HISTORY

Rainforests once covered the southern supercontinent Gondwana and remain the most ancient type of vegetation in Australia

Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals which remain mostly unchanged from their ancestors.

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area was first inserted into the World Heritage List in 1986 and extended in 1994. It is what is known as a serial World Heritage Area and is comprised of several protected areas in north-east NSW and south-east Queensland.

About 80 million years ago, the continent of Gondwana started breaking up, eventually forming the continents of Australia, India, South America, Antarctica and Africa. After Australia separated from Antarctica about 45 million years ago, climatic changes had a dramatic impact on the vegetation, with the loss of much of the original rainforests and replacement by eucalypt forests, woodlands and grasslands.