@shaxhome - thanks for that link. I was totally unaware of this development. As david correctly recalled, right from the beginning, it was made very public that the location had to remain a secret, because of the threat of pathogens. This did not prevent some canyoners and/or bush walkers who discovered the location either by acccident or by deliberately searching it out, from publishing the location on the web. From what I have been able to discover, yes it is a bit remote, but not so remote that you cannot walk in and out again within a long day. You're not actually correct, when you say it is only accessible by abseiling into the canyon. This is how John Noble entered the canyon when he discovered them, but they are also accessible by bush bashing through the canyons. @david - yes our frosts are radiational freezes and it is far from being a 'pocket'. I live in the middle of the Cumberland Plain :-). The east coast of Oz generally has its highest rainfall during the summer and autumn. We get quite 'warm' conditions during this time, with mean daily rainfalls for Oct to April of between about 60mm and100mm, with the rain falling as very heavy falls 2-4 days a month. When it rains, it RAINS!!!!! That is why I built a mound a couple of years in advance, prior to planting the Wollemi. Yes the soils here do tend to be fairly shallow, very leached and low in humous as the predominant organic recyclers are termites and fire. Apart from Tasmania we have very few deciduous trees like in USA and UK, when the fallen leaves are recycled by fungi and bacteria. It is a very variable country. Don't forget we are actually larger than the USA, if you exclude Alaska and Hawaii.

the Woolemi Pine is in the St.kilda Botanic gardens and it is going to be very interesting watching it grow chas Image link:

Tony, yes you are right, however, population size doesnt provide a greater insight into the reasoning of a restricted occurence, it only illustrates that the refuge is slightly larger for that species. I have thought for a while that the three variables water, fire and competition all act independently and codependently to account for the biogeography in Australian plants. These variables be they a result of Aboriginal or natural climate change they have a massive bearing on species occurences and associated speciation. Wollemia would undoubtedly be suited to the highlands of the Wet Tropics however previous climatic deterioration has led to the demise of Nothofagus and the main element of temperate rainforests 'Eucryphia' is only represented by a single population on one mountain peak (which happens to be the highest in the Wet Tropics). Reiterating, Wollemia would grow in the current days climate as it is cool and wet however the competition from large mesophyll species would undoubtedly bump it out of the habitat. I once grow a Nothofagus cunninghamii in the lowlands of NE NSW where it grew amazingly well attaining a height of 2m in less than 2 years. I planted it in the ground where it quickly died due to a lack of water. This suggests that this species is restricted to sthn Vic and Tas because of milder lower evaporation rates and constant moisture. In the warmer subtropics it is unlikley to control is stomata as efficiently as required and thus it looses water to quickly. A friend has a N .cunninghamii growing well in a wetter site than where I planted mine- thus bolstering my presumption that it isnt temperature its water availability that restricts this species to sth locations. Nothofagus moorei is only common in locations where the forests leaf size is reduced to Notophyll and is wet AND the species only recruits following disturbance and freedom from the notophyll saplings/trees. Thus I think that all three variables are at play and possibly if fire wasnt an element of Australian landscapes that competition is more so a determinate than water. Wollemia has small leaves and thus competition with larger leaved species has undoubtedly resulted in its restricted occurence too, as well as fire because Eucalypts are so common in this area now. Maybe it has become restricted to this locality during a really bad climate deterioration event however hasnt been able to escape and re-expand due to the advance of Eucalypts and associated fire-phylic habitats. Now Im rambling.... From Kris

Great photos MM. Haven't seen one myself in real life as yet. I read an interesting article in Readers Digest (I think it was anyway - read it at the in-laws place a couple of weeks ago). I enjoyed the way the story was written about the history of the pine over the ages. It mentioned something about the phytophora fungus that is starting to affect the trees in the wild. Apparently it is suspected of being brought in by bushwalkers who discovered where the pine is growing. Hopefully the rangers will manage to get it under control. Thanks for the photos.