Protect Wooli

Protect Wooli From Coastal Erosion

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6 out of 10 ain’t bad, but..

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We wanted to make sure you didn’t miss last week’s article in the Daily Examiner about the new Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Wooli

It begins “Clarence Valley Council’s back-flip on its original plan to deal with rising sea levels at Wooli has won a 6 out of 10 score from residents”.

As Meatloaf sang (well almost), 6 out of 10 ain’t bad. It’s a big improvement on the zero the community gave the 2010 Plan.

Here’s the complete DEX article.

The Wooli community showed how seriously it takes this CZMP, and how closely it will be watching its progress. A deluge of  72 submissions containing about 300 pages was received by Council.This submission illustrates many of the points raised by the community.

A summary of our submissions will accompany the CZMP to a full meeting of Council on June 23 before the final version goes to the NSW Environment Minister by June 30.

 

The Proof will be in the (Minister’s) Pudding

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NSW Environment Minister Rob Stokes hasn’t been in his job long but is already making waves for coastal communities.

 

 

Our sympathies go out to the community at Old Bar (near Taree) faced with not only  a major erosion problem but now the Minister’s recent decision to reject their council’s proposal for a protective rock wall.

With a $50 million price tag this wall was always going to be a tough sell.

But for the Old Bar and Taree-coast communities this latest report in their local paper about the Minister’s alternative proposal of Planned Retreat for the whole of the Taree coastline was every bit as tough.

 

The community at Lake Cathie, an hour’s drive north of Old Bar, must be monitoring these developments closely as their own coastal erosion decision looms. As you can see from this report Minister Stokes has clearly said (my italics not his)

“….the community should not see the Old Bar decision as a precedent. “The whole point of our approach to coastal erosion and integrated coastal management is that every embayment [coastline recess] is different,…..the government would make decisions based on rational evidence and a thorough assessment of the environmental, social and economic consequences of the plans which councils put forward.”

 

In fact, it’s a fair bet that residents all along the NSW coast will be watching the Minister’s impending decision for  Lake Cathie to see if he is true to his words. Will Lake Cathie get a decision based on rational evidence or will this decision be another plank in a policy of planned-retreat-by-stealth? As always with politicians, the proof of the pudding will be in his actions not his words.

 

 

A Family Affair

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Our first two Hall of Fame entrants built their donations to protect Wooli with great ideas and creativity. This one is built on love and family.

Wooli was a family place for Joy Henderson since way back when her parents Norma and Arthur Allan retired there in the late 1960 ‘s. This was in the days before electricity and the water tower. Joy and her family watched tip trucks driving down Main Street, with loads of enormous boulders to build the breakwater.   They experienced the much-needed improvements to the infamous Wooli Road.   It is still a long way to travel from Melbourne but back then it was the last section of road from the Pacific Highway that was an adventure in itself.

 

Joy (seen here at her 26 Main St. home) always loved Wooli. She loved the beach, swimming in the surf and the river and the social activities at the bowling club, especially the raffles.   Wooli was also the place where Joy reconnected with her sisters and brother and their extended families who also holidayed there each year.

Her children and grandchildren continue to holiday at Wooli and love it just as Joy did. 

After her recent death, Joy ‘s family and friends farewelled her at a beach memorial gathering on a beautiful Wooli evening with tears, champagne and pink frangipani, her favourite flower.

Given her love of Wooli, her family (Roger, Jan and Josh seen here with Joy) decided to make a donation to the Protect Wooli campaign on her behalf.   Their generous $5000 gift was a wonderful gesture from a big-hearted family. Thank you from CCPA and the Wooli community. You are the first family to remember a loved one by helping to protect Wooli for future generations.

 

Protect-Wooli goes to Canberra

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“Many communities experience repeated disruptions from flood, cyclone and fire events.   Some of these events are unforeseen and the damage is unavoidable, but in many cases the consequences of natural disasters could be mitigated.”

 

This quote is part of an inquiry launched by Joe Hockey and being undertaken by the Australian Productivity Commission (APC) into how taxpayer dollars could be better used in managing natural disasters.

 

 

The main concern is that most of that  funding is being used to pick up the pieces after disasters rather than on mitigation steps to minimise the damage.

The APC’s inquiry invited submissions and CCPA-Wooli responded. The highlights of our submission are that :

–      coastal erosion and inundation  should be recognised as an emerging type of disaster, which, if forecasts are correct, could steadily become a major long term problem around the whole of Australia ‘s coastline;

–      beach nourishment using offshore sand sources  is a viable mitigation strategy to effectively prevent or at least greatly reduce the impact of this type of disaster;

–      a funding model based on a Public Private Partnership approach would make this strategy sustainable indefinitely.

 

Click on this link to read  Our Submission. Its quite brief and we’d appreciate your feedback.

As you’ll see it draws information from a research paper by Mr Angus Gordon,  an experienced coastal engineer and member of the NSW Coastal Expert Panel.

 

 

Art Show 2014

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WAG TIME AGAIN….FOR THE 4TH YEAR!

The Wooli Artists Gathering (WAG) is again holding the Wild About Wooli ArtShow.  WAG, which was formed in November 2010, is composed of people connected with Wooli who are artists, or have an interest in art.

The beauty and unique location of Wooli and its surrounding area has attracted many artists and stimulated people to develop their artistic talents. However this growing collection of artists remained largely invisible.   Prompted by the Protect Wooli campaign, it was thought important to draw positive attention to the value of Wooli, by collecting and widely promoting Wooli ‘s artist community. Those who attend meetings and express interest in the Gathering ‘s aims are members. There is no membership charge or criteria, except for involvement or interest in artistic endeavours. The exhibition has been held in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The 2014 Wild About Wooli ArtShow will present exhibits of regional artists who are inspired by the beauty of our coast. These can include paintings, works on paper, sculptures and fabric art which fit the theme: Coastal.

 

Ian Rees has once again generously provided the venue for the show at the Wooli Hotel Motel.

 

 

It opens with a cocktail party on Friday 18th April 2014 at 6.30pm and continues on Saturday 19th and  Sunday 20th April. State and Federal Members for Cowper have opened previous ArtShows.

All the details you’ll need for the show are here in the  Invitation to Artists  and in the  Public Invitation.

Professionals and amateurs alike are welcome to exhibit, whether you are an artist, a photographer or just like to experiment with other media.  

Children ‘s works will also be displayed, so get those budding Picassos to put brush to paper!

A People ‘s Choice prize will be awarded and there are prizes for various categories.

Last year ‘s exhibition was another resounding success and many sales were made.  Here is a Slideshow  of photos from the 2013 exhibition. Press the back-arrow to leave the slideshow.

If you would like to see your work up on the walls at the show, here are your  Application 2014  and  Registration 2014  forms. If you have queries please contact Leone Coper at leonecoper@gmail.com or phone Kathleen Hull at 0407 454322.

Artist or not, come along and enjoy a drink and a nibble and admire the works of our talented coastal community. One may even end up on your wall! As in previous years, a donation from proceeds will be made to CCPA-Wooli, the community-based group working with government to develop protection strategies for Wooli beach.

Join us for a fun and inspirational evening!