Using the work of great Australian painters and poets as an entry point, this cultural study counters the popular myth that early colonial settlers were environmentally irresponsible and offers both aesthetic and historical evidence that suggests nature always figured prominantly in the Australian national consciousness. Preserving endangered species, protecting forests, maintaining public land rights, and staving off climate change were at issue in the first environmental law of Australia enacted in 1788. Parlimentary debates, personal observations, and artistic renderings explore the texture and dimensions of early Australian environmentalism.