During the 1920s, Dr Spencer Roberts began visiting the Girraween area. As a local general practitioner in Stanthorpe, he would tend to his patients in their own homes and, while doing so, he would see beautifully-mounted tail feathers displayed. The patients told him that they belonged to the Superb Lyrebird and that he could possibly see one of these birds for himself at, the later named, Dr Roberts' Waterhole.

As his bush skills were lacking, Dr Roberts sought out the assistance of local "bushmen" to help him find the Superb Lyrebirds. Alec Gemmel, a well known local naturalist, would accompany Dr Roberts - taking him to locations where they could see these shy and beautiful birds.

During this time, Dr Roberts also became interested in the Common Wombats of the area. He suspected that the distribution of both the Superb Lyrebirds and the Common Wombats did not extend any further north, and was convinced that protecting the habitat of these two animals was vital for their long-term survival in Queensland. So he put submission after submission to government to have the area protected.