Wara Wayingga-Tennyson Dunes Conservation Reserve

against coastal erosion at a Save Our Beaches rally organised by the Henley and Grange Residents’ Association. As a member of both groups, I assisted in representations to local council, the local MP and Premier Dean Brown regarding the folly of the West Beach Boat Harbour development. We also had representation alongside the residents’ association and the Marine Discovery Centre on the Coastal Community Reference Group formed by the City of Charles Sturt in the early 2000s.

As is the case with many community groups, eventually key members of the dunes group moved away or were unable to continue volunteering, and the group dissolved sometime around 2004. However, evidence of our efforts is easily detected, particularly in the West Beach, Henley South and Grange dunes where there are lovely pockets of diverse native dune species growing, stabilising the sand and providing habitat for birds, reptiles and insects.

Wara Wayingga-Tennyson Dunes Conservation Reserve

Val Wales

I moved to the coast in Semaphore Park in 1998, and shortly thereafter formed a small group with some neighbours and the support of Charles Sturt Council to clean up the rubbish from the remnant dunes in front of our houses. It took about two years to remove truckloads of rubbish, after which we turned our attention to improving the area by revegetation and weeding. We heard that there was a group that was doing just that at Tennyson Dunes with help from the Environment Department, so I asked if I could join and learn how to revegetate. I soon found that they were an enthusiastic group determined to preserve this rare dune system, which is the last three-tiered dune system in the Adelaide metropolitan area. It is a rare example of what our coast used to look like before white settlement, and contains a habitat for remnant plants, native birds, reptiles and insects of local, regional and state significance.

Over the years, the dunes have come under significant pressure from housing developments, with visitor access, off-path activity and littering causing significant negative impacts. Feral animals (such as cats, foxes and rabbits) and off-lead dogs as well as pest plants, including garden escapes, have also been big problems.

In an effort to get the support of Charles Sturt Council and the state government to protect this rare jewel, I walked and talked to every environment minister in every government over the years with little success. A state government proposal to construct a walking/cycling path all along the coast was the catalyst for us to seek the support of other groups along the coast such as WACRA, as we were all concerned about the damage this might do to the coast. We had already observed that to create a three-metre-wide path, seven metres had to be bulldozed through fragile dune systems. All the groups got together and a year-long consultation was held in the City of Charles Sturt which I thought was one of the best consultations that I had ever attended, and we thought that we had arrived at a good decision. However, a change of council resulted in a different view which led to a lot of bad feeling all round between councillors and coastal groups, and various new ways of achieving the path were put forward.

I had joined the WACRA Committee where I received great support and made many good friends. I joined them in their Save Our Beaches protest against the West Beach Boat Harbour project, as well as protests concerning jet skis and the Baju/H2O development at Henley Square and the subsequent ground water issues. However, in 2014 a change started happening and I realised that some members in WACRA were now supporting an amended cycle path. Things came to a head at a meeting in February 2015 where members voted to cease supporting other coastal groups such as ourselves in just wanting a natural surface narrow walking path. I felt that under the circumstances I had to reluctantly resign from the committee. That really hurt because I was proud to be a part of WACRA, a great organisation which has helped large numbers of people over the years. However, I have maintained friendships with many members and continue to support the association. That was a particularly difficult time for me because my son and daughter-in-law had been hit by a bus on their honeymoon in India, and my daughter-in-law was critically injured and in a coma in New Delhi.

Tennyson Dunes eventually got the type of path it wanted and the protection of being declared a coastal conservation reserve under the Crown Lands Act 2009. The present pathway design and location was supported by WACRA, and our group was pleased about that. In areas of the dunes to the north and south of the conservation reserve, the pathways are undecided and it looks like the state government will take over responsibility from Charles Sturt Council.

Val Wales in her beloved dunes