Letter to the Editor

High tides combined with moderate waves last Friday to highlight what things will be like as sea levels continue to rise. Some of the most dramatic examples in Eurobodalla Shire were on the northern shore of Batemans Bay.

Easts Caravan Park had to hurriedly extend its protective rock wall as cabins were threatened with undermining. The site of the conditionally approved multi-storey apartment blocks at Wharf Road was further eroded and flooded with sea water. Debris from unsuccessful attempts to protect the shore with tyres and rubble was thrown back onto the road reserve.

At Surfside Beach the waves overtopped the foredune and washed back across the reserve.

Cullendulla Beach has been steadily receding since at least the 1960s. During that time the phone cables to Long Beach have had to be relocated further inland. The remains of old cables are now well exposed on the beach.

At least two tracks parallel to the shore of Cullendulla Beach have been washed away since 1968. Last week the third track, further inland but still parallel to the beach, was also flooded by the waves. The sewage line will have to be relocated soon.

The Coastwatchers Association is pleased that it was able to help prevent the urban development of Cullendulla. There would be many very worried residents living there now if the area had not been made a nature reserve. The Association is also hopeful that the waterfront units at Wharf Road will never be built. Surely this latest minor demonstration of the power of nature will allow commonsense to prevail.

Jenny Edwards
Secretary

Attached - photo of the erosion at the corner of Easts van park