History
The pristine forest of the reserve is similar to that which faced the early settlers of the West Tamar. About a century ago the Notley forest provided timber for boatbuilding at Rosevears (on the Tamar River) and hiding places for bushrangers.
The area was privately owned for over a hundred years and the gorge was only visited by locals who knew about it. In the 1930s, the hospitality of the Hitchcocks allowed a road to be made through their property to the gorge so that everybody could enjoy its natural beauty.
On 23 November 1940, the area was pronounced a reserve and renamed from Foresters Hill (after the Forester kangaroo) to Notley Fern Gorge, after the place of origin in the United Kingdom of one of the local families. The neighbouring farmers, the Hitchcocks and Hunts, were paid caretakers until the Parks and Wildlife Service took over this responsibility in October 1992.
Of historical interest is a large, burnt-out tree, "Bradys Tree", which is reputed to have sheltered bushranger Matthew Brady and his gang when they were running from the law in the 1820s. Flintlock muskets found nearby were supposedly theirs.
Flora and Fauna
Towering Eucalypts at Notley Gorge
The forest is a typical example of wet sclerophyll forest with large, old dominant eucalypts towering over an under-storey of rainforest, shrubs and ferns. The dominant eucalypts are stringybark, Eucalyptus delagatensis and white gum, E. viminalis. The wet sclerophyll understorey includes musk, blackwood, silver wattle, sassafras, dogwood and stinkwood.
Conspicuous are the tree ferns which tower over head. Many of these are likely to be up to 100 years old. Other ferns include the hard water fern, found along the banks of the creek, fishbone fern, batswing fern and, growing on the trunks of other trees, the delicate filmy fern.
Details of these species can be found at our section on rainforest species.
Wildlife in the area includes Bennetts wallabies, pademelons, Tasmanian devils, ringtail and brushtail possums. As these animals are largely nocturnal, you are unlikely to see them. You may see a pink robin or a golden whistler among the variety of birdlife. Yellow-tail black cockatoos occassionally visit the area. Look out for the tell-tale signs of their feeding - dead tree trunks which have been ripped apart by their powerful bills in search of grubs.