Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2026 i Australian Geographic

THIS PHOTOGRAPH OF the promenade at the City of Geelong’s Eastern Beach Reserve was taken on one of those quintessential late-February summer afternoons, just as the harsh midday sun began to soften. Geelong sits on Corio Bay, the smaller western extension of Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay. The promenade, full of character, is celebrated for its Art Deco-style swimming enclosure, historical boardwalk and diving tower – all built in the 1930s. Here, sun-worn timber boards bear the scuffs of countless summers, and the place hums with colour and noise. It remains a safe and inviting place for the community to enjoy the water and make the most of the bay.…

HAVE YOU EVER Heard of the Martian dichotomy? No, it’s not a political confrontation among aliens but rather a distinct geographical contrast between Mars’s northern and southern hemispheres. Discovered by orbiting spacecraft in the 1970s, it’s characterised principally by a difference in elevation – the southern hemisphere is 1–3km higher than the north, and has mountains instead of plains. There’s also a significant difference in crustal thickness – the 32km average thickness in the north is almost doubled in the south. That suggests a global origin for the dichotomy. Active tectonics and a giant impact in Mars’s early history have both been postulated. Which of those scenarios was the actual cause remains to be established, but one thing most Mars specialists agree on is that 3–4 billion years ago, Mars…

THE HUME DAM, about 10km east of Albury in southern New South Wales, forms part of the Hume Reservoir – the main water supply on the Murray River system. When it opened in November 1936, it was the largest dam in the Southern Hemisphere and considered a true feat of Australian engineering. The Murray River is one of the world’s longest navigable rivers, flowing 2530km across NSW, Victoria and South Australia. First Nations peoples, including the Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta, have lived along the river for many thousands of years. Europeans settled along the river in the 19th century, establishing farms along its course. Water management quickly became a problem for colonists because of the boom-bust nature of the Murray River system. In 1860 representatives from the colonies of NSW,…

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY FUNDRAISER (JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2026) FEW CREATURES CAPTURE the imagination like the platypus; a mammal that lays eggs and has a duck-like bill fitted with electroreceptors. Endemic to eastern Australia waterways, this ancient monotreme has survived unchanged for millions of years, ideally adapted to its world of dark burrows and shady creeks. It was no accident AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC chose a platypus – affectionately dubbed ‘Banjo’ – for our launch issue cover in 1986. It was a creature that so perfectly embodied the wonder, uniqueness and resilience of Australia’s natural environment. Four decades on, the platypus remains our emblem but is now also a sobering reminder of all we have to lose. Across its range, the platypus faces growing pressures: reduced river flows, pollution, land clearing and impacts of anthropogenic…

I’M PULLING MYSELF up over a slightly overhanging section of rock. Below me is a drop of maybe 80m. A fall here would almost certainly be fatal. With me is James Webb, mountaineer and founder of RockWire – Australia’s first and so far only via ferrata, or ‘iron path’, experience. He’s guiding me through the vertical world of Mt Buller’s west face in the Victorian Alps. Secured onto a steel cable using a lanyard system, I’m safe from plunging down to the scree fields below. Artificial hand and footholds make this passage negotiable even for non-rock climbers. These artificial climbing routes are historically associated with the Dolomites in Northern Italy. The peaks and spires there were frontline during World War I, and to get soldiers and weapons into strategic positions,…

IT’S MORNING IN St George, and the mercury is rising with the sun over the Balonne River. Upstream of the Jack Taylor Weir, in the shade of a river gum, a fisherman stands, ear buds in, as he watches his line settle into the 10m-deep water. Nearby, a speedboat launches from a sandy bank and drifts north up the channel, away from the safety buoys that guard the weir’s edge and onwards in the direction of the massive Beardmore Dam. Dozens stroll the riverbank walkway, passing a red flood-height pole documenting major flood years in town: just under 14m in 2012, and a little over 13m in 2011 and 2010. Those were a wet three years; the fourth-highest reads ‘1890’. Up above, an 18-wheeler turns onto the weir crossing. The…

MAGIC ON THE REEF STORY BY KAREN MCGHEE We’re all aware the Great Barrier Reef faces huge environmental challenges, so it’s heartening to know being a tourist can be part of the solution. VISITING THE GREAT Barrier Reef (GBR) as a tourist used to be simply about enjoying the many spectacular underwater experiences this World Heritage site has to offer. But these days tourism is integral to addressing, and even supporting research into, the highly publicised environmental issues facing the reef. And that intent is clear from the moment you join a cruise with Reef Magic. The Cairns-based, Aussie-owned cruise operator specialises in affordable day trips to the GBR for a wide audience – from energetic young children to grandparents with accessibility issues and from experienced scuba divers to poor…

WHEN CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Adam Scroggy isn’t at his desk preparing AG for print, we send him out into the field to exercise his eye for a good story. This time, it was with photographer Max Mason-Hubers to the agricultural hub of St George, in outback Queensland, for part one of River Stories, a four-part series that takes a state-by-state look at the… well, state of the Murray–Darling Basin (see Highs and lows, page 72). River Stories comes at a time when the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, which seeks to balance the many priorities of managing water throughout the Basin, is set for its first update at the end of 2026, and AG wanted to start by heading to a town that lives on, and draws its strength from, its river. “A…

Rare plant spotted outside Perth A team of scientists and volunteers from Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and Curtin University has discovered a large population of Drosera silvicola, one of Western Australia’s rarest carnivorous plants, just an hour outside of Perth. Previously known from only two sites, the insect-trapping sundew was found at AWC’s Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary at Gidgegannup. “We knew it [the species] was previously recorded in the area over 30 years ago, but given we had already searched for nearly two full days I had started to doubt the validity of that old record,” said PhD student Thilo Krueger, from Curtin University’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences. “Drosera silvicola is a very distinctive species of sundew because of its beautiful, absolutely stunning flowers with pink, glossy petals and…

I LEARNED THE real meaning of joy when a flock of galahs rained down on me from a deep blue sky one magnificent desert morning. Minutes before, standing on top of a red sand dune in the Mallee in north-west Victoria, I’d noticed a tight-knit flock of these remarkable cockatoos approaching, flying high, the late morning sun glinting off their wings. They gave no indication of what they would do next. As a wildlife guide, I’m often asked by guests to name my favourite bird. My answer is galahs: plural, because they always come in flocks or pairs. Above all else, these aeronautical acrobats love mixing mischief with flight – which was what the flock did when they spotted me on the sand dune. I’m convinced they purposely changed course…

DICK SMITH GRINS as though he’s getting away with something. “Towing the iceberg into Sydney Harbour, jumping the double-decker bus – that’s the stuff,” he recalls. “I’d be quite happy to be remembered as an Aussie larrikin.” The word lands with the easy authority of a man who’s made a life out of audacity – sometimes mischievous, sometimes mortal, always purposeful. The founder of AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC is now aged 81. But his spark for a life less ordinary – that energy and self-belief that compelled him to fly a helicopter across oceans and a balloon into the jet stream at 23,000ft – seems as strong as ever. He says his younger self didn’t believe he would die, and he talks about his brand of “responsible risk-taking” that often brushed the…

NOW OPEN AT the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 exhibition turns the lens on the planet’s most vital and threatened environment. The thought-provoking exhibition, which runs until 3 May 2026, captures the wonder and fragility of marine life at a time when much of it is under enormous strain. You can view 112 finalist and winning images from around the world – including four finalists (and two winners!) from Australia. This year’s overall winning image comes from Indonesia-based macro photographer Yury Ivanov, who captured two tiny amphipods – known as ‘ladybugs of the sea’ – resting on coral. Measuring just 3mm long, the pair appear suspended in a moment of calm amid the reef. Ivanov’s photograph, selected from more than 15,000 global entries, highlights…

IT’S DESCRIBED AS the world’s longest-running marine cull – an almost century-long massive loss of aquatic life along Australia’s coastline linked to shark nets. First introduced during the 1930s and still deployed along parts of coastal New South Wales and Queensland, shark nets have been sold to the public as protection for swimmers and surfers. But they’ve long been criticised by scientists for both their shortcomings in safeguarding humans and the unchecked harm they cause to marine life. “Relics of another era” and “the most dangerous thing in the water” is how they’re described by Australian Marine Conservation Society shark scientist, Dr Leonardo Guida. Contrary to popular belief, the nets aren’t barriers to sharks. Each net is about 150m long and 6m deep, leaving plenty of surrounding space for the…

THE STORY OF AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC begins on Sydney’s northern rim, with the smell of eucalyptus and fresh print. In January 1986 the first issue shipped out, and the little post office in Terrey Hills, the outer Sydney suburb where the AG Centre office compound had been built, was swamped. People queued for something they hadn’t known they were missing until it existed: a journal that took Australia seriously – and joyfully. Founder Dick Smith didn’t pretend to know publishing. But he knew curiosity and how to gather capable people. He took the mood he’d loved as a child in Walkabout magazine and reshaped it for a modern country, recruiting a crew that would will a new kind of publication into being: editor Howard Whelan, art director Tony Gordon, business brain…

THE QUIET, PICTURESQUE holiday resort town of Paynesville is located 17km south of Bairnsdale between Lake King and Lake Victoria on the Gippsland Lakes. Previously known as a shipbuilding centre and port, today it’s a popular destination for fishing, swimming, boating and water sports, including waterskiing at Newlands Arm and surfing at Ninety Mile Beach. It’s possible to hire a boat, or take a cruise, to explore the lakes’ peaceful waters. The Gippsland Lakes is Australia’s largest inland waterway system, covering 400sq.km and comprising four main lakes: Victoria, King, Wellington and Reeve, as well as associated wetlands and lagoons. The lakes are fed by the Tambo, Mitchell, Nicholson, Avon and Latrobe rivers and are sheltered from the ocean by a narrow line of sand dunes, beyond which lies Ninety Mile…

$50 WINNER Bowled over FEATURED LETTER I am writing as a long-time subscriber to AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC to sincerely congratulate you for publishing the outstanding article Our summer obsession by Andy Franks (AG 189). This article certainly portrays the ‘It’s in our Nature’ theme of life in Australia. Mr Franks’ well-researched, accurate words are a true representation of the great importance that the wonderful game of cricket brings to the cricket community in Australia. The excellent photographic accompaniment to Mr Franks’ writing really adds to the positive impact of this article. As a fervid follower of cricket I cannot understate the many moments of sheer joy and contentment that cricket has provided me during my lifetime. Indeed I feel that cricket is my life-support system. Keep up your good work in…

IN EARLY AUGUST 1925, Nevill Westwood and Greg Davies set off from Bickley, Perth, in a borrowed French cabriolet nicknamed ‘Bubsie’. The car’s tiny engine had less horsepower than a modern ride-on lawn mower, and there was barely enough room on the single bench seat for them both. Nevill and Greg had been tasked with an errand on behalf of their church: drive to Darwin in the Northern Territory and establish a missionary outpost for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They took with them no maps, there were no discernible roads for most of the route, and they had no access to petrol stations beyond the occasional town. Travelling by motor vehicle was still a novelty in 1925 Australia. And no car had ever driven to Darwin from Perth before. Motor…

IN LATE NOVEMBER I stood in far south-west Western Australia’s coastal heathland, watching a group of Carnaby’s black-cockatoos clowning and squealing among the banksias. One would land floppily atop a bush, and its neighbour, affronted by its proximity, would scream at it while clutching a piece of banksia cone as though shaking its fist. The birds flapped noisily, eating and interacting like a large and boozy family at Christmas. Days later, this family’s future was being debated in Canberra’s Parliament House – not just its future, but that of thousands of other threatened species, ecosystems, and natural places beloved by Australians. Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was introduced to protect all this. But in the 25 years it has been in place, it has failed. Our most-threatened species…

THE OLD RAILWAY Tunnel at Mount Rumney, east of Hobart, has been reborn as a kind of food factory. These days its dark and dank internal walls ripple with a smorgasbord of edible fungi. The mushrooms burst from the bags of substrate mix that line the tunnel’s walls: cascading lion’s manes, branching clusters of elf oysters, and delicate, overlapping plates of reishi and turkey tail. Tunnel Hill Mushrooms is one of two mushroom farms in Australia operating out of an old railway tunnel, the other being Mittagong Mushroom Tunnel in New South Wales’ Southern Highlands. The underground railway tunnel naturally provides the ideal conditions for year-round mushroom production, offering consistently cool temperatures and high humidity in a dark, sheltered environment. Tunnel Hill owner Dean Smith grows about 10 mushroom varieties…

IN 1999, UNIVERSITY of Tasmania (UTAS) ecologist Professor Menna Jones travelled to Little Swanport on the state’s east coast to trap Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) for a population study – when she made a startling discovery: about one-third of the devils were covered in enormous, bloody tumours. By 2001 she was encountering tumoured devils further east, on the Freycinet Peninsula. At one site at the northern end of her trapline, two-thirds of the population had disappeared by 2002. “We had a disease that we’d never seen before,” Menna recalls. “It was fatal, and it was infecting lots of devils in the population, and it was spreading and causing massive population decline.” Menna was not the first person to encounter devils infected with the transmissible cancer now known as devil facial…

THE WORLD HAS always been lured to Australia by stunning imagery. Think of the reflected red dirt of an Uluru sunset and blue-water aerial views of the Great Barrier Reef. But for an iconic scene that combines the nation’s legendary sporting prowess with some of its most recognisable landmarks, you’d be hard-pressed to find better than a fast-paced, high-tech sailing event on Sydney Harbour. And that’s exactly what a large slice of the global population saw when the Rolex SailGP Championship – the latest international sporting phenomenon – took to the waters of Sydney Harbour in February last year. This international professional sailing league is still very much in its infancy and wasn’t, of course, intentionally created as a vehicle to sell Australia. But it certainly seems to be doing…

IF YOU TURN In through the imposing gateposts at 321 Mona Vale Road in Terrey Hills, on the northern fringes of Sydney, today, you’ll find a scattering of unrelated businesses. There’s an Indian restaurant, a Japanese antiques dealer, a daycare centre and an upmarket design and construction company, each retrofitted into one of the numerous pavilions that once made up the Australian Geographic Centre. The old billabong is still there, now choked with weeds. Dick Smith’s helicopter pad serves as overspill parking, and a line of tall scribbly gums continues to define the limits of the four-hectare site. But the beating heart of the place – the thing that once made it unmistakably AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC – has all but slipped away. From 21 August 1986 until mid-2007, it served as…