On 30 November 1983, the Douglas Shire Council commenced work on a road from Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield in far north Queensland. The road was set to go through the recently declared Cape Tribulation National Park and some of the last remaining lowland tropical rainforest in the country. A small group of local residents organised a protest to stop work on the road. The media arrived, the police were called in, and when supporters of the protest arrived southern states, the confrontation escalated into a full-blown environmental protest: the 'Daintree blockade'. The blockade set off a clash of ideologies: greenies against developers, hippies against the local council, and anarchists against police. In time, the Daintree blockade would take its place as one of the big three of Australia's early rainforest campaigns (along with Terania Creek and the Franklin River) that helped shape the growing Australian environment movement. Bill Wilkie takes readers into the heart of the Daintree - the oldest rain forest on the planet - revealing the courage, passion and dedication of those who fought to protect it.