Gustav Weindorfer

Gustav Weindorfer (23 February 1874 – 5 May 1932) was an Austrian-born Australian amateur botanist, lodge-keeper and promoter of the Cradle Mountains National Park.

His father was a senior civil servant before becoming involved in the management of large agricultural estates in African colonies.

During that year and the next, almost every weekend Weindorfer would stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, or go walking in the nearby bushland with friends.

A large part of their honeymoon was spent camped on Mount Roland with the aim of making an extensive botany collection.

This included an attempt on the summit, but time had been used up in plant collecting and thick fog turned them back from the final climb.

Over the next year, Gustav enthused about the Cradle area, describing it as a "veritable Eldorado for the botanist" and likening it to his Carinthian homeland.

Some hundreds of acres were purchased, and in March 1912, Gustav commenced work on the building he was to call Waldheim, or "home in the forest".

Eventually, a rough track allowed a horse and cart to reach the valley entrance: the government was slow in responding to Weindorfer's repeated requests for a proper road.

Weindorfer continued to work on his tourism dream, enlarging the chalet, naming features in the valley and clearing and marking tracks to the best spots.

Gustav had become an Australian citizen before his marriage, but despite this, some local groups ostracised him and people spread the foolish rumour that he was a spy.

In 1921, Weindorfer set out on a tour of Tasmania to promote both Waldheim and the concept of a national park for Cradle Mountain.

The following year, a scenic reserve and wildlife sanctuary was declared, stretching from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair.

In November 1932, Gustav's sister sent a bunch of everlasting flowers and four candles, asking that they be placed on his grave on New Year's Day, as was the custom in Carinthia.