Whanganui Nature Talks: Birds, rocks and national parks in South-East Queensland

Bunya Pines National Park supports the world’s largest number of this ancient species, which originated on the former super-continent of Gondwana nearly 200 million years ago, Photo / Diane Harries

Nature Talks starts its series of bi-monthly lectures on Tuesday, February 20 with a talk by Diane Harries on Birds, Rocks and National Parks in South-East Queensland.

Diane, a renowned natural history illustrator, and her husband, photographer Royce Johnson, visited southeast Queensland in late 2023, focusing on the natural history of this geologically and biologically diverse area.

This region contains numerous national parks. Di will talk about the birds and plants of the rainforests found on Queensland’s Scenic Rim, a circle of spectacular forest-covered mountain ranges, including the world-renowned Lamington National Park.

She will also take us through the geological formations of Girraween National Park, where massive granite inselbergs and amazing rounded balancing rocks dominate the landscape, and through the Bunya Mountains, Queensland’s second oldest national park, home to the world’s largest stand of ancient bunya pines. Her talk promises to be a feast of stunning photographs and insights into this varied region.

Her talk will be given in the Davis Lecture Theatre, Whanganui Regional Museum, on February 20, starting at 7.30pm. Entry is free.

Nature Talks is a series of bi-monthly talks offered by three local environmental groups — the Wanganui Botanical Group, the Whanganui branch of Forest & Bird and Birds New Zealand (Whanganui Region) — in conjunction with the Whanganui Regional Museum. The talks are normally given on the third Tuesday of every second month on topics that relate to New Zealand’s environment, natural history, and its conservation.