The article describes a fire incident which took place in January 1965 at Swan Lake, a water reserve at the entrance to Summerland Peninsula, Phillip Island. Due to an extremely heavy infestation of gorse (noxious weed) and natural tea tree scrub, along with poor vehicle access, the volunteer fire fighters could apparently not gauge the extent of the fire. A light plane operator visiting Cr Arthur Hamilton nearby was able to fly Phillip Island Shire Engineer, Jock McKechnie, over the lake to better direct the fire fighters. Swan Lake has many Bunurong Aboriginal middens and short-tailed shearwater rookeries, and, being not far from the Penguin Parade, a fire there posed a direct threat to the birds. The article is significant because it indicates the vulnerability of the Summerland Peninsula reserves to fire, the way the Shire Engineer, local bulldozer contractor and volunteer fire fighters tackled the fire outbreak. photocopy of newspaper cutting. Dark copying at top. Double column heading. Single column black text on white paper28-1-65 EXswan lake phillip island, summerland peninsula, bunurong aboriginal middens, short-tailed shearwaters, mutton birds, little pengiuns, penguin parade, jock mckechnie, cr arthur hamilton, fire fighters, , max stewart, jim jeffery

The article relates the journalist's visit to Phillip Island, starting from Melbourne and describing features along the way, then at San Remo on mainland side of Phillip Island bridge, then Newhaven on the other. Other places visited include the main town of Cowes, the jetty and beach there, and the Nobbies (Point Grant), with views of the Seal Rocks offshore through telescope at the Nobbies. The writer also visited Summerland beach, described as a surf beach, with penguin and mutton bird rookeries. While not specifically referring to the Penguin Parade, the writer says the spectacle of seeing the penguins coming ashore is not to be missed. The brief military colony at Rhyll and the first Victorian 'garden' planted at Churchill Island in 1801 are also mentionedArticle is significant because it is an early (1950s?) tourist guide to Phillip Island's most popular tourist destinations. 3 column text under map of Phillip Island. Black print on white paper. phillip island, newhaven, , westernport, surf beaches phillip island, summerland beach, penguins, mutton birds, the nobbies, point grant, seal rocks, cowes, nobbies blowhole, rhyll, churchill island, nobbies telescope

Written during the 1960s when surfing was burgeoning across Australia’s coast and Phillip Island surf beaches had become extremely popular, few management strategies were in place to control interaction of the public with the delicate flora and fauna of the coastal environments. There were few good access tracks, car parks, bins, toilets etc at coastal/surfing hotspots around the Phillip Island coast. A number of management issues occurred with the influx of surfers. These included dune erosion caused by surfers climbing dunes to see the surf before going on the beach; informal parking on wildlife habitat; numerous access paths from wherever cars were parked down to the beach cutting through habitat; illegal camping on foreshores; illegal lighting of fires on beach and in dunes; surfers’ dogs let out of the car while surfers were out on the water. The dogs were uncontrolled. Certainly some surfers behaved responsibly, as is almost invariably the case these days. However, in that era of this article few people understood the delicate nature of the coastal environment and that it need to be protected through public education, infrastructure and enforcement of regulations. As now, most rural Fire services were run by dedicated volunteers who faced many challenges in their roles as Country Fire Authority firefighters. However, it was not uncommon for visitors and locals to also assist with fire-fighting efforts.The article is significant in containing quotes from both sides of the discussion who were directly involved in coastal fire incidents on Phillip Island in the 1960s. It also indicates the large number of surfers visiting Phillip Island beaches, the volunteer nature of the firefighting service and the extra challenges they faced on Phillip Island as a visitor destination. The anonymous university student surfer who is quoted, also describes possible causes of the fires, methods he and his fellow surfers used to extinguish the fires and raise the alarm, and the way they assisted the volunteer firefighters . The reference to him breaking into one of the Summerland housing estate holiday houses is also significant because that housing estate was purchased over 2 decades by successive Victorian governments to remove management issues caused to the wildlife habitat on Summerland Peninsula.Photocopy of newspaper cuttings including 2 related articles. Five columns of black text on white paper with one poorly reproduced photo bottom rightphillip island, cat bay, country fire authority, artie murdoch, alf towns, frank dixon, barry thompson, newhaven-san remo rural fire brigade, penguin parade, cowrie beach, surfers, coastal fires

Photos were taken from the Facebook page " Antique Post Cards". Permission was obtained form the administrator to use these.HistoricalA series of old sepia, black & white, coloured postcards, Rose, Robb brothers, Photo shop Series, Victorian Railways series, Valentines, Hislop, Punch, Airspy of Phillip Island and San Remo scenes.speke, genester house, newhaven, lover's walk, cowes baths, summerland beach, san remo pier, cowes beach, aerial photo, cowes 1950s, bridge 1940, san remo, shell tea rooms, ss genista, estelle star, churchill island, isle of wight hotel, lover's walk cowes