Clarendon Branch of the Agricultural Bureau

The Clarendon Branch the Agricultural Bureau July 2019 meeting speaker was Dene Cordes who formally worked for the various Government Departments that were responsible for managing the South Australian parks and wildlife reserves.

Dene began by providing background about being 4th generation farmers on Kangaroo Island and leaving school early to work on the family farm. He applied for a position with the Belair National Park he was eventually appointed. Dene explained that Belair National Park was declared a National Park in December 1891 and was the second National Park in Australia and the 8th in the World. Dene was appointed by the Minister as the States National Park Community Liaison Officer to deal with the poor relationship between Communities and the States National Park Rangers. With Dene’s help, the relationship improved, and eventually local consulting groups were created to assist the management of the National Parks and eventually this evolved to become the Friends of National Park Foundation.

Dene stated that the valuable work done by National Park volunteers equates to $5-6 million per annum in volunteer hours and without the volunteers the National Park would suffer. Dene has been honoured for his work and achievements with being awarded the South Australian Public Service Medal and Australia Day honours.

Tony Fagg

President Clarendon Branch of the Agricultural Bureau