Coffs Harbour: A place for whales and birds?

Coffs Harbour has been put on the map for watching whales and birds. Between June and November migrating humpback whales can be watched. The Solitary Islands Marine Park provides a refuge for them and many other marine species.

Also in August thousands of wedge-tailed shearwaters travel thousands of kilometres each year to return to the same burrows on Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve. It is the only easily-accessible place in NSW where the migratory wedge-tailed shearwaters nest.

Just when these migratory species dwell in the region, fossil fuel enthusiasts and the associated industries stage a 1000-horsepower speed boats race in the privatised 'natural amphitheatre' of Coffs Harbour. Rockets 'get airborne' and therefore are not supposed to shred any marine mammals. Sea creatures will simply get replaced by 'high horsepower marine monsters'. Local businesses are waving shopping bags and put up dysfunctional 'fairy lights' in trees to 'draw the crowds' to a run-of-the-mill town.

In a 100 % automobile dependent society with few footpaths and hardly any bike paths petrol runs in the veins of the population. Daily and recreational racing kill the dullness of a marginal existence. 'Boys with toys' are good consumers. They race the atmosphere-polluting machines on the Pacific Ocean and in the scenic hinterland of Coffs Harbour.

Having just thrown billions at the Pacific Highway one could have at least used this purpose-built road which is hacking its way through numerous wildlife habitats as a human-made race course 'amphitheatre'. Just privatise the space and let the benefiting industries pay for the usage. At the moment billboards along the highway appeal to motorists to reduce speed while the next billboards advertise car racing.

Staging such polluting and noisy events discourages visitors to come to the area for its natural aspects. Locals are deprived of a livable place and might move on or avoid shops sponsoring combustion festivals. It is the rapid conversion of a 'special place' to a non-place.

But in the country one just tolerates things ...

See also
Celebrating Fossil Fuel Culture on Forest Roads

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

Dr Hewitt's Bellingen Hospital Arboretum

Once upon a time settlers set to work in Billingen (Gumbaynggir name for river) to denude the Bellingen Valley. They logged the rainforest, grazed and razed the waterways with their introduced ungulates. The primary sector, especially livestock production, holds a deep fear of a 'woody plant invasion'. Graziers suffer deeply from dendrophobia. The established extraction industries of intense logging, mining and cattle finally reached a point of depletion.

The 1920s brought a new wave of settlers. One notably one was Dr. George Hewitt, who worked in the Bellingen Hospital. This young doctor set out to plant as many ' woody plants' as he could all over Bellingen. His arboretum hugging the hospital consisted mainly of Australian native plants. A place for the recuperating and visitors to enjoy a beautiful garden walk. He was also planting a sign for the 70's wave of settlers that deforestation does not lead to a more habitable planet.

Today the garden is in unloved decay. Some giant trees still stand in the weed infested place. Social eutrophication dumps excess into the 'backyard' green space. An ambiance of loud humming air conditioners in winter fill the air space. The surrounding area is incessantly scratched 'clean' for yet more parking. Lack of tree cover lays bare the impervious hot asphalt and rubble.

At the dawn of the 21st century yet a new demographic mindset is populating the valley rapidly. Logging and mining trucks shoot through the small 'turn-of-the-century' main street of Bellingen. The few remaining trees look paltry or are dead. They would make wonderful parking. Car exhaust fills the country air. Addicted to automobile dependency all have to top up in the 'scenic town'. Retail reflects the changed demographics: Copious amounts of sugar and plastic for toddlers, pets for all the family and the staple of petrol, meat and beer.

 
The howls of private and state forest chainsaws are all-pervading. The time is ripe (again) to go for the steep slopes. The new suburbia does not yearn for tree shaded walkability.

Update: 0914
Australia's failure to act on climate pollution gives rise to angst about the hell-fires to come. Two reactions are being offered: Combusting all that is not human settlement and a 'godsend' 10/50 tree felling law that allows for the elimination of all (native) flora and fauna around human settlements and happens to increase the 'value' of the real estate simultaneously. Bingo!