Australian Alps

Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks

Third Edition By: Deirdre Slattery

An illustrated guide to the remarkable ecology and history of the Australian Alps National Parks.

Australian Alps is a fascinating guide to Australia’s highest mountains and the extraordinary diversity, rich heritage and precious resource of the Australian Alps National Parks. + Full description

Covering Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks, author Deirdre Slattery explores the stories of the First Peoples, scientists, historians and conservationists who have worked to protect, raise awareness of and share their knowledge of this unique and important area.

This fully revised third edition details the mountains’ remarkable and unique natural features; how the rocks, soils, plants and animals have evolved over time; and the dependence of many Australians on their most valuable function – water catchment. Extensively illustrated with both historic and contemporary photographs, Australian Alps is an essential guide for anyone visiting or interested in this spectacular region.

- Short description

News

This third edition is publishing April 2025. Need your copy sooner? The Second Edition (2015) is still available to purchase as an eBook.

Reviews

Praise for the second edition:

"Australian Alps is a pleasure to read... Reading this book will only add to our motivation to visit, conserve and enjoy this region of international significance."
Catherine Pickering, The Victorian Naturalist 134(3), June 2017

"Whether you have just a passing interest in the High Country of south eastern Australia, or you think you already know everything there is to know about the Australian Alps National Parks, this is a book you will pick up again and again... This is a very readable book, full of interesting anecdotes: a remarkable story told with genuine respect."
Phil Ingamells, Park Watch, Issue 263, December 2015

"If you are looking for a book that offers a thorough explanation as to why our alpine region is the way we find it today, look no further. Australian Alps is well written, and while it is thorough and specific where it needs to be, Slattery’s writing style allows the reader to open the book to any page and instantly understand any concept explained in this text."
Emma Walsh, Wild Melbourne (blog), 14 December 2015

"[Deirdre Slattery] tells an excellent historical narrative and does so in chapters on Aboriginal life, pastoralism, science, gold mining, water resources and conservation; I like to think I knew a bit about the subject, but I certainly know more now... This is certainly a book to take with you on your next Alps holiday, and preferably to have read in advance – you’ll get more out of your trip thus – along with your more specific field guides. An excellent addition to the literature on the south-east high country."
Ian Fraser, Ian Fraser's Natural History Reviews Newsletter (24), May 2017

Details

Paperback | April 2025 | $ 54.99
ISBN: 9781486318841 | 328 pages | 245 x 170 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
B&W photographs, Colour photographs, Illustrations

Features

Written by a leading expert in the natural and cultural values of the Australian Alps
Illustrated in full colour featuring animals, plants and natural features
Covers the latest policies on the management of these Alpine National Parks
Discusses the active presence of Traditional Owners and their cultural connections to the mountains
Updates information on huts, recreation and issues relating to feral animals

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Preface
Cultural sensitivity warning

1: Australia’s Alps – the Brindabellas, the Snowy Mountains and Victoria’s High Country
2: Alpine weather and climate
3: The shape of the Alps – geology, landform and soil
4: Alpine vegetation – what grows where?
5: Alpine animals
6: Aboriginal life in the Alps
7: Settlement and land use in the Alps – pastoralism
8: European science in the Australian Alps
9: Gold mining in the Alps
10: Source of the rivers – alpine water resources
11: Scientists, citizens and public servants – the road to conservation
12: Visiting the parks

Index

Authors

Deirdre Slattery has been writing, teaching, talking and running field trips in and about the Australian Alps National Parks since 1989. She has been a member of several high-level advisory committees on alpine matters, and is the co-author of Kosciuszko: A Great National Park.