distinguished professor at James Cook University, and Ian J. McNiven, professor at Monash University, both of whom were operating under the auspices of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), co-led a team including Kenneth McLean, chair of Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation, and other members of the Dingaal and Ngurrumungu communities, that excavated several more pieces of pottery from the site in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Initial analysis showed local materials were used in the manufacture. However, the age of the pottery could not be established.

The Ulm team revisited Jiigurru and excavated a shell midden not far from the pottery site, discovering that the site had been settled at least 4,000 years previously, but no pottery was found. The same team started working with the Indigenous owners and excavated a different midden and found a lot of pottery. Digging deeper, cultural material was found nearly 2 m metres below ground level, which was radiocarbon-dated to around 6,500 years ago; the earliest evidence of use of an island on the northern Great Barrier Reef. The resulting study, published in April 2024 and involving many scientists, working with traditional owners, determined that sherds found on the island were the oldest securely dated ceramics found in Australia. The data showed that local raw materials were used and that the pottery was made on the island, which showed that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated canoe travel technology and skills in navigating on the ocean, which enabled them to connect with other peoples across the Coral Sea. The dating showed that it was created between 2950–2545 cal BP and 1970–1815 cal BP, which overlaps with the late Lapita and post-Lapita traditions of southern Papua New Guinea. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Co-author Quan Hua of ANSTO is an expert in radiocarbon dating. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it is the first pottery in Australia to have been found and reliably dated, and that it shows that the people of Australia were not geographically isolated, but involved with other seafaring peoples. There is conclusive evidence that the pottery is not of Lapita origin, and it is also proof of continuous seasonal occupation of the island by Aboriginal people. It is not known by newer sherds were not found on that site, and further research is necessary. There has been a paucity of research done on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.

Governance
Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire.

Lizard Island National Park is administered by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (Parks and Forests).

The island is also part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, administered jointly by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Permits are required for all manipulative research in the Lizard Island Group and the waters surrounding it.

Heritage listings
Lizard Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Mrs Watson's Cottage

Plant species
As the sea level rose in the early Holocene, resulting in the isolation of Lizard Island, mangrove forest gradually became established in place of the near-coastal palms and grasses. There are a number of distinct plant communities, mainly Themeda australis and Arundinella nepalensis (a low grass), and some small patches of rainforest and semi-deciduous notophyll (dry rainforest). There is some woodland consisting of mainly Acacia crassicarpa and some Eucalyptus tessellaris, along with shrubs such as Thryptomene oligandra and swamplands of pandanus. Along the coastal dune there is strand vegetation.

Animals
The waters around the island contain a number of coral reefs. Climate change is causing the reefs to suffer coral bleaching, in the summer of early 2024 over 97% of some reefs around the island died.

Reptiles
there were 11 species of lizards on the island. The most commonly found lizard is the yellow-spotted monitor (Varanus panoptes). Skinks and geckos are among some of the other reptiles roaming Lizard Island. The lowlands bar-lipped skink (Eremiascincus pardalis) and the sandy rainbow-skink (Carlia dogare) are endemic species of Queensland found on this island. The Chevert gecko (Nactus cheverti) is the only gecko on the island that's only endemic to Queensland. Pythons and tree snakes are common while the most dangerous snake on the island, the brown-headed snake (Furina tristis), is rarely seen. Green marine turtles (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) can be seen nesting on the island in the summer and are often spotted in the shallow water.

Birds
There are over 40 species of birds that reside on or visit Lizard Island. Only about 20 species nest on the island, including terns. The island is home to many land and sea birds including the bar-shouldered dove (Geopelia humeralis), pheasant coucal (Centropus phasianinus), yellow-bellied sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis), white-bellied sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), and osprey (Pandion cristatus). Seasonal birds such as white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) and dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) also appear on the island.

Mammals
Lizard Island is home to a few bat species, but the most common is the Black flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto). They typically roam around the island and congregate in the mangroves. Black flying-foxes will fly to the mainland when flowering is poor. Eastern Dusky Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ater) have also been spotted on the island.

Until 2009, Lizard Island had no native rodents recorded. In October 2009, water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) were spotted on the island and steadily increased in population until 2012. In 2010, Cape York mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys capensis) were spotted in South Island, marked as the first native rodent to the island chain.

Current settlement and use
Aside from the national park, Lizard Island also contains a number of other facilities:

Lizard Island Research Station
Situated on Lizard Island's most westerly point, the research station is operated by the Australian Museum, providing research and education facilities for those interested in studying coral reefs. As a result of research conducted at the station, about 1,000 scientific publications have been produced by Australian and international researchers since the station was set up in 1973.

Lizard Island Resort
On the island's north western side is an ultra luxury resort owned by Hong Kong listed property company Sea Holdings and operated by Voyages Hotels & Resorts until November 2009, later operated by Delaware North.

title: Lizard Island


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Lochern National Park

Lochern is a national park in Longreach, Central West Queensland, Australia, 1,047 km west of Brisbane. Eastern parts of the national park are interspersed with numerous channels of the Thomson River. The park is sprawled over an area of 24,300 hectares. This area forms important habitats for numerous species. Several lagoons and waterholes within the park provide important refuges for birds and other wildlife.

History
The diverse climate of Lochern was a boon for the aboriginal people, who learned to utilize the dry and wet spells. They adapted to the seasonal transformation of land, reaping its bounties. Rainwater harvesting with the help of dams was done by pastoralists in the area.

Camping
Camping facilities are available at the park. The park's camping site, which is located some five kilometres from the park's eastern limit, is surrounded by mulga and gidgee woodlands. The camping area is accessible on vehicles, although the dirt road can be sometimes hard to tackle for normal vehicles. Hence, four-wheel drive is a better option. The park is notorious for abrupt weather changes. Minor showers can often lead to floods, irrespective of the time of year.

title: Lochern National Park


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Girringun National Park

Girringun National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, approximately 50 km southwest of Ingham, 110 km north of Townsville and 1290 km northwest of Brisbane. The park is one of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area series of national parks, and is a gazetted World Heritage Site.

History
The park was originally named the Lumholtz National Park, after scientist Carl Sofus Lumholtz, when it was created in 1994. The Blencoe Falls Section was gazetted as part of Lumholtz National Park in 2000. The name was subsequently changed to Girringun in 2003. On National Parks Day 2010 (28 March) the Government of Queensland announced the addition of 2810 ha to the park.

Environment
This large national park consists mainly of wet sclerophyll forests, but small pockets of rainforest also exist along the eastern slopes and hilltops. The Seaview, George and Cardwell ranges dominate the landscape, which is strewn with granite debris from a volcanic eruption 100,000 years ago. Perhaps the most well known geological feature in this park is the Wallaman Falls. At 268 m it is the largest single-drop falls in Australia. The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics.

Access and infrastructure
Vehicle access into the forest include the Dalrymple Gap Track, or the Wallaman Falls track. However, for most of the park there is only very rudimentary or absent vehicle access. Most of the park is accessible for hikers, but due to its remoteness and rugged terrain only experienced bushwalkers should undertake extensive hikes.

title: Girringun National Park


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Main Range National Park

The Main Range is a mountain range and national park in Queensland, Australia, located predominantly in Tregony, Southern Downs Region, 85 km southwest of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves). It protects the western part of a semicircle of mountains in South East Queensland known as the Scenic Rim. This includes the largest area of rainforest in South East Queensland. The park is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of several species of threatened birds.

Description
The park extends from Kangaroo Mountain, near Frazerview, south to Wilsons Peak on the New South Wales border and includes Mount Superbus (1,375 m), South East Queensland’s highest peak.

Bare Rock, Mount Cordeaux, Mount Mitchell, Spicers Peak, Mount Huntley, Mount Asplenium, Mount Steamer, The Steamer Range, Lizard Point, Mount Roberts, Mount Mistake and Mount Superbus all lie within the Main Range National Park. In total, there are more than 40 peaks higher than 1,000 m.

There are walking tracks, camping areas and picnic facilities at a number of places such as Spicers Gap, Cunninghams Gap and Queen Mary Falls.

Geology
The Main Range Volcanics are thought to be remains of a widespread lava field that probably had multiple simultaneous eruptive centres.

The Main Range shield volcano erupted between 25 and 22 million years ago in the Tertiary period. Rather than forming a central peak, the volcano erupted through numerous basalt dykes that created horizontal lava flows; these are mainly basalt but also sometimes consist of trachyte. These flows now form the bulk of the Main Range, Little Liverpool Range and Mistake Range, and once covered a much wider area that includes both the Lockyer Valley and Fassifern Valley.

Flora and fauna
The steeper slopes have avoided any land clearing, acting as a refuge for wildlife in the region. The most predominant vegetation types on the range is sub-tropical rainforest and dry sclerophyll forest. The park's forests and montane heath provide habitat for many animals, including the eastern bristlebird, Coxen's fig parrot, and the black-breasted buttonquail, all of which are threatened by extinction. The vulnerable and rare red goshawk may also be seen.

The giant barred frog, Fleay's barred frog, spotted-tailed quoll and the Hastings River mouse are listed as endangered species, once more commonly found in the Goomburra section of the park.

History
Spicers Gap is believed to be a traditional pathway for Indigenous Australians travelling between the inland and the coast. In 1828, Allan Cunningham 'officially' discovered the route through the mountains now called Cunninghams Gap; however, it can be easily seen from Brisbane. Stockman Henry Alphen discovered Spicers Gap in 1847. The Spicers Gap Road, used to carry supplies to and from the Darling Downs, is the best remaining example of sophisticated 19th-century engineering in Queensland.

In 1840, George Elphinstone Dalrymple settled in the Goomburra Valley. Dalrymple Creek was named after this early settler. By 1847, a new road through Spicers Gap was opening areas for settlers. In 1909, the area surrounding Cunninghams Gap was declared a national park. In 1994, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee extended the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia to include Goomburra Forest Reserve within Main Range National Park. In 2007, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia was added to the Australian National Heritage List.

Heritage listings
In 1994, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee extended the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia to include Goomburra Forest Reserve within Main Range National Park. In 2007, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia was added to the Australian National Heritage List.

Main Range National Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Spicers Gap Road now within the Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park

title: Main Range National Park


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Mapleton Falls National Park

Mapleton Falls is a national park near the town of Mapleton on the Blackall Range in South East Queensland, Australia, 95 km north of Brisbane. The falls are part of Pencil Creek and drop 120 m.

The waterfall became a forest reserve in 1938 and then in 1973 it was declared a national park.

Section 2 of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk, a rugged long-distance walking track, passes through the park. There are a number of smaller walks as well.

title: Mapleton Falls National Park


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Maria Creek National Park

Maria Creek is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1292 km northwest of Brisbane. It is part of the Coastal Wet Tropics Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of lowland tropical rainforest birds.

title: Maria Creek National Park


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Mariala National Park

Mariala National Park is a national park in South West Queensland, Australia, 810 km west of Brisbane. Mariala lies within the Mulga Lands bioregion and the Shire of Quilpie local government area. It is located with the water catchment areas of the Bulloo, Paroo and Warrego rivers. Mariala covers 269.2 km2.

The park was part of the Ambathala pastoral holding which operated from 1875 until the early 1980s. In 1982, the area became a scientific reserve, making it the first protected area to preserve part of Queensland's extensive Mulga Lands. A decade later, it was declared a national park.

A total of six rare or threatened species have been identified in the national park. These include Major Mitchell's cockatoo and the rare square-tailed kite.

title: Mariala National Park


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Mazeppa National Park

Mazeppa is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia, 821 km northwest of Brisbane, and 75 km north-west of Clermont. Named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa, the hero of the poem Mazeppa by Lord Byron. The predominant vegetation is gidgee scrub with some brigalow scrub and open eucalypt woodland.

Bush camping is possible within the park once a permit is obtained and fee paid. There are no walking tracks.

title: Mazeppa National Park