13.2 The Wallis Lake Estuary Management Committee - Great Lakes ...

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Wallis Lake Estuary Management Plan 13.5 Issues raised during public meeting and with Forster Local Aboriginal Land Council Public meeting: • community education on natural resource management • presentations • local media and using community groups • schools • education opportunities to be made available within council • facilitation of more community groups eg Dads Army • employ a permanent estuary officer to implement WLEMP • natural resources council contacts to be clearly identified in phone book etc. • signage at specific foreshore sites outlining best practice waterway usage, and • increase communication between government authorities. Meeting at Forster Local Aboriginal Lands Council: • degradation of the tool site near the bridge at Forster from tourist interference and nearby construction works (in particular, trucks have been parking and driving over the site) • tourists leaving considerable amounts of rubbish on the islands • concern over any possible impacts on water quality in the estuary of the proposed Minimbah tip • concern over the sustainability of the aquifer on Aboriginal Land near the Wallamba River if it is mined • concern that the grey clay that has appeared at the Little Street bath in Forster in late December 2003 is causing skin rashes on children who regularly swim in the area, and that the weed growing inside the bath may be a safety risk to children swimming • concern that the Aboriginal Land at the end of Point Road, Tuncurry, handed over to GLC as a reserve may succumb to development pressure in the future • the desire for access from the Wallamba River waterway to the nursery run by the Forster Local Aboriginal Lands Council through the construction of a jetty • conflict between swimmers and jet skis in the island/entrance area of Wallis Lake • lack of compliance with 4 knot zones in Breckenridge Channel increasing risk of injury to swimmers • cruise boats creating large wash and causing conflict with swimmers in Breckenridge Channel • lack of a formalised area in Breckenridge Channel in which boats can tie to • need for a regional supplement to the Indigenous Fishing Strategy, and • the opportunity for staff at the Forster Local Aboriginal Lands Council to secure employment implementing the on-ground works for the WLEMP and WLCMP. 132
Wallis Lake Estuary Management Plan 13.6 Background to the Wallis Lake region 13.6.1 History of Wallis Lake and cultural significance Two Aboriginal tribes are known to have inhabited the Wallis Lake region prior to European settlement; the Biripi, who occupied the area between Tuncurry, Taree and Gloucester, and the Worimi, who occupied the land between Barrington Tops and Forster and Maitland and the Hunter River in the south. The local Aboriginal groups were first disturbed by early exploring European timber cutters at the beginning of the nineteenth century after permission was granted to remove cedar from the Great Lakes region in 1816. At this stage no attempt was at settlement and the interaction between the early explorers and Aboriginal people was favourable, with the Aboriginal people guiding some of the explorers over the mountains on occasions. In 1826 the Australian Agricultural Company trialed a variety of agricultural activities on one million acres of land selected by the Director, John Macarthur, entirely encompassing the Great Lakes district. Many of these trials were unsuccessful due to the moist coastal conditions and in 1832 much of this land, including the Wallis Lake catchment, was surrendered to the Crown in exchange for grazing land in the Tamworth district. Land was first granted in Nabiac in 1855, and the area was established as a timber shipping site. Land grants occurred in Forster in 1856 and in Tuncurry in 1875, with the area supporting the early industries of fishing, timber cutting and milling, and boat building. The local Aboriginal people contributed a considerable workforce to these early industries in the late 1800s and early 1900s, especially the sheep, cattle, fishing and timber industries. Much of this early Aboriginal workforce was coordinated through missions and stations and wages were paid into accounts controlled by successive Governments. But much of this money never actually went to its rightful owners and the whereabouts of this trust is yet to be located and is currently the subject of a court case between Aboriginal Elders and the Governments of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. After a brief, albeit unsuccessful attempt at mining gold in the area in 1876, harvesting of natural oyster beds and leasing of cultivating territories became an important industry for the local economy in the early 1880s. Oyster aquaculture remains a valuable industry in Wallis Lake today. Early tourism began in the area in the 1930s with the local Aboriginal people showing European residents in the Forster/Tuncurry area where to dive for lobster and abalone. The tourism industry has since experienced rapid growth, especially following the construction of the Forster/Tuncurry road bridge replacing the punt in 1959. The tourism and retirement industries now dominate the local economy (Marr 2000). Today over 100 Aboriginal sites have been identified by the Forster Local Aboriginal Lands Council along the waterway and foreshore areas of Wallis Lake. These sites include scarred trees, shell middens, fish traps, campsites, burial sites and tool sites. However, a complete heritage study of the area is necessary to fully realise the rich Aboriginal cultural significance of the Wallis Lake region and foreshores and to formulate protocols with the Aboriginal community to best protect these areas from future developments. Sites of significant European heritage in the Wallis Lake catchment and foreshores are currently being assessed by GLC through a heritage study to be completed in 2004. The coastal and estuarine area is highly valued by Forster/Tuncurry residents and visiting tourists alike, and continues to feature prominently in the local Aboriginal culture. 133
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