The Wilderness Society
An Australian community-based environmental advocacy organisation focused on protecting wilderness, ecosystems, species and climate.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit environmental advocacy organisation. It campaigns for the protection of wilderness, native forests, rivers, coastlines, wildlife habitat and climate systems, using public mobilisation, political advocacy, research, communications, community organising and legal or regulatory intervention. Unlike a commercial consumer brand, its public identity is built around campaigns, membership, donations, publications and local organising rather than physical products. The organisation emerged in Tasmania during the campaign against the flooding of Lake Pedder. Its institutional predecessors included the Lake Pedder Action Committee and the South West Tasmania Action Committee. The Tasmanian Wilderness Society was formed in 1976, drawing heavily on activists associated with those earlier campaigns and with the United Tasmania Group. Although its origins were Tasmanian, the movement already had interstate connections, and its national scope became increasingly important as it took on environmental issues across Australia. After the successful campaign against the proposed Franklin Dam, it adopted the broader name The Wilderness Society. The Franklin campaign, conducted over several years from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, established the organisation as one of Australia’s most prominent conservation advocates. The campaign combined direct public engagement, political pressure, media work and appeals to the significance of wilderness and World Heritage protection. A 1983 High Court decision supported the Commonwealth government’s ability to prevent the dam project, and the dispute became a defining event in Australian environmental politics. The campaign also helped elevate figures associated with the society, including Bob Brown, whose later parliamentary career linked the conservation movement with the development of the Australian Greens, although The Wilderness Society itself remains politically independent and is not formally affiliated with any party. The society’s later work has covered old-growth forest logging, endangered species habitat, Queensland’s Wild Rivers and Cape York Peninsula, the Kimberley and the proposed industrial development at James Price Point, fossil-fuel expansion, the Great Australian Bight, the Channel Country, and national environmental law reform. Since 2018, one of its major national priorities has been the development of stronger nature laws and an independent national body capable of enforcing them. The organisation has also opposed nuclear energy and campaigned against fossil-fuel exploration and extraction in environmentally sensitive areas. Its structure combines a national organisation with separately incorporated campaign centres and membership organisations. These include centres in the capital cities of Australian states and locations such as Launceston and Newcastle. Named incorporated centres include The Wilderness Society Newcastle Incorporated, The Wilderness Society (South Australia) Inc, The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc, The Wilderness Society Victoria Inc and The Wilderness Society WA Inc. Historically, fundraising and public outreach were supported by Wilderness Society shops, which sold calendars, posters and other merchandise and served as meeting points for supporters. The society now relies increasingly on online fundraising, its website, email communications and online merchandise operations, while continuing to receive postal support. Its funding model includes donations, advocacy gifts, bequests, membership subscriptions, grants, merchandise sales and investment income. The organisation also publishes the Wilderness Journal, which presents stories about ecosystems, conservation, communities, restoration and environmental culture. Its current public role is that of a national civil-society advocate seeking long-term legal and political protection for Australia’s natural heritage.
History
The Wilderness Society developed from Tasmania’s campaigns to defend places threatened by large-scale development. Its immediate predecessors were the Lake Pedder Action Committee and the South West Tasmania Action Committee. Lake Pedder had been flooded before the society was formed, and opposition to that outcome helped create an organised conservation movement committed to protecting remaining Tasmanian wilderness. In 1976, activists established the Tasmanian Wilderness Society. The founding group included many members of the United Tasmania Group, an early Australian environmental political organisation, and the movement had connections beyond Tasmania through earlier interstate branches. The society’s most influential early campaign concerned the proposed Franklin Dam in south-west Tasmania. From 1976 to 1983, it worked with local communities, conservationists and other civil-society groups to oppose the flooding of the Franklin River and adjacent wilderness. The campaign framed the area not simply as a local landscape but as a nationally and internationally significant wilderness and World Heritage site. Public demonstrations, media imagery, political advocacy and mass mobilisation made the Franklin dispute a defining environmental controversy. In 1981, legal developments concerning the World Heritage Convention strengthened the Commonwealth government’s position against the Tasmanian project. A 1983 High Court decision ultimately supported the Commonwealth’s power to intervene, and the dam project was stopped. The Franklin victory expanded the society’s national profile and encouraged a change from the name Tasmanian Wilderness Society to The Wilderness Society. Its work broadened from Tasmanian wilderness to a national portfolio that included old-growth forests, endangered species habitat, rivers, floodplains, coastal ecosystems and areas threatened by fossil-fuel extraction. It established or supported campaign centres in Australian state capitals and in Launceston and Newcastle. Many centres were separately incorporated and operated as membership-based organisations, allowing local campaigns to retain organisational identity while participating in a wider national movement. The society has also had an important relationship with Australian environmental politics. Kevin Kiernan served as its inaugural director, followed by Norm Sanders. Sanders later entered the Tasmanian Parliament for the Australian Democrats after being elected on an environmental platform. Bob Brown became director in 1978 and helped increase the organisation’s political influence in Tasmania. Brown later entered the Tasmanian Parliament and the federal Senate, becoming a prominent figure in the Greens. These links did not make The Wilderness Society a party organisation: the society has continued to describe itself as politically unaligned and has worked with the Australian Greens and other political actors when campaign objectives overlap. During the 2000s, campaigns included opposition to logging in old-growth forests, protection of Queensland’s Wild Rivers and Cape York Peninsula, and resistance to industrial development in the Kimberley. The James Price Point campaign used cultural and public events as well as political advocacy; a 2012 concert in Broome featured well-known Australian musicians and a speech by former director Bob Brown. The organisation also became active in campaigns opposing fossil-fuel expansion and advocating that carbon-intensive resources remain in the ground. Its Great Australian Bight work challenged proposed offshore oil exploration, while later campaigns addressed nature-law reform, native forest logging, coal development near protected areas and fossil-fuel threats to the Channel Country. The organisation’s campaigning methods have evolved alongside its fundraising and communications systems. Wilderness Society shops once combined merchandise sales, donations and supporter meetings, with calendars and posters featuring wilderness photography serving as prominent public-facing materials. Online donations, email lists, digital campaigning and an online store have since become more important, although membership, postal communications, grants, bequests and merchandise remain part of its support base. The society also publishes the Wilderness Journal, which connects conservation advocacy with reporting on communities, forests, restoration, marine environments and environmental culture. In the late 2010s and 2020s, the society placed particular emphasis on national nature laws and an independent watchdog with power to enforce them. It continued to oppose nuclear energy and environmentally damaging fossil-fuel projects while supporting protection of forests, rivers, marine environments and threatened habitats. Its present identity combines the historical symbolism of the Franklin campaign with a broad national program of legal reform, community advocacy and ecosystem protection.
- 2023
Victoria announced the end of native forest logging
[1]The announcement followed a decades-long campaign involving the society and partner organisations.
- 2022
Coal lease near Wollemi National Park ruled out
[1]The NSW government ruled out a proposed third coal lease site after sustained public and community advocacy.
- 2020
Great Australian Bight drilling opposition recorded a major result
[1]Equinor abandoned proposed drilling in the Bight after other major companies had also withdrawn.
- 2018
National nature-law campaign intensified
[1]The society focused on stronger national nature laws and an independent enforcement watchdog.
- 2009
Gunns litigation concluded
[1]Gunns was ordered to pay The Wilderness Society damages and discontinue the action.
- 2005
Gunns commenced Gunns 20 litigation
[1]Timber company Gunns brought proceedings against environmental activists, including The Wilderness Society.
- 1983
Franklin campaign succeeded
[1]The High Court supported Commonwealth intervention, and the proposed Franklin Dam was stopped.
- 1981
Franklin Dam legal dispute advanced
[1]Legal developments involving the World Heritage Convention strengthened the Commonwealth position against the dam project.
- 1978
Bob Brown became director
[1]Bob Brown’s leadership helped expand the society’s influence in Tasmanian environmental politics.
- 1976
Tasmanian Wilderness Society established
[1]The organisation was formed from the Lake Pedder and South West Tasmania conservation movements.
Products and positioning
A politically independent Australian conservation organisation that combines grassroots community campaigning with policy advocacy, public communications and legal or regulatory pressure to protect wilderness and ecological systems.
Environmental advocacy · 1976
Conservation campaigns
The society’s central offering is campaign work aimed at securing lasting protection for wilderness, forests, rivers, marine environments, threatened species habitat and climate-sensitive landscapes. Campaigns combine community organising, public communications, supporter mobilisation, submissions, political advocacy and engagement with legal or regulatory processes. They are delivered through national priorities and locally rooted campaign centres rather than through a conventional commercial product catalogue.
Publication
Wilderness Journal
Wilderness Journal is the society’s editorial publication about nature and people. Its subject matter includes forests, communities, restoration projects, marine environments, environmental art and the experiences of people working to protect Australian ecosystems. It functions as an educational and movement-building publication as well as a way of communicating the society’s conservation priorities.
Membership service
Membership and supporter programs
Membership and supporter programs give individuals opportunities to receive campaign communications, contribute financially, participate in local organising and support advocacy. The programs are delivered through the national organisation and separately incorporated campaign centres. Donations, subscriptions, advocacy gifts and bequests form important parts of the society’s not-for-profit funding model.
Merchandise
Conservation merchandise
The society has historically sold calendars, posters and other merchandise through Wilderness Society shops and now through online channels. Merchandise has helped communicate the visual value of Australian wilderness, raise funds and provide physical points of contact between the organisation and its supporters. The shops also served as meeting places and donation locations.
Marketing campaigns
- 2023End of native forest logging in Victoria
Victoria · Australia
The society participated in a long-running campaign to end native forest logging in Victoria.
Outcome. The Victorian government announced that native forest logging would end from 1 January 2024.
- 2023Channel Country protection
Queensland · Australia
Campaigning sought to protect the rivers and floodplains of Queensland’s Channel Country from fossil-fuel expansion.
Outcome. The society described the campaign as contributing to protection of the region’s river and floodplain systems.
- 2022Wollemi National Park coal lease opposition
New South Wales · Australia
The society joined Traditional Owners, local communities and others in opposing a proposed coal lease near Wollemi National Park.
Outcome. The NSW government ruled out the proposed third coal lease site.
- 2018New Nature Laws
Australia
The society has advocated stronger national environmental laws and an independent watchdog with responsibility for enforcement.
- 1976Lake Pedder and Tasmanian wilderness protection
Tasmania · Australia
The organisation grew out of opposition to the flooding of Lake Pedder and efforts to protect remaining south-west Tasmanian wilderness.
Outcome. The campaign established the movement’s conservation identity and provided the organisational foundation for later national work.
- 1976Franklin River and Franklin Dam
Tasmania · Australia
The society opposed the proposed flooding of the Franklin River and associated wilderness for hydroelectric development.
Outcome. The dam project was stopped after sustained campaigning and a 1983 High Court decision supporting Commonwealth intervention.
- Old-growth forest protection
Australia
The society has campaigned against logging of old-growth and native forests and for stronger protection of forest ecosystems.
- Wild Rivers and Cape York protection
Queensland · Australia
Campaigns have sought to protect Queensland’s Wild Rivers and the Cape York Peninsula from damaging development.
- Kimberley and James Price Point
Western Australia · Australia
The society opposed plans to industrialise the James Price Point headland near Broome and used public events to build opposition.
- Keep fossil fuels in the ground
Australia
The organisation campaigns to limit climate change by opposing new fossil-fuel extraction and promoting protection of sensitive landscapes and ecosystems.
Showing the 10 most recent.
Brand decisions
2018
Prioritised national nature-law reformStrategyBackground
The society argued that Australia required stronger national nature laws and more effective independent enforcement.
Action taken
It made New Nature Laws and an independent environmental watchdog central campaign priorities.
1983
Adopted a broader national identity after the Franklin campaignStrategyBackground
The society’s work increasingly extended beyond Tasmania to environmental conflicts throughout Australia.
Action taken
It moved from the name Tasmanian Wilderness Society to The Wilderness Society.
Aftermath
The change reflected a national campaign structure and a broader conservation mandate.
- Expanded digital fundraising and supporter engagementStrategy
Background
Online communication changed how the organisation reached supporters and raised funds.
Action taken
The society increasingly centralised fundraising around its website, online store, email lists and digital advocacy while retaining postal communications and membership support.
Aftermath
Digital channels became more prominent alongside donations, grants, bequests, subscriptions and merchandise income.
Recent events
- 2023
Victoria announced an end to native forest logging[1]
Campaign · Regulation
The Victorian government announced that native forest logging would end from 1 January 2024, after a long-running campaign involving The Wilderness Society, other environmental organisations and local communities.
- 2023
Campaigning helped protect Queensland’s Channel Country[1]
Campaign · Regulation
The society reported campaigning that contributed to protection of rivers and floodplains in Queensland’s Channel Country from fossil-fuel expansion.
- 2022
New South Wales ruled out a proposed coal lease near Wollemi National Park[1]
Campaign · Regulation
The NSW government ruled out a third coal lease site near Wollemi National Park following submissions and advocacy involving Traditional Owners, local communities and The Wilderness Society.
- 2020
Equinor abandoned Great Australian Bight drilling plans[1]
Campaign · Other
Equinor became the latest of four major oil companies described by the society as abandoning plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight.
- 2012
Kimberley campaign concert opposed James Price Point industrialisation[1]
Campaign
The society presented a public concert in Broome as part of its campaign against a proposed industrial development at James Price Point. Performers included The John Butler Trio, Clare Bowditch and Missy Higgins.
- 2009
Gunns litigation against conservation activists ended in favour of The Wilderness Society[1]
Lawsuit
In the litigation known as Gunns 20, Gunns had sought damages from environmental activists, including The Wilderness Society. The court ordered Gunns to pay the society damages and discontinue the action.
- 1983
High Court decision supported protection of the Franklin River[1]
Other
A High Court ruling supported the Commonwealth government’s authority to prevent the proposed Franklin Dam, marking a major success for the society’s campaign.
Sources2 sources
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