Geelong Independent - 26th December 2014

Page 1

Geelong

Friday, 26 December, 2014

Connecting people and communities

VOLUNTEERS ALL EARS FOR THE BLUES P3

YOUR GUIDE TO HOLIDAY FUN P13-24

WILSON PLAYS CATCH UP FOR FESTIVAL P29

Grieving mum writes the book on road tragedy By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN THE LAUNCH of a Geelong mother’s book about the loss of her 16 year-old son to road trauma has issued a stark warning to motorists in the holiday period. Dr Fiona Reidy’s Weeping Woman - Finding Hope and Courage Following Road Trauma details her family’s journey since Rory McCaffrey died in a high-speed crash on the Bellarine Peninsula on 29 December 2011. Dr Reidy hoped opening up about her tragedy would help others find strength following the loss of loved ones to road trauma. Through her own story and the experiences of six other women who lost children in road accidents, the book explores the bond between mother and child and the devastating grief when it’s broken in tragic circumstances. Rory died in a midnight ride with an unlicensed friend who had taken his parents’ car without permission. Rory died instantly when the car lost control at high speed and struck a tree. “I went to bed the mother of three delightful children and by 5am I was a griefstricken mother of two bereft girls,� Dr Reidy said. “That the long-developed bond between a mother and child could be so cruelly severed in an uncontrollable instant is literally heartbreaking, gut wrenching and breathtaking.� Dr Reidy, husband Tony McCaffrey and two daughters Molly and Keeley have set up the Rory McCaffrey Reconciliation Collaborative. “We have incorporated Rory’s support for Aboriginal reconciliation into our lives as a way of keeping alive the values that we shared with him,� Dr Reidy said. Her book is available at bookpal.com.au.

Phone: 5249 6700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

Birds a hurdle for $4b project By NOEL MURPHY

GRIEF: Dr Fiona Reidy hopes her book can help other parents struggling after the loss of a child in a road accident. 132625 Picture: REG RYAN

A $4 BILLION township planned for Moolap faces its first serious obstacle as environmentalists target the former saltworks site for a wetlands conservation reserve to protect migratory birds. Geelong Environment Council (GEC) and Queenscliff Environment Forum want legislative safeguards for 18 wetlands across the Bellarine Peninsula, including the Cheetham salt fields and Point Henry. They have called on Environment Minister and Bellarine MP Lisa Neville to order Victorian Environment Assessment Council (VEAC) draft protections for the sites. Tens of thousands of migratory and resident waterbirds thrive on the wetlands, some species travelling from as far as Siberia. “Threats such as population growth and development, new infrastructure, effects of climate change and pollution from run-off into the wetlands could cause irreversible damage to their habit,� GEC president Joan Lindros said. The environmental plan

challenged Ridley Corporation’s proposed Nelson Cove, with 5000 homes, especially where it involves 290 hectares of Crown land, she said. “There’s a lot of fighting to go on there, a lot of water to go under the bridge. “Records show thousands of birds in the Cheetham area. It’s a really important area, they’ve come such a long distance and need to fatten up quickly. “They need to be able to move across the peninsula to the different wetlands. They also go across to Avalon, Point Lillias, and move around according to tides, weather and food supply. “We really have one of the very important wetlands areas here.� Focussing only Crown land, the reserves plan includes Balyang, Jerringot, Point Richards, Edwards Point, Sand Island, Lakers Cutting, Lake Victoria, Begola, Reedy Lake, Lake Connewarre, Lake Murtnagurt, Breamlea, Karaaf, Blue Water and Lake Lorne wetlands. A Ridley spokesman said the group would work to meet all demands. Continued page 3

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