Council accused of being ‘short sighted’ in failing to protect Atherton Arboretum

A fight to protect the Atherton Arboretum has suffered a setback after council decided not to support proposed heritage listing of the former research facility after the site sold to a Cairns-based company last year.

Disused research labs at the old Maunds Road Tropical Research Centre.

A fight to protect the historically significant Atherton Arboretum has suffered a setback.

Council has decided not to support Heritage Register protection of the former CSIRO research facility after the 3.64ha site sold to a Cairns-based company last year.

The Maunds Road Tropical Research Centre closed in mid-2022 and staff relocated to Townsville after funding was stripped from the CSIRO site.

The facility, including an arboretum containing 539 tropical plant species representing 50 years of tropical forest research, was sold in November 2023 for $1.3m to Savannah Seven.

Dorothy Prince of Holloways Beach and Brett Murray of Edge Hill are listed as company directors, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

An application has been lodged to add the Atherton Arboretum to the Heritage Register. Picture: Queensland Globe

At a meeting of Tablelands Regional Council on January 25 a motion advising the Department of Environment and Science that council had no objection to the Atherton Arboretum being listed on the Queensland Heritage Register was rescinded.

An alternate motion put forward by Deputy Mayor Kevin Cardew objected to the proposal based on development limitations placed on historically significant areas.

“(Inclusion on the Register) unnecessarily constraints the potential future development opportunities of the premises and places undue legislative burden on adjacent landowners,” council minutes read.

Science labs at the 47-67 Maunds Road facility.

The alternate motion was carried unanimously.

Founder of the Save the Atherton Arboretum group Gemma Horner stated there was a clear disconnect between a community wish to protect the Atherton Arboretum and the views of seven Tablelands councillors.

“I am extremely saddened and disappointed to hear the (council) didn’t support the listing and I believe it is very short sighted,” she said.

“I feel that the councillors are not representing the wider community in their decision to not support the listing.

“We feel it has Queensland state level value but it definitely has national level significance and the council not supporting it unfortunately, does have some weight.”

The Maunds Road site was sold to $1.3m to Savannah Seven Pty Ltd in 2023.

The Atherton Arboretum was first established in 1971 by renowned north Queensland botanists Bernie Hyland and Tony Irvine with additional contributions by Geoff Tracey, Andrew Ford, Matt Bradford and others. Today the site comprises a living collection of over 500 species, mostly rainforest plants from the Wet Tropics region, and also some examples from Cape York, Gulf of Carpentaria and the Northern Territory.

Co-author of the submission to Queensland Heritage Register application, Ms Horner, said the arboretum played a key role in securing World Heritage status for Far North rainforests and gaining knowledge scientists now have of the rainforest.

“(We would like to see it) turned it into a green space and the start of a botanic garden, and information centre or an environment hub showing the history of forests in the wet tropics,” she said.

A Heritage Register application has been made for the Maunds Road site.

“It would be wonderful if the community can continue to appreciate the site for its historic national value.”

Tablelands nature tour operator Alan Gillanders said research done at the site led to a key breakthrough that used multi factorial keys to identify plant species.

“I think it’s of international significance,” he said.

“It stands for a great intellectual leap forward and it happened here in North Queensland.”

An application has been made to include the Atherton Arboretum on the Queensland Heritage Register. Picture: Rebel Warren

Former CSIRO botanist Matt Bradford who was made redundant when the labs closed said there were some very special trees at the arboretum.

He also advocated for the preservation of the site.

“I don’t know what the new owner has in mind, she might have fantastic vision for the place but it would be fantastic if the trees were incorporated into a future use of the place,” he said.

However the deputy mayor argued new owners Savannah Seven ought to have been consulted before the submission of a Heritage Register application.

The 3.64ha Atherton Arboretum site sold to Savannah Seven for for $1.3m in 2023. Picture: Rebel Warren

“The trees were only planted there 50 years ago, if the state had any concern about it they should have listed it when they owned it,” Mr Cardew said.

“The trees were only planted there 50 years ago, if the state had any concern about it they should have listed it when they owned it.”

New owner of the site Ms Prince when asked about her plans for the Atherton Arboretum said she “had nothing to say”.

Follow @petercarruther1

Originally published as Council accused of being ‘short sighted’ in failing to protect Atherton Arboretum