Human Impacts on Australian Beaches was a landmark environmental study which provided a 'snapshot' of the health of 1612 beach areas around Australia. This nationwide study (which built on the success of the 1994 State of Our Surf Report) was put together by the Surfrider Foundation Australia with the support of more then 340 individuals and 70 organisations around Australia. The report was authored by surfer/environmentalist/artist Michael Legge-Wilkinson from Newcastle, New South Wales. Human Impacts was launched officially by Peter Garrett, leader of Australian rock band Midnight Oil at the Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach in May 1996.Human Impacts built on the success of the 1994 State Of Our Surf Report, released by the Surfrider Foundation Australia in 1994. Human Impacts was the first major report to specifically examine the environmental health of 1612 of Australia's beaches. A limited 500 copies of this report were produced, the majority of which went to education institutions, libraries, community groups and government departments. The report generated national and international media interest with the BBC London reporting on its findings in the week after its launch.Beach Environmental Report. 168 page report which examines the health of 1612 beach areas around Australia. Sepia cover featuring a photograph of endangered sanddunes at Stockton Bight, north of Newcastle. 168 pagesSepia cover, Surfrider Foundation logo on report coverbeach, surfrider foundation australia, human impacts on beaches, sos95, michael legge wilkinson, coastal development, beach pollution

With the establishment of the large heavy industrial zone at Hastings in the late 1960s, which included the BP oil refinery using the Port of Hastings at the north-western arm of Western Port, a number of environmental problems predicted by both scientists and conservationists arose. The main shipping channel on the western arm of Western Port was dredged, causing suspended particles affecting seagrass beds. With inadequate regulation around discharge of bilge water within the bay, and oil spillage, oil pollution affecting both seabirds and coastal areas was not uncommon. This report of 40 penguins actually known to have been killed by an oil spill event was typical of reports at the time. The 2 men quoted – Vernon Johnson and Ken Pound – were well known conservationists. Vernon and his wife Nora owned the Kingston Gardens picnic and zoo business where they cared for many injured wildlife. Ken was a Phillip Island counsellor for a few years, and instrumental in the establishment of the Phillip Island conservation Society. He also contributed various documents and newspaper cuttings to this archive.This article is significant for being a record of an exact number of penguins found dead from oil spill pollution in Western Port. Also as a record of conservationists in the early years of community and environment movements both locally and in Australia. The article further gives evidence of linking tourism with wildlife.Photocopy of newspaper cutting. Black print with very dark black and white photo of Fairy (Little) Penguin. Poor reproduction due to older photocopy machine.(indecipherable) - late/1960s.little penguins, fairy penguins, eudyptula minor, penguin behaviour, phillip island tourist attractions, phillip island conservation society, oil spills, bp refinery hastings, port of hastings, western port, marine pollution, oil tankers, vernon johnson, ken pound, phillip island promotion association

This letter to the editor of an unknown newspaper probably dates from the late 1960s or early 1970s. At that time the Victorian government’s Liberal Party Premier was Sir Henry Bolte. In a reference to the major industrial valley in Germany, he and his government had a vision to make Western Port and Hastings into “the Ruhr of Victoria”, if not Australia. While this letter does not refer to Western Port, but apparently to Wiliamstown, the situation was similar in both bays. Substantial land was zoned in Hastings by the Bolte Government for industrial purposes, where BP built a refinery for oil imported through the Port of Hastings. The large oil tankers entered Western Port Bay via the western channel, which required dredging to accommodate them. It became a common site to see globules or patches of oil washed up on beaches around Western Port, and oil-affected wildlife. It is impossible to know how many wildlife were affected directly by oil spills and other forms of pollution in the Bay during that era. Sufficient numbers of oiled Little Penguins were found to prompt numerous references to the problem in newspapers, including letters, articles and even major features. The refinery eventually closed, with tanker traffic dramatically reducing in Western Port from the late 20th century.Statement of significance: This letter to the editor is significant in making reference to pollution caused in Port Phillip and Western Port bays by tanker traffic and the presence of oil refineries on industrial land in the bays. It is also indicative of the emergence of many conservation-related community groups of volunteers in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s in response to growing concern around conservation issues. Letters to the editor were a common means for these groups to have their concerns aired in public.Photocopy of newspaper cutting, single column letter to the editor.little penguins, oil spill, western port, port of hastings, henry bolte, "ruhr of victoria", oiled penguins, oiled wildlife, bp refinery, oil tankers, , mrs d waight, williamstown and district animal relief society