Protect Our Foreshore

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday March 19, 2008

I RECENTLY visited Cairns, where I worked in the 1950s on the small coastal ships that visited to drop general cargo and load sugar.

Cairns was a great little port. We all fell in love with her physical beauty and character, a character founded by its pioneers and continued by its working people, the same as Wollongong.

The distinctive waterfront pubs offered affordable tariffs for visitors and the foreshore was enjoyed by the locals, who regarded it as their own.

But it has all gone now, replaced by swank hotels, restaurants, a casino and jetties for the super yachts and the tourist ferries. The old charm and character have been replaced by one that worships the tourist dollar.

The world's mega-rich are catered for in the plush restaurants and swank hotels. I stayed in Hides Hotel, which was once the pride of Cairns. This historic hotel still stands but has been neglected. It now caters for ordinary folk, pensioners and backpackers who visit this magical sub-tropical world of islands and the unique Atherton Tablelands.

I searched for some evidence along the waterfront for Cairns' past. There was an old anchor, perhaps from one of the old coastal ships, but no plaque to record which one. Like that other icon in Sydney, The Hungry Mile, it's best covered and forgotten in case it compares that rich past with today's crassness.

Now the same vandals have their sights on our foreshore. The Mercury is to be commended for revealing their closet plans to trash it. It should act as a call to arms to all who value and appreciate our treasure. Action to prevent this wanton vandalism is now essential because representative democracy in Wollongong has been suspended.

A facelift for the foreshore is long overdue but it must be done in full consultation with the owners - the historians who conserve our rich past, the environmentalists who protect its natural gifts, creative planners who empathise with the environment.

Importantly, the users - the families that picnic at Belmore Basin and those who swim in the pools - must have a say..

These are the factors that must be prioritised in any plan. This will not deter the tourists; in fact, by keeping our foreshore's unique character it will attract them. This has been demonstrated time and again in other places.

For those who prefer high-rise conformity, there is always the Gold Coast. Or even Cairns.

Reg Wilding, Wollongong.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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