[4] There are numerous Aboriginal sites in the national park including rock paintings at Yankee Hat, dating from at least 800 years ago.

[citation needed] In April 2001, representatives of the Ngambri communities entered into an agreement with the ACT government which recognised their traditional association with the national park lands, and their role and duty to their ancestors and descendants as custodians of the area, and established a system of cooperative management.

[8] In January 2020, the Orroral Valley bushfire during the Black Summer season burnt about 80% of the national park (82,700 hectares (204,000 acres)).

[citation needed] The park includes fens with sedges, and sphagnum moss bogs that provide habitat for the northern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne pengilleyi), an endangered species.

As of 2021[update] efforts are ongoing by teams from the Australian National Insect Collection at the CSIRO to find more of the wasps, as the bushfire has destroyed 80% of the park since the sighting.

[14][15] In this sub-alpine region, the weather ranges from cold winter nights to warm summer days, and it can change very quickly.

In the 1930s, with construction of the new capital city of Canberra under way, Canberrans explored the possibilities for developing skiing and snow sports in the Brindabellas.

[20] Built on leased land, the Mount Franklin Chalet reverted to the Government when Namadgi National Park was created in 1984 and later operated as a museum before being destroyed in the 2003 bushfires.