Social Acceleration in Bellingen/ Gleniffer Suburbia

After logging machinery has denuded the forest and ploughed up Gleniffer Rd. more fossil fuel monstrosities are widening the road again. This degraded landscape of Bellingen/ Geniffer now attracts high-speed burnouts with boomboxes.

This 'production of space' opened up the space for burning some tyres throughout the night. Far away from civilisation and enforcement the drivers are racing though the denuded koala habitat and residential areas.

It is futile to deliberate whether the suicides of young men are unintentional or intentional. The mobility infrastructure design demands automobility and speed. The active transport desert repels pedestrians and slow (e)mobility. The traffic jam spurs rage and violence.

Society demands the acceleration of the pace of life. Commercial combustion racing events encourage all petrolheads in petrotopia.

Driving always entails a latent ‘suicide risk' in this given system. The ‘integral accident’ is inherently woven into this mode of transport and technological acceleration. It is the 'collateral damage’ tolerated by all.

Mainstream media bombards us with ‘news’ of ‘accidents’. The overexposure to the daily slaughter on the roads leads to its normalisation. Only spectacles and superlatives can demand any attention now.

Daily reporting of a house that has 'collided' with a speeding car. A group of people without armouring that 'collided' with a flying car. Just another hit-and-run. Just another normal hit-and-run. A few walking school kids ploughed off the footpath while mounting the kerb. No road is ever wide enough or has enough bollards to protect living beings from these machine operators on autopilot mode.

The concepts of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and the 'Sports Utility Vehicle’ (SUV) destroyed all mental guardrails for the motorist. Roads became 'so yesterday'. The 4x4 combustion machine was liberated to conquer the rugged terrain (car ads) of all non road spaces. A mindscape of ‘without any limits’ was born.

This allocation of space/time means that humans and other animals now have to dodge these ubiquitous flying bullets. Living beings are literally out of a habitat, considering how many cars end up on top of their homes.

Cars doing burnouts at night are just a matter of degree to the ‘normal’ daytime traffic of a commercialised and heavily industrialised sub-urban Bellingen/Gleniffer area now.

Links:

Suicide or accident? The hidden complexities of intentional road crashes in Australia
https://theconversation.com/suicide-or-accident-the-hidden-complexities-of-intentional-road-crashes-in-australia-248673

The Original Accident, Paul Virilio, 2007
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Original+Accident-p-9780745636146

Gurruuja the whale came from the Milky Way...

Gurruuja the whale came from the Milky Way bringing along all living creatures and shaping the land. Humming musical notes on the trail.

So goes the mural in Gumbaynggirr country, Scotts Head Public School.

Many creatures inhabit this school, giving the place a very special ambiance.

Outside, hot suburbia spreads, rejecting the local environment.

Big chunks of coast and gentle green hills populated with bio-diversity are to be flogged off. What would the inveterate composer say?

Update:
Images: A comment from the 23.2.19 gave us a reminder to mention the mural artist Nelli Gallop that did the art works on the Scotts Head primary School (above pictures). The name of the painter was not known to us when we admired the beautiful images on the public building at the time. Apologies.

Valla Nature Reserve and Urbanisation

In coastal Gumbaynggirr country Ngunguru Mirral or 'Picket Hill' can be seen for miles in the area. The ever expanding highway cuts the sacred mountain off from the seaside. The town of Valla divides two coastal nature reserves. Both Valla Nature Reserve and Jagun Nature Reserve to the north contain littoral rainforest and endangered ecological communities. Koalas, powerful owls and glossy black cockatoo among other wildlife find refuge in this habitat.



The Valla Nature reserve and Valla sub-urbia interface
is the usual story of NSW coastal settlements: Habitat fragmentation and habitat grab. Drain pipes spill into the creeks. Horticultural weeds and dogs pour their externalities into nature's refuge. Pets keep wildlife at bay. Endless paths from private properties find the fastest way to the beach and waterways. Private gardens annex the reserve. Fossil fuel and water fuelled lawns expand. Trees blocking 'views' are chopped, poisoned or ripped from the ground.

Dead trees
Each access point to the beach seems to be a hot spot for degradation. Trees all die near housing and human infrastructure. Bitou weeds, the legacy of previous extractive industries are blooming. Today a place for extractive recreational activities.



Frontier lawlessness
An abundance of 'drives' are leading to the ocean. The usual car park 'viewing platforms', timber walkways and forests of signs. Prohibition signs by absentee authorities are always an indication of what behaviour or actions are taking place there. Users seem either illiterate of lawless. At both North and South Valla Beach the beaches and waterways are teaming with dogs 24/7. Pet owners drive their 'best friends' to the beaches to roam and deposit their feces.  Families swim and surf in this beach side atmosphere. SUVs race at high speed through the beach scene. All seem to be in the spirit of indulging in this frontier 'freedom'.

Locals reject the local environment.
Native gardens are rare. Many seem to be hoarding pets that keep the Australian animals at bay. Pet owners are voting with their feet. Dogs are yapping through the night silencing any frog cacophony. The unwillingness to share the space with native flora and fauna makes the town like any other NSW non-place suburbia.



In the Valla Nature Reserve
In coastal Brush Box groves among flowering Christmas Orchids one finds dog dropping wrapped in plastic bags or pure. Cement drain pipes funnel suburban 'run off' into the little dry creeks. A labyrinth of paths leads to backyards.

Valla Nature Reserve shaved for human use

Restoration
The Ngurrala Aboriginal Green Team are attempting to stem the tide by restoring bushland at Valla Beach. As in most North Coast beaches and nature reserves there seems to be zero enforcement by National Parks and Wildlife Service and Nambucca Shire Council to see that the nature reserves continue to be a refuge for biodiversity in a sea of monoculture.




Hungry Head Beach Going to the Dogs