Paparoa National Park - History of Establishment

History of Establishment

In 1976, the Federated Mountain Clubs had identified the northern part of the Paparoa Ranges as a potential wilderness area. In 1979, the Native Forest Action Council proposed a 130,000 hectare national park, including the northern Paparoa Ranges and land to the north and east. This eventually led to the National Parks and Reserves Authority identifying the western Paparoa Range as a prospective national park. Meanwhile, a joint proposal by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the National Museum succeeded in having a core area of great ecological significance - the forests of the lowland karst syncline - gazetted as the Pororari Ecological Area in 1979.

The initial proposal for a large park incorporating the wilderness area was rejected, but after seven rounds of submissions, and help from other environment groups including the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, an area of 30,327 hectares was gazetted as Paparoa National Park on 23 November 1987.