Editing Kosciuszko National Park (section)

==History==
[[File:Kiandra carnival 1900 Charles Kerry.jpeg|thumb|left|Kiandra Snow Shoe Carnival 1900]]
[[File:Cabramurra July 2011.jpg|thumb|[[Cabramurra]], Australia's highest town, was built during construction of the [[Snowy Mountains Scheme]].]]

Multiple Aboriginal groups in the southern part of NSW gathered in the [[Australian Alps|Australian Alps Bioregion]] in the summer on an annual pilgrimage to the [[Bogong High Plains|Bogong]] and Snowy Mountains. Here, the men participated in a feast of [[Bogong moth|bogong moths (''Agrotis infusa'')]] that were found on the rocky outcrops of the mountains.<ref>{{cite book |title=Regional Histories: Regional Histories of New South Wales |isbn=0731062213 |page=118 |year=1996  |publisher=NSW Heritage Office and NSW Dept. of Urban Affairs and Planning}}</ref>

The area was explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, [[Paweł Edmund Strzelecki|Edmund Strzelecki]] ascended [[Mount Kosciuszko]] and renamed it for Polish patriot and military leader [[Tadeusz Kościuszko]]. High-country stockmen followed, using the Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. [[Banjo Paterson]]'s poem [[The Man from Snowy River (poem)|The Man From Snowy River]] recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area.<ref>http://www.kosciuskohuts.org.au/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513130218/http://www.kosciuskohuts.org.au/ |date=13 May 2008 }} Kosciuszko Huts Association</ref> Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the [[Kosciuszko Huts Association]].<ref>[http://www.khuts.org/ Kosciuszko Huts Association]</ref> In the 19th century, [[gold]] was mined on the high plains near [[Kiandra, New South Wales|Kiandra]].<ref name="discover"/> At its height, this community had a population of about 4,000 people, and ran 14 hotels. It was here that [[Skiing in Australia]] commenced around 1861. Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0018|title=DECC Kosciuszko National Park|access-date=2009-04-24|work=DECC National Parks website}}</ref> In the 20th century, the focus of [[Skiing in New South Wales]] shifted south closer to the Kosciuszko Main Range.

The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. In April 1944, following the passage of the Kosciusko State Park Act, the Kosciusko State Park was proclaimed.<ref name="discover"/><ref name=KosStatePkSMH1>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17926115 |title=KOSCIUSKO STATE PARK. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=1 November 1944 |access-date=25 April 2014 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=KosStatePkAct>{{cite web|title=Kosciusko State Park Act 1944|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/kspa1944n14264.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426233858/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/kspa1944n14264.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-26 |url-status=live|publisher=AustLit|access-date=25 April 2014|pages=1}}</ref> It then became the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967.<ref name=ABCNews1>{{cite web|title=Top of Australia hosts park's centenary|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-12-05/top-of-australia-hosts-parks-centenary/2145852|work=ABC News Australia|access-date=25 April 2014|date=5 December 2006}}</ref> The name was misspelt as Kosciusko until 1997.<ref name="discover">{{Cite book |title=Discover Australia's National Parks |last=Hema Maps |year=1997 |publisher=Random House Australia |location=Milsons Point, New South Wales |isbn=1-875992-47-2 |pages=112–115 }}</ref>

The construction of the [[Snowy Mountains Scheme]] between 1949 and 1974 saw much of the area explored, brought improvements to roads and resulted in the construction of several dams and tunnels across the park in one of the world's largest engineering achievements.

In December 2024, bushwalker Hadi Nazar went missing in the park.  He was lost for 14 days, surviving on berries, water from creeks and two muesli bars found in a hut.<ref name="rhhn">{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Isabella |date=9 January 2025 |title=Rescued hiker Hadi Nazari thanks search crews as details emerge of the moment he found group in Kosciuszko National Park |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-09/hikers-who-found-hadi-nazari-alive-kosciuszko-national-park/104798056 |work=ABC News |access-date=10 January 2025}}</ref>