Phillip Island Conservation Society Inc.
Work on paper - Photocopy of newspaper cutting, The Express, "SURFERS' FIRES KILL/ PENGUINS - FIREMEN//NOT US:/SURFERS"
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
Greensborough Historical Society
Greensborough Historical Society
Phillip Island Conservation Society Inc.