The Mary Cairncross Reserve is a conservation park located on the Blackall Range

Blackall Range

The Blackall Range is a mountain range in South East Queensland, Australia. The first European explorer in the area was Ludwig Leichhardt. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland....

 east of Maleny

Maleny, Queensland

Maleny is a small, scenic town north of Brisbane on the Blackall Range overlooking the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia. Nearby towns include Landsborough, Montville and Peachester...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Maleny is approximately 88 kilometres (54.7 mi) north of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

 and 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) west of Caloundra. The reserve is positioned in the mountain rainforests of the Maleny region overlooking the Glass House Mountains.

Geology

The Region holds many of the large predominate landforms in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, the most recognisable is the Glass House Mountains. The Glass House Mountains were formed thousands of years ago when the outer layer of soil and rock eroded from the extinct volcanic summit. The dirt and soil located in the region is very rich and healthy, due to the high quantity of volcanic rock decomposed in the soil. Volcanic rock contains high amounts of nutrients.

European history

The coastal regions of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 was first discovered by Captain James Cook

James Cook

Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...

 on 17 May 1770. Between 1770 and 1853 many explores mapped out the inner regions of the coast and named the landforms.

The Mary Cairncross story

The Cairncross Reserve was given to the Landsborough Shire Council in 1941 by three Thynne sisters. They named the reserve after their mother, Mary Thynne (née Cairncross, born in 1848). Sunshine Coast Regional Council manages and maintains the reserve along with the volunteers that staff the Thynne Natural History Education Centre daily. The reserve is one of the best remaining subtropical rainforest in Australia. The reserve was created to protect the flora and fauna of the Maleny region.

The Rainforest

The reserve is a subtropical rainforest. These types of rainforests are mainly located in the north-east parts of Australia. The Cairncross reserve has an area of 530,000 square metres and reaches a peak canopy of 440 m. The main species of tree is the Australian red cedar

Toona ciliata

Australian Red Cedar , Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the family Meliaceae which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. In Australia its natural habitat is now extensively cleared subtropical rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland...

. Strangler Fig

Strangler Fig

Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, including among many other species:* Ficus aurea, also known as the Florida Strangler Fig...

s and fungi are some of the environmental elements that the rainforest needs to survive.

Biodiversity

Plants include trees 107 species, herbs 30, vines 50, palms 3, fungi 21, shrubs 26.

Animals include 139 birds notably the Wompoo Fruit-Dove

Wompoo Fruit-Dove

The Wompoo Fruit Dove , also known as Wompoo Pigeon, is the largest of Fruit Doves native to New Guinea and Australia.-Description:...

, Brown Cuckoo-Dove

Brown Cuckoo-dove

The Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove, or Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Macropygia amboinensis, is a dove in the genus Macropygia. In Australia, it is sometimes called "Brown Pigeon" or "Pheasant Pigeon", but both are best avoided, as they can lead to confusion with the brown doves and the true Pheasant Pigeon...

, Tree-Creepers, Thornbills, Scrub-Wrens, Green Catbird

Green Catbird

The Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris is a species of bowerbird found on subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Its colouring is emerald green, with faint black markings on the face and white streaks on the neck.Green...

, 11 marsupials, 3 bats, 20 lizards, 14 snakes, 14 frogs.