By Catherine Watson
LIKE many Silverleaves residents and holiday home owners, Louise Hill has had some sleepless nights over the past few years as the Silverleaves foreshore has receded at an ever increasing rate.
Now high anxiety has turned to cautious optimism for the president of the Silverleaves Conservation Association with works projected to start at Silverleaves early next month to prepare for Easter high tides.
LIKE many Silverleaves residents and holiday home owners, Louise Hill has had some sleepless nights over the past few years as the Silverleaves foreshore has receded at an ever increasing rate.
Now high anxiety has turned to cautious optimism for the president of the Silverleaves Conservation Association with works projected to start at Silverleaves early next month to prepare for Easter high tides.
Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos this week announced more than $15 million to address coastal erosion, safety risks and access issues along Victoria’s coast. It includes over $10 million for restoration work and repairs at six sites: Silverleaves, Inverloch, Tooradin, Loch Sport, Warrnambool and Black Rock.
Emergency dune and asset protection work will be carried out at Silverleaves to protect the dunes from further erosion and to maintain public access to the beach.
Emergency dune and asset protection work will be carried out at Silverleaves to protect the dunes from further erosion and to maintain public access to the beach.
|
Residents have their fingers crossed that the works will be completed in time for the Easter high tides.
A geotextile bag wall, designed to provide long-term erosion protection, is expected to be installed by the end of August. Louise, who is on the community reference group for the project, said she was heartened that the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) had done a lot more planning work than residents had understood. “I think they’re ready to go. They’re already talking to contractors. DEECA told us they are going hell for leather to get the work done by Easter. If not Easter, then very soon afterwards. “The works they’re going to do are more substantial than I expected. I think everyone will be quite relieved when it happens. There has been huge anxiety.” |
Inverloch works In Inverloch, large-scale dune reconstruction of the surf beach will begin in early spring, using a large barge to pump up to 200,000 tonnes of sand onto the beach to recreate the dune. The work is funded by $3.3 million from the Federal Government’s Coastal and Erosion Mitigation Program. Bass MP Jordan Crugnale said funding announced this week would be used to repair and extend the geotextile container wall, as well as provide safe access to the surf beach. The works will expected to maximise dune stabilisation and enable greater vegetation work to be carried out in the area. |
Louise’s family has a small cottage in Coghlan Road, on the edge of Silverleaves for more than 30 years. “Our children learnt to ride their bikes here and now our grandchildren are doing the same. We’re comparative newcomers. Many people have been coming here for much longer.”
They include Bass Coast councillor Jon Temby, whose mother, Emily Temby, helped to establish the Silverleaves Conservation Association (SCA) back in the 1960s. The objective back then was to conserve Silverleaves’ native flora and fauna.
Their work has become more urgent as the loss of dunes picked up pace. Last October SCA members letterboxed the village and several hundred residents and holiday home owners attended a public meeting in the Silverleaves hall to discuss a coastal report commissioned by DEECA.
“There were a lot of thoughtful questions about beach values," Louise said. "Since then the politicians have started to talk. I think finally we’re getting recognition that this is a very serious thing.”
A beach rally earlier this year was followed by a petition to the Legislative Council signed by more than 4000 people.
Louise has photographed a time sequence of views of the foreshore but says it’s hard to benchmark because the landmarks keep disappearing.
They include Bass Coast councillor Jon Temby, whose mother, Emily Temby, helped to establish the Silverleaves Conservation Association (SCA) back in the 1960s. The objective back then was to conserve Silverleaves’ native flora and fauna.
Their work has become more urgent as the loss of dunes picked up pace. Last October SCA members letterboxed the village and several hundred residents and holiday home owners attended a public meeting in the Silverleaves hall to discuss a coastal report commissioned by DEECA.
“There were a lot of thoughtful questions about beach values," Louise said. "Since then the politicians have started to talk. I think finally we’re getting recognition that this is a very serious thing.”
A beach rally earlier this year was followed by a petition to the Legislative Council signed by more than 4000 people.
Louise has photographed a time sequence of views of the foreshore but says it’s hard to benchmark because the landmarks keep disappearing.
“There was a 90-year-old banksia that gave me my bearings but that’s gone. Losing those old trees is like losing a family member.”
| She says a further 5 metres of foreshore has been lost in the nine months since the coastal study. “That’s a lot of sand, a lot of trees and a lot of habitat. “We are still losing foreshore – sand and trees – by the day but I’m feeling more comfortable about the way forward. The plans will arrest that and then we can start the rehabilitation.” An adaptation study with options is expected to be released late this month or early April. “That will get everyone focused on where we are headed,” Louise says. |  Source: Silverleaves Coastal Processes Study, Prepared for DEECA, July 2024 |