PP1999A    July 1999         www.vicnet.net.au/~phillip

Local conservationists at and near Williamstown are uniting to make it clear to the Victorian Government that open space land it owns at the southern end of the Williamstown peninsula, near the Timeball Tower [5C22]*, should be used for public foreshore open space, and not sold for private housing.

The land was for many years used for railways purposes that now no longer apply, and the land is available for other uses. The
Government says that most of the large site, of many hectares, will be converted into public open space, but that some of it will be sold for private residential development. The reason given for the sale originally was to help fund the restoration work for the
disused railways land.

That sale was originally to have been for one or two-storey houses or units. Hobson's Bay City Council offered to pay for the land so that it could remain open space, with the Government using the money for restoration. Unfortunately the Government has since indicated that it might consider rezoning the land for high-rise development. That would dramatically raise the price of the land, and make it too expensive for the Council to buy. Of course it would also be helpful for Government revenues.

The normal power to initiate rezoning lies with the Council, which is unlikely to want to rezone the land for high-rise. There is
 therefore much concern that the Minister for Planning and Local Government, Hon. Robert Maclellan MLA, might override the
 Council's wishes and use his powers to initiate its rezoning. The Government's welcome, but possibly temporary, retreat on its
 previously announced high-rise development plans for the foreshore to the east of the Yarra mouth did not include mention of the policy for Williamstown. That retreat was achieved after a magnificent campaign by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) that involved their placing full page advertisements in local and other newspapers.

The Secretary of PPCC Inc., Stephen Morey, has organized an inspection, by the Committee of Port Phillip Conservation Council Inc., of the coast from Williamstown to Werribee in early August in conjunction with the Friends of Williamstown Wetlands Inc. (a PPCC Inc. Member Organization), certain Williamstown organizations concerned about the railways land issue and, it is hoped, environment staff from Hobson's Bay and Wyndham City Councils. It is obvious that the issue of possible overdevelopment of Port Phillip coastal land concerns more than just the people of Williamstown, particularly if obtrusive buildings are to appear on the Williamstown peninsula.
 

In May the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal rejected the appeal by PPCC Inc. against the proposal to proceed with building a rock groyne on the sandy beach east of the existing rock revetment at the base of the Rye jetty. 

The VCAT did impose a requirement that the applicant must monitor results for a specified period, but no provision for the enforcement of that appeared to be made. PPCC Inc. will endeavour to determine what monitoring is to happen, and will be interested in assessing the results of it. 

The PPCC Inc. submission was well illustrated with oblique aerial colour photographs of the present coastline [5I12-5I17]*, which showed quite plainly the effect of that existing rock revetment, which caused depletion of sand downstream of it. 

* The photographs were produced with our recent government grant from Coast Action/Coastcare. 
 

On the weekend before the PPCC Inc. General Meeting in April 1999, members of the PPCC Inc. Committee visited the Port Phillip coastline within the area of interest of one of our key Member Organizations, the Geelong Environment Council Inc., accompanied by Mrs Joan Lindros, President of GEC Inc. and some of her colleagues. A major purpose of the visit was to view coastline filmed [Print nos. shown in brackets] on our six flights, and compare them with details on the ground. 

The visit began at Limeburners' Bay [5F01], the large estuary of Hovell's Creek, which enters Corio Bay at its north-western corner, contains the most southerly stand of White Mangroves (Avicennia marina) in Port Phillip, and was the point at which Hume and Hovell reached the sea on their pioneering 1842 walk from Sydney. The estuary is, 157 years later, still surrounded by scenic open land, with patches of mangroves. Its south-western shores have Geelong Grammar School just beyond the coastal reserve, and it harbours a small fleet of moored yachts avoiding the impact of marina-type infrastructure. 

The visit proceeded on to inspect Geelong's urban and industrial foreshore, which bears many marks of 150 years of little planning and much 'development'. At Point Henry [5F19], the network of tracks seen from the air to have greatly dissected the sandy coastal bushland there were also revealed as having gouged channels, up to 1 m deep, in the vegetated sandy spit. We were even treated to an impromptu demonstration of a small recreational hovercraft as it whizzed across the sandy extremity near us, scattering standing sea birds in panic. 

Unsightly ad hoc filling of the Bay with rubble in front of a rural property to extend its mown lawn area over the foreshore reserve was inspected at the end of Grand Scenic Drive, Leopold [5F24]. An extraordinary surprise awaited us when we looked at the fenced-off foreshore in front of 40 Avila Avenue, Curlewis. Comfortably installed at the water's edge was a large new gazebo complete with light pole, jetties, newly-planted lawn, extensive exotic plantings and garden walls. Comparison between our November 1998 [5G00] and February 1999 [6G07] colour photographs showed several trees felled.At Queenscliff we met members of the Swan Bay Environment Association, and inspected the large area of foreshore bushland at Queenscliff that the Bringing the Bay to Life campaign wants to have sold for housing to finance marina expansion nearby. PPCC Inc. opposes it. 
 

When Hon. Marie Tehan MLA, Minister for Conservation and Land Management, kindly acceded to the request by PPCC Inc. that she launch our Aerial Photographic Record of Port Phillip, which she did very ably in March 1999, we did not expect her to make any undertakings as a result of seeing our photographs.People at the launch were very pleasantly surprised when Mrs Tehan showed obvious concern about the apparently unauthorized buildings on the Crown land Foreshore Reserve at Campbell's Cove, between Point Cook and Werribee South. Mrs Tehan then said that she would have the issue investigated.We pointed out that the buildings were being bought and sold for quite large amounts advertised on them, even though there was no legal title to the land. The presence of such structures on such land should constitute an offence against the State's lands legislation.Stephen Morey, PPCC Inc. Secretary, has written to Mrs Tehan inquiring about her Deparment's investigations of this matter. It is hoped to report progress in a forthcoming issue of this newsletter. 
 

What's New on the PPCC Inc. Web Site

Under 'PHOTOS' there are now not only the above details, but some 30 colour photographs, with accompanying information, of attractive indigenous plants found in many places around Port Phillip. There are a similar number of photographs of pest plants in our natural areas around the Bay. It is desirable that all our members acquaint themselves with the appearance and characteristics of all these plants. 

Under 'RECORDS' there is, in addition to our list of Major Campaigns, a full extract of the part of Matthew Flinders' book, A Voyage to Terra Australis, that deals with his exploration of Port Phillip, in April 1802. 

Finally there is, under 'MEMBERSHIP', a list of our 15 Member Organizations. A click on the 5 organizations that are underlined will reveal a menu of information about their aims, office-bearers and even a membership application form for them. Our remaining 10 Member Organizations are urged to supply similar details to our Webmaster, Geoffrey Goode, (details below), so that we can have all our members listed in that accessible way.