OCTOBER 2020
OLDINA RESERVE FESTERING WOUND From the Editor Oldina Picnic Area or Oldina Forest Reserve was a public space enjoyed by town folk and country folk alike, the great middle ground within the Wynyard district. According to A History of Innovation: Eighty-five Years of Research and Development at Forestry Tasmania by Elliott et. al. (2008), the public reserve in Oldina was established in 1975.
Whilst this was a welcomed initiative for the Wynyard district, it has not been without its problems, and the recent loss in management levels continue to create distress within the community. Some groups and concerned individuals continue to express their disappointment with the state of the Oldina Reserve, from what it was, to what it has become: severely neglected and mismanaged.
STT - Sustainable Timber Tasmania (aka Forestry Tasmania), are still the managers of the area, but have barricaded the access roads into the reserve to ‘prevent’ vehicles entering. This ‘reaction’ to vandals and hoons in 2016/17 was convenient for STT, as Forestry restructured and let go of its responsibility to community reserves, knowing full well that the local Council were not going to take on the responsibility