The first Australian Conference on Cave Tourism was held at Jenolan Caves, NSW, on the 10-13th July, 1973. It was convened by the Australian Speleological Federation, of which I was President at that time.

We cannot do other than apologize for the extremely late appearance of this volume. Regrettably, those of us responsible are speleologists by hobby and there have been many other calls upon your rather limited free time. Similarly, pressures of other  business have kept us from taking action upon the follow up requested by the conference, but pans are now in hand to convene a further the feasibility of a short course for cave rangers and guides.

The figures given in section 7 of this report show the extent of cave tourism in recent years. the increasing pressure of visitors is obvious, with some  areas experiencing as much as a 100% increase in visitors over the 1968-72 period. At the same time, some other areas have reached a plateau in visitor numbers. At Jenolan- the most visited cave area in Australia - it seems that the caves reserve has almost reached saturation under present tourism conditions. As with many other of our natural resources, the time has come for more attention to the key issues of management so that while offering public access to these resources, we may also ensure their preservation for future generations.

Two important trends emerge from the present papers and form practice around Australia. The first is a growing emphasis upon educational and interpretative services associated with cave tours. The second is experiment with management of tour parties and with the kinds of tour options offered. Self-guiding has been introduced; some experiments have been undertaken with “wilderness” tours.

At the same time some gaps in our offerings can be identified. There is relatively little diversity in the kind of caves available to the general public - no major river system caves are available and none of the immense caverns of the Nullabor are available. Although progress has been, particularly at Naracoorte, South Australia, with educational use of caves reserves none has a fully developed environmental education program. Little or no attention has been paid to history, although the Jenolan Caves Historical and Preservation Society has initiated a beginning of this. Finally, one can safely say that on the whole , the lighting of Australian show caves generally ranges from poor to appalling. 

Probably a further gap lies in the inadequate management of some areas which might be called “concealed tourism” . Areas such as Texas (Queensland), Bungonia and Wee Jasper (NSW) are visited by thousands of people for recreational purposes. Some of these are members of the Federation, others are bushwalkers, scouts, members of other youth groups, and unaffiliated members of the general public. Although the management problems of Texas are tragically being solved by inundation of the caves, and systemic management is commencing at Bungonia (see L. Rieder’s paper in this volume), Wee Jasper remains without management and subject to continuing degradation. Many other areas, far too numerous to list, need active resource management programs.

Many further caves might yet be developed in Australia for general public access. Exit Cave and Kubla Khan in Tasmania are both caves which can only be described as among the finest potential show caves in the whole world. Our famous Nullabor caves, some of them of outstanding scenic value, have so far been neglected, and again, Weebubbie Cave, probably the most spectacular is being subjected to continuing damage and disfigurement.

In closing this brief introduction, our thanks to the NSW Department of Tourism for their support and interest must be recorded. The conference would not have been the pleasant occasion which it was without the warm hospitality of all the Jenolan Caves Staff, and the assistance we received from the Department as a whole certainty eased the lot of the organisers. 

We look forward to the occasion of the next conference with anticipation, and again, apologise for our delays.
Elery Hamilton-Smith.

Febuary 1976