O.F .F . News - 4 - January, 1978.

COMING EVENTS; February 6 th - Monday: Flower-Study in Oatley Park . 10 an a t

Wall Garden, Anyone wishing to l e a r n more about n a t i v e p l a n t s w i l l have t h e b e n e f i t of Nancy B e a t t y ' s knowledge of the s u b j e c t . (Phone her on 523 74.58 i f i n any doubt as to whether cond i t ions a re s u i t a b l e f o r t h i s open a i r s tudy t o be h e l d ) .

6 th - Monday: 7 .45 pm. At Methodist Church-Hall , Cnr. Mulga Road and Gungah Bay Road, Oatley West . ANNUAL GENERAL MfiETING & E l e c t i o n of O f f i c e r s . Following t h i s , w i l l be a new Audio-Visual p r e s e n t a t i o n by Mr. Graham E a s t , f o r t h i s y e a r ' s Nat iona l Parks & W i l d l i f e Foundation A p p e a l . l a t e r I n t h e month. P lease o f f e r t o h e l p on the day, even doing a couple of s t r e e t s would mean b e t t e r coverage of the a l l o t t e d a r e a . Conservat ion S o c i e t i e s , as Al len Strom reminded us a t t he Dinner on 6 th December, are p a r t of the s t r e n g t h of t h e Conservat ion Movement, and t h i s i s one oppor tun i ty f o r members t o spread a l i t t l e more awareness of the r e a l aims of t h e movement among t h e community.

25th — Sa tu rday . K e l l y ' s F a l l s . Meet on Stanwel l Tops road oppos i t e Symbio garden 10 am.

27th - Monday - 7.-45 - s l i d e s of t h e KAKADU. NATIONAL PAR& w i l l be shown by Milo Dunphy. This i s an a rea which w i l l be a f f e c t e d by uranium mining. Milo i s verv competent to speak on the i s s u e , and we hope members w i l l ensure a f u l l h a l l . F r i e n d s , c h i l -dren and s t u d e n t s are very welcome a t a l l our meet ings and f i e l d days . •

REMINDER: Annual s u b s c r i p t i o n s w i l l be due a t t h e A.G.M. See Harry U h a i t e , Hon. T r e a s u r e r . Don' t f o r g e t t o b r i n g back books borrowed.before the h o l i d a y s .

* Price 6 cant*.

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(b.co I cannot t h i n k ' o f anything more f i t t i n g as an o b j e c t i v e 6 t t h e year beg inn ing , t h a & t h i s poem passed on to me by Ida . . , .

Wishing f o r your c h i l d r e n And.for c h i l d r e n everywhere A world of open spaces And. of sweet and wholesome a i r . . . A world where lakes and r i v e r s Run f r e e and s p a r k l i n g c l e a r , Where h a r v e s t s a r e abundant And pure food always n e a r . . . . A world t h a t ' s f i l l e d wi th beau ty , Withy-trees and h i l l s t o c l imb, And seas t h a t sp la sh on sandy shores Unti-1 t h e end of t i m e .

As we a r e t h e o,rjes who should be s e t t i n g about making f u l f i l m e n t oi those wishes a r e a l i t y f o r those who come a f t e r us , we have t o eng£ i n something o£ 0a b a t t l e which a t t imes may not be too sweet and g e n t l e j b u t t % ^ e a re s i gns he re and t h e r e t h a t o the r v iewpoints a re not always g l a s s e d as " c r a z y " , as t h i s o ld century winds on it,< way and the i n d u s t r i a l age i s seen f o r t h e mixed b l e s s i n g t h a t i t i s . (Oh, I kfi&$, I d r i v e my c a r , cook with gas , use e l e c t r i c i t y and so on , bu£L '£t could a l l come t o an end i f we come t o the end of the r e sources which a l low us to do these t h i n g s ) . Gould we s u r -v ive i n t h a t t s g n t ? Are we too dependent on a technology which depend# on power be ing always a v a i l a b l e . But what i f our ve ry s o i l became too^poisoned wi th chemicals to support l i f e ? Over the ho l idays I have been read ing Rachel Carson ' s " S i l e n t S p r l - t en yea r s a f t e r everyone e l s e - but between those covers t h e r e i t h e s t o r y of carnage , which i f i t were of humans, would probably moan, the end a#; the? huiiian r a c e . , .However ,- i t ' , i s of l i v i n g organism

,F. Hews 2. ' r S

January . 1978.

;hich our continued h e a l t h y e x i s t e n c e my be.nore..'.dependent i on the c . i rs , gas , e l e c t r i c i t y e t c . She wrote of con-cerns and events i n America, but no doubt s i m i l a r t h i n g s a re lg on i n our coun t ry . In f a c t , they may now be a b i t more .ghtened t h a n we a r e . A r e c e n t newspaper r e p o r t concerned urterican company, (manufacturer of two p e s t i c i d e s which are j r ted t o A u s t r a l i a ) , having been charged in Chicago wi th : ea l ing da ta about the a l l eged cancer-caus ing e f f e c t s of p r o d u c t s . However, t h e A u s t r a l i a n manager of the com-r h e r e , according tc the r e p o r t , sa id t h a t t h e two p e s t i -is had been used in A u s t r a l i a f o r more than 30 y e a r s , which red t h e i r s a f e t y ! 1 "They a re t o x i c , l i k e any p e s t i c i d e s , not hazardous i f used s t r i c t l y as d i r e c t e d " , he s a i d .

luse of t h e i r l o ^ - l a s t i n g r e s i d u e , they a re not used on nals o r c rops , but are mainly used by p e s t c o n t r o l com-Les t o con t ro l t e r m i t e s in s o i l or in i n a c c e s s i b l e a reas i r houses . They a re a v a i l a b l e t o the pub l i c in small i l e s which had f u l l d i r e c t i o n s f o r s a f e t y u s e . two p e s t i c i d e s , Chlordaro and Heptachlor , a re mentioned

t t imes i n " S i l e n t Spr ing" , s t r e s s i n g t h a t f i s h are nest f a n t a s t i c a l l y s u b j e c t to ch lo r ina t ed hydrocarbons" , a l s o the f a c t t h a t s o i l t r e a t e d with them i s i nhab i t ed

forms of l i f e b e n e f i c i a l t o man, as w e l l as those i t i s Lred t o e r a d i c a t e . What happens t o those which t ake in stances wi th l o n g - l a s t i n g r e s i d u e , and pass i t on up the le t o . . . . . u s ? On t i e way up , i t i s poss ib l e f o r concen-bions to bu i ld up in the b o d i e s , and some cancers are w e l l -sloped be fo re becoming e v i d e n t ; so I wouldn ' t thmnk one Ld d ismiss so e a s i l y something a v a i l a b l e so f r e e l y t o the s r a l p u b l i c , wnen c e i l d r i n was in t roduced , no-one ever gined i t would prove so l e t h a l . d e c i s i o n whether tc ban t h e use of the two p e s t i c i d e s

uanently i n the U.S. w i l l be made in A p r i l , which may r e -t i n t h e i r no longer be ing manufactured nor a v a i l a b l e . the meantime, keep composting, and use as l i t t l e of those ien sprays as p o s s i b l e ; t h i n k of t h e poor old earthworm, iie gets too much to : , ic chemical i n s ide him, i t could mean bh to the b i r d s which regard him as a t a s t y morse l .

S o i l Conservat ion Serv ice Report , forwarded by H u r s t v i l l e n r i l . 4* t h e ml.minrfcinn n ' nur S o c i e t y ' s e f f o r t r t o s a i n

O.F.F. News January , 1978.

f a i r and s e n s i b l e r e d a c t i o n of p ressure on the most popular p i c n i c a r ea s and r e p a i r of damage i n Oatley Park . As cons iderab le time e lapsed between our suggested s o l u t i o n s and t h e i n s p e c t i o n , which we had reques ted through Counci l , some improvements were a l r eady i n ev idence . The proposed mulching & seed spreading w i l l h a s t e n the r e g e n e r a t i o n a l ready t a k i n g p l a c e . This i s a very p l e a s i n g r e s u l t f o r a l l concerned,

SANDMIMING; Whatever may have been t h e r e a l dec id ing f a c t o r , the f a c t t h a t Dil l ingham Corporat ion of the Uni ted S t a t e s has decided t o end i t s A u s t r a l i a n sand-mining ope ra t i ons w i l l mean they won ' t be d igging up any more of F r a s e r I s l and or i n those n a t i o n a l parks where they s t i l l have l e a s e s . However, F r a se r I s land s t i l l seems in need of defence from o t h e r t h r e a t s accord ing to the December i s sue of Iloonbi, FIDO's Newsle t ter which i s a v a i l a b l e t o those wishing to read i t .

P u b l i c a t i o n s have a l s o been r ece ived as f o l l o w s : Newsle t ters from "The S t e e l Can Group", A u s t r a l i a n Conservat ion Foundat ion, P e e f l e e t i o n s (Great B a r r i e r Reef Marine Park A u t h o r i t y ) ; Viewpoint (put out by Macquarie U n i v e r s i t y Environmental & Urban s t u d i e s Programs); Environs (Dept. of Environment, Housing & Community levelopment); "Proposal f o r a Land Use Commission", submit ted to the Covt . of N.S.V. Land Conservat ion Study Group by the Nature Conser-v a t i o n Council of N.S.W. .Announcements have come from Youth Hoste ls Assoc ia t ion Trave l , r e low-cost t r a v e l and accommodations a v a i l a b l e t o members of t h a t Assoc ia t ion , and from t h e Un ive r s i t y of New England, the Continuing Educat ion p r o -gramme f o r t h i s year under the t i t l e of " E c o f e s t " , wi th d e t a i l s of a l l the Schools ' a c t i v i t i e s and an a p p l i c a t i o n form. A l l these w i l l be a t t h e A.G.M. - too few people a v a i l themselves of these p u b l i c a t i o n s which a r r i v e f o r our S o c i e t y ' s a t t e n t i o n . So d o n ' t l e t i t be s a i d t h a t t h e t r e e s d ied i n va in which provided the paper to p r i n t them on .

Mote on Swaaps and l a k e s : Aus t ra l i a -wide drought cond i t ions a r c drying up waters on which w i l d l i f e depend. Sad as i t i s , those of us who care about the f a t e of w i l d l i f e a l s o r e a l i s e t h a t these t h ings coca about by n a t u r a l causes and p r o t e s t s would .be f u t i l e » .

# # * * * * * * # # * * #

Meeting# arer-held i n t ^ e U n i * j m g G h u r ^ H a ^ Cnz*&m^ah^^ :&^ B&*/ Mulga Bd* Children and v i s i t o r s welcome at o i l . f u n c t i o n s * CQfflBQ E7EOTS: FEBHOARY: 25 - Saturday, F i e ld Day to Kel ly ' s F a l l s . Meet

on Stanwell Tops road opposite Symbio Garden at 10 a.m. We s h a l l then proceed along the road to the entrance to Kel ly ' s F a l l s . Enquiries to Fie ld O f f i c e r , Val Boyan (533 1013){after 5 pm). 26 - Sunday. Start of National Parks & Wi ld l i f e Foundation Appeal. Contact Val Douglas - 5 7 7763. 27 - Monday. 7.45 p.m. S l ides of Kakadu Nat ional Pf.rk. Come and f i n d out e x a c t l y where i t i s and why i t i s impor tant t h a t i t be a Nat iona l P a r k . ' Milo Dunphy's account w i l l no doubt have some i n t e r e s t i n g s i d e l i g h t s . Bring your f r i e n d s .

MARCH: The Flower Study i n Oatley Park w i l l not be he ld because so many r e g u l a r s inc lud ing Nancy S e a t t l e w i l l be away. 27 - EASTER Monday. Monthly meeting postponed„

APRILs 1 - Saturday. Bus t r i p t o Somersby F a l l s i n t he Gosford a r e a . Meet a t Oatley S t a t i o n a t 8 a .m. wi th lunch e t c f Easy walkings Return 6 pm appr^x,

3 . - Monday. 10 am. Flower Study i n Oat ley-Park Meet a t Myra Wall Memorial Garden. (The day has been o f f i c i a l l y changed from Wednesday t o Monday) Nancy Beat t i e ' s number i s 523 74-53 t o check i f cond i t ions a r e s u i t a b l e f o r the s t u d y . 3 - Monday. 7.4-5 pm Monthly meeting lie Id over from t h e week b e f o r e . S l i de s of "Tramping i n A u s t r a l i a " and a movie of "Climbing i n Swi t ze r -land" by Mr. P h i l i p Turnsge, who i s an e x c e l l e n t photographer . Some enjoyment i n s t o r e .

.Notes Library books should be r e t u r n e d promptly t h e month a f t e r being borrowed.

P r e s i d e n t : John Blacker , 110 Woronorn Pde . , Oat ley. 579 5356 Secretary: Ida Carder, P.O. Box 52, Mortdale 57 5909 Editors Bettv Weekes. 16 Hawthorne St . Rams gate . 529 694-1

a hie# B Mntt.

O F F. NEWS Published by

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Annual General Meeting: In accordance wi th a unanimous d e c i s i o n , copies of t h e S e c r e t a r y ' s Annual Report a re to be c i r c u l a t e d t o members - t he AGM as u s u a l no t be ing noted f o r overf lowing the H a l l . As mentioned i n t h a t Repor t , we a re g r a t e f u l f o r the continued use of the now Uni t ing Church H a l l , so easy t o f i n d and so s u i t e d t o our purposes .

The programme f o r 1.978 w i l l be a v a i l a b l e a t t h e next n i n t h l y meet ing. There a r e a few changes i n t he Committee, Alan F a i r l e y changing p laces wi th John Blacker who now becomes P r e s i d e n t , and A.,qn a Vice-P r e s i d e n t , so t h a t h i s p r o j e c t e d absences from Sydney t h i s year w i l l not be f r a u g h t wi th such o b l i g a t i o n s . Alan has made g r e a t con t r i bu -t i o n s t o our Soc i e ty , e s p e c i a l l y dur ing h i s term cf o f f i c e aim he has a worthy successor i n John, whose enthusiasm f o r conserva t ion i d e a l s we we l l know,

Membership has continued to i n c r e a s e , t he l a t e s t to be welcomed be ing Miss Faye Bingham and Mr, Br ian Everingham,

Due t o a combination of good housekeeping, i n c r e a s i n g membership and a c e r t a i n number of dona t ions , a hea l thy s t a t e of f inance e x i s t s , and t h e r e f o r e our t r e a s u r e r advised t h a t s u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e s remain as a t p r e sen t - $4*00 ( f ami ly ) ; $2.50 ( s i n g l e ) j &1.00 f o r pens ioner or s t u -d e n t , Renewals a r e now due , (Please address a l l correspondence t o t h e Hon, S e c r e t a r y ) ,

Na t iona l Parks & W i l d l i f e Foundation Appeal - 1978, From 26th Feb, to 5th March. Mrs. Val Douglas, 56 Baker S t . , Oatley West (57 7783) w i l l have c o l l e c t o r s ' k i t s a v a i l a b l e from a week beforehand and money should be handed i n t o Val on 5th March, the l a s t day of the Appeal. Pieasu he lp by g iv ing a few hours t o Cu a s t r e e t . . A l l money goes t o t he up-keep and ex tens ion of Na t iona l Parks i n N.S.W.

/ O.F.F , Hews - 2 - February , 1978.

Land use - Urban: As spare land i n the m e t r o p o l i t a n area be -comes s c a r c e r and a r e a s t o w a s t e - f i l l f ewer , c o n f l i c t s of i n -t e r e s t a r i s e over what uses ;hould be made of p u b l i c l a n d . Suddenly waking up to a r e a l i s a t i o n t h a t "development" of l o c a l beau ty spo t s or e c o l o g i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a r ea s means very o f t e n l o s s and d e s t r u c t i o n of the same has l ed t o people bocofrit-g more aware of t h e environmental problems around us and -wanting t o do something about i t = — The b a s i c s of environmental defence a re l e a r n t the hard way when t r y i n g t o convince those a u t h o r i t i e s e n t r u s t e d wi th "care c o n t r o l & management" of p u b l i c land t o change t h e i r p l a n s of 20 yea r s or more ago and c a t e r f o r more v a r i e d r e c r e a t i o n a l needs of urban p o p u l a t i o n s , wi th thoughts a l s o f o r d i s p l a c e d w i l d l i f e . (People who have t r i e d w i l l know e x a c t l y what I mean). Most woeful b lunders have been made i n t h e name of " p r o g r e s s " . Thus i t was very i n t e r e s t i n g to hear the exper iences of two l o c a l groups a t the AGM - from r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s who had been i n v i t e d t o a t t e n d . F i r s t l y , Ralph Newboult t o l d us t h a t a f t e r the wes te rn arm of Lime Ki ln Bay had been f i l l e d i n , H u r s t v i l l e Council dec ided not t o cont inue wi th the e a s t e r n arm, and the Lime Kiln Bay P r e s e r v a t i o n Soc ie ty was formed wi th the o b j e c t of r egene ra -t i n g the a rea and p o s s i b l y having i t i nco rpora t ed i n t o a Grea te r Oatley Park scheme. A v o l u n t e e r work p a r t y meets i n the area j u s t o f f W a t e r f a l l Road on Saturday mornings around 7 .30 , works t i l l 9 .30 and would welcome e x t r a hands i n r u b -b i s h c l e a r i n g , weeding e t c . Donations of n a t i v e p l a n t s & purchase of o t h e r s from t h e i r p l an t s t a l l and c o n t r i b u t i n g i dea s on p lann ing and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the a r ea a r e o t h e r ways of g i v i n g a s s i s t a n c e . Fur the r e n q u i r i e s t o Ralph New-b o u l t (579 4889); Graham Quint (534 3239) or David Thorp (579-6775) . Ray Gervasoni of Oat ley Bay Res iden t s 1 Group, gave us a r e -sume of the l a t e s t happenings i n regard to Moore Reserve ( in Kogarah M u n i c i p a l i t y ) , which over the years has been deve lo -ping as household waste f i l l e d the western arm of Oatley Bay, and has been t h e s u b j e c t of some c o n f l i c t i n g op in ions on p r i o r i t i e s of usage p l a n n i n g . Their group i s con f iden t t h a t u p - t o - d a t e t h i n k i n g and p lann ing w i l l p r e v a i l , i n t h i s

O.F .F . Mews - ? - February . 1978

e f f o r t t o h a w t h e requi rements of a l l t h e community takeir i n t o accoun t . They would be i n t e r e s t e d to hear from any who would suppor t what could be a communi ty-par t ic ipa t ion programme, f o r

fflfc)? fent78fiif!y.spaoe-Our S o c i e t y ' s suppor t i n gene ra l comes down on the s ide of pass ive r e c r e a t i o n a l p u r s u i t s , and one of our aims i s to have the p res su re on Oatley Park r e l i e v e d somewhat, Moore Reserve could very w e l l f i l l t h i s need . In f a c t , the aims of both groups accord very w e l l wi th t h o s e of O . F . F , , and we thank both Balph and Ray f o r coming a long .

Land Use - s t a t e w i d e : On t h i s s u b j e c t , d i s c u s s i o n has been going on f o r a number of y e a r s i n N.S.W., a s no doubt i n o the r s t a t e s . Last y e a r , t he Premier e s t a b l i s h e d a Land Conservat ion Study Group to which t h e N.C.C. s en t a submission e n t i t l e d "Proposa l f o r a Land use Commission", I t d e t a i l s t h e problems of land management, t h e need f o r p u b l i c p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n land, use d e c i s i o n s , problems of n a t u r e conse rva t ion i n r e l a t i o n t o land u t i l i s a t i o n and concludes wi th s p e c i f i c Development P r o p o s a l s , s t r e s s i n g t h e need f o r the concept of c o n t i n u a l i n t e r a c t i o n of a l l r e l e v a n t Government a u t h o r i t i e s and the community. Our copy i s a v a i l a b l e - ask f o r i t and see what you t h i n k . In an a r t i c l e i n the l a t e s t Nat iona l Parks J o u r n a l , Fo res t Geolog is t W.A.W. de Beuzevi l le i s quoted a s say ing i n 1947 - THIRTY YEARS AGO -" I r r e s p o n s i b l e land use has been i n the p a s t , and s t i l l i s , a heavy cos t to t h e community not only i n money, but i n l o s s of f o r e s t cover and consequent e r o s i o n , l o s s of s o i l f e r t i l i t y and f a i l i n g water s u p p l i e s " . The same could be s a i d today . The r e a l cha l lenge and t e s t o f t h e Government's environment p o l i c y w i l l be f i n d i n g ways and means t o ca r ry out p l a n s .and programmes des igned t o r e c t i f y some of t h e s e mis takes whi le t h e r e i s s t i l l t i m e .

Myra Wall Memorial Garden: Who w i l l o f f e r t o o r g a n i s e a r o s t e r f o r t h e care of t h i s Garden i n Oatley Park? I t i s u r g e n t l y i n need of a t t e n t i o n . Some members may not know t h a t i t was Miss W a l l ' s gener -ous beques t some 15 y e a r s ago which enabled the purchase of our Pro-j e c t o r & Screen, and t h a t remaining funds bought n a t i v e p l a n t s . Coun-c i l agreed to the making of the garden beds and t h e plaque and Bea-t r i c e Golds te in o r i g i n a l l y o rgan ised a r o s t e r of v o l u n t e e r s . B i l l Haigh was i n so le charge from '72 t o '76 when he had t o give up, but i t i s our r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o keep i n good o rde r a s i t was b e f o r e .

O.F.F . Naws A p r i l . 1978.

Coming Events s

April: 2Z.th - 'Monday. 7.65 p.m. Business Meeting, Uni t ing Church H a l l , Oatley West. (At the A p r i l 3rd meeting the s l i d e s shown were those of Norman Reid and Ri tch ie W i l l i s , whom we thank f o r changing with Phi l i p , 'To urna ge s who was not back from N,Z. I f he i s back on 24th, we s h a l l then be shown h i s s l i d e s of "Tramping in Aus t r a l i a " and h i s movie of "Climbing i n Swi tze r land" .

29th - Saturday. walk to Deer Pool and L i t t l e Jforley Beach. We meet a t t h e Car park on the l e f t hand s ide of the road to Bundeena about 10 a.m. The t u r n o f f t o Bundeena i s j u s t be fo re the Watta~ mo 11a s i g n p o s t . The pool i s f u l l of wa te r , deep enough t o swim i f warm enough day, b i r d l i f e i s p l e n t i f u l and t r e e s and shrubs a re recover ing we l l from the f i r e s a year or so ago. I f t r a n s p o r t i s r e q u i r e d , phone Val Boyan (533-1013 a f t e r 5 .30 pm) or Bet ty Weekes (529-6941)*

MAT: 1st - Monday. Flower Study in Oatlev Park . Meet l eade r Nancy B e a t t i e (523 7458) a t Myra Wall Memorial Garden a t 10 a.m. New members,do j o i n the

" r egu l a r s " i n a walk ,dur ing which Nancy shares •'•botan-i c a l khowvhmwg and much can be learned i n ' t h i s way. Lunch i s o p t i o n a l , but i t i s very p l easan t and a r e f r e s h i n g break from the house . 22nd - Monday - 7 .45 "Wilderness i n A u s t r a l i a " , an i l l u s t r a t e d t a l k by Pe te r Helman. Keep t h i s w e l l in mind, i t should be qu i t e out of t h e o r d i n a r y . 27th - Sa turday . Walk i n Royal Nat iona l Park . Leader, Pat Akkersdyk. Meet Curra Moors parking area a t 10.30 a.m. Sclerophy11 f o r e s t , c o a s t a l hea th , v iews .

THANKS to those who helped c o l l e c t near ly #500 in NP&WIiF Anpeal in Feb „ P r e s i d e n t : John Blacker , 110 Woronora Pde , , Oa t ley , 579 5356 S e c r e t a r y : Ida Carder , P.O. Box 52, Kbr tda lo . 57 5909 E d i t o r : Bet ty Weekes, 16 Hawthorne S t . , Ramsgate. 529 6941

Me# 5 wnM.

Publ ic Park - F a i r Game??

Our Soc ie ty has been c r i t i c i s e d i n a c i r c u l a r l e t t e r f o r being un-favourab le towards a Georges River D i s t r i c t Scout a p p l i c a t i o n to develop a boatshed (or water s a f e t y t r a i n i n g cen t r e ) on the wa te r -f r o n t near Sandy Bay, w i th in Oatley Park. In t h i s l e t t e r , above the name of the D i s t r i c t Commissioner, i t i s s t a t e d , in p a r t ; "Over t he pas t 2 years we have been t r y i n g to make Hur s tv i l l e Counci aware of t h e value of t h i s p r o j e c t to the Community, and in d i s -cuss ion wi th them and r e l a t i n g the problems of our s i t e , Council agreed t o change the s i t e t o :a more s u i t a b l e one a t the south end of Oatley Park b a t h s . At a l a t e r Council meeting the Council reversed i t s d e c i s i o n through the i n t e r v e n t i o n , in f luence and pressure brougb to bear by the Oatley Flora & Fauna Group. We then asked Council to recons ider i t s dec i s ion in favour of the Oatley Park s i t e and a f t e r var ious d i s cus s ions t he dec i s ion s t i l l remained t h a t they would . re -commend t h e Jewf i sh .Po in t s i t e . . . . . . . We have asked Oatley Flora & Fauna to p a r t i c i p a t e in the p r o j e c t and use t h e i r resources to t r a i n young people in conservat ion , but they are not prepared to become involved ."

Our Socie ty was i n v i t e d by H u r s t v i l l e Council to a t t end one of the is Counc i l ' s Committee'1-ieetings along with members of t h e Scouting bod; and c e r t a i n l y s t a t e d our vieyfs about a proposa l to bu i ld a boatshed i n the Park , However, a t th^-subsequent Open Council Meeting, t he Scouts had a l l the jgey, inc lud ing the showing of a f i l m , while our members s a t mute i n the g a l l e r y , not asked to say anyth ing . One of the Aldermen po in ted out th^ f . t h e r e would be l e g a l d i f f i c u l t i e s involved i n s i t i n g | h e boatshed in the Park, because of the s t a t u s of t he l a n d , and when the matter was put t o t h e vo te , t he Council

O .F .F . Hews - 2 / 3 - A p r i l , 1978

d e c i s i o n was to approve the a p p l i c a t i o n f o r the Jewf ish Point s i t e , on which a l ease had been held f o r a long time by the Scou t s .

A f t e r t h a t Council meeting, appa ren t l y , a meeting of Jewfish Point r e s i d e n t s decided t h a t they would oppose the b u i l d i n g of a boatshed near t h e i r homes.

I t was then t h a t t he Scouts ' l e t t e r was c i r c u l a t e d i n the Jewf i sh Point a r e a , mis represen t ing our S o c i e t y ' s p a r t i n the matter to those r e s i d e n t s .

P l a i n l y , i t i s n ' t f o r us t o say much p u b l i c l y on the m a t t e r , except where the p r i n c i p l e s of environmental p r o t e c t i o n and conservat ion are seen a s being l i g h t l y regarded , in t h i s case by an o r g a n i s a t i o n known to subscr ibe t o those p r i n c i p l e s . They would do wel l t o pay more than l i p s e rv i ce to them, and a l s o be prepared to mainta in t h e i r "good neighbour" po l i cy towards our Soc ie ty , which has admira t ion f o r the Scouting movement - i t s pas t ach ieve -ments and f u t u r e aims. Many of our members have been and s t i l l a r e connected with Scout ing, both uniformed and l a y . We have been happy t o have had mutual co -opera t ion in l o c a l e f f o r t s on many previous occas ions , and t h a t i s why i t !

i s so sad t h a t t h i s a t t a c k on our Socie ty should have occur red .

I f anyone has been p re s su r ing H u r s t v i l l e Counci l , i t has not been O.F.F.

The Pressure of Publ ic Usage on Oatley Park , however, i s very g r e a t , and p r o t e c t i o n of the n a t u r a l environment i s t he main focus of our a c t i v i t i e s as a conserva t ion s o c i e t y . For t h i s reason we hope t h a t no a l i e n a t i o n , f u r t h e r development or damage t akes place w i t h i n the park boundar ies , e s p e c i a l l y on t h e a rea mentioned, because of the n a t u r a l beauty of the P o i n t , and because of the degrada t ion which would i n e v i t a b l y fo l low such a development, e . g . more t o i l e t s . , - access road - more p rov i s ion f o r park ing - t rample t r a c k s by s h o r t -cut t a k e r s e t c .

We have conducted a win te r and a summer survey of v i s i t o r s and know how much the p l easan t surroundings a re app rec i a t ed by the p u b l i c . P r o t e c t i o n from random park ing , when recommended to Council , was approved and c a r r i e d out by them (by jud ic ious p l a c i n g of p o l e s ) , but i t w i l l be a long time ( i f ever ) be fo re the upper s e c t i o n recovers i t s n a t u r a l appearance .

Now i t seems the n a t u r a l bushland on the lower p a r t i s th rea tened wi th encroach-ment. But why Oatley Park?? Is t h e r e no-where e l s e a long Georges River where a s i t e s u i t e d t o t h i s worthy purpose would be accep tab le?

I have w r i t t e n a l l t h i s in t h e i n t e r e s t s of s e t t i n g out the s i t u a t i o n f o r t he b e n e f i t of a l l our members. I f anyone e l s e reads i t , I hope they can under-s tand what i s a t s take and w i l l a l s o support the conserva t ion p r i n c i p l e s to which we a d h e r e .

There i s t o be a pub l i c meeting to do wi th t h i s whole ques t ion of the boatshed on Tuesday, 18th A p r i l , a t the Uni t ing Church H a l l , Oatley West.(Mot c a l l e d by O.F .F . )

Dame Mary Gilmore Dr ive ; Where c l e a r i n g f o r a " f i rebreak was done e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , we a re glad to r epo r t t h a t some mulching has now been c a r r i e d out by Counci l ,

Ke l l y ' s F a l l s a r e a ; We have w r i t t e n to Wollongong Council,, suppor t ing the recom-mendations made re t h i s a rea ( i . e . development f o r pass ive r e c r e a t i o n ) made by Sutherland Nature Conservation Soc i e ty , as we agreed with them to do a f t e r in spec -t i o n of t he p a r t i c u l a r s i t e .

Botany Dame - t h e Engine Fend; There has been correspondence regard ing t h i s with va r ious Government bod i e s , and space w i l l j u s t not permit going in to d e t a i l t h i s month. However, i t i s poss ib l e we may be a r rang ing a v i s i t to the a i r p o r t grounds l a t e r on, of which more l a t e r .

Somersby F a l l s : Rather a damp F i e l d Tr ip - bu t i t was qu i t e a r e l i e f a f t e r a l l the heat to b rea the f r e s h cool a i r , view the s p e c t a c u l a r cascade e f f e c t of the f a l l s and walk down through r a i n f o r e s t - t y p e su r roundings . On the way home, a s top a t a roads ide s t a l l y i e lded b e a u t , tomatoes, oranges , pot p l a n t s and o the r e t c e t e r a s o Even i f t he bus f a r e has gone up t o per a d u l t , i t i s s t i l l good va lue f o r t he t r i p s t h a t we go on, and we hope people w i l l cont inue to come with Terry (Don't c a l l me "Driver" o r you can walk home), and h i s now f a m i l i a r bus .

Meetings a re hold i n the U n i t i n g Church H a l l , Gungah Bay Rd/Mul C h i l d r e n and v i s i t o r s welcome a t a l l f u n c t i o n s .

COMING EVENTS: May 22nd, Monday - 7 .45 pm - "Wilderness i n A u s t r a l i a "

i l l u s t r a t e d t a l k by P e t e r Helman. P e t e r i s j o i n t -a u t l o r of the r e p o r t of t h e same name, which was produced by the Geography Dept . of U.N.E. i n 1976. Ke has been a t u t o r in N a t u r a l Resource Management a t t h e Canberra Col lege of Advanced Educa t i on . He has t r a v e l l e d i n remote a r e a s in Europe, A f r i c a & Asia and i s keen on bushwaIking, canoeing and c r o s s -country s k i i n g . 2 7 t h . Saturday - Meet a t 10 am (note a l t e r e d t i m e ) Curra Moors pa rk ing a r e a , f o r a walk i n t h e Royal N a t i o n a l Park l ed by Pat Akkersdyk (Ph. 521 4720) This easy-g rade walk of about 3 mi les f i r s t t r a v e r s e s s c l e r o p h y l l f o r e s t , t h e n a l a r g e a r e a of c o a s t a l scrub and h e a t h , w h i l e s e v e r a l c r e e k s and 3 major w a t e r f a l l s w i l l be seen on r o u t e . Take care near c l i f f edges - overhanging rocks a re common t h e r e .

Juno 5tho Monday - World Environment Day - Think of ways to care f o r our p a r t of the world and "Live s imply , t h c t a l l may simply l i v e " . 12 ih , Monday - 10.am Flower Study i n Oat ley P a r k , lee by Nancy B e a t t i e (523 7458) (Date changed due t o Queen's B i r t hday h o l i d a y on 1s t Monday in J u n e ) , Meet a t Myra Wall Memorial Garden (a s h o r t way from the main g a t e .

24 th , Saturday - V i s i t t o Mrs. E s t h e r Dean 's Organic Garden a t S t . I v e s , and on to Kur ingai Wildf lower Garden. (See next month 's 0 . \ F . News f o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s ) .

We have books , r e c o r d s and p e r i o d i c a l s d e a l i n g w i th n c t i v e p l a n t s , w i l d l i f e , sea c r e a t u r e s , bushwalking ard o t h e r i tems of g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t on c o n s e r v a t i o n , s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h . Mrs. No 1 Grundy w i l l be h a p f 7 tc h e l p you s e l e c t , o r rccomm nd o t h e r s we d o n ' t I rve,

E d i t o r : Be t t y Weekes,. " 1 Hawthorne .St , Rams ga te <. 529 : 1«

O.F.F. NEWS )V

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Many ve ry worthy o b j e c t i v e s have been achieved by community p a r t i c i p a t i o n . I am a l l i n f avour of involvement by people who want t o do something f o r o t h e r s who need h e l p . P u b l i c - s p i r i t e d members of many o r g a n i s a t i o n s devote hours of t h e i r spare t ime v a r i o u s e f f o r t s f o r o ld f o l k , young f o l k and s t a g e s i n between, and t h a t i s ve ry commendable.

There i s s t i l l room, however, f o r much more community p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n one n e g l e c t e d a r e a . There should be a concer ted e f f o r t by a l l s e c t i o n s of t h e community t o ge t behind and suppor t the p r e s e r v a t i o n of p a r k s , bush l and , n a t u r a l a r e a s , open space , wat ways and r i v e r s i n urban a r e a s from undue development, degenere t i o n and p o l l u t i o n .

S t rong campaigns have been c a n ied ou t wi th suppor t from bo th c and coun t ry p e o p l e , when some Lrea of n a t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e i s t h r e a t e n e d by development and /o r d e s t r u c t i o n j people suppor t th p r i n c i p l e w i thou t a c t u a l l y having been in the t h r e a t e n e d a r e a , j u s t want to have f u t u r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s l e f t open .

This i s good and as i t should b e ; however, a lmost everyone in i c i t y community a t some t ime o r ano the r has been g r a t e f u l f o r a b r e a t h i n g space i n p l e a s a n t n a t u r a l bush land sur roundings (with going out of t h e m e t r o p o l i t a n a r e a ) to h e a r the b i r d s , walk by c r e e k , admire a f l o w e r i n g n a t i v e shrub and so on . So why not suppor t t h e p r i n c i p l e hero a l s o , when i t comes t o t h r e a t e n e d development o r r i s k of damage, e r o s i o n o r o t h e r degc a t i v e e f f e c t t o p r e c i o u s urban open s p a c e . "That b i t of bush" be a c t u a l l y s e r v i n g a very u s e f u l purpose j u s t by be ing t h e r e , why i s so l i t t l e r e c o g n i t i o n given to i t f o r i t s e l f , f o r i t s i r t r i n s i c va. 'uo, no t f o r i t s p o t e n t i a l f o r soma development .

O.F.F . News - 2 - May. 1978.

in o the r c o u n t r i e s , n a t u r a l a r eas have been so des t royed t h a t they a r e new t r y i n g to r e - c r e a t e them, but we a r e f o r t u n a t e in s t i l l having some. Our Nat ional Pa rks , Nature Reserves , H i s t o r i c S i t e s e t c . have been upgraded due to new l e g i s l a t i o n and r e o r g a n i s a t i o n of a d m i n i s t r a -t i o n , and new areas slowly (so s lowly) being added. Let i t soon be the t u r n of the urban p a r k s , e s p e c i a l l y those where remnarts of the na t ive f l o r a and fauna s t r u g g l e to survive the inroads of MAW and a l l h i s works. Rethinking and re f raming p o l i c i e s regard ing l and -use , and changes in p r i o r i t i e s and i n the v e s t i r g of a u t h o r i t y would probably be advantageous. The urban land-use survey undertaken by the Nature Conservat ion Council and i n which O.F.F. members have been involved w i l l , i t i s hoped, b r i n g to l i g h t how much p r o t e c t i o n i s needed f o r open space . Vie as members of a Conservat ion Soc ie ty , have sought by va r ious means t o b r i n g unders tanding of the g r ea t need f o r env i ron-mental p r o t e c t i o n , bu t much more support and acceptance by everyone i s needed.

The r ecen t pub l i c meeting, arranged by Jewfish Point r e s i d e n t s t o p r e t e s t about the p roposa l to apply f o r permiss ion t o e r e c t a boatshed (by Georges River D i s t r i c t Scouts) i l l u s t r a t e s the p o i n t . To c o r r e c t an impression t h a t appeared to have been given t h a t C .F .F . Socie ty was advocat ing the s i t e a t Jewfish P o i n t , our Hon. S e c r e t a r y , Ida Carder , handed the l e t t e r s e t out below to the Chairman b e f o r e the commencement of t h e meeting.

"The O.F.F. Socie ty d e s i r e s to have i t c l e a r l y understood t h a t i t i s opposed to any b u i l d i n g or development of any s o r t w i t h i n the boundar ies of Oatley Park , We have no a t t i t u d e s towards any o t h e r p o s s i b l e s i t e s and we have not d iscussed tho mer i t s o r any views about the proposed water a c t i v i t i e s p r o j e c t . Our Socie ty i s opposed to any unnecessary d e s t r u c t i o n of t r e e s or any f u r t h e r a l i e n a t i o n of any n a t u r a l bushland i n the community."

The outcome of the meeting was a r e s o l u t i o n to continue to oppose a boatshed a t Jewfish P o i n t , iiid t h a t was as f a r as i t went , as f a r as I can make o u t .

O.F.F. flaws - 3 - May. 1978.

I cannot say whether the p u b l i c consciousness was more touched by the f a c t t h a t i t was p u b l i c land t h a t was th rea tened by a l i e n a t i o n t h e r e o r whether i t was the amenity of pr ivate ly-owned l and . I n d i v i d u a l l y , each of our members' views may vary rega rd ing j u s t what j u s t i f i c a t i o n t h e r e i s f o r s e c t i o n s t o seek permiss ion t o a l i e n a t e p u b l i c parkland and ga in v i r t u a l g i f t s of p u b l i c r e a l e s t a t e . As a S o c i e t y , however, our s tance i s conta ined i n p a r a . 1 of our l e t t e r as quoted . Any t r a i n i n g i n conse rva t ion o f f e r e d t o any young people of the d i s -t r i c t wi th whom we might be involved would c e r t a i n l y inc lude t h i s one important i tem regard ing Oatley Park and o the r a r e a s of urban bushland s t i l l remain ing . There ore o the r a spec t s of conse rva t ion ; some of these w i l l be brought to n o t i c e a t an Energy F a i r , P i c n i c , Walkathon, Bike Ride on 21s t May. , Cook Park . Kyeemagh, where a l t e r n a t i v e forms of energy usage w i l l be on d i s p l a y , as w e l l a s m a t e r i a l dea l ing with t h e Port Development. D e t a i l s of Walkathon and Bike Ride can be ob ta ined from BOTANY BAT CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE 233 5388 ( leave message) FRI'jNDS OF THE EARTH 234 8037 (NSW), 602 896$ (L ive rpoo l ) . So d o n ' t wai t f o r World Environment Day - begin on 21s t May to show your concern f o r your environment by a t t e n d i n g the Energy F a i r ,

community p a r t i c i p a t i o n e f f o r t .

Newcomers to our Soc i e ty , Wallace & Beverley Devlin wi th Robyn & Roderick, Mrs. Jean Swing, Mrs. A p r i l Grimshaw, Mrs. Ida K e l l e t , Miss J . Mawson, Kevin and Joan Moffat and Mrs. Hazel P e t s c h l e r are very welcome; hope you a re g e t t i n g acquainted wi th o t h e r members on F i e l d Days, evening meetings and our very p l e a s a n t and in format ive monthly Flower Study morning in Oatley Pa rk .

The i n c r e d i b l e Border Ranges Park i s about as Un-na t iona l as i t i s p o s s i b l e to be , and the Wran Government w i l l , to quote the Colong B u l l e t i n , "go down i n h i s t o r y as the Government which pe rmi t t ed the lodging of the S t a t e ' s l a r g e s t F lo ra Reserve (Grady's Greek Reserve) a f t e r having rescued Levers P l a t eau from a proposed logging road only two years ago . " Not only t h a t , bu t the F o r e s t r y Commission, whi ih p rev ious ly s t a t e d t h a t i t would " s t rong ly seek to r e s i s t any p r o p o s a l to log. Grady's Greek Flora Reserve1* has tu rned a b o u t - f a c e , and proposes to des t roy what i t was e n t r u s t e d to pro tec t , ,

O.F.F. News - 4 - June. 1978.

COMING EVENTSMee t ings he ld Un i t ing Church Ha l l , Cnr. Mulga Rd.& Gungah Bay Road, Oatley West. 7 .45 p.m. V i s i t o r s welcome.

jane 24th - F i e l d Day. Meet a t 25 Memorial Avenue, S t . Ives a t 10.30 a.m. A f t e r i n s p e c t i o n of t h e garden wi th Mrs. Deans, we s h a l l proceed t o Kuringai Wildflower Garden, 420 Mona Vale Ed . , S t . Ives f o r lunch and a look a t how t h e garden i s managed. Some f lowers w i l l be o u t ; t h e r e a re always b i r d s . 26th - Monday. Talk i l l u s t r a t e d by movie f i l m s . P j fe fessor C a r o l i n , an Oatley r e s i d e n t , i s Associate P r o f e s s o r of Biology a t t h e Uni . of Sydney. He i s co-au thor of '-'Flora of Sydney Region" and "Flowers & P l a n t s of N.S.W. & Southern Queensland" and has worked on the study of sand-dune vege t a t i on on the coas t c f N.S.W. and Queensland.

Ju ly 3 r d : Monday 4 10 am. Flower Study in Oat ley Park . Meet Mrs. Narcy S e a t t l e a t the % r a Wall Memorial Garden, a s h c r t way from t h e main g a t e .

22nd - mature a y . Seashore Ramble wi th Mr. David T r a n t e r . Meet a t Bundeena near f e r r y and a f t e r e a r l y lunch e e t out a t 1 p.m. f o r the rock she l f where we fo l low t h e t i d e o u t .

24th - Monday - 7 .45 pm. Mr. Paul Kennedy, an exper t photogr«.oher w i l l give a few h i n t s on how t o improve t h e t e c h n i q u e .

ACF. Meeting - 20th JUNE - ENERGY - Today's sources and tomorrow's o p t i o n s . Speakers : Mr, Doug H i l l & Dr . Br i an Window.

* » # # *

P r e s i d e n t s John Blacker , 110 Woronora Pde , , Oat ley , 2223. 579 5356. S e c r e t a r y : Ida Carder , P.O. Box 52, Mortdale , 2223. 57 5909. E d i t o r i Bet ty Weekes, 16 Hawthorne S t . , Rams gate .2217 529 6941.

What p r i c e Poulton Park?

O.F.F. NEWS

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Registered fo r posting M a Periodical — Category B.

June, 1978.

Wilderness & Nat iona l Parks/Brambles & Rabb i t s : In A u s t r a l i a , where t h e r e a r e s t i l l a reas of n a t u r a l v e g e t a t i o n , com-pared wi th o the r coun t r i e s where very l i t t l e now remains , the o r i g i n a l environmental concepts(which have been r e spons ib l e f o r b r i n g i n g i n t o be ing the Nat ional Parks systercj) a r e be ing d i s c r e d i t e d by s o - c a l l e d "exper t s in conse rva t ion" , who are ques t ion ing the p r o p o r t i o n of Crown land i t i s considered d e s i r a b l e to s e t a s ide and leave und i s tu rbed by development d e s t r u c t i v e of i t s n a t u r a l q u a l i t i e s and a l so the po l i cy of acqu i r i ng (now unproduct ive) land to be allowed t o r e v e r t t o as near n a t u r a l s t a t e as p o s s i b l e .

Reading t h e r epo r t ed sayings of P r o f e s s o r Mellanby (quotes B r i t a i n ' s foremost a u t h o r i t y on p r a c t i c a l e c o l o g i c a l i s s u e s - unquote) , one would be i n c l i n e d t o d ismiss them as opinions and c r i t i c i s m s of an i l l - i n f o r m e d f i r s t - t i m e v i s i t o r to our count ry . This i s not the case ; as s t a t e d by the man h imsel f in the March/Apri l i s sue of Prologue ( the newspaper of the sawmill ing i ndus t ry i n N.S.W.) t h i s y e a r ' s v i s i t i s h i s f i f t h and he says "I have t r a v e l l e d widely throughout A u s t r a l i a i n s p e c t i n g n a t i o n a l pa rks , na tu re r e s e r v e s , f o r e s t s , farms and grazing a r e a s . I have met and t a lked wi th f a r m e r s , g r a z i e r s , park a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , s c i e n t i s t s and members of conserva t ion groups and I have read innumerable r e p o r t s on land management and c o n s e r v a t i o n . " Fur the r on we r e a d : "However, I view wi th alarm proposa l s t o extend the boundar ies of n a t i o n a l parks to include land t h a t i s farmed or g razed . Where t h i s has been done, i n s t ead of p ro -ducing a n a t i v e wi lderness we f i n d an impenetrable t h i c k e t of b l a c k -b e r r i e s o v e r - r u n wi th non-indigenous r a b b i t s . "

I t occurs t o me t h a t ' P r o f e s s o r Mellanby i s confused about what t h e advocates of wi lde rness a reas a r e i n f a c t recommending, as d i s t i n c t from t h e reoui rements of n a t i o n a l Darks.

0 . F . F . News ... 2 / 3 June, 1978.

The a c t u a l a r e a s of t r u e w i lde rnes s a re no t numerous in N.S.W. According t o an a r t i c l e i n May "Hab i t a t " , a p i l o t survey e s t a b l i s h e d L, c r i t e r i a t o give a working d e f i n i t i o n s 1. a mihimum core of 25,000 ha (to meet t h e requirement t h a t a w i lde rnes s a rea

should be more t h a n h a l f a d a y ' s walk from t h e n e a r e s t roadhead) 2 . a core a rea f r e e of major i n d e n t a t i o n s . 3 . a core a rea of a t l e a s t 10 km wide 4 . a management (bu f f e r ) zone .surrounding t h e core a rea of about 25,000 ha o r more. Only 19 a r ea s were i d e n t i f i e d as meeting these requirements - and Nadgee wi th 21,000 ha was included be ing considered important because of i t s c o a s t a l l o c a t i o n . Of t h e s e 20 a r e a s , each needs t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d on i t s mer i t s i n r e l a t i o n to land use , not only in t h e survey area - but throughout A u s t r a l i a . Therefore i t does hot seem t h a t t h e r e would be "vas t t r a c t s of w i lde rnes s " be ing "locked up" and perhaps t h e p r o f e s s o r i n h i s reading of " those innumerable r e p o r t s on land management and conserva t ion" has chosen to d i s r e g a r d anyth ing which does not f i t in wi th h i s pre-conceived i d e a s , He s t a t e s i n t h e Prologue a r t i c l e " I s t r o n g l y suppor t t h e sa feguard ing of unique and e c o l o g i c a l l y p rec ious a r e a s of unspoi led n a t i v e v e g e t a t i o n . " How does he t h i n k t h e y ' r e going to be s a f e un less t h e r e ' s a reasonable " b u f f e r zone" l e f t around them? In a country as open t o e x p l o i t a t i o n and a c c e s s i b l e t o the u b i -qui tous 4-WD, i t would be v i r t u a l l y imposs ib l e . The Assoc ia t ion of Regional Parks & Countryside Commissions of A u s t r a l i a I n -corpora ted which i n v i t e d P r o f e s s o r Mellanby to come out here advocates -p r e s e r v a t i o n of the r u r a l count rys ide fo rp r imary p roduc t ion , r e c r e a t i o n , p r e s e r v a t i o n of r u r a l communities, r e t a i n i n g of s cen i c and environmental ameni t ies i n development of housing, a r e a s ; minimising environmental p o l l u t i o n and encouraging conserva t ion of n a t u r a l v e g e t a t i o n and n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s . This sounds good, but the A s s o c i a t i o n ' s Commission would be dominated by p r i v a t e l andholders and i t s o b j e c t i s t o absorb t h e f u n c t i o n of t h e Na t iona l Parks and W i l d l i f e Se rv i ce . Tho parks would be admin i s t e red by l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s and would not be n a t i o n a l l y owned. This would mean t h e break-up of our parks system. I f you d o n ' t want t h i s t o happen, get busy and w r i t e to the p a p e r s , to your M.P.s , exp re s s ing a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r what we have and a l so when p o s i t i v e a c t i o n i s t aken on conserva t ion i s s u e s . I f t h i s i s done by groups and i n d i v i d u a l s i t has g r e a t va lue i n b u i l d i n g up a good long- term r e l a t i o n s h i p between conserva t ion movement and government.

The Nature Conservat ion Council of N.S.W. i s ve ry concerned a t t h e impact of a t t a c k s on na tu re conse rva t ion and has s t r o n g l y urged member bodies (of which . we a r e one) to cont inue t r y i n g to i nc r ea se p u b l i c awareness of t h e a c t i v i t i e s and p o l i c i e s of member o r g a n i s a t i o n s .

From t h e Suther land Conservat ion News - May, 1978: ( in p a r t )

"Dioxon: Weedki l lers 245T & 24D (marketed under the names of "Blackberry K i l l e r " and "Tree K i l l e r " have as a component t h e dangerous substance Dioxon, t h e o r e t i c a l l y l i m i t e d t o 0 .1 p a r t s pe r m i l l i o n - b u t more can be generated a t h igh temperature in s t o r e sheds or dur ing b u s h f i r e s . Dioxon i s i n c r e d i b l y t o x i c . Recent s t u d i e s have shown t h a t concen t r a t i ons as low as 5 p a r t s per t r i l l i o n (about 1 oz . i n 6 m i l l i o n t o n s ) can cause s e r i o u s cancer i n l a b o r a t o r y an ima l s . I t i s env i ron-mental ly s t a b l e , accumulat ing in l i v i n g t i s s u e s up t h e food chain i n t h e manner of DDT, and a t t h e p r e s e n t t ime t h e r e i s no means of n e u t r a l i s i n g o r d e s t r o y i n g Dioxon and i t must be s t o r e d . I t wqs used in VietNam when massive q u a n t i t i e s of 245T & 24D were sprayed to k i l l a l l vege ta t ion ' . 10% of t h e popu la t ion came ;in contac t w i th i t , as w e l l a s U .S . t r o o p s . Mongol bab ies have been born as a r e s u l t and many more have some d e f e c t s . Saveso in I t a l y had a t e r r i b l e exper ience w i t h the a c c i d e n t a l r e l e a s e i n to the atmosphere of 245T and Dioxon. ." Even in Sydney, drums con ta in ing s u p p l i e s of Dioxon were dumped a t Homebush, Concord and Menai rubb i sh t i p s . ' Whether t h e con t a ine r s ho ld ing t h e s e chemicals w i l l endure i s d o u b t f u l and a l r eady i t i s thought t h a t t hese con t a ine r s w i l l have now r u p t u r e d , t hus r e l e a s i n g t h e i r danrorous c o n t e n t s . " Reports keep coming from d i f f e r e n t a r e a s in, A u s t r a l i a of abnormal b i r t h s , i l l n e s s of workers involved wi th sp ray ing , of s t o c k dying, o r ru ined o rchards & gardens . I f t h e t o x i c p r o p e r t i e s of t h e new chemicals produced s ince W.W.2 had been more adequate ly t e s t e d we would have been spared these h o r r i b l e r e s u l t s , and would probably no t have l o s t s o ' v e r y much in t h e way of food p r o d u c t i o n .

In r ep ly to our l e t t e r r e q u e s t i n g replacement of f e n c i n g a long Dame Mary Gilmore Drive , which was a l s o drawn to Counc i l ' s a t t e n t i o n by Aid. J u l i a n Sheen, we have been informed t h a t H u r s t v i l l e Council havo a l l o c a t e d $9,180 f o r t h i s purpose . Goodl

O.F.F . News 4i J u l y . 1Q.7S. . COMING EVENTS:. Note: Meetings he ld 7 .45 p.m. Un i t ing Church H a l l ,

Gnr, Mulga. & Gungah. Bay Rds.., Oat ley West.. J u l y 22nd - Sa tu rday . Seashore Ramble wi th Mr* David

T r a n t e r . We are t o make our own way to Bundeena end meet near the f e r r y i n time t o have e a r l y lunch and be ready t o move o f f w i th David a t 1 .00 p.m. There i s a walk of a b i t over a mile t o the rock she l f where w e ' l l fo l low the t i d e o u t . F e r r i e s go from Cronulla on the -g—hour and from Bundeena on the hoi 2 / t h - Monday, 7 .45 p .m. This, should be a mo#!; i n t e r e s t i n g meeting as Mr. Paul Kennedy i s an ex -p e r t pho tographer . His t a l k should be a he lp t o the would-be photographers among us and a p l ea su re to the o the r s who w i l l en joy the b e a u t i f u l s l i d e s .

August; ** 7th - Monday, 10 a.m. FLOWER STUDY i n the LIMEKILN BAY NATURE RESERVE. Meet i n W a t e r f a l l Road near Acacia Road. Nancy B e a t t i e w i l l not be wi th us on t h i s occas ion when we s h a l l be looking a t what the l i m e k i l n Bay P r e s e r v a t i o n Soc ie ty have been do ing . 26th - Bus Tr ip t o ZIG ZAG Railway.. F i l l i n g ' r a p i d l y , l e t Val Boyan know i f you want to go (ph. 533 1013 a f t e r 5 .30 p .m. ) 28th - Monday. Business meet ing, a f t e r which Mr. Lay Stokes w i l l show s l i d e s of B i r d s .

Mows from absent f r i e n d s ; The Golds te ins a re h o l i d a y i n g i n Europe a t p r e s e n t and have sen t back cards from Crete and B e r l i n ,

DO PLEASE SUPPORT THE APPEAL BY THE COLO: COMMITTEE FOR PROTECTION AND DEDICATION CF THE COLO WILDERNESS. WRITE TO THE PREMIER, MIN3-ISTESS FOR MINING Aim LANDS, ASKING FOR INFORMATION AND STRESSING' ' THE NEED TO RETAIN THIS RUGGEDLY BEAUTIFUL AREA SO CLOSE TO SIDNEY AND YET SO RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED AND UNCONTAMINATED, THAT YOU CAN STILL SAFELY DRINK THE WATER.

******& TICK IN THE BOX * MEANS * YOU ARE UNFINANCIAL

P r e s i d e n t s John Blacker , 110 Woronora ;Pde. , Oa t ley , .2223 579 5356 S e c r e t a r y : Ida Carder , P.O. Box 52, Mortdale, 2223. 57 5909 E d i t o r ; Be t ty Weekes, 16 Hawthorne S t r e e t , Ramsgate

2217. 529 6941

O.F.F. NEWS

Price 5 Cents.

Published by

OATLEY FLORA & FAUNA CONSERVATION SOCIETY

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J u l y , 1978. V i s i t t o Engine Pond, Kingsford Smith A i r p o r t ; This was once the s i t e where Sydney's f i r s t water supply was ob ta ined , but development of roads , p i p e l i n e s and o ther earthworks have wrought such a change t h a t i t has become p r o g r e s s i v e l y sha l lower , and from l a t e l a s t year was r a p i d l y dry ing up, which brought f o r t h an a r t i c l e and photograph i n the Leader headed "Swan Lake 's Swan Song a t A i r -p o r t " , c r i t i c i s i n g c o n s e r v a t i o n i s t s ' seeming i n d i f f e r e n c e , and r e -l a t i n g the l ack of ou tc ry a t t he p l i g h t of the waterfowl to the l a c k of " p o l i t i c a l gain" to -be made out of i t .

Concerned people who had contac ted the Ai rpor t a u t h o r i t i e s had been t o l d t h a t i t was due to t h e abnormally prolonged dry s p e l l and we were a l s o t o l d t h a t i f we wished we could arrange a v i s i t , l ed by a Department of Transport r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to view the pond. This took some time and i t was not u n t i l Sunday, 25th June t h a t c e r t a i n of our Oa&mittee met our gu ide , Mr. Len Dodds and s e t o f f through the f i r s t of a s e r i e s of locked ga tes on the way to the pond. Mr. Dodds was very thorough i n answering our ques t ions and sa id t h a t the only o the r exp lana t ion he could t h i n k of f o r the inc reased d ry ing-up of t h e pond, a p a r t from seasonal and weather c o n d i t i o n s , w a s . t h a t when the pond was d iv ided by b u i l d i n g Gen. Holmes Drive through i t , the sheer weight of the roadbed on the one s i d e , and then t h e heaps of foundry-waste sand dumped on the o the r had g radua l ly compressed the pea t beds underground so t h a t t h e access of seepage, and of the water d r a i n i n g from Eas t l akes had been p r a c t i c a l l y cut o f f .

Dredging i t out would be even more d e t r i m e n t a l to the ecology. Shal lo a s the wate r i s now (even a f t e r a l l t h e r ecen t r a i n ) , i t i s a t l e a s t deep enough f o r a number of ducks, moorhens, i b i s , a p a i r of b /#ck

O.F.F. News J u l y , 19?8,

swans and t h e i r two l i t t l e grey cygnets . None of these a re b i r d s t h a t are l i k e l y t o endanger, tho b i g j e t s by becoming inges ted on landing or t a k e - o f f , bu t t he r e i s abso lu t e ly nothing to guarantee t h e i r s u r v i v a l next time we have a long dry s p e l l ; they could be i n f o r a s t i c k y time i n the mud u n t i l i t r a i n s again . . . . and t h i s i s where the re used to be enough water to pump out mi l l ions of ga l lons a year f o r Sydney's domestic u s e . As the pond i s s t i l l such a welcome s i g h t to people t r a v e l l i n g along Gen. Holmes Drive.,, i t was cheer ing to l e a r n t h a t the "heaps of e a r t h and r e f u s e in the background" (of the Leader ' s photograph) are not t o be a permanent f e a -tu re and w i l l d isappear as p re sen t s tocks of the sand a r e r e -cyc led by being, s ieved and sold f o r r e - u s e . We were assured t h a t the re i s now no i n t e n t i o n t o f i l l i n the pond and, i n f a c t , the s i d e s have been p lan ted wi th var ious na t ive t r e e s and shrubs to s t a b i l i s e the s lopes , so t h a t l a t e r on the e f f e c t t he re should be much more p l e a s a n t . The landscaping with Aus t ra l ian na t ive t r e e s and shrubs g iv ing such an im-proved appearance to t he whole a i r p o r t i s a l l t he work of Mr. Dodds and h i s small team of h e l p e r s , who maintain a nursery near the old pumping s t a t i o n s i t e , where many of the p l a n t s used begin l i f e as seed l ings or c u t t i n g s — qu i t e a remarkable achievement, c a r r i e d through by h i s exper t work and h i s enthusiasm. But , f o r a l l t h i s , i n my opin ion , perhaps both the Airpor t a u t h o r i t i e s and

the Department of Main Roads could have given a l i t t l e more cons ide ra t ion to the f a c t t h a t permanent water i s c r u c i a l t o mainta ining the n a t u r a l charac-t e r and beauty of the p l a c e , as one of the h i s t o r i c "beginnings" of Sydney. Although the re seems l i t t l e doubt t h a t a l l the work ca r r i ed out on both s ides of the fence was the cause of the pond 's cond i t i on , I t h ink we should a t l e a s t ask the DMR what j u s t i f i c a t i o n t h e r e i s f o r Gen. Holmes Drive prevent ing the good supply of water (backed up a t the weir on the e a s t e r n s i d e ) from reaching the domain of the n a t u r a l i n h a b i t a n t s on the western s ide as i t used t o do . And I t h ink we should a l so ask the DMR i f anything can be done to remedy t h i s r e g r e t t a b l e s i t u a t i o n .

SPACING THE FUTURE" - a s e r i e s of f ou r f r e e pub l i c l e c t u r e s i s to be p resen-ted by the Macquarie Un ive r s i ty Centre f o r Environmental S tud ies , a l l a t 8 .00 p.m. on Wednesdays, as f o l l o w s : 26th Ju ly - P r o f . L. B i r c h , "The Coming Environmental C r i s i s " 2nd August- P r o f . R, Ai tch i son , "Energy Conservation and the Consumer" 9th August- P r o f . D. A i tk in , " P o l i t i c s and Change i n the Future"

16th August- P r o f . G. Seddon, "Woodchipping in the GOGOL® Contact Mrs. Val Argal l (579-1874-) i f i n t e r e s t e d i n going with a group.

The- ^Australian. Museum. SQcioty-JaaEo. j£L file..tiMxrniaga.. (• NojMnambers &$3 (S tuden t /Pens . ) 26th Ju ly - Dr. Harold Cogger - "Frogs" 6 . 3 0 % m ! inc ludes supper) 16th August - Mrs. Serventy - "Florence" 8*00 p.m.

The pub l i c i s welcome to a t t end AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION meetings held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month a t 7 .00 p.m. in the A c t i v i t i e s Room of Aus t r a l i an Museum. Enter from William S t . On Tuesday. 18th Ju ly speakers Spencer Smith-White (NP&WLS) and Jim Pa te rson (SRA Branch,Lands Dept . ) w i l l d i scuss "NATIONAL PARKS IN N.S.W. - WHAT FUTURE?". On 15th August - THE GREAT BARRIER REEF - Speaker Dr. Des Connell - f i l m "The Reef" .

A t r i b u t e t o HOWARD JUDD, i n a South Coast newspaper, draws a t t e n t i o n to the example he s e t of ded ica t ion to an i d e a l . As Ranger Judd f o r many years a t Minnamurra F a l l s , he worked f i r s t l y to p r o t e c t the w a t e r f a l l s , t h o i r watershed and the r a i n f o r e s t surrounding them and secondly t o educate the pub l i c to value t h e i r n a t u r a l h e r i t a g e . So much of himself went i n to the .-reserve through- :#%%%% out h i s l i f e t i m e , t h a t i t i s a l i v i n g monument to him and h is -en thus iasm f o r .< the cause of na ture p r e s e r v a t i o n . We should pause now and then to remember such men with g r a t i t u d e , and be as r e s o l u t e as they i n f a c i n g chal lenges ve meet t o conservat ion p r i n c i p l e s .

Mrs. Es ther Deans' garden i s c e r t a i n l y " d i f f e r e n t " and some of he r methods qu i t e amazing. With our poor s o i l , we have nothing to lose by t r y i n g the lucerne hay and straw on top of newspapers, having t r i e d everyth ing e l s e with but i n d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t s . Let me know i f anyone e l s e t r i e s i t so we can com-pare n o t e s . As f o r the Ku-r in-ga i Wildflower Garden, i t was r e a l l y wonderful , ** 1 • ' 1. .. — — — — — -J-1— — — —•» — —. 4 4- 4-"U •? v* 4-Vyo •PII4" n no

ji: ' r .%-

v!' • • Ti-* t-i y

O.F .F . Mews August, 1978.

COMING EVENTS; August; Saturday 2 6 t h . Bus t r i p t o ZIG ZAG. The Grea t Western

Zig Zag was one of the most remarkable r a i lway eng ineer ing works i n A u s t r a l i a and a t t r a c t e d the a t t e n t i o n of r a i lway eng ineers i n o t h e r p a r t s of the wor ld . S u b s t a n t i a l p a r t s remain near Lithgow and are among the s i g h t s o A t h e d i s t r i c t . For, bus s e a t s r i n g Val Bcyan (533 1 013 a f t e r 5.30 pm). Meet a t Oat ley S t a t i o n at 8 am wi th lunch and a warm j a c k e t .

\ Monday 2 8 t h . 7 .45 pm. "Uniting Church, Cnr. Gungah Bay : Road and Mulga l o a d . BUSINESS MEETING. I n t e r e s t i n g

in fo rma t ion w i l l be p resen ted about our a c t i v i t i e s and about o the r r e l a t e d groups . Following t h i s , Ray Stokes w i l l show some b i r d s l i d e s which a re always p o p u l a r . Advance Not i ces ; Watth OFF News f o r d e t a i l s of the Bird F i e l d Day on Saturday 23r8 September.

I The/ l i s t of "endangered spec ie s" i n A u s t r a l i a grows longe r , but do we know what the} a re? VINCENT SERVENTY w i l l be

/ sneaking t o us on t h i s s u b j e c t on Monday 25th September. Bring I a ^ f r i e n d and he lp f i l l the h a l l .

I Remember the weekend a t Wirr imbirra October 28th-29th and give > Val Boyan your names. l e ' v e r e se rved a l l t h e 44 b e d s . Cost i s

I $3 .00 per person per n i g h t . More d e t a i l s next monthJ j I | FL01JER STUDY; Monday 4 th September. 10.00 am. The f lowers a re J blooming i n p r o f u s i o n i n the Limekiln Bay a r e a , so wq s h a l l J be meeting a t the corner of W a t e r f a l l Road and Acaci4 S t r e e t . :J Bring lunch i f you w i sh . I i | Keep i n mind t h e November S l ide Night and t r y a few ; ' exper imenta l e f f o r t s . ;

P r e s i d e n t s John Blacker , 110 Woronora - d e . , Oat ley.2223 579 5356.

S e c r e t a r y : Ida Carder , P.O. Box 52, Mortdale.2223 57 5909, E d i t o r : B e t t j Weekes, l 6 Hawthorne S t . Rams g a t e . 5/9 6%1 •

O F F NEWS I

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Published by

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I August, 1978.

(ine Fr iday r e c e n t l y , as the lunchtime crowds flowed up and down Bridge S t r e e t i n t e n t upon t h e i r own concerns , t h e i r p rogress was b r i e f l y i n t e r r u p t e d by a few men and women, handing out fo lded l e a f l e t s .

Some! s t r ode by wi th impeccable f a c e s ave r t ed above impeccable s u i t s , remote and unreachable by the p o l i t e tones ask ing them t o "read about the Northern Nat ional P a r k s " . Others , r e f u s i n g wi th a r a t h e r embarrassed " I c a n ' t , I work h e r e " , dived i n t o the Lands Department b u i l d i n g . S t i l l o t h e r s accepted the brochures , some with a p l e a s -ant s m i l e , some even s topping to t a l k wi th comprehension and accord f o r the p r o t e s t which was being r e g i s t e r e d about the d i s g r a c e f u l • carvo-Vip of some of the most important r e c r e a t i o n lands i n N.S.W. The Na t iona l Parks Assoc ia t ion i s most concerned t h a t few Sydney-s i d e r s seem to know or care t h a t , to quote from t h e i r l e a f l e t , "The superb NSW North Coast i s inadequate ly conserved by the few small d x i s t i n g n a t i o n a l p a r k s . In 1977, the NSW Labor government planned an expanded system of parks which went a long Way towards f i l l i n g t h i s need. Now a h a n d f u l of p r i v a t e i n t e r e s t s ' i s persuading;., the Government to abandon t h i s p r o g r e s s i v e plan^-arxf to throw these magni f icen t n a t u r a l a reas open aga in to s u b d i v i s i o n , urban develop-ment, / farming, logg ing , and minera l sands j o i n i n g . Only a few w i l l b e n e f i t , and the many w i l l be denied that" f e e l i n g of escape from c i v i l i s a t i o n which a n a t i o n a l park should p r o v i d e . WILDLIFE needs l a r g e cont inuous a r e a s of n a t u r a l h a b i t a t f o r s u r v i -v a l ^ As proposed by Mr. C rab t r ee , Min i s te r f o r Lands, Yuragir and Bundialung w i l l be remnants of the o r i g i n a l concept ions , and the s u r v i v a l chances of the r a r e c o a s t a l emu w i l l be d r a s t i c a l l y r e -duced,"

O.F.F, News - 2 ~ August; 1978.

I t would seem t h a t wi th tho parks t h e r e would be a b e t t e r f u t u r e i n s t o r e f o r a l l . "Nat ional Parks genera te income and employment* i n s t a f f i n g f o r t h e i r own management and by s t i m u l a t i n g l o c a l com-muni t ies t o provide accommodation, s u p p l i e s , t r a n s p o r t , and o t h e r s e r v i c e s f o r t o u r i s t s . Preserved i n l a r g e n a t i o n a l p a r k s , na ture i s an e v e r l a s t i n g r e s o u r c e . " Not everyone has the t ime, not everyone cares t o stand in the s t r e e t hold ing a p o s t e r or handing out pamphlets , bu t i t i s only pub l i c concern about p r o t e c t i o n of the environment and sus ta ined p ressure on the governments and o the r bodies concerned which w i l l b r i n g about moves to put the o b j e c t i v e s of env i ronmen ta l i s t s i n t o p r a c -t i c e . There fo re , those who do care should not r e l a x e f f o r t s to f i n d ways t o keep the focus of a t t e n t i o n on a reas needing p ro -t e c t i o n . One of these i s by the power of the pen and the N . P . A , urges t h a t l e t t e r s o r" te legrams be sen t wi thout de lay to the Hon. N.K. Wran, Premier of NSW, Par l iament House, Sydney. ALSO t o the Hon. W.F. C r a b t r e e , Min i s te r f o r Lands, Par l iament House, Sydney. AND to your l o c a l S t a t e member. Another way i s t o support t h e NPA by sending a donat ion and any u s e f u l in fo rmat ion tos Nat ional Parks Assoc ia t ion of NSW, 399 P i t t S t r e e t , Sydney. 2000. Ph. 233 3618.

REMEMBER: FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL HAVE ONLY THOSE NATURAL AREAS WHICH WE SAVE NOW. SO SPE.uK OUT FOR RETENTION OF THOSE PARKS AS THEY WERE ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

Years of neg lec t and overgrowth i s be ing tackle ' ! in a very e f f i c i e n t and methodical manner t y the Limekiln Bay P r e s e r v a t i o n Soc ie ty i n the area ad j acen t t o V a t e r f a l l Ed/Acacia S t , where we met f o r the monthly Flower Study on 7 th August. ^ f t e r a walk down the creek to have a look a t what had V^ n achieved, to see what had been p l a n t e d , and to shudder a t what s t i l l remains to be done, one could only hope t b a t enthusiasm w i l l be mainta ined , and t h a t vo lun t ee r s w i l l cont inue to show up, to prove t h a t i t can be done, even as the two Miss Bradleys did a t Ashton Park . Anyone i n the v i c i n i t y wishing to he lp would be most welcome to con-t a c t e i t h e r Graham Quint o r Ralph Newboult. On the f a r t h e r s ide of the c reek , t h e r e i s a rocky h i l l s i d e , a t the top of which i s a wide s t r e t c h of r e l a t i v e l y c lean bushland . Here

O.F.F. Hows - 3 - August. 1978.

wo s h a l l spend next month's Flower Study morning, as t h e r e should be a weal th of s p r i n g - f l o w e r i n g n a t i v e s to d e l i g h t our eyes , and add to our knowledge.

That s t r i p of Oatley Park along Dame Mary Gilmore Road, r e c e n t l y l i t e r a l l y " s t r i p p e d " of a l l v e g e t a t i v e cover , has been bur ied i n p i l e s of l ea f l i t t e r (?mulch); has been p l e n t i f u l l y used an an u n o f f i c i a l park ing a r e a , and now r e a l l y c o n s t i t u t e s a much worse f i r e hazard than h e r e t o f o r e .

Although our involvement wi th con ten t ious i s sue s i s r e s t r i c t e d , our Socie ty i s a f f i l i a t e d wi th the Nature Conservat ion Council , whose, execut ive implements,ithe r e s o l u t i o n s passed a t t he Annual Conference. We are e n t i t l e d to send two d e l e g a t e s (who vo te ) and one or two o f f i c i a l observers (who may j o i n i n d i s cus s ions but do not v o t e ) . Severa l sugges t ions have been put forward as t o mat te r s to be r a i s e d by our Socie ty a t t h i s y e a r ' s Con-fe rence which w i l l be on 21s t and 22nd October ,

N.C.C. Annual Dinner : Mr. N.K. Wran w i l l be the guest speaker a t the Annual Dinner a t t h e Aus t r a l i an Museum (William S t r e e t en t r ance ) on Saturday 21s t October a t 7 .30 p.m. T icke t s a r e $9 per head (5-course p lus a l l d r i n k s ) . P lease give name(s) to Ida Carder promptly , so she can buy the t i c k e t s .

The l a t e s t i s sue of Hab i t a t has some t r u l y magnif icent photograp of the A u s t r a l i a n outback from the book by A t t i l a Ki ra ly ; Aus t r a l i a - The Land of L i e s . One of them, the Olgas i n the "blue win te r Namatj i ra haze" i s p a r t i c u l a r l y haunt ing and evoca-t i v e of the atmosphere of the d e s e r t r e g i o n s . I t must be a wonderful book i f a l l h i s photographs a re as good, and w e l l worth the c o s t of $2$ (to i i .C.F. members).

Moving house b r i n g s many th ings t o l i g h t . S e c r e t a r y , Mrs. Ida Carder has a number of spare back copies of OFF News, i f anyone wants to f i l l gaps in t h e i r own c o l l e c t i o n .

O.F.F. Mews - 4 - Sep t . 1978.

COMING EVENTS: Septemberj 23rd . Sa turday . Bird Study Outing.

Meet a t Oronulla High School , corner of Capt . Cook Drive & Elouera Road a t 9 .30 a.m. Here we w i l l d iv ide i n t o 3 p a r t i e s , one to be led by Bea t r i c e Golds te in to swampy a r e a s , another t o be led by the Dibleys t o the Tabagi area and t h e t h i r d , Ray Stokes w i l l t ake towards Boat Harbour. Take lunch with you, and f i e l d g l a s s e s i f you have them. Then we w i l l a l l assemble a t the Kurnel l P i c n i c Area between 2 .30 -3 .00 pm to compare notes,. 2 5 t h . Monday. 7 .45 p.m. Uni t ing Church H a l l , Cnr. Mulga Rd. & Gungah Bay Rd. , Oatley West. One of our most popular speakers , Mr. Vincent Serventy , the well-known n a t u r a l i s t and a u t h o r , w i l l speak or "Endangered Spec ie s" . Don' t miss t h i s very important e v e n t .

Octobers 9 t h i Monday. Back i n Oatley Park , w i th Nancy S e a t t l e . Meet a t Myra Wall Memorial Garden a t 10 a .m. Al l welcome. 28th-29th - \ i r r i m b i r r a weekend. $3 per head, Book w i th Val Boyan - 533 1013 ( a f t e r 5.30 pm).

K e l l y ' s F a l l s ( c o n t ' d ) . \ r e a s " , which s t a t e s emphat ica l ly t h a t bushland co r r i do r s f o r movement of fauna should be l e f t between the Royal Nat . Park and sou thern s ca rp was sont to Wollongong Council some time ago. Our own Socie ty has nought to b r i n g g r e a t e r awareness of the t h r e a t s to t h i s l i t t l e l e a u t y s p o t . One of our members, i n p a r -t i c u l a r , has f o r yea r s l e p t a watch f o r any changes such as r e -zoning a p p l i c a t i o n s , and we as a s o c i e t y , f u l l y suppor t a l l e f f o r t s t o b r ing i t under proper ca re and con t ro l f o r pub l i c use <

T-Jn 1 -i- — ^ ~ —v ..., ?i. i • . / r ^ . . Ar Uwvi > 1 — ' — i - j . u u u j . w cixu.xu_L io o j 2 tJ

Ferguson (Penshur s t ) , Mr. & Mrs. Hudson (Peakhurs t ) , John Nagle (Beverly H i l l s ) , Carla Sykova (Allawah), Pe t e r & Margaret Airey (Oa t l ey ) . Note; We are sometimes given very sho r t no t i c e of e x t r a e v e n t s , v i s i t s etc.Anyone i n t e r e s t e d could give Ida Carder name & ohone number l o r f u t u r e c o n t a c t . Secre ta ry? Ida Cerder , P.O. Box 52, Mortdale .2223. 57 5909. E d i t o r : Be t ty Ifeekee, 16 Hawthorne St.Raaidgate. 529 6941.

O.F.F. NEWS )»

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Registered for post ing as a Periodica! Category B.

September-^- 1978. At l a s t month's bus iness meet ing, our S e c r e t a r y ' s w e l l - s e t - o u t -Report showed t h a t the Soc ie ty ' s , a c t i v i t i e s had. covered a few e x t r a s such as - a v i s i t t o the Ai rpor t r ega rd ing the p l i g h t of the b i r d -l i f e on the Engine Pond t h e r e ; p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the "Water Act- i -nt icr" deba te , wherein our main concern, i s over the envisaged w h i t t l i n g -away of Oatley Park and secondar i ly the a l i e n a t i o n of o the r bush-land and "open space" f o f the b e n e f i t of s e c t i o n a l i n t e r e s t s . We have been r ep re sen t ed a t - p u b l i c , meetings and 'council meetings "when the mat ter was d i s c u s s e d .

We have had a smal l d i s p l a y a t Oat ley West School , and members have' a t tended a s e r i e s of l e c t u r e s a t Macquarie Un ive r s i t y and A.C.F. l e c t u r e s a t the Museum.

a f t e r i t was r epor t ed i n the l o c a l p re s s t h a t the l i b r a r y , s tock a t Oatley Pub l i c School had been badly damaged by f i r e , wo o f f e r e d to donate two books, of t h e i r cho ice , r e l a t i v e t o the n a t u r a l envi ron-ment. A l e t t e r of thanks" from t h e P r i n c i p a l was i - a d , the books chosen being "What Wildflower i s t h a t " and "Every Aus t r a l i an B i r d " . There have been s e v e r a l non-programmed t r i p s ; one i n Royal Nat ional Park , o rganised by Pat Akkersdyk, one to Lane Cove t o see what t h a t Council i s doing about r e g e n e r a t i o n of bushland. This included members of the Lime Kiln Bay P r e s e r v a t i o n Society and aldermen of v -J-*u ' TV,— : t ] r ... r. - / ' - •> ; i : * -- -Uij-w X j o . < J ' SJ v o ^ ia u bol o.iivxbLiU Uj DuUUl'XOfci UCJ-CL~-s t e i n , who a l s o provided a cup of t ea which was g r e a t l y app rec i a t ed ) ,

_ In a d d i t i o n , members have put i n an appearance o u t s i d e the Lands Department~at~several ga the r ings t o r e g i s t e r the Conservation move-

.ment 's dismay and disappointment a t t h e poor showing of the p re sen t 4 *n 0 0 T VC 11^1cl "s. i -'ill) 11

p o l i c y " , which no doubt won them many v o t e s . The p a r t i c u l a r i s s u e s

O.F.F. News - 2 - Se^t 1978. ve re the Border Ranges Nat iona l Park d e c i s i o n and t h e two nor th coas t a r eas of .-.'uragir and Bunjalong, now. so... gre.atly-.:rcduced as to be l u d i c r o u s as a r ea s of " n a t i o n a l park" s i g n i f i c a n c e .

The % r a Wall 1 Memorial Garden i s now responding to t h e care i t i s r e c e i v i n g thanks to the e f f o r t s of John and Bess McPhee. Any ideas on how t o s top people p inching anyth ing new t h a t i s p l an ted would be r ece ived with i n t e r e s t .

I t was noted t h a t we have r e g r e t f u l l y accepted B i l l H a l l ' s r e s i g -n a t i o n from t h e Committee. B i l l i s keenly i n t e r e s t e d i n the con-s e r v a t i o n movement and has proved to be a very va luable member, having spent many hours i n r e sea r ch work f o r the Committee and has made i t known t h a t h e ' s s t i l l a v a i l a b l e i f needed i n t h a t way. A vote of thanks to E i l l was passed by the meeting. There was a l e t t e r from Vincent Serventy seeking views on a p r o -posa l to form a "People f o r the Environment" Par ty to s tand a candidate f o r t h e l e g i s l a t i v e Council when those e l e c t i o n s are h e l d . As he w i l l be a c and ida t e , the fo l lowing background notes w i l l i n t e r e s t those who may not know much about him

"Vincent Serventy , A.M., B .S5 . , B.Ed. One of the founders of the Gould League of W . l . , the Nat iona l Trust of W.A. and the Tree Socie ty of W.H« Also served as P r e s iden t of the W.A. Natura-l i s t s Club. Coming to N.o.W, i r 1965, he has worked f o r a number of con-s e r v a t i o n groups . He has been Chairman of the Nature Conser-v a t i o n Council of ISW and i s a t p r e s e n t an e l e c t e d member of t h a t Counci l . He i s a l so on the Council of t h e Gould League of NSW as we l l a s b e i r g P re s iden t of the Wild L i fe P r e s e r v a t i o n Socie ty of A u s t r a l i a and Ed i to r of the magazine "Wi ld l i f e i n A u s t r a l i a " . He has publ i shed mere than 20 books on n a t u r a l h i s t o r y and con-s e r v a t i o n , in a d d i t i o n to be ing E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f and p r i n c i p a l au thor of t h e 21-vclume A u s t r a l i a ' s W i l d l i f e H e r i t a g e . He i s a member of the A u s t r a l i a n Her i tage Commission and of the NSW Nat ional Parks & W i l d l i f e Advisory Counci l . He was awarded the A u s t r a l i a n Na tu ra l His to ry Medallion f o r h i s s e r v i c e s t o n a t u r a l h i s t o r y and made a member of the Order of A u s t r a l i a f o r h i s s e r v i c e s to c o n s e r v a t i o n . " I t would be a g rea t advantage t o have a p a r t y wi th a phi losophy which encompasses: a co -ope ra t ive approach to the use and con-s e r v a t i o n of world r e sources and energy ( p a r t i c u l a r l y wi th r e -gard to s o l a r energy) ; popu la t ion problems; new models f o r

O.F .F . News - 3 - Sep t . 1973. eoonosic and s o c i a l p rog ras s j mora concern f o r I c n g - t i r r , of f a c t 3 of p o l l u t a n t s of v a r i o u s kinds-, p lus a very c l e a r unders tanding of the need f o r adequate r e sea rch i n both s c i e n t i f i c and o the r f i e l d s f o r so lv ing environmental p r o b l e m s . . . . . a n d to have t h a t p a r t y r e p r e s e n -t ed i n the Upper House of S t a t e Par l iament by a member (working on equa l terms) devot ing h i s e f f o r t s to b r ing about des i r ed env i ron-mental changes.

K e l l y ' s F a l l s (From Pat and Tess Akkersdyk)

"We met I l l a w a r r a His tory Society led by Norm Robinson (P res iden t ) a t K e l l y ' s F a l l s on Sunday, 13th August .

Norm says the couple of hundred metres above Stanwel l Tops (Ke l ly ' s F a l l s a rea ) i s the only c o r r i d o r of bush l e f t t h a t j o i n s Nat iona l Park wi th bushland on the top of t h e escarpment t o the sou th . He s t r e s s e s t h a t i t i s a b s o l u t e l y c r u c i a l (Norm's word) to keep t h i s c o r r i d o r f r e e f o r the t r a n s i t of fauna between t h e Park and B u l l i escarpment bush lands , With some animals , t h e i r very s u r v i v a l may depend on be ing able t o move from the Park southwards or v i ce v e r s a . He f e e l s (and we do a l s o ) t h a t K e l l y ' s should be l e f t e n t i r e l y i n i t s n a t u r a l s t a t e . Once t h e c o r r i d o r i s blocked by hous ing , t h e damage w i l l have been done, and the p r o c e s s , once s t a r t e d , i s i r r e v e r s i b l e . From K e l l y ' s we a l l went to see a land development a t O t fo rd , where the land i s s t a r t i n g to s l i p . Later Norm and t h e Socie ty wished t o see some a b o r i g i n a l c a r v i n g s . The n e a r e s t ones I knew about were near Blue Pool , so we s e t o f f on the Ul loo la Track. There was p l en ty of f l o r a on the way. We got to the ca rv ings , s tayed § s h o r t t ime , then r e t u r n e d to the c a r s , a t W a t e r f a l l S t a t i o n , j u s t on d a r k . A f a i r l y s t r enous day, but we a l l thoroughly enjoyed i t . "

The Suther land Conservat ion S o c i e t y , in a d e t a i l e d submission to the Wollorigong Council have given va r ious reasons f o r the u n d e s i r a b i l i t y of the area being broken up in to even smal le r p r i v a t e l y owned b locks , the inadequacy of the term "Open Space" , ( i n the event of i t be ing r e -zoned to t h a t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ) and have s t r e s s e d t h a t pub l i c ownership of such land wi th proper management would be t h e only guarantee t h a t t hese a r e a s w i l l be a v a i l a b l e to the Community. They f u r t h e r suggest t h a t i f t he Council cannot a f f o r d the cos t of acqu i r ing t h e l and , an appea l should be made to t h e S t a t e Government. Note: Norm Robinson's paper "The need f o r j o i n i n g I l l a w a r r a Wilderness

/ c o n t ' d . . . . . . .

O . F . F . News • A - October , 1978,

COKING EVENTS:

Oc tober : 2 3 r d . Monday. 7 .45 p.m. Mr. J e f f i n g e l w i l l speak on what t he Botany Bay Co-o rd ina t ing & Act ion Committee see a s t he l i k e l y c o n f l i c t s a r i s i n g from developments i n t h e Botany Bay a r e a . U n i t i n g Church H a l l , corner Mulga Ed. & Gungah Bay Rd. , Oat ley West .

28 - 29 th (Weekend) VIRRIMBIRRA SANCTUARY. BARGO. Watch f o r n o t i c e on l e f t h a n d s i d e of Hume H'way a f t e r you pas s Tahmoor. Accommodation i s i n cabins w i th bunks provided wi th m a t t r e s s e s & p i l lows - b r i n g your own s h e e t s , b l a n k e t s , p i l l o w s l i p s , s l e e p i n g b a g s . Cabins have r e f r i g e r a t o r , s tove & s i n k , c rockery c u t l e r y and cooking u t e n s i l s . Food can be ob ta ined a t s t o r e s i n Bargo or Tahmoor i f needed.

Charge i s $3 p e r head p e r n i g h t ,

November: 6 t h . Monday. 10 a .m. Myra Wall Memorial Garden. Nancy B e a t t i e w i l l l ead t h e monthly Flower Study and he lp t o i d e n t i f y p l a n t s t h a t a r e blooming i n Oat ley P a r k . Phone Nancy on 523 7458 i f d o u b t f u l about f a v o u r a b l e weather c o n d i t i o n s . 25.th. S a t u r d a y . Bus t r i p to Hazelbrook. Leader : Val Boyan (533 1013 a f t e r 5 .30 p . m . ) .

27th Monday. 7 . 4 5 J«m» MEMBERS' PHOTOGRAPHY.

December: ANNUAL DINNER a t S t . George Masonic Club.

Remember t h e ACF programme (3rd Tuesday of t h e month). 17th Oct . 7 . 0 0 p .m. "Meet Your C o u n c i l l o r s " - A u s t . Museum, A c t i -v i t i e s Room. En te r f rom Will iam S t . Br ing F r i e n d s .

P r e s i d e n t : John B l a c k e r , 110 Woronora Pde . Oa t ley .2223 . 579 5356 S e c r e t a r y ; Ida Carder , P .O. Box 52, Mor tda l e . 2223. 57 5909 E d i t o r : B e t t y Weekes. 16 Havfchorne S t . , Ramsgate;- 2217.

529 6941

O.F.F. NEWS

I t was r a t h e r d i s a p p o i n t i n g t h a t Vincent Serventy was unable t o be p r e s e n t a t our September meet ing , b u t when two of our own members " f i l l e d - i n " a t v e r y s h o r t n o t i c e , i t proved to be ve ry wor thwhi le .

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Regis tered f o r pos t i ng #* 9 Periodical Ca tegory B.

Mr, Russ Smith d i s c u s s e d the problems encountered i n t h e management of Georges River - p o l l u t i o n of v a r i o u s k inds , s i l t a t i o n etc® and measures be ing t aken to combat them, l e a v i n g us w i th much t o t h i n k a b o u t | f o r i n s t a n c e , how e f f e c t i v e d redg ing i s i n Oat ley Bay, and what l i e s ahead i n t he course of the development of Poul ton Park and Moore Rese rve , On the l a s t two, l e t t e r s a r e i n p r e p a r a t i o n to r e l e v a n t M i n i s t e r s , e x p r e s s i n g our concern a t measures t aken t o d a t e ,

Mr. Harry Whaite showed some b e a u t i f u l g l i d e s taken on a v i s i t he and Olive made t o Maria I s l a n d , o f f t h e e a s t coas t of Tasmania, wi th l o v e l y views of mountains , rocks and sea c o a s t , w i l d l i f e and remains of o ld s e t t l e m e n t s , a l l ex t remely i n t e r e s t i n g and c a l c u l a t e d t o s t i m u l a t e "Tassy-mania" among those eager f o r f u r t h e r v i s i t s .

Our P r e s i d e n t , Mr. John B l a c k e r , speaking about t h e v i s i t t o the Burrendong Arboretum on 1 6 / I 7 t h September, when he and t h r e e o t h e r OFF members a t t e n d e d t h e o f f i c i a l open ing , t o l d how impressed he and the o t h e r s were wi th t h e o r g a n i s a t i o n of t h e Arboretum and the p a t i e n c e and p e r s i s t e n t e f f o r t s of t h e working members of t h e T r u s t , which have r e s u l t e d i n a wonder fu l d i s p l a y of b e a u t i f u l t h r i v i n g p l a n t s f rom a l l over A u s t r a l i a i n l o v e l y surroundings3 some on h i l l s i d e s , some i n low swampy a r e a s , such a s t h e mint bushes - many d i f f e r e n t s p e c i e s , v a r y i n g aromas.

Of the many s t r i k i n g and unusua l p l a n t s , two s tood out p a r t i c u l a r l y . Among the h a k e a s , t h e magn i f i cen t Hakea v i c t o r a e a r e a r e d up wi th huge l e a v e s , v a r i - c o l o u r e d i n green and yellow3 whi le t h e Eucalyptus

O.F.F . Naws - 2 - October . 1978.

macrocarpa i s even.more s t r a n g e , w i th l a r g e w h i t i s h - g r e y l eaves and enormous b r i g h t - r e d f lowerheads and f r u i t t he s i z e and shape of h a l f an app le . I t was an i d e a l time to see the Spr ing f l o w e r s ; but no doubt t h e r e would be something b looding whenever a v i s i t were made, and of cour se , i t i s a haven f o r b i r d l i f e , wi th h a b i t a t s t o s u i t most t a s t e s , from honeyea te r s , ground p a r r o t s and ga lahs t o a p o s t l e b i r d s , magpies and pied b u t c h e r b i r d s , not f o r g e t t i n g the ub iqu i tous p e l i c a n . The nearby S t a t e Recrea t ion Area has boa t ramps, bush camping a r e a s , f i s h i n g , swimming r.nd a newly -bu i l t Kiosk (where s u p p l i e s may be o b t a i n e d ) , looking out over the backed-up wa te r s of the Cudgigong and Macquarie Rivers which form the Burrendong Dam.

Vie were apparen t ly a b i t premature i n p r i n t i n g the in fo rma t ion r ega rd ing Vincent S e r v e n t y ' s candida ture f o r o f f i c e i n t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Counci l . I t seems t h e r e would not have been enough time t o o rgan i se p r o p e r l y , bu t t h e r e ' s s t i l l hope t h a t some f u t u r e da te w i l l see the e r t r y of a "Conservat ion Pa r ty" cand ida te i n t o the p o l i t i c a l a r e n a .

An i n v i t a t i o n t o OFF by t h e Mortdale Un i t i ng Church on Saturday 7 th October to a t t e n d ' t . day f u n c t i o n was announced a t our l a s t meet ing . Despi te the u n s e t t l e d s t a t e of the w e a t h e r j i t was a memorable day and we a r e most g r a t e f u l to t h e o r g a n i s e r s f o r so k indly i n c l u d i n g our S o c i e t y . Ten of us enjoyed most d e l i c i o u s morning and a f t e r n o o n t e a s , a t a l k on gardens and i n s p e c t i o n of Yeramba Wildflower Garden as w e l l as a p r i v a t e garden above £ a l t Pan Creek a t Lugano. The b e a u t i e s of Yeramba included p r o s t a n t h e r a s i n the f u l l f l u s h of mauve g lo ry , o rch ids and rock l i l i e s , va r ious g r e v i l l e a s , cascades of chorezena cordatum and many boronias and e r ios tomens . I t i s a r e a l achievement to have so many specimens i n what i s r e a l l y q u i t e a smal l a r e a , bu t l a i d out t o t ake advantage of every b i t of s p a c e . I t was a sheer d e l i g h t t o v i s i t , and must s u r e l y he lp many people to have more a p p r e c i a t i o n of our g l o r i o u s A u s t r a l i a n na t ive p l a n t s .

O.F.F. News October, 1978.

From the To ta l Environment Centre comes an advance announcement of the Christmas shopping t r e a t f o r a l l people i n t e r e s t e d i n the environment -

NEW BOOKS ON THE ENVIRONMENT NOVEMBER 24th TO JANUARY 31s t On d i s p l a y and f o r s a l e a t TOTAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE 3rd F loor (The Argyle Arts Centre) 18 Argyle S t r e e t , Sydney. 27 4714. Major A u s t r a l i a n and overseas p u b l i s h e r s d i s p l a y t h e i r b e s t and newest p u b l i c a t i o n s on environment and conse rva t ion , a l t e r n a t e l i f e s t y l e s and t h e ou tdoo r s . Pos t e r s & P r i n t s .

Also - Tasmanian Wilderness Calendars (complete wi th envelope f o r p o s t i n g ) by Pe t e r Dombrovski . . . . $ 4 . 5 0

Note: This book s a l e i s an important source of f i n a n c e f o r TEC and r a i s e s about $800 each year towards t h e i r ope ra t ing c o s t s . Of fe r s of a s s i s t a n c e with s e l l i n g books, e s p e c i a l l y a t the weekends would be g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a t e d .

TEC.has g r e a t l y a s s i s t e d the conserva t ion movement by provid ing i n f o r -mation and guidance t o groups and i n d i v i d u a l s on environmental m a t t e r ^ making submissions to e n q u i r i e s and t ak ing p a r t i n depu ta t ions to Min i s t e r s such as Lands, Attorney General , Planning & Environment & Premier . At p r e s e n t a s tudy i s under way of the Macquarie Marshes i n North-West NSW. These marshes a re one of the f o u r major waterfowl h a b i t a t s west of the Dividing Range i n NSW. They a r e t h r ea t ened by a p roposa l to bu i ld a 40 km i r r i g a t i o n channel t o serve a number of l o c a l f a rms . The TEC has ob ta ined funds and engaged consu l t an t s t o produce a r e s e r v e proposa l and a management p lan f o r the marshes, which are an important p a r t of A u s t r a l i a ' s ever d iminishing we t l ands . TEC's A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r , Mr. J e f f Angel, who i s Chairman of the Botany Bay Co-ord ina t ing & Action Committee, w i l l speak a t our next meet ing.

O.F.F . News - A - November. 1978.

HOMING EVENTS; November 25th (Sa tu rday) . Bus t r i p to Hazelbrook. Walk and

p i c n i c . No s t eep g r a d e s . Meet a t 8 a .m. a t Oat ley S t a t i o n . Book wi th Mrs. Val Boyan (533 1013 a f t e r 5 .30 27th (Monday) - 7 ,45 p.m. (Uni t ing Church H a l l , c n r . Mulga Road & Gungah Bay Road, Oat ley West ) . "The S tory Behind the P i c t u r e " , Members' s l i d e s provide the e n t e r t a i n m e n t , sha r ing p l e a s u r e s & exper iences - j u s t f o r f u n , t he f u n n i e r the b e t t e r . Those w i t h s l i d e s t c show, l e t John Blacker know b e f o r e t h e beginning of t h e meet ing,

December There w i l l be no Flcwer Study u n t i l February - see J a n u a r y ' s OFF Mews. 5th (Tuesday) S t . George Masonic Club, Roberts Ave. , Mbrtdale. JLNHUAL DINNER, 7.00 p.m. Smorgasbord -

per head. Speaker; Mrs, This t le Stead (Thist le Harris , wr i te r Jlfes

0,1 i H f lowers of Aus t r a l i a and ••.Australian P l a n t s f o r t h e Garden" • ) F i n a l numbers needed by next meet ing, o therwise con-t a c t Mrs, Ida Carder (57 5909), Mrs. Gwen Helman (57 4167) or any committee member.

Don ' t f o r g e t the Book F a i r a t the To ta l Environment Cen t re , 3rd F l o o r , 18 Argyle S t r e e t , C i t y . New books on t h e environment, p o s t e r s , c a l e n d a r s , Christmas c a r d s .

ACF Meeting! 21 November - o u s t . Museum.7 pm. Speaker: P r o f . J . D . Llewel lyn-Jones , Na t . P r e s . Zero Popu la t ion Growth (ZPG) - POPULATION - I s There S t i l l a C r i s i s ? . Enter from Will iam S t r e e t , The p u b l i c i s welcome a t a l l ACF mee t ings .

CEO & RITA SAINTY send g r e e t i n g s and b e s t wishes to O.F .F . S o c i e t y .

LIBRARY BOOKS: PLEASE RETURN. MAY BE BORROWED FOR. HOLIDAY "READING

WISHING ONE AND ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR, a * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * # * * * * * # * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

P r e s i d e n t j John B lacke r , 110 Vioronora Pdcr., Oat ley^ 579 '5356 S e c r e t a r y : Ida Carder , P.O. Bex 52, Mor tda le . 57 590? E d i t o r : Be t ty Weekes, 1o Hcwthorne S t . , Ramsgate.529 6941

* O.F.F. NEWS

Price 5 cants.

Published by

OATLEY FLORA & FAUNA CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Registered for post ing as a Periodical — Category 8 .

November, 1978. Report on a met te r b e f o r e H u r s t v i l l e Counci l .

In an endeavour t o f o s t e r p r ide i n the appearance of the Munic ipa l i ty and s t i m u l a t e community involvement i n p r o t e c t i n g the bush land , Aid. J u l i a n Sheen, a t a r e c e n t meeting of H u r s t v i l l e Counci l , put forward the motion t h a t a pamphlet be produced s i m i l a r t o t h a t d i s t r i b u t e d by l ane Cove Counci l , wi&hoEome very good r e s u l t s . This motion was p a s s e d .

I t was l a t e r l e a r n t t h a t no t i c e of a r e c i s s i o n motion had been g iven , so a number of OFF members a t t ended t h e Council meeting on 26th October to hear the p roceed ings . Although everyone i n t h e Council agreed t h a t i t was a good i d e a , t h e r e was concern about the cos t (roughly $850), and a l though the r e c i s s i o n motion was l o s t , t h e r e was more d i s c u s s i o n about p u t t i n g i t i n "Council Comments" i n s t e a d of a s e p a r a t e l e a f l e t .

Aid , Sheen agreed t o t h i s , on cond i t i on t h a t a s p e c i a l e d i t i o n was p r i n t e d * This was no t passed , and a d i v i s i o n was c a l l e d , so t h a t t h e names f o r and a g a i n s t were r eco rded .

Therefore the d e c i s i o n , as i t now s tands ( a f t e r 3 mee t ings ) , i s t h a t the in fo rma t ion t h a t would have been put i n one pamphlet , be s e r i a l i s e d i n two success ive i s s u e s of "Council Comments" (3 months a p a r t ) .

Evidence t h a t the g e n e r a l pub l i c needs to be b e t t e r informed of by-laws i n p u b l i c parks w i l l be seen from the f a c t t h a t a member of our Soc ie ty t o l d our - S e c r e t a r y ' t h a t ' o n ' three occas ions ' in ' the one 'day^ she had po in t ed ou t to d i f f e r e n t people t h a t they should not p i ck f lowers i n Oat ley Park , which woe'6 b tave and civic-minded, course of a c t i o n .

O.F.F . ' News - 2 - November, 1978.

The Nature Conservat ion Conference was held on 21s t and 22nd October l a s t , a t the N.S.W. Environment Cent re , 399 P i t t - S t . , Sydney. OFF-d e l e g a t e s were Mr. John b l a c k e r and Mrs. B e t t y Weekes, w i th Mrs. Val Arga l l a t t e n d i n g as observer on both days . The motions submitted to NCC by member bodies had a l r eady been c l a s s i f i e d , and the d e l e g a t e s d iv ided up accord ing ly i n t o working groups t o cons ide r these motions i n two t e c h n i c a l s e s s ions on S a t u r d a y . Thus, i n the morning motions concerned wi th the f o l l owing were d e a l t w i t h ; N a t i o n a l I s s u e s ( i n c . uranium mining & wi lde rnes s a r e a s ) ; Rura l land Use & Planning; F o r e s t r y ; W i l d l i f e ; P o l l u t i o n , Energy & Packaging; whi le i n the a f t e r n o o n t h e r e were; L e g i s l a t i o n & Government Procedures ; Land Management ( inc lud ing need f o r con t ro l s & r e g u l a t i o n s

over t h e use of v e h i c l e s on NSW beaches ) ; Reserve Proposa ls (Lord Howe I s . , Northern s e c t i o n of

Grea te r Blue Mtns Nat . Park , Wallagaraugh River , Deua-Tuross & North Coast Na t iona l Parks ; Bents Basin t o be a Nature Reserve r a t h e r than a S t a t e Recrea t ion Area; l ake Cowal as a W i l d l i f e Refuse & the Washpool Wi lderness ) ;

Educat ion ( s t r e s s i n g the need f o r the upgrading of Environ-mental Educat ion a t Primary & Secondary l e v e l s ) ;

Urban Areas & Transpor t ( i n c . cur motion, a l so var ious ma t t e r s a f f e c t i n g Botany B a j ) .

Some motions were r eph ra sed , some amended, some divided in to two f o r the sake of c l a r i t y , bu t a l l wi th the prov iso t h a t t he o r i g i n a l proposer had t o be s a t i s f i e d wi th the a l t e r a t i o n s b e f o r e any vo tes were t a k e n . In t h i s way, a g r ea t dea l of time was saved, and not only were a l l motions d e a l t wi th on Sunday, b u t some l a t e motions as w e l l , wi th only a s h o r t ex tens ion of t ime be ing needed. The se s s ions were very ably chai red by the P r e s i d e n t , Mr. Chris P r a t t e n . I f only more "men on the land" had h i s a t t i t u d e s , i s s u e s of land use and re sources might be n e a r e r to s o l u t i o n s . The motion we submitted was attended, t o form two motions:

O .F .F . News - 3 - November. 1978. A THAT the Nature Conservat ion Council of NSW urge the Min is te r

of Planning & Environment t o p reserve the Botany Ponds and i n s t i t u t e a coord ina ted scheme f o r t h e i r management as W i l d l i f e H a b i t a t s * Passed

B THAT the Conference urge the Executive of the Nature Conserva-t i o n Council of NSW i n submi t t ing the Urban Bus Wand Survey to t h e Min i s t e r f o r Planning and Environment t o make p l a i n t h e need f o r an a u t h o r i t y w i th j u r i s d i c t i o n over the remaining urban bush land , and to recommend t h a t no f u r t h e r a l i e n a t i o n of bushland a r e a s be a l lowed; t h a t t he term "Urban Bushland" should inc lude a r e a s wi th a h igh p ropor t ion of e x o t i c p l an t spec i e s and a r ea s wi th high conserva t ion va lue such as Cen-t e n n i a l Park as w e l l as e n t i r e l y n a t u r a l bushland , and t h a t the term "Bushland Area" should be used where app rop r i a t e i n s t ead of "Open Space" i n f u t u r e urban p l a n n i n g . Passed,

NOTE: Since the Nat ional Parks & W i l d l i f e Service now comes under the Min i s t e r f o r Planning & Environment, i t i s to Mr. Landa t h a t these and s i m i l a r r e q u e s t s w i l l be d i r e c t e d , NCC E l e c t i o n s : E lec ted C o u n c i l l o r s : Len Willan, Vincent Serventy , Chris P r a t t e n ,

Soger C a r o l i n , Pe t e r Maslen, Jim Sommerville, Milo Dunphy.

Appointed Counc i l l o r s : I vo r Wyatt , Jim Brown, Pe te r Myerscough, A l a s t a i r Machin, Dick W i l l i s , David T r a n t e r , Bruce Vote.

C o n s t i t u t i o n Review. Committee: E l e c t e d : Max Wil l iams, Len Willan, David T r a n t e r , wi th 3 o t h e r s to be chosen by the Counci l , to review c e r t a i n s ec t i ons

• of t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and r e p o r t t o the 1979 Conference.

NCC Dinner : Twenty OFF members were among a record crowd who a t t e n d e d . The P remie r ' s remarks on conse rva t ion m a t t e r s , dur ing h i s a f t e r -d inner speech were r ece ived wi th acc lamat ion , a l though some may have been l e f t wi th the impress ion t h a t they were being palmed-•off wi th one palm, i n s t ead of a r a i n f o r e s t . S t i l l i t i s s i n c e r e l y hoped t h a t t he changes t h a t were announced w i l l be f o r the advan-cement. of the conservat ion, movement's o b j e c t i v e s , - a n d i t was very good to hear a t r i b u t e pa id to the work of ono uocan in' t h e causs of sav ing kangaroos from wholesale s l augh te r f o r commercial g a i n .