One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of sea shells and bones. The remains of an Aboriginal feast. Close-up of shell on a midden at Cat Baylocal history, photography, aboriginal midden, black & white photograph, aborigines, aboriginal middens, cat bay phillip island, john jenner, bryant west

One of a collection of photographs purchased from Photo First, Thompson Avenue, Cowes when it closed in June, 2014. Dennis Harris on the whale, 2nd to right of lady in head scarf. One of the students, Helen Forrest, believes it was in 1948.Large Black & White photograph of school children and several adults standing on and near a whale carcass near the old pier, at Cat Bay, Phillip Island.whale carcass, cat bay phillip island, dennis harris, photo first phillip island, helen forrest, cowes primary school

Students were from Cowes State School. One of those students was Helen Forrest who believes it was in 1948. One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of stranded whale at Cat Bay with school children examining it. local history, photography, stranded whale, black & white photograph, wild life, whales, coastline, cat bay, john jenner, bryant west, cowes primary school

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of dune ridges at Cat Bay. Quoin Hill on the skyline.local history, photography, cat bay, black & white photograph, coastline, dunes, dr a b edwards, john jenner, bryant west

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph taken at Cat Bay by H. R. Balfour showing shells left from innumerable Aboriginal feasts c. 1800local history, photography, aboriginal feast site, black & white photograph, aborigines, shell fish feasts, cat bay, john jenner, bryant west, h r balfour

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph taken at Cat Bay by H. R. Balfour showing shells left from innumerable Aboriginal feasts. c.1800local history, photography, aboriginal feast site, black & white photograph, aborigines, shell fish feasts, cat bay, h r balfour, john jenner, bryant west

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph taken at Cat Bay by H. R. Balfour showing shells left from innumerable Aboriginal feasts. c. 1800local history, photography, aboriginal feast site, black & white photograph, aborigines, shell fish feasts, cat bay, h r balfour, john jenner, bryant west

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of the remains of Aboriginal Ovens at Cat Baylocal history, photography, aboriginal ovens, black & white photograph, aborigines, cooking & feasting, h r balfour, john jenner, bryant west

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of the remnants of Aboriginal feasting at Cat Baylocal history, photography, aboriginal feast site, black & white photograph, aborigines, cooking & feasting, h r balfour, john jenner, bryant west

Photograph a part of the John Cook AlbumView looking east from the new Beacon Tower (1979) back along the Island. Cat Bay in the distance on the left and Bass Straight on the right.the nobbies phillip island, cat bay phillip island, john cook, coloured photograph

Donated by N. G. Hunt, Baxter, VictoriaBlack & White Postcard taken from Cat Bay looking towards The Nobbies. Man in Jinker with a sheepdog in foreground."The Rose Series, P. 666" "Looking to The Nobbies, Phillip Island, Victoria" On Back: "Cat Bay from Ventnor 1910"the nobbies phillip island, cat bay, phillip island, n g hunt

One of a collection of over 400 photographs in an album commenced in 1960 and presented to the Phillip Island & Westernport Historical Society by the Shire of Phillip IslandPhotograph of a Pen Drawing of First Dwelling of White People on Phillip Island. Thatched or Bark Hut. Group of Sealers in foreground. Possibly situated at Sealers Cove (now Cat Bay)local history, photography, historic, dwelling, huts, sealers, building - historic, john jenner, bryant west

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