Who Owns Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves are not owned by an individual. They are the property of the people of New South Wales. The caves were incorporated into a reserve for the protection of the natural environment back in 1866. At the time a keeper of the caves was appointed, this being Jeremiah Wilson. Apart from being responsible for protecting the caves, Mr Wilson was also directed that if anyone wished to inspect the caves, he was to guide them through the system free of charge. To assist him meet expenses he was allowed to charge for other paraphernalia, such as candles and "cave costumes", this being overall style clothing. He was also able to provide accommodation, and this became the first Caves House.

Jeremiah Wilson worked hard to develop Jenolan as a tourist attraction and was very successful in his ambitions. He was so successful though that he was frequently accused of taking advantage of his position to make himself rich. These accusations even reached the level of parliamentary debate. In 1895 a fire destroyed much of the original Caves House, and with it went much of Jeremiah's wealth. He was unable to recover from this and in 1900 left Jenolan. A new Caves House was built and cave tour tickets commenced to be sold. This situation existed up until the 1980's.

The NSW Government Tourism Bureau, which at the time was responsible for the reserve, opted to put up the lease for Caves House. Since that time, the House has been administered by private concerns. The 1980's was very much a time of change for Jenolan as it also saw the establishment of the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust, which also administered Wombeyan and Abercrombie Caves (and in more recent times took on responsibility for the Borenore Caves near Orange). The Trust is composed of a number of representatives from various community groups and government departments with an interest in the running of the caves and the reserves on which they are situated.

All revenue derived from cave tour tickets, as well as other income generated on the reserves, is used to pay for the running of the reserves. No income is paid back to the New South Wales government. Apart from paying for staff on the reserves, income is also used for development of infrastructure and for research into the caves.