Handcuffed volunteers: a history of the scenery preservation board in Tasmania 1915-1971

On the 25th of october 1971, a small group of individuals gathered to formally effect the transfer of the Scenery Preservation Board's (S.P.B) assets to the newly created National Parks and Wildlife Service. It was not a particularly grandiose affair, the press did not even bother to cover it, but by 4.30 that Monday afternoon the Board had slipped quietly from active service, into the annals of Tasmanian history. Its history has been largely ignored by those who would rather concentrate on the 'big issues' of conservation; the flooding of Lake Pedder, the controversy over the woodchip industry and the Franklin River debate. However, these are merely the most recent manifestations of a conflict of ideas, perceptions and beliefs concerning the environment and its utlization which transcends barriers between nations and has been in existence for centuries. The history of the Scenery Preservation Board provides a document of that conflict in Tasmania since the beginning of the century.