Our Coastal Concerns
Port Fairy’s eroding coastline has concerned the community for decades due to loss of beach amenity and the rapidly receding sand dune. The erosion has exposed buried waste at two locations in the East Beach dune system, one is the former Night Soil Site the other the former Municipal Landfill Site, both pose threats to the health and safety of our home environment. Our group
acknowledges that the problems of coastal erosion concern the whole community, residents, visitors and government agencies, and it is our wish to foster constructive working relationships between all parties and to participate in developing and implementing long term solutions with our community. By working together as a community we can go a long way to resolving all our coastal management problems. Review of the Coastal Group’s Activities
Meetings
Following a series of well attended public meeting in August 2011 the group was formed and was officially incorporated in November. Regular committee meetings began the same month. In May and August 2012 we organised and hosted two community meetings at the Reardon Theatre, one around the issue of Planning for Coastal Adaptation, the other around Understanding the Port Fairy Coastal Hazards Assessment. Consolidating and Improving Local Knowledge
One of the aims of the Group is to bring together as much information as possible about the local erosion issues to inform decision makers. We have collected documents and reports going back over a century. Residents and visitors can help to improve the available knowledge with photographs and personal recollections that show how things have changed over the years. Photographs and stories of this kind are very useful and we encourage residents and visitors to come forward and help to improve the local knowledge. Beach Monitoring Program
In August 2012 the Group began a Beach Monitoring Program to measure changes to the beach and dunes system in Port Fairy Bay. Every month a team of volunteers makes an accurate survey of a dozen sections of the beach with a laser system provided by Moyne Shire Council and the Port Fairy Surf Life Saving Club’s all-terrain vehicle. A monthly report is produced by the team presenting a detailed analysis of the data and this is shared with Council and State Government to help inform management decisions. We hope that this work it will increase community confidence about local knowledge and support the personal recollections of the local community and visitors. The group has also produced new aerial imagery to augment the beach monitoring data. Lobbying Council, Agencies and Members
The Group has been active in lobbying Council, Government Agencies, State and Federal MPs and Ministers, highlighting the community’s concerns about erosion and the exposure of waste materials buried in the East Beach dune. The committee has made several submissions at Council meetings and to the Port Fairy Working Group and its members hold regular and frequent meeting with officers of Moyne Shire Council and the Department of Environment & Primary Industries. We have also sought the advice of experts across Australia and overseas. The Coastal Hazards Community Exhibition
The Coastal Group recognises the tremendous opportunities presented by the Port Fairy Coastal Hazards Assessment, which was as a pilot project to be rolled out to all Victorian coastal councils. A successful conclusion for the project will include a pathway to managing the erosion problem into the long term in a manner that is acceptable to the Port Fairy community. We hope that the Coastal Hazard Exhibition Project will help to advance this outcome. What You Can Do
Volunteer your time to support the Coastal Group’s activities. Share your knowledge, recollections and photographs. Spread the word through your networks. Join the conversation. Become a member of the Port Fairy Coastal Group.
