Cathedral Range State Park

European settlement of the Acheron area begun in 1839 when they selected land for the Acheron Run.^[6] The Taggerty Run was selected for 7 years after the Acheron Run in 1846. This area included the Cathedral Range area.^[6] The Taggerty Run consisted of difficult country and was described as being "completely in the ranges".^[7] This difficult country of rocky soils and steep slopes discouraged the settlers from building there, so instead the land was grazed until the 1930s when wild dogs became destructive.^[6] Soon after grazing in the Cathedral Range area ended, logging and milling occurred in the 1930s to the 1970s in the Little River and Storm Creek catchments.^[3] In 1938 the Cathedral Mill, now known as Cooks Mill, was established near the junction of Little River and Storm Creek.^[6] The mill ceased operating in 1955,^[3] however logging continued until late 1971.^[8] Remnants of Cooks Mill remain at the Cathedral Range State Park and is protected as a historic site.^[3]

The traditional land owners of the Murrindindi Shire, including the Cathedral Range, are the Taungurung people.^[9] An important area for members of the Taungurung people is located in the Acheron River valley, located to the west of the Cathedral Range State Park.^[3] Aboriginal Affairs Victoria have recorded two sites, one containing a scarred tree and the other an isolated artefact, in the Cathedral Range State Park.^[3]

The Cathedral Ranges consist of sandstone and shale that were laid down over 400 million years ago^[10] during the Upper Silurian period.^[11] These have since eroded into the spectacular peaks of the Cathedral Ranges.^[10] The range is approximately 7 km long and 1.5 km wide.^[2] The highest peak is Sugarloaf Peak which stands at 923m, located at the southern end of the range.^[3] At the opposite end of the range stands the second highest peak at 814m, known as the Cathedral North Peak.^[3] These peaks are separated by a narrow saddle, referred to as the Jawbone saddle.^[6] The eastern side of the State Park borders onto the Cerberean Caldera, formed by a volcanic eruption approximately 374 million years ago.^[12] Consequently, the geology of the area consists of sedimentary and volcanic formations originating in the Upper Devonian Period.^[12] The soils are mostly red clays that are resistant to erosion.^[2]

There are two permanent rivers in Cathedral Range State Park; Little River and Storm Creek.^[3] Little River flows north-west and merges with the Acheron River in Taggerty.^[13] The township of Taggerty receives their water directly from Little River.^[2] The river runs through the camping and picnic sites in the park, providing the potential of pollution to the river.^[2] Storm Creek intercepts with Little River near Cooks Mill, located in the Cathedral Range State Park.^[3] The water levels of the rivers can get high after heavy rainfall, with flooding being a common occurrence.^[2] The last significant flooding occurring in 1996 when extensive damage occurred on Little River Road.^[2]

The Cathedral Range State Park is home to a large number of species. The existence of some communities has been recognized as being significant in the State Park, as well as the occurrence of some rare species.^[3]

The park contains a broad range of vegetation communities, with the Ecological Vegetation Classes of the area including herb-rich foothill forest, grassy dry forest, damp forest and riparian forest.^[14] The vegetation ranges from Manna Gum Tall Open Forest found along the banks of Little River to myrtle beech Closed Forest found above 900 m.^[3] The dry rocky slopes are covered with open forest, with the main species being red stringybark (Eucalyptus macrorhyncha), broad-leaved peppermint (Eucalyptus dives) and long-leaved box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx).^[6] The moist river valleys contain candlebark gum (Eucalyptus rubida) and narrow-leaved peppermint (Eucalyptus radiata).^[6] The summit of Sugarloaf Peak contains a community of snow gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) and just below this is a community of alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) extending down to the Sugarloaf Saddle.^[6]

A community noted to be significant found in the State Park is the existence of myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) with the woolly tea-tree (Leptospermum lanigerum).^[3] This community is marked as significant as it is known to occur in only one other location—Baw Baw National Park.^[3]

The park is home to a variety of native orchids, appearing in spring and summer each year. These orchids are the alpine greenhood (Pterostylis alpina), pink fingers (Caladenia carnea), waxlips (Glossodia major), and the bird orchid.^[15]

The Cathedral Range State Park is also home to some rare species: The bristle-fern (Cephalomanes caudatum) which is considered rare in Victoria,^[16] slender tick-trefoil (Desmodium varians) which is poorly known in Victoria^[17] and a range of common tussock-grasses considered rare in Victoria.^[3]

The varying vegetation, climates, rivers and landforms in the park have created an area rich in habitats for native animals. A study was conducted in 1996 on the fauna found at the Cathedral Range State Park. The finding of this study was that the park is home to seventeen native mammals, eight reptiles, one amphibian, one fish and eighty-seven native birds.^[18] Common animals observed in the park include the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus).^[3] Mountain galaxias (Galaxias olidus), a native freshwater fish,^[19] was observed in the Little River just before the Little River falls.^[18] It is thought that these falls act as a barrier to trout, one of the major predators of the Mountain Galaxias.^[3] There have also been occasional sightings of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in the Little River.^[3]

The 1996 fauna survey revealed some rare species found at the park that are important for conservation purposes.^[18]

Leadbeater's possum The Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an iconic Australian species that is listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.^[20] It is found in the wet ash forests of Victoria and has become endangered due to logging, recurrent bushfires and the decline of large trees containing hollows.^[21] Although there have been no sightings of the Leadbeater's possum at the Cathedral Range it is suspected to occur there. Sightings have been made at Tweed Spur, only 3 km south from the Range.^[18] The community of alpine ash found in the park is suitable habitat for the possum.^[3]

Brush-tailed Phascogale The brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) is a small carnivorous nocturnal marsupial.^[22] It is classified as near threatened under the IUCN guidelines and as rare in Victoria.^[22] The reasons for its decline in Victoria are unknown, however the destruction of its preferred habitat is thought to have contributed to its decline.^[22] There are no official records of this species in the Cathedral Range, however suitable habitat exists in the park and its occurrence in the park is suspected.^[3]

Powerful owl The powerful owl (Ninox strenua) is Australia's largest owl and is listed as threatened in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.^[23] They have been observed roosting along the Little River and it is suspected that one, if not more, pairs of powerful owls are residents in the park.^[3]