 | |
| Abbreviation | NHVSS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1 May 1984 |
| Location | |
| Affiliations | Australian Speleological Federation |
| Website | NHVSS Website |
| Logo design J.Whitby, adopted 30 July 1998 | |
Newcastle and Hunter Valley Speleological Society (NHVSS) [1] is a caving club based in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
The Newcastle and Hunter Valley Speleological Society formed in May 1984. [2] The Society became an "Associate Member" of the Australian Speleological Federation in late 1984 and a full "Corporate Member" in January 1986. [2] [3] The Society's first organised trip in June 1984, was a weekend of simulated cave rescues at the Timor Caves, located around 150km North-West of Newcastle in the Hunter Valley. [2]
NHVSS became part of the World Wide Web with the setting up of the society's website in mid 1999. This allowed members to access information on upcoming trips and provided contact details for like minded members of the public. [4] Then during 2003, NHVSS became an Incorporated Society, registered with the 'NSW Department of Fair Trading'.
In 2004, NHVSS received a NSW Environmental Education Community Grant to fund research and publish an up-to-date educational resource book on the Timor Karst and Caves. [5] [6] Research field work was carried out between February 2005 and October 2007 with assistance of members from several other organisations and speleological societies. [5] [7] During the field work, an additional 27 new caves were discovered and documented. [8] [9] The book 'Timor Caves - Hunter Valley, New South Wales' was published in August 2008. [10]
In July 2009 the NHVSS lodged a class 1 appeal with the NSW Land and Environment Court (L&EC), objecting to the granting of a limestone quarry approval at Timor in the upper Hunter Valley, NSW. The NSW Environmental Defender’s Office acted on behalf of NHVSS in appealing the "Stoneco Pty Ltd" limestone quarry approval by the Upper Hunter Shire Council. [11] L&EC hearings were held during November 2009 and again in May 2010. The court granted consent [12] [13] for the quarry to proceed in June 2010, provided that strict monitoring protocols were implemented and imposed many additional conditions focused on the protection of Timor karst values and biodiversity covering the project site during the life of the quarry. [14] [15] [16] [17] [13] The conditions imposed by the L&EC set an important precedent for the types of conditions which may be imposed on similar quarries and mines in the future, [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] and the case has since been quoted in numerous development applications for coal, mineral and metal mines in NSW.
The society's activities include; exploration, survey, documentation, research and conservation of caves and karst. NHVSS has been involved in speleothem research in Australia, [23] [24] palaeoclimate research on the Indonesian islands of Flores and Silawesi [25] [26] and cave exploration diving. [27] During 2018 the society assisted on palaeontology research expeditions to caves in the Upper Hunter Valley NSW Australia, resulting in discoveries of significant Quaternary fossils, including five extinct Pleistocene megafaunal taxa. [28] A number of other research projects (e.g. bat monitoring and groundwater fauna) have been undertaken by the society at various cave and karst locations in NSW.[ citation needed ]
Since 2011, the speleological society has regularly assisted Newcastle University lecturers, by guiding geology students through the Timor Caves, on field excursions. The excursions provide students with a better understanding of cave geomorphology and highlights specific geological features covered in the University course. [29] [30]
Currently the NHVSS have members engaged in a programme of exploration and surveying Bullita Caves [31] within Gregory National Park, Northern Territory, which to date has over 300 km of surveyed passage, [32] making it amongst the longest underground systems in the world. [33]
NHVSS members undertake a diverse range of activities, catering for a wide range of skill levels, from beginners to hard core veteran cavers. Horizontal and vertical caving skills of members, are kept up to date through regular training days. Other activities include canyoning, bushwalking and occasionally cross country skiing and white water kayaking. [34]
Newcaves Chronicles, ISSN 1325-0930. Newcastle and Hunter Valley Speleological Society Inc. Published twice yearly since August 1993.
Timor Caves - Hunter Valley, New South Wales , (2008). ISBN 9780646492858.
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology). The term speleology is also sometimes applied to the recreational activity of exploring caves, but this is more properly known as caving, potholing, or spelunking. Speleology and caving are often connected, as the physical skills required for in situ study are the same.
Speleothems, commonly known as cave formations, are secondary mineral deposits formed in a cave. Speleothems typically form in limestone or dolomite solutional caves. The term "speleothem," as first introduced by Moore (1952), is derived from the Greek words spēlaion "cave" + théma "deposit". The definition of "speleothem," in most publications, specifically excludes secondary mineral deposits in mines, tunnels, and other man-made structures. Hill and Forti more concisely defined "secondary minerals" which create speleothems in caves:
A "secondary" mineral is one which is derived by a physicochemical reaction from a primary mineral in bedrock or detritus, and/or deposited because of a unique set of conditions in a cave; i.e., the cave environment has influenced the mineral's deposition.
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately 120 km (75 mi) to 310 km (193 mi) north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and south. Situated at the northern end of the Sydney Basin bioregion, the Hunter Valley is one of the largest river valleys on the NSW coast, and is most commonly known for its wineries and coal industry.
A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral cylindrical tube. They are also known as tubular stalactites. Soda straws grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves. Soda straws in caves rarely grow more than a few millimetres per year and may average one tenth of a millimetre per year. A soda straw can turn into a stalactite if the hole at the bottom is blocked, or if the water begins flowing on the outside surface of the hollow tube.
Dolomite (also known as dolostone, dolomite rock or dolomitic rock) is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. In old USGS publications, it was referred to as magnesian limestone, a term now reserved for magnesium-deficient dolomites or magnesium-rich limestones. Dolomite has a stoichiometric ratio of nearly equal amounts of magnesium and calcium. Most dolomites formed as a magnesium replacement of limestone or lime mud before lithification. Dolomite is resistant to erosion and can either contain bedded layers or be unbedded. It is less soluble than limestone in weakly acidic groundwater, but it can still develop solution features (karst) over time. Dolomite can act as an oil and natural gas reservoir.
The Wonnarua people, otherwise written Wanarruwa, are a group of Aboriginal Australian people united by strong ties of kinship, and who survived in family groups or clans scattered along the inland area of what is now known as the Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. Their creation spirit is Baiami, also known as Koin, the creator of all things and the Keeper of the Valley.
Formed in 1956, the Australian Speleological Federation Inc. (ASF) is the national body representing those interested in the protection and sustainability of Australia's cave and karst environments. It has approximately 850 members across 28 constituent bodies throughout all Australian states and territories. The ASF represents Australia within the International Union of Speleology, which is linked with UNESCO.
The Wombeyan Caves are caves that have formed in marble, in the Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve, New South Wales, Australia. Wombeyan Caves is a tourist attraction and local holiday area, as well as a reserve for endangered species, such as several species of wallaby, bird, possum, and wombat.
The Jenolan Caves are limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains, in Jenolan, Oberon Council, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The caves and 3,083-hectare (7,620-acre) reserve are situated approximately 175 kilometres (109 mi) west of Sydney, 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Oberon and 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Katoomba.
The British Cave Research Association (BCRA) is a speleological organisation in the United Kingdom. Its object is to promote the study of caves and associated phenomena, and it attains this by supporting cave and karst research, encouraging original exploration, collecting and publishing speleological information, maintaining a library and organising educational and scientific conferences and meetings.
There are a number of caving organizations throughout the world.
Trapped was a documentary television series that premiered on November 7, 2007 on the National Geographic Channel. Produced in association with the National Geographic Channel and Cineflix, the program examined various actual incidents or disasters in which victims were trapped on the site.
The Sydney Speleological Society Inc. (SSS) is a caving group based in Sydney, Australia. The Sydney Speleological Society was founded in 1954 and is one of the oldest caving groups in Australia. The Sydney Speleological Society has organised caving expeditions both locally and internationally. The Sydney Speleological Society has participated in events regarding caving, caving standards, caving publications, caving equipment, caving safety, and cave rescue. The Society also participated in the founding of the Australian Speleological Federation.
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The Cliefden Caves ia heritage-listed geoheritage site in Mandurama, Cowra Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The caves comprises Ordovician fossil localities, limestone caves, a spring and tufa dams, and a site where limestone was first discovered in inland Australia.
Pınargözü Cave, is a cave 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of the town of Yenişarbademli in Isparta Province, Turkey. It is considered the longest cave in Turkey, although it has not yet been fully explored, and the precise extent to which it has been explored is in dispute.
The Austrian Speleological Association is a national caving organization was founded as an umbrella organization of 26 Austrian caving clubs in 1949.
Bungonia National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Australian state of New South Wales, roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the city of Goulburn and 122 km (76 mi) south-west of Sydney. The approximately 15 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi) park borders the Bungonia State Conservation Area to the South, Morton National Park to the East, and Bungonia Creek to the North. Only a relatively recent addition to the national parks registry, Bungonia was originally protected as a water reserve to prevent contamination of the Shoalhaven River in the mid-late 19th Century.
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