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SFA Newsletter Summer Autumn 2016
SFA Newsletter Summer Autumn 2016
SFA Newsletter Summer Autumn 2016
Summer-Autumn 2016
SANDRINGHAM FORESHORE ASSOCIATION (SFA)
Founded January 2007
ABN 42947116512
A CHARITABLE NOT FOR PROFIT VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION
SFA
PO Box 52
Sandringham 3191
sandyforeshore@optusnet.com.au Website: http://sandringhamforeshore.tumblr.com/
Patron of SFA: Professor Tim Flannery
Please note from the media release below, the Minister has included funding
for Sandringham beaches renourishment to provide effective protection of our
coastal foreshore and improve the public amenity of our beaches!!
$4.8 Million to Protect Port Phillip Bay Beaches and Foreshores
Source:
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/4-8-million-to-protect-port-phillip-bay-beaches-and-
foreshores/
This outcome follows on from long and extensive discussions between DELWP
and Bayside Council, together with the community and SFA, over the last 8
years.
SFA have met with Department of Environment, Land, Water, Planning
(DELWP) officers Sally Patterson and Cathi Greve on a number of occasions,
and last year met with Kelly Crosthwaite, Head of DELWP Port Phillip region.
We are grateful to DELWP and the coastal engineers: Andrew McCowan and
Cardno. (Note the Cardno engineering report is due for release soon.)
SFA is also extremely grateful for Bayside Council’s ongoing support on this
matter. We are blessed to have such a great Council!
As predicted to reoccur annually at this time of the year, the erosion of
Sandringham beaches since the construction in 2007 of the Southey Street
groyne is again ongoing and severe. Despite the beach-stability benefits this
groyne was supposed to have provided, we have continued to experience
erosion problems at the Southey and Tennyson Street beaches, as well as
adjacent to Royal Ave. This now-predictable beach and cliff erosion occurs in
February through April, due to net-loss (along-shore transport) of sand
towards the north with prevailing south-westerly winds and currents occurring
in Summer and Autumn. When a coincident strong wind or storm event occurs
in this period [causing strong wave action], then spot-locations immediately
northwards of both groynes can suffer acute sand loss both of beach width,
and sometimes also 1-3 metres of erosion can occur at the base of the cliffs
due to wave action.
Even without the strong wind or storm events, general prevailing sea breezes
in the Summer and Autumn cause sand transport towards the north, which is
subsequently trapped from returning by the breakwater of the Sandringham
Yacht Club, and hence sand and silt stays within the harbour. Every year we
lose about 2,000 cubic metres of sand material from the Sandringham beaches
by this process.
And so now in April, we are witnessing the peak of significant sand depletion
north of both rock groynes i.e., at the Royal Ave and Southey Street groynes.
These changes are evident in the photos below starting in February of this
year. As has occurred in previous years, sand depletion will continue until
winter (when the prevailing southerly sea-breezes cease), and while the sand is
depleted, the risk of damage to the base of our cliffs by strong wave action
events is high.
So far, we have not experienced any major storms this summer/autumn, but
the risk to the relatively more exposed cliffs is of concern.
Tennyson St beach 15th March 2016
Note tyre tracks on the beach - the beach cleaning truck cannot access the rest
of the beach past the rocky outcrop. Note walkers accessing the beach by
climbing over the rocky outcrop.
The minimal sand offers very little protection of the cliffs from wave action.
Tennyson St and Royal Ave beach erosion this year was evident from early
February onwards.
The photos below were taken on 16th February 2016:
Royal Ave beach north of the Royal Ave rock groyne 15th March 2016:
Beaumaris Bay Fossil site (BBFS) update
Nomination Submitted for National Heritage Listings
On behalf of the Beaumaris Bay Heritage Consortium, it is with great pride and
honour that the SFA have submitted a nomination to list the Beaumaris Bay for
its rich natural assets, recommending it for inclusion in the Australian
Government's National Heritage Listings.
Of special significance, the nomination highlights the Beaumaris Bay Fossil site,
as well as the geological, historical and artistic qualities of the surrounds, and
makes a very strong case for national-level, long term acknowledgement of the
Beaumaris Bay.
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/move-over-moby-dick-meet-melbournes-own-mega-whale-
20160421-gobhl6.html
And Also:
Ancient mollusc fossil found in Beaumaris cliffs
December 15, 2015, by Jon Andrews of Bayside Leader
This is of great concern to many people in the community, and to me. The
Beaumaris fossil deposits are recognised by palaeontologists worldwide as
vitally important to science. Beaumaris Bay provides unique evidence of the
impact of climate change on the evolution and extinction of marine
biodiversity, reveals the origins of Australia’s modern marine life and
represents a globally canonical site for understanding the evolution of sharks,
whales and penguins. The site establishes a timescale for the evolution of
Australia’s unique marsupial fauna. It is one of Australia’s most prolific fossil
deposits with Lovenia woodsii in abundant quantities.
Beaumaris Bay has also been a focus for artists and photographers for over 100
years, attracting artists from the Heidelberg School, particularly Tom Roberts,
Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Clarice Beckett and others, and I am sure
people know all about the unique artistic heritage at that site. The Crown lease
to the boat club expires on 30 June 2018. The site is just around the corner from
the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary, so the action I ask of the minister is that,
given the uniqueness of this site and its importance to the local and the
Victorian community, she not renew the lease in 2018 so that the Crown land
can be used as a science and public education precinct, in conjunction with the
museum, schools and universities, for the ongoing education of the Victorian
public and the world.
You are invited to join keynote speakers Professor Tim Flannery, Dr Tundi
Agardy and Professor Edward Blakely, at the MCG in Melbourne from 29
August to 1 September 2016. Online registrations are now [right click onto
OPEN]: OPEN
https://picasaweb.google.com/114676241519217510044/SAN1Sandringham
https://picasaweb.google.com/114676241519217510044/San2Sandringham
A Fluker Post allows passers-by to take a photo from the exact same
perspective on different days, which they can send to the Fluker Post Research
Project. Photos for each location are then arranged in chronological order and
stored in an online database. This allows the general public to participate in
the very important work of photographically documenting environmental
landscapes which are experiencing change over time, for various reasons. The
Sandringham Beach Fluker Posts are just two of many now installed nationally
– each for different reasons and in unique locations.
If you would like us to help you demonstrate how to use the Fluker Posts
please contact us at sandyforeshore@optusnet.com.au
Do you have any suggestions for changes to our beach? Let us know.
Report from the site walk: Sandringham Beach and Gardens Masterplan -
(held on 8 Mar at the lookout opposite Sandy Beach Centre)
The scope of the Sandringham Beach and Gardens Masterplan study area
extends from Abbott Street to Eliza Street, adjacent to Red Bluff. This section
of the foreshore is identified in the Bayside Open Space Strategy (2012)
primarily to provide for beach-based recreation, for a municipal and regional
catchment of the Victorian population.
On the 1st December 2015, committee members of the SFA were honoured to
attend the AGM for the Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM).
Cr Felicity Frederico, outgoing president of the ABM, spoke on the 'Principles
for Protecting Port Phillip Bay and its Shoreline'. These principles, like that of
Hippocrates the founding father of Western Medicine, are based on 'Do No
Harm'.
Tammy Van Wisse was guest speaker for the evening, and gave an inspiring
talk about her amazing marathon swims all over the world. Tammy also
highlighted the importance of healthy waterways, for all to share – a topic
about which she is extremely passionate, and works tirelessly for.
From left: Vicki Karalis, Tammy Van Wisse, and Felicity Frederico
ABM’s recent work titled "Bay Blueprint Framework Report" [undertaken with
significant funding from the Victorian Government] has enabled ABM to
research, refine and develop many suggested improvements to Bay
management and resourcing, to better protect and improve the Bay over the
next 50-70 years.
Felicity's speech ('Principles for Protecting Port Phillip Bay and its Shoreline')
advocated that through management and oversight of the Victorian
Government, all efforts be made to include:
Many of the photos are useful as they feature the coastline and beach profiles
as they were, about a century ago.
You might also find this website useful for comparing the expanse of sand and
cliff face on the beaches in 1945 compared with present day:
http://1945.melbourne/
[Thank you to Garry Allen for providing us this useful link!]
Cliffs of Beaumaris Bay (2) – The Rose Series, supplied by Chris Sutton
SFA Bayside Member Profile
Photograph: 1st December 2015 at the Sandringham Yacht club for the
Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) Annual General Meeting.
My wife Dorothy and I have lived in Hampton all our lives and the beach and
the Bay have always been an integral part of our family life. As a child, I was
always fascinated by the beach and foreshore, and was drawn to Hampton Pier,
especially in the busy times when the professional fishermen arrived to unload
their catch. I joined Sandringham Yacht Club as a junior member – just in time
for the 1956 Olympic Games – and began sailing with friends. We bought our
own boat, a gaff-rigged ’couta boat’ named ‘Florence’, when the children were
small and she still serves three generations of our family well. ‘Florence’ is 82
years old and we have owned her for half of her life.
I was thrilled and honoured when the then Minister of Conservation the late
Marie Tehan appointed me to the Victorian Coastal Council, to represent
Victorian Local Government. I became chair of the Council's Planning &
Approvals sub-committee and was able to make a contribution to projects in
Port Phillip and Westernport, as well as the Surf Coast and Gippsland Lakes. I
was also appointed to the State Assessment Panels of 'Coast & Clean Seas' and
'Coast Care /Coast Action.'
In 2003 I was awarded a Centenary Medal and in 2009 an OAM “For service to
Local Government, local history, yachting and the church”. I count my blessings
that I live where I can see Hampton Beach and Port Phillip every day. There is
no place in the world that I would rather be!
The role of SFA is to care for and help protect our local beaches and cliffs, but
also to educate, raise awareness and preserve our local archaeological,
geological, cultural, indigenous and heritage sites such as the Beaumaris Bay
fossil site.
If you are interested in joining our free membership, to receive notices and our
Quarterly Newsletters – Please respond via our website
http://sandringhamforeshore.tumblr.com/MembershipForm