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Ferries McDonald Conservation ParkPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the contributions of Edwin Ashby and others toward the establishment of the park and was unveiled on its 50th anniversary in 1988.
Concerned about the loss of mallee lands which were increasingly being cleared for cultivation in the 1920s, and in particular loss of habitat of the mallee fowl, Edwin Ashby, a veteran national parks campaigner and a former chair of the Royal Society`s flora and fauna protection committee, began tp press for a reserve of scrub in the Murray region. Aware of the government`s lack of interest in ecological arguments, Ashby resorted to resource use arguments — he even proposed the domestication and commercialisation of the mallee fowl — but his main argument rested on the potential of the mallee as a picnic spot and recreational area.
In 1938, the South Australian government reserved the first part of what was to become the Ferries McDonald Conservation Park.
Excerpt from History of the Australian Environment Movement
By Drew Hutton, Libby Connors.
Location
| Address: | Chauncy Line Road, Ferries McDonald Conservation Park, Monarto South, 5254 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.248132 Long: 139.146011 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Government |
| Sub-Theme: | State |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Thursday 28th July, 1988 |
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The half centenary of this park, celebrated on 28 July, 1988, acknowledges the substantial efforts towards its dedication by Edwin Ashby 1936 - 1938, and others whose contributions were of major importance :
Robert Sweet McDonald
James Jeffries
Henson Bunn
George James Lemmey
Filed Naturalists` Society of S. A.
Unveiled 28. 7. 88. by their descendants
