The acquisition, management and preservation of land of scenic or historic interest. ;;;;The Board established an Office to carry out its day-to-day management functions. Section 13 of the Scenery Preservation Act 1915 provided for Boards to be proclaimed for the management of specific areas and these acted as agents of the Scenery Preservation Board. ;;;;The Scenery Preservation Board was the first authority in Australia to be set up for the creation and management of parks and reserves. Yet, ironically, Tasmania was the last of the Australian states to establish a National Park. On 29 August 1916, Mt Field -- known until 1937 simply as National Park -- and Freycinet became Tasmania's first national parks. Six years later, following long campaigning by Gustav Weindorfer and others, a scenic reserve and wildlife sanctuary covering an area of 63 900 ha were established between Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair.;;;;The evolution of the Boards was straightforward except for the Tasman Peninsula, where the Scenery Preservation Board resumed direct control in 1950 before reconstituting a specific Board in 1962. In the late 1960s the operations of the Board (and the complementary Animals and Birds Protection Board) were reviewed and moves towards integration were begun by winding up the subsidiary Boards in National Parks as they came up for renewal in 1968. The sole exception was the Tasman Peninsula Board (TA 437). The remainder were replaced by sub-committees of the Scenery Preservation Board. ;;;;In 1970 the Government legislated to create a National Parks and Wildlife Service and the 3 Boards began to integrate their activities in preparation for the formal amalgamation which occurred on 1 November 1971.