Have you ever wondered just what kind of logistics are involved in erecting a massive crane in the canopy of the Daintree rainforest? Two newly-released records from our NQHeritage repository provide us with some answers.
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| Riggers fitting the final parts at the top of the canopy crane. Photo: © James Cook University, 1998. (Not for download, reuse or distribution) |
In November 1998 the canopy crane at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory was carefully installed piece by piece using a helicopter operated by Hevilift, with the project overseen by Professor Nigel Stork. The Canopy Crane Installation Video Footage provides a unique historical perspective of the canopy crane installation from the view of the helicopter. We've also released 36 Canopy Crane Installation Photographs that complement the video footage.
The canopy crane is a Liebherr 91EC freestanding construction tower crane. It is 47 metres tall, and has a radius of 55 metres. With this span the crane provides comprehensive access to 1 hectare of rainforest. It was the first canopy crane to be installed in the southern hemisphere, and is the only canopy crane located in Australian rainforest.
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| Helicopter lowering parts on to the crane. Photo: © James Cook University, 1998. (Not for download, reuse or distribution) |
The forest canopy is the point at which the atmosphere meets the biosphere. It is where photosynthetic processes take place and, not surprisingly, where most biotic interactions occur. Perhaps as much as half of all biodiversity on Earth is to be found in tropical rainforests, and a large proportion of this biodiversity is located in the canopy itself.
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| Nigel Stork, Bert Stork and Norman Palmer in gondola. Photo: © James Cook University, 1998. (Not for download, reuse or distribution) |
With the installation of the canopy crane in the rainforest at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Australia has a unique national research facility capable of providing vital information on the processes occurring in the rainforest and the responses of this ecosystem to human induced climate change. Use of the canopy crane can be booked through the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, for researchers and teaching groups.
Professor Nigel Stork has written an article on the Canopy Crane, which references the video footage and photographs in these NQHeritage records:
Stork, N. E. (2021). The Daintree Canopy Crane: Conception, installation and operation. Proceedings of The Royal Society of Queensland, 129, 79–90. [This article is available is the list of Related Links in NQHeritage.]
Further reading:
https://theconversation.com/to-get-to-the-rainforest-canopy-it-helps-to-have-a-crane-176253
Canopy Crane Installation Video Footage
© HEVILIFT, 1998.The Copyright Owner grants James Cook University permission to make this video publicly available through the Special Collections repository, NQHeritage@JCU.
Canopy Crane Installation Photographs
© James Cook University, 1998.
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