When we stepped onto Lot 373 Hickory Road at Cow Bay we knew straight away this property must be purchased for conservation. One of the first plants identified was the Fragrant Boxwood, which was the first time during our surveys that we had seen this Threatened species. 

Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest

Our survey of Lot 373 Hickory Road at Cow Bay conducted on the 4th of February identified 210 native plant species. This included four species listed as Threatened. The Fragrant Boxwood (Xanthophyllum fragrans) was identified from just one mature-sized specimen of approximately 10m tall. This rainforest tree produces fragrant showy white flowers and large orange fruits. They are of conservation importance and are endemic to the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland.

Please, make your tax-deductible donation now to help purchase Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

Each $2.50 you donate will purchase and protect one sqm of the Lowland Daintree Rainforest. Please, donate now. 

Fragrant Boxwood (Xanthophyllum fragrans).

Lot 373 must be purchased and managed for its exceptional conservation values. This freehold property shares a boundary with the Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area and it deserves the same level of protection. Lot 373 was excluded from inclusion in the Daintree National Park when it was declared in 1988. To ensure the Threatened species found at Lot 373 Hickory Road are managed appropriately we will now purchase this freehold property. All we need is your help. 

Please, make your tax-deductible donation now to help purchase Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

Each $2.50 you donate will purchase and protect one sqm of the Lowland Daintree Rainforest. Please, donate now. 

Flowers of the Fragrant Boxwood (Xanthophyllum fragrans)

Before we make a decision to purchase a Daintree Rainforest property we thoroughly assess its value to conservation. Our survey of Lot 373 Hickory Road at Cow Bay was undertaken on the 4th of February 2022 by ecologist Kristopher Kupsch. 

The survey identified the presence of 210 native plant species which include four listed under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.  

China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis) was identified on Lot 373 as young seedlings. This species is restricted to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi) was identified as a young sapling on Lot 373. This large tree is also restricted to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Noah’s Walnut (Endiandra microneura) was found on Lot 373 as large canopy trees, sub-adults and abundant seedlings. Its large yellow oblong-shaped fruits are dispersed by the Southern Cassowary. This is another species restricted to the Daintree Lowland Rainforest.

Fragrant Boxwood (Xanthophyllum fragrans) was identified on Lot 373 as one mature-sized specimen. It produces fragrant showy white flowers and large orange fruits.

Please, make your tax-deductible donation now to help purchase and protect Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

Each $2.50 you donate will purchase and protect one sqm of the Lowland Daintree Rainforest. Please, donate now.  

Gray’s Walnut (Endiandra grayi) is listed as a Threatened species

Lot 373 also provides essential habitat for the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) which is also listed on the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. Cassowaries are regularly sighted in the adjoining Daintree National Park and evidence of them using Lot 373 was confirmed by dung.

The appropriate management of Threatened species requires particular care. On lot 373 Hickory Road the Fragment Boxwood was identified from only one specimen. The purchase of this property will help create an improved management regime for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Lot 373 Hickory Road needs to be managed for its exceptional conservation value which won't happen while it remains in private ownership.

Please, make your tax-deductible donation now to help purchase and protect Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest so it can be managed for conservation.

Every $2.50 you donate will help save one square metre of the Daintree. If you donate $25 you will help save ten square metres of essential Cassowary habitat! A donation of $50 will help save twenty square metres and $100 will help save forty square metres of the World Heritage value Daintree Rainforest.

Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii  

We are purchasing Lot 373 Hickory Road in Cow Bay to fulfil our vision for the conservation of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. This requires the buyback of all undeveloped freehold properties in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Not only do we want to see no further development, but we also want the negative impacts of the rural residential subdivision to be reversed. 

In 1982 the Queensland government approved a 1,136-lot rural residential subdivision in the Daintree. This resulted in two-thirds of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest being excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988. Lot 373 Hickory Road is one of these properties.

Please, help purchase the Daintree Rainforest at Lot 373 Hickory Road at Cow Bay so it can be managed for conservation. Every $2.50 you donate will help save one square metre of the Daintree. If you donate $25 you will help save ten square metres of essential Cassowary habitat! A donation of $50 will help save twenty square metres and $100 will help save forty square metres of the World Heritage value Daintree Rainforest.

Lot 373 Hickory Road is covered in tropical rainforest

Endangered Ecological Community

The Daintree Lowland Rainforest itself has now been identified as part of an Endangered Ecological Community. In November 2021 the Australian Government listed the lowland tropical rainforest of the Wet Tropics ecological community, in the Endangered Category under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The listing is effective as of Friday 26 November 2021 and includes the Wet Tropics of North Queensland, from near Ingham (just south of the Cardwell Range) in the south to north around Cape Tribulation. While now listed as Endangered the Daintree Lowland Rainforest is still not fully protected. 

The Daintree Lowland Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests on Earth and provides a refuge for wildlife and ancient flowering plants. It holds exceptionally high biodiversity and conservation value and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia. We have purchased twenty Daintree Rainforest properties in the past two years. Every property we purchase for conservation in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest will help reverse the impacts of the disastrous 1980’s rural residential subdivision.

These freehold properties in the Daintree should not be left in the ownership of people who would destroy the rainforest. The rainforest on these freehold properties is of equal value to the nearby Daintree National Park and World Heritage Area. 

We have secured the option to purchase this property for $25,000. As Lot 373 Hickory Road is 1.0 hectares this represents a price of $2.50 per sqm. This provides a real and tangible outcome for your investment in nature conservation. You can see photographs of the property here. 

Please, make your tax-deductible donation now to help purchase and protect Lot 373 Hickory Road at Cow Bay. Each $2.50 you donate will purchase and protect one sqm of the Lowland Daintree Rainforest.  

If you have any questions about the purchase and protection of Lot 373 Hickory Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest please email me at [email protected] or call me on 0437 423 119. Or read the frequently asked questions here. 

For the Daintree Rainforest,

Kelvin Davies

Founder, Rainforest 4 Foundation

Phone: 0437 423 119

P.S. You can donate now online or if you want to donate with a cheque/money order or through a direct deposit please see our Ways to Donate page.

P.P.S. We are also raising the funds to purchase Lot 93 Cape Tribulation Road at Diwan. To make a donation or just to see how much progress we've made please visit the project page here.