The Surfrider Foundation has branches in about twelve countries, including Australia, where the first branch was established on the Gold Coast in July 1991. It is a "conservation organisation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world's oceans, beaches and coastal environs for the benefit of all." It aims to protect the coastal environment "through conservation, activism, research and education."
In the mid 1990s the Surfrider Foundation's involvement in key coastal conservation issues gave them a high profile, and led to the establishment of new branches nationwide. By 1997 there were 52 branches, or chapters, in Australia.
In June 1994, the Newcastle chapter was started by Chris Tola, Nobby Edwards and Michael Legge-Wilkinson, who later became the Chairman of Surfrider Australia. The Newcastle chapter issued a newsletter called Groundswell dated Spring 1994. In it Michael Legge-Wilkinson said, "the aim of the newsletter is to keep local members and friends up to date with the conservation work of Surfrider Newcastle. The key to effective conservation work is to set achievable goals and work towards these at a steady pace…be realistic and simply do what you can…overcommit yourself, burn out, and you end up of no use to anyone or the environment. Being a good conservationist is about looking after yourself as well as the environment, and having fun at the same time." The newsletter suggested that, "as far as the media is concerned the idea of surfers actually caring for the environment is still a novel concept." Accordingly the mass media gave the new chapter plenty of publicity, with the ABC doing a documentary in 1994.
Despite the favourable publicity there was, however, insufficient support to hold monthly meetings. Nevertheless, members were informed that "our work continues through the work of individuals in conjunction with other groups." Some of these activities involved fund raising. Usually this meant organising a "benefit gig" at a club or pub. For example, "an all ages gig at the Tattersalls Club saw 350 teenagers and others through the door. After paying expenses, it made us a nice little profit from which to fund our conservation activities." The main organiser of these events was Wayne Macgregor, though, unfortunately for Surfrider, he was soon to head off to Europe.
One of the groups that Surfrider worked with was the Wilderness Society, with members supporting each other's functions. For example, Surfrider members in Newcastle were encouraged to attend a "National day of action against woodchipping" on 1 September 1994, while Wilderness Society members were asked to attend a "Coastal Crisis Public Rally" on 6 September 1994. This later event was jointly sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation and the Hunter Coast Care Forum. At the meeting, "the effects of population growth, sand mining and other coastal developments were discussed." It was agreed that the forum should "call on the State Government to dedicate all public land along the coast of the Lower Hunter as either a national park or State recreation areas." The meeting called for a moratorium on new developments and any expansion of sand mining or quarrying within the coastal zone. The secretary of the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, Mr Peter Barrack, said a Green Ban could be imposed on the planned Fern Bay development if the State Government failed to protect the Hunter coastline.
Leaflet advertising the Coastal Crisis Public Rally
on 6/9/1994, highlighting the threat to the coast
from developers.
During the mid 1990s, the Newcastle chapter of Surfrider continued to lobby local and State Governments to protect Newcastle Bight. Under the umbrella of the Newcastle Bight Coastal Park Coalition, Surfrider and other organisations helped prepare the nomination of the Bight for Heritage Listing. Part of the Bight was gazetted by the State Government as a nature reserve in February 2001. This, however, has not ended the debate because much of the Bight remains available for sand mining.
During 1995 Newcastle Surfrider was involved in lobbying the State Government and local councils on a variety of issues, such as the Pinny Beach development (south of Caves Beach), Newcastle Bight National Park, Scott Street Bus Terminus, Belmont Sands Development and the Koala habitat in Port Stephens. Predictably, however, the main issue of concern was the ocean and beaches. On 14 January 1996, Newcastle Surfrider organised an "Ocean Care Day" at South Newcastle Beach. There were bands, displays and surfing competitions, but little media attention. Two members of the chapter also sought to raise awareness through school visits during the mid 1990s.
Another important issue in Newcastle, as elsewhere, in the mid 1990s was the pollution of our oceans and beaches. In 1996 the Surfrider Foundation of Australia published its groundbreaking study titled Human Impact on Australian Beaches, written by Michael Legge Wilkinson. At the launch in Newcastle, Chris Tola said that: "A lack of care for the Hunter's coastline has left many beaches under threat of an environmental disaster. Litter, urban runoff, sewage and industrial effluent were the main problems."
In this national survey of 1612 beaches, it was found that 80% had a significant problem with litter and 25% were affected by untreated stormwater drainage. Mr Tola said that many Newcastle residents were unaware of how bad the problem was. He hoped that the report would increase public awareness, especially as "with more and more people living in coastal towns, the problems are getting worse." He added that he held grave concerns for the future of Newcastle's beaches, "Our biggest problem would have to be Newcastle Bight." Newcastle Council's manager of health services conceded litter was a problem on Newcastle beaches but said council was working to improve the situation.
A Hunter Water Board spokesperson said she disagreed with aspects of the report, "we have high levels of treatment of sewage and our testing results are always way under the national recommendation. Newcastle's beaches are a feature of the city." The Newcastle Herald editorial came down on the side of the Surfrider Foundation, saying "[a] seemingly endless series of surveys, reports and studies on the Australian Coastline have all reached the same conclusion: Australians are loving their beaches to death." The huge amount of litter left on beaches, however, "suggests that while people enjoy their beaches, many have little respect for them." Both State and Federal Governments also needed to do more to protect our beaches, the editorial said.
A significant event for Newcastle Surfrider was the arrival in Newcastle Harbour of the Ocean Research Vessel "Alquita" for a five-day visit in February 1996. The 50-foot catamaran would visit various coastal locations between Australia and Fiji with the "goal of providing a low cost opportunity for researching local problem areas and providing educational resources on our marine environment. The vessel would be undertaking research on the levels of heavy metals, nutrients, litter and flotsam in our waterways." The voyage was, in part, sponsored by Surfrider and its campaign to clean up the ocean. The Newcastle Herald reported that members of the vessel would be testing the water quality around Newcastle's coastline.
Lewis' view on the subject
In December 1996 the Newcastle Surfrider chapter received an Environmental Achievement Award from Newcastle City Council in recognition of its contribution towards "Policy and Planning" in relation to environmental improvement.
Since 1996 the Newcastle chapter of Surfrider has continued to lobby governments on these issues, though its level of activity has declined as some key people have moved from the area while others have taken on new commitments. It also reflects the fact that water quality on our local beaches has improved over the last decade as treatment plants have been upgraded. In a letter to the Newcastle Herald, Milton Morris said he had been swimming at Newcastle beaches all his life and "the improvement in water quality in recent years has been amazing."
A spokesperson for the Hunter Water Corporation, Debbie Sims, said that a recent Environment Protection Authority (EPA) report (October 2001) showed that water quality meets their guidelines and Hunter beaches are, in fact, cleaner than Sydney or Wollongong. This improvement can be attributed to the fact that the three coastal wastewater treatment plants in this region have been upgraded to provide secondary treatment. The Burwood Beach plant was upgraded in 1989, the Belmont plant in 1995 and Boulder Bay plant (at Port Stephens) in 1994. These plants now have long ocean outfalls to discharge the effluent away from the coast. The upgrading was completed at a cost of $150 million.
In June 1997 the Newcastle chapter was involved with the Pathways to Sustainability Conference, which was held in Newcastle. The five day event was sponsored by the United Nations and included speakers from government and non-government organisations. This forum attracted considerable media attention and gave Surfrider the opportunity to raise public awareness about the twin issues of water quality and litter on Newcastle's beaches.
As water quality improved, the focus moved in 1998 to the related issue of litter on our beaches. Nobby Edwards coordinated a year-long Surfrider Foundation survey of Susan Gilmore beach. They found that "more than 3000 pieces of seaborne litter are deposited on the beach each month…almost half of the rubbish was small pieces of polystyrene. Such small pieces of rubbish could be deadly for marine life if swallowed, said Mr Chris Tola, a spokesperson for the Surfrider Foundation." Other debris included pieces of glass, wrappers and bottle caps. The source of rubbish was most likely stormwater drains and from boats off the Newcastle coast. The survey was funded through a grant from the State Government. In 2001, litter is still a problem. Much of this litter comes from people who get "takeaway" from McDonalds and other fast food outlets. Surfrider in Newcastle are still lobbying council on this issue and have suggested that if fast food customers won't do the right thing and put their rubbish in the bin, McDonalds and others should employ people to help clean up their mess.
In March 1999 the Newcastle chapter hosted the annual conference of the Surfrider Foundation. The two-day event attracted people from most States in Australia as well as Japan and North America. Topics included surf rage, storm water pollution, shark meshing and the cumulative impact of industry on life in nearby waterways. While there was consensus on many issues, opinion was divided on the proposed building of four artificial surfing reefs near Newcastle. Supporters believed they would enhance Newcastle's surfing potential, but opponents were worried about the environmental impact of the reefs.
This international event drew little media recognition. In 1994, just after the Newcastle chapter had formed, the Surfrider Newsletter mentioned that "the media cannot get enough of us." During the following years there appeared to be a general change in the Newcastle Herald's coverage of 'environmentally concerned' groups and issues. The scant attention the Herald paid to the Surfrider Foundation Conference indicated that the newspaper had adopted a less environmentally friendly stance.
In the national newsletter, 'Coastlines', Chris Tola reported that in Newcastle, the "…two major challenges focusing most of our attention in the previous 12 months were Mineral Sands Ltd, who wanted to continue the destruction of the pristine Newcastle Bight, and BHP, who wanted to sell off land at Belmont Sands. This is an area which has some of the last remaining wetlands on the East Coast." Almost a year later Chris said that while water quality had improved, there was still a problem with the waste water plant at Stockton. (The Water Corporation plans to close this plant in mid 2002). After rain there is also a problem when the volume of water is too great to pass through the system and is discharged into the ocean before it is treated.
Feasibility studies are being carried out concerning the viability of using sewerage as fertiliser in the more arid regions of Australia. In this way, what is now a waste product could become a valuable resource. Chris hopes that this will soon happen on a large scale, thus greatly reducing the need to discharge sewerage into our oceans.
In some areas in Australia there are still problems with the water quality on our beaches and Surfrider continues to campaign on the issue. The fact that the situation has significantly improved over the last decade owes much to those surfers who worked to raise public awareness and thereby put pressure on the politicians to rectify the problem. In June 2001 the State Government brought Newcastle and Lake Macquarie under the authority of its coastal policy. This, among other things, meant that the Ministry for Urban Affairs and Planning became the consent authority for high risk developments within 1 km of the coast and estuaries.
The Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Dr Andrew Refshauge, contributed an article, "Acting to save the jewel in the crown", to the Newcastle Herald in November 2001. This coincided with the 11th NSW Coastal Conference being held in Newcastle to discuss policies and plans to help preserve the coastal environment which is under threat from urban development. Representatives from coastal local government areas and environmental groups, including Newcastle Surfrider, took part in the conference. The article notes that, "most of the NSW population lives and works in the coastal areas of Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra. In the past 20 years Port Stephens has grown by 94% and the Great Lakes by 81%. But this growth does not come without a cost for the unique natural assets that attract people to the coast are often threatened by inappropriate development." The challenge for government, Refshauge says, is "…to meet the needs of the communities that live, work, and play along Hunter beaches while protecting its coastline for the generation to come. The environmental, social and economic values of the entire NSW coastline will be scientifically assessed to provide a planning blueprint for the coast." Part of the plan involves "…a new water management strategy and an expanded land acquisition scheme." We will also "involve aboriginal communities in coastal management" .
Following the Coastal Conference, Newcastle's Lord Mayor, John Tate, wrote: "Newcastle's 15km long coastline is under significant pressure with 200 years of urban occupation and industrialisation placing constant strain on an ageing stormwater infrastructure. Stockton is one area where a major effort will be needed at many levels to find a solution to the disappearing sand. For these reasons, last weeks' conference sent an important message to the State Government that we want to work with them to find solutions for the future."
The pressures on the coastline make it imperative that the voice of the environment movement continues to be heard if this development is to occur in an environmentally sustainable fashion.
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